A Bridge Too Far.

IT was cra0p,film with only faint traces of the truth. I was there and went over Nigmegen bridge at the time.
Sapper

 

It's worth watching the credits of A Bridge Too Far and comparing the list of technical advisers to the cast. Gavin, Horrocks, Frost, Urquhart and Vandeleur, who are all portrayed positively, were technical advisers. Browning and Montgomery, who were dead, are portrayed negatively.

What the film makers ignored, or did not know, was that Browning's widow was still alive and famous enough for her complaints about his treatment to get widespread Press coverage: she was the author Daphne Du Maurier.

The same phenomenon about the technical advisers also applies to The Longest Day. The Germans who insist that this is the real invasion were technical advisers whilst the ones who refuse to wake Hitler because it is just a diversion were not. The commander of the small French contingent was also a technical adviser to the film

 

That's an interseting perspective. I would rate the film of ABTF higher than The Longest Day where poor old Monty is reduced to a walk-on part. In fact, just had a look at the book and he's only referenced four times in the index! On the plus side, he doesn't get blamed for anything...

To be fair to Ryan, he was telling the story of the day so the planning of the operation is only background information, unlike ABTF where the planning politics is a more significant part of the story.

 

Perhaps it was as much to do with him spending a lot of his time with the Americans during and after the war, as it was to do with his nationality.

 

'Right now Sir, or I'll blow your fucking brains out' Classic - Love the film and it's one of my all time fav's. I read a book to find out what really happened

 

As mentioned above, this matter has been discussed extensively on previous threads. Having seen ABTF many times, including at the cinema when it was released, there is obvious blame heaped on Montgomery and Browning (who acts in the film as a sort of stand-in Monty) for the flawed planning and execution of Market Garden and the suffering visited on the Dutch civil population. I think that it was rather cowardly of the producers to hold Montgomery up to criticism and even ridicule in the film but shy away from having him physically portrayed, as, for example they do in 'Patton' (Michael Bates). However there is also the insidious idea put about throughout 'Bridge' that the British are a bunch of brave but blundering duffers who are far too casual, complacent and bound by routine compared to the dynamic, 'can-do' Yanks. I have found this increasingly odd and rather grating on repeated viewings, particularly when you consider that this film was made in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. On an earlier thread I even made the suggestion that Sir Richard Attenborough, far from being a beloved National Treasure, has been involved in a number of anti-British films as both actor and director and is more of a candidate for a spell in the Tower! I would draw peoples' attention in particular to the very similar underlying Anglophobe tone of 'The Great Escape' in which the said Dickie stars.

 

Well I do noıt know if this is a consolation or not but at least ABTF is NOT Roland Emmerich's "The Patriot" (2000) In that "historical"(!) movie every British and Crown loyalist were depicted either devil incarnate or hypocratical buffoons who were standing target for Mel Gibson's Tomahawk wielding character. If you wish to see something anti Brit...watch "The Patriot"

 

I was born in Ireland (there is no such place as 'Southern Ireland') and you can see my anti-British bias on many a forum........................

 

What never helped was poor old Joe Levine standing up at a press conferance prior to the movies release and stating that the to make the movie had cost more than the cost to mount the orginal wartime operation ,at this point up stood a lady who said "It cost me my husband" My favriote character portrayal is of the commander of the Polidh airborne great line "What about the Germans"

 

Never forget that this film was directed by the same director who made "Oh What A Lovely War". Go figure.

And the list of living advisors (portrayed positively) against dead ones (portrayed negatively) reminds me of a friend's judgement of a scurrilous autobiography (I shan't name it or its author) "He has taken full advantage of the legal precedent that you cannot libel the dead"

Oh, and I have it on good authority from an author who interviewed General Sosabowski's son that he would not have said "God Bless General Montgomery" as he departed the aircraft over Driel.

 

Thought this might be of some interest here. from 1977
regards lofty

 

Stop spoiling the film !

 

That 's no proper proof...as long as there is no one taking notes and saves it and publishes it after a while , no one ever will find out..


But burning churches (or houses) full of women and children is nothing imaginary or out of the ordinary of the time..
The Spanish did so in the revolting Dutch low lands and and a film like Alatriste shows the spanish as being benign and the dutch as filthy terrorists (okay, for the spanish public in 1600...but for the audience in 2000 ??)..and more often the Dutch are always portrayed negatively -even if it shouldnot matter for the movie plot- :
Last thing The 47 Ronin movie with K. Reeves in Japan...at some point there is reference to the unique dutch trading post Dejima...but what a foul ugly pirate ridden hellhole they make of it..

I guess it is the Artistic freedom of the director...

 

This all brings back a lot of good memories. As I am sure I have mentioned before I was one of the Paras from 1 Para who did all the jump scenes and were filmed boarding Dakotas in British and if I remember correctly American uniforms. Redford was just dropped from a height of about 3 feet from a crane! Attenborough knew what Paras liked and kept us in beer for the entire time we were there.
The first time we landed enmasse there were thousands of onlookers. After we had landed many Dutch old boys came over to shake our hand. Many were in tears. I also attended the film's Premier. Great fun.

Len

 

Trust a German director to come up with that idea to use that against the Americans.

The mind boggles.

As for the movie, I saw the restored version in the Southbank National Cinema. I enjoyed it for what it's worth. I wouldn't get bent out of shape over the historicity of it.

All the best

Andreas

 

In the film of A Bridge Too Far, when Colonel Frost (played by Anthony Hopkins) and his men reach the built-up area around Arnhem Bridge, he says: 'Something just occurred to me. We're wearing the wrong camouflage.'

Presumably he's referring to the paratroopers' camouflage being more suited to countryside rather than a town.

Was this just a line written for the movie, or did the British have specific camouflage garments for urban operations at this time?