Watch a Bridge Too Far online if you want a classic Second World War Film. Here are some of my thoughts on it from over twenty years ago and some of what I think now.
Firstly, I do not know exactly what I was up to nearly twenty-five years ago when I first wrote this. I have mentioned before that I set myself a goal of writing one thousand words per film. Despite A Bridge Too Far being one of my all-time favourite Second World War films and based upon one of my all-time favourite Second World War books, I barely manage just over half my own self-imposed word goal even including the basic introduction to this section of films.
Several years after writing this I became a history teacher. If one of my puil had written this, I would have been disappointed as it is particularly weak and discusses few of the criteria I claim to have imposed on all the films. Maybe I did not want to write too much about a film that goes against my hypothesis, I just cannot remember.
The films 1970-1998
Therefore, this last section deals with the period post-1970. The Tet Offensive in 1968 had almost destroyed public confidence in the US and a new generation of filmmakers, educated amongst the domestic strife of events, such as the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968 and the Kent State shootings in 1970, promoted more anti-war sentiment than had appeared during the Second World War. The decision to begin this period in 1970 demonstrates that this division was not as comprehensive as the first film, A Bridge Too Far of 1977 highlights.
A Bridge Too Far 1977
Criticized by the 2000 Film Guide as being “Lifeless [and] overproduced,” and by the Virgin Film Guide as; “A movie too long,” A Bridge Too Far is an adaption of a Cornelius Ryan novel like The Longest Day fifteen years beforehand.
The film follows a similar pattern, attempting to follow as many aspects of the battle as possible. In this way, an ensemble cast of major Hollywood film stars was utilized and as a result, some of the greatest stars appear only as cameos.
The Plan
The film considers Operation Market Garden. The operation, devised by Field Marshal Montgomery, was designed to optimize the gains achieved due to the German retreat from France after the defeat of the Falaise Pocket. Montgomery required a mass airborne drop to carpet a large area of the Netherlands encompassing several key bridges.
Once captured, the plan was for an armoured thrust, spearheaded by XXX Corps, to break through the German front line, relieve the airborne troops, and then drive onto the Ruhr Valley. This would allow the occupation of the industrial heartland of Germany, which would end the war.
What happened?
A daring plan for Montgomery, it gained Eisenhower’s agreement. It’s a failure, though the film claims Montgomery was pleased that it had been ninety per cent successful and has caused great debate during the post-war period.
All the bridges were either captured or replaced (the Son Bridge) except the final bridge at Arnhem. The northern end of this final bridge was secured by the 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment led by Colonel Johnny Frost (Anthony Hopkins) but was recaptured by the Germans after four days (the plan had only required them to hold it for two) before XXX Corps could reach them.
Several days later, the remainder of the British 1st Airborne Division was forced to escape over the Rhine. The number of bridges statistically shows the operation to be ninety per cent successful but the important springboard into Germany was not achieved because of the failure to take the Arnhem Bridge. All that was achieved was a salient that, with the onset of winter, could not be exploited.
A Bridge Too Far follows the pattern of glorious defeat like the Great Escape. Produced in 1977, the same year as Cross of Iron, a year before Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter and two years before Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, films that portray anti-war propaganda.
A Bridge Too Far harks back to earlier times. Therefore, this film is notable because it shows that even though there was a definite shift from pro-war to anti-war propaganda, the shift was only partial with only some films produced after 1970 proclaiming anti-war propaganda. However, A Bridge Too Far does not attain the heights that some earlier films of this genre achieved such as The Longest Day and The Great Escape.
My ever-developing thoughts
Since writing this thesis and my earlier dissertation (about Operation Market Garden), I have continued to study the operation in greater depth. Based upon this research I would have added much to this critique.
Making A Bridge Too Far must have been fun for the extras as it was probably the first film that put its actors through what could be classed as a boot camp, the extras became known as ‘Attenborough’s Private Army’ and they had to ‘fight’ on both sides. If you find the Fighting On Film podcast, you will find episodes about the film as well as an interview with members of the ‘Army’.
One of the main discussion points in the thesis is about realistic portrayals of events. Included in this could be the uniforms and weapons that are used and how they are used. Small arms and uniforms-wise, this film is spot-on for both sides. However, there may be a few vehicle issues: Tiger Tank anyone?!
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The film includes many of the main players involved in the operation and Anthony Hopkins gives a sterling performance of Colonel John Frost. Some character’s names have been changed, for example, Brian Urquhart, the intelligence officer who tries to warn his superiors of the presence of German Armour in the area, is called Major Fuller, to avoid confusion with General Roy Urquhart, the commander of the 1st Airborne Division. In the film, the umbrella carrying Major Harry Carlyle is Major Digby Tatham-Warter who survived the battle unlike in the film.
The book of the same name on which it is based is a tour de force of research, utilizing well over one thousand participants’ recollections. Though long, the film picks out relatively few of these but manages to deal with most areas of the multifaceted operation. If I ever get around to writing my own book on a battle or other part of military history, I will endeavour to do so in a similar way to Cornelius Ryan.
Since he wrote this, the battle has become a well-worn path for war historians many of whom attempt to lay the blame at someone’s door for its ultimate failure. Unfortunately, from such histories, myths are often created that are then exaggerated further when put into film. The book/film title for example is allegedly taken from a conversation which is very unlikely to ever have taken place.
Comments on this post and any others will be greatly received. The next film will be Cross of Iron.
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BigT