A Bridge Too Far

"Out of the sky comes the screen's most incredible spectacle of men and war!"

Jun 15 1977 PG 2h 55m
Drama, History, War

The story of Operation Market Garden—a failed attempt by the allies in the latter stages of WWII to end the war quickly by securing three bridges in Holland allowing access over the Rhine into Germany. A combination of poor allied intelligence and the presence of two crack German panzer divisions meant that the final part of this operation (the bridge in Arnhem over the Rhine) was doomed to failure.

Plot

The true story of Operation Market Garden, the Allies attempt, in September 1944, to hasten the end of World War II by driving through Belgium and Holland into Germany. The idea was for U.S. airborne divisions to take the towns of Eindhoven and Nijmegen and a British airborne division, reinforced by a Polish airborne brigade, to take the town of Arnhem. They would be reinforced, in due course and in turn, by the British XXX Corps, land-based and driving up from the British lines in the south. The key to the operation was the bridges, as if the Germans held or blew them, the paratroopers could not be relieved. Faulty intelligence, Allied high command hubris, and stubborn German resistance would ensure that Arnhem was a bridge too far.

Written by

Cornelius Ryan, William Goldman

Directed by

Richard Attenborough

Production Countries

United States of America, United Kingdom

Production Companies

Joseph E. Levine Productions, United Artists

Languages

Latin, Deutsch, Polski, Nederlands, English

Awards

Won 4 BAFTA 7 wins & 5 nominations total

Scores
# of Votes
64,095
Average Rating
7.4 out of 10
Metascore
63
Popularity
NA