A BRIDGE TOO FAR
A Film Review by Brian Takeshita
Rating: **** out of ****
There are war movies, then there are Great War Movies. A war movie can be about anything set against the backdrop of war. Sometimes they are about a few human characters and how they act in war (PLATOON). Sometimes they are about romance during war (THE ENGLISH PATIENT). Sometimes they are about growing up during war (HOPE AND GLORY). As is often the case, the scope of the movie is relatively limited. Too many characters in too many places detract from the plot and confuse the viewer.
The Great War Movie uses these "problems" as tools to provide a broad plain of vision and give the viewer a concept of the tremendous amount of effort and coordination involved in a military undertaking. So many critical things go on at once. The Great War Movie has characters which we care about and admire. By the end of the film we have an idea of who they are, but more than that, we have an idea of what they did - how they contributed in a small or large way to the effort as a whole. Their scenes do the same thing for the movie. Individually, they are good. Put together, they become more than the sum of the parts. That, in essence, is the strength of the Great War Movie. THE LONGEST DAY falls into this category, as does GETTYSBURG. However, the definitive Great War Movie remains Richard Attenborough's A BRIDGE TOO FAR.
Set in September of 1944, A BRIDGE TOO FAR is about Operation Market Garden, a plan to drop three divisions of Allied paratroopers behind enemy lines in Holland, each tasked with capturing a key bridge successively deeper in Nazi-held territory. The US 101st Airborne was to take the first bridge near Eindhoven. The US 82nd Airborne was to take the second bridge near Nijmegen. The British 1st Airborne was to take the third bridge over the Rhein at Arnhem. Once landed, the airborne troops had to hold its bridge until British XXX Corps could punch through the fighting front and link up with each division in succession. Once successful, the Allies would be in a position to strike at Germany's industrial heartland, the Ruhr region, and end the war by Christmas. This ambitious (some said foolhardy) plan was severely hampered by the unexpected presence of a German panzer division resting in Arnhem.
A BRIDGE TOO FAR has so many things going for it. Initially striking is its all-star cast: Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Elliott Gould, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Hardy Kruger, Laurence Olivier, Ryan O'Neal, Robert Redford, Maximilian Schell, and Liv Ullmann. Casts like that are simply not seen these days, except in cases where a movie contains a lot of short, walk-on cameos. In those cases, the stars are simply there to catch the viewer's attention for a few seconds. A BRIDGE TOO FAR not only has these actors in it, they all actually do something meaningful. Each gives a stellar performance in scenes essential to the plot.
The plot of a Great War Movie is comprised of history. As much as possible, it is not a colorization of history or someone's interpretation of what happened, but a series of events based on the facts. So it is with the plot of A BRIDGE TOO FAR. This movie does not deviate significantly from the actual historical accounts, and with the exception of a few minor characters, all personalities portrayed in the movie were actual people. This has the effect of making the story of the events and characters all the more compelling. Take, for example, when General Roy Urquhart (Sean Connery) and another officer are taken under fire and fight a running gun battle. They try to seek shelter from the enemy, only to end up trapped in the attic of a Dutch house by a German Tank. This is not fiction - it actually happened. Another example can be found when XXX Corps reaches the bridge at Nijmegen. A Nazi general (Hardy Kruger) has demolition charges set to blow the bridge sky-high when the first British tank crosses it, but the charges don't detonate. You would think this were pure movie-making fiction, but it actually happened, too.
Through clear direction by Attenborough and superior performances by all the actors, A BRIDGE TOO FAR gives the viewer insight into the world of military leadership. The charismatic leader is portrayed best by Edward Fox as General Horrocks of XXX Corps. In a scene early in the movie, Horrocks arrives at a theater to brief the senior officers. From the moment he exits his jeep and thanks the driver, then hands his coat and hat to a junior aide and says, "Look after these for me, will you?" you've already got the idea that this man is well liked and could probably get his men to follow him anywhere. Then he starts the briefing out with a joke. Later, he is driving down a column of armored vehicles, while talking with Irish Colonel Joe Vandeleur (Michael Caine) in the passenger seat. Periodically, Horrocks shouts encouragements and good-natured jibes at commanders on the side of the road, eliciting enthusiastic responses. One cannot help but be pulled into this aura of charisma, much like the soldiers under his command.
As Colonel John Frost of the British 1st Airborne, Anthony Hopkins delivers a wonderful portrayal of the English stiff upper lip when his battalion must hold out against unexpected German tanks. One of his officers says, "I was a bit surprised to find Bittrich's Panzer troops here in Arnhem." Just as surprised, Frost nevertheless responds with, "Well, you didn't really believe all that nonsense they told us about the enemy being comprised of children and old men, did you?"
There are many other scenes which contribute to the viewer's peek into this realm, but one other scene in particular deserves mention. On the way to the drop zone, General Maxwell Taylor (Paul Maxwell) is in one of the many planes carrying paratroopers of the US 101st. He merely looks at one of his soldiers, and gets the response, "Yeah. Fine, sir." This more than adequately illustrates the bond these leaders had with their men. It is an extremely short scene with only three words of dialogue, but it speaks volumes.
One theme raised in the beginning of the movie is how once begun, Operation Market Garden was not able to be stopped. This was in large part due to the fact that even those who were skeptical of the operation's plans were often afraid to "rock the boat." Two characters express their opposition to the plan. One is Polish General Stanislaw Sosabowski (Gene Hackman), a man who keeps silent until he has something meaningful to say. In one scene carefully crafted by Attenborough, the operation is revealed to the generals in charge of the assault divisions. Although there are only five men in the room, the viewer is not even aware Sosabowski is present until he is asked a question. He is nearly punished for his opposition by being marginalized in the operation.
The other character to speak out is a British intelligence officer, Major Fuller (Frank Grimes), who is adamant about photographs he has recently collected showing the placement of panzers in the town of Arnhem. Even though he shows them to General Browning (Dirk Bogarde), they are dismissed with doubts that the tanks are fully serviceable. Browning goes on to chastise Fuller about how "sixteen consecutive drops have been canceled for one reason or another, but this time the party's on." Fuller is later not allowed to participate in the operation in a touching scene where a doctor seeks Fuller out, notes the stress he has been under lately, and recommends he "get some rest." It is almost as if anyone who does not agree with the plan is mentally unstable. (Interestingly, the character of Fuller is based upon a real intelligence officer by the name of Brian Urquhart. However, since Sean Connery portrays a general also named Urquhart, the intelligence officer's name was changed to avoid confusion. In reality, Brian Urquhart was, like the character of Fuller, left out of the operation, but later served with the United Nations with distinction as was eventually knighted.)
Also worthy of mention are the visuals. The take-off of hundreds of C-47 Dakota transports and towed gliders is magnificent, especially when coupled with John Addison's rousing musical score. There are two sequences in which the sky is filled with paratroopers, a sight that would only be accomplished through computer imagery today, but which actually employed scores of real jumpers in 1977, when the film was made. The battle scenes are also startling, portraying the wild melee that occurs in urban fighting, and the sometimes surprise nature of enemy contact in the countryside.
Altogether, A BRIDGE TOO FAR is an excellent movie as well as a wonderful account of Operation Market Garden. In addition to the lesson in history, it provides an entertaining and fascinating story of the people and the acts of heroics, successful and failed, on both sides. Movies of this caliber are few and far between. This, coupled with a relative decline in interest of films of this genre and scope, may very well cause A BRIDGE TOO FAR to remain the definitive Great War Movie of years to come.
Review posted September 2, 1997
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