The English mean well, but sometimes they aren’t right
General Montgomery and General Patton never agreed on much. Patton always liked a rougher style of invading and conquering, while Montgomery preferred his British brethren to take the lead on all campaigns. When British influence over powers common sensibilities, Montgomery devises a plan to send English, American and Polish troops to put one final dagger in the heart of the German army movements. The plan is to take three major bridges that will trap the German army and finally, maybe, end World War II and Germany’s takeover across Europe. The British are assigned to take the main bridge, the Americans are assigned to fly in and take a smaller bridge and the Polish army are there for support. When the British intelligence goes bad and the Britians get more than they can handle, Montgomery’s plan, named Market Garden, is a bust. Trapped by Germans, ally troops being killed left and right, armies will have to find a way out fast.
I hadn’t heard of this film, hadn’t seen this film ever. I took great joy seeing how real and how well this movie was put together. For 1977 this movie puts you in the middle of a crisis. It also compliments the movie Patton, which shows you the other side of seeing this failed operation in motion. The cockiness of the allies and the tension that comes from this drives a nail into the movie’s storyline and makes it stick really well. Not to mention, the supporting cast that makes this great, especially seeing Gene Hackman as Major General Stanislaw (Polish leader), who kept his accent perfectly.
More amazing than the set of actors is the fact that the director and editor could handle three different storylines, bring them out individually, develop them and then bring them back together. It’s amazing to watch that and it’s nice to see that old-school movies like this have some kick in them after 31 years. It’s a very well-made film that brings the best and worst of war to the small screen.
If you’re looking for a good war film, look no further.
Blu-ray makes it all too real
After seeing this film on Blu-ray and seeing how beautiful it is, it reminded me a lot of HBO’s Band of Brothers. It put you in the situation of these soldiers, let you get to know them and live their lives. Because this is on Blu-ray, it enhances those moments, especially when the audio in the film scares the crap out of you. The fact that the situation the viewers are put in are so darn real, Blu-ray just makes it better and gives off more tension than the original film probably could do.
As for the features, regretfully none.
Stand your ground, keep the Blu-ray going
A Bridge Too Far is a fantastic film on Blu-ray. While no features, you still get a very well-made film that will put you truly into the middle of a failed plan and make you understand how bad wars can be. It will also make you understand that even a plan with good intentions, sometimes turns out bad. If you’re a war fanatic and love war films, you can’t live without this one. If you’re looking to improve on your movie history, again, it’s a prefect film to add to the conversation.
