Dirk Bogarde
James Caan
Michael Caine
Sean Connery
Elliott Gould
Gene Hackman
Anthony Hopkins
Ryan O'Neal
Laurence Olivier
Robert Redford
Maximilian Schell


Just look at the names for a second and take it in, what an amazing pool of acting talent this film benefited from. Indeed in todays age of massive hype there wouldn't be enough superlatives in the English language to describe a new movie with a comparable cast.

And as befitting to the players A Bridge to Far is a pretty grand affair. Its multi-stranded look at the failed Allied Operation Market Garden offensive takes in all the sides and strives for a great deal of historical accuracy in its portrayal.

Sean Connery is the man who stands out for me with a nuanced capture of Maj. Gen. Roy Urquhart the main allied commander at Arnhem. Parts gun ho optimistic yet with a sad air of pragmatism he brings a large amount of weight to a role which could have so easily fallen between the cracks given the vast amount of A listers on the job here. Indeed nobody really phones their role in because you'd never get away with it in this movie.

Its not a massively pro war movie nor is it a Platoon style anti-war one either. It celebrates the honor among many men even in the heat of battle but it doesn't avoid the messy aspects of the whole business either. It pitches halfway probably because of its style which is distinctly old-school.

It doesn't rush the job either as the whole movie clocks in at well over 2 hours but this does give the story room to breath and allows for the sense of foreboding over the operation, be it from the protests of Gene Hackmans Polish commander to the bad luck with the nearby German Panzer division to build up far more effectively then just springing it on the audience.

I may hate the saying but I'll use it here. They don't make them like this anymore

A