A Bridge Too Far

A Bridge Too Far

Director: Richard Attenborough

Year: 1977

Starring: James Caan, Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins, Michael Caine, Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, and far too many to name.

     Many know Richard Attenborough as as John Hammond in the Jurassic Park films, but he has also had a prolific career behind the camera. A Bridge Too Far is one of those films. He would later win the Academy Award for directing Gandhi and would later direct the Charlie Chaplin biopic Chaplin with Robert Downy Jr. 

     The film itself is about Operation Market Garden, the failed attempt to end the war by Christmas 1944. It was a huge undertaking that initially seemed successful, but failed to end the war as early as the Allies had planned. The mission involved the co-operation between American and British units, and even the Canadian Engineers had a small part. The film is almost as big an undertaking as the mission itself. 

     The film is a war epic, so expect a long haul. It's worth it though, as the film has a very large cast with many well-known actors having major parts to small cameos. Gene Hackman, although you'd think he'd play an American, actually plays a Polish General, which is interesting because it defies the expectations (given the roles he's played up to that point) and it mixes it up a bit. It would have been cool, seeing as British actors played British soldiers and same for the Americans, if an actual Polish actor helmed this role. It's  nitpicking, and Hackman's performance makes up for it. 

     The diverse cast, and large scale scenes really makes this feel like a huge undertaking. it's got impressive visuals, and the combat scenes are above average. The scattering of the massive amounts of familiar faces throughout the film keep you hooked the entire 3-hour run time, because there's never a moment they don't use the actors they have. 

     What also makes this film different is they don't hide the fact that Operation Market Garden was a failure. It's not downplayed, but it's not played up either. It's just kind of, "well, that's how it happened" attitude, almost like a documentary. The final scenes address the failure in a clever way, as Lieutenant General Roy Browning is asked how he feels about it, he replies "I always felt we tried to go a bridge too far". You certainly won't feel this way when you see this film. A decent cast, a great director, and a production value that just makes you appreciate all the work that went into this film, you won't be disappointed.