A Bridge Too Far

1977 • 176 minutes

About this movie

This all-star WWII epic depicts the Allied defeat at Arnhem, Holland, in September 1944 and concentrates on those assigned to capture the strategically important bridge, despite insurmountable odds... It was planned to airdrop 35,000 U.S. and British paratroopers into Eastern Holland to secure six bridges leading to the German border, while a British ground force sped through Belgium to the bridge at Arnhem on the Rhine River. Converging, the two armies were to smash the already-damaged war-production factories of the Third Reich in the Ruhr section of Germany. But...everything went wrong: weather, bad judgment, panic, pure bad luck. The operation, which lasted nine days and had been code-named 'Market Garden,' was a total disaster... Based on the book by Cornelius Ryan.

Ratings and reviews

A very sobering war film. To think that, so much goes into planning that the details get left out, and poor preparation factor in stupidity, and of course weather divide by human condition, and multiply arrogance. Make one wonder how wars are even won, much less why they are fought. Think if seeing before "Star Wars - New Hope" . Would have not been a war fan, or a veteran. Fortunately I did not serve in combat This film gave respect to those did the "Bleeding and The Dying." - Quote from Chuck Norris - In Delta Force.

One of the best movies. Directed by the late Richard Attenborough, it has a multicast - Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Hardy Krugger, Ryan ONeal, Lawrence Olivier, Robert Redford, Gene Hackman, - just to mention a few. This also shows reality of war and what can go wrong as well as the fact that a lot of the information from the Dutch underground movement gets ignored.

This is good, but the subject is too big for a single movie to cover adequately and therefore unless one has a knowledge of the subject, it can get confusing. Check out 'Theirs is the Glory' which focuses on Arnhem and 'Band of Brothers' that deals with 101st operations. Then watch this again!