A Bridge Too Far

Director: Richard Attenborough
Year Released: 1977
Rating: 1.5

Bloated World War II epic, on the surface, has everything: a huge budget, a huge running time, huge stars. Trouble is, all it produces is a half-hearted cry that war is pretty awful. Attenborough throws everything up there on the screen - explosions, paratroopers, graphic battle scenes - but there almost seems to be a lack of urgency, and its attempts for sympathy too planned. The best moment, I think, comes when James Caan's character has to save a wounded friend's life by using quick wits and some superb driving skills (eventually having to threaten a doctor to get said pal treated) - it's a rare impulsive sequence in a movie that needed a lot more life and drive.