Too long, too much, but technically very well done

Rating: 6/10 (8 June 2016)

A Bridge too Far (1977)
A must for WWII fans, but dubious for people looking for a drama that happens to be a war drama.
Here's why. First the upside. This was researched and choreographed in great detail. Some of the participants were at the original battle (or nearby). And there is a sense not of grandiose "The Longest Day" kind of drama, but of something that shows the nitty gritty of an important but not legendary battle toward the end of the war. There is a ton of action, very vivid and pyrotechnic, filmed with smooth precision, and edited down well even though the movie is still too long.
The downside is partly that the movie is too long. They include too much. And frankly, as good as the action stuff is, there's too much of it. The ability to do this kind of thing really well isn't reason to do it too much. ("Saving Private Ryan" has the same dilemma, and I think faces it better, with the amazing filming of action at Normandy.)
Furthermore, this is all action and all history. That's probably enough for people who are into it—and it's gripping, for sure, at its best. But the key missing ingredient is real characters. There's an attempt to give each of the stars and their colleagues enough for the audience to grasp, but it's never enough. The problems of the campaign and the personalities that pushed for it and doubted it are clear. But they aren't convincing.
And one of the problems is there is just too much going on for such a short movie. That's no joke. It could have been a t.v. mini-series, and the characters could have been developed. Instead we get a few minutes screen time—at best —of most of the key players. And there are a lot of big names involved, each for a million to five million dollars each. And that's with Joseph Levine (the producer) pushing hard to save money. It never feels bloated, just superficial. Oh! There's Robert Redford, there's Michael Caine, there's Laurence Olivier, and so on, with their key but tiny appearances. Don't blink.
So we end up back with the history, and the brutality (and spoiled brat attitude) of the Nazi Germans. It's good (and horrifying stuff, for sure, but there are lots of better WWI movies on many levels. This one is for people looking to fill in gaps and get the specifics.
A last note. This came out after the shift in Hollywood to newer ("New Hollywood") films in the late 60s, and it feels out of place. Other war dramas like "Patton" "M.A.S.H." and "Catch-22" all from 1970 and then just after this one in 1978 and 1979, "The Deer Hunter" and "Apocalypse Now," all offer something more contemporary and compelling in terms of style and movie-making. And character.