Review Page

A Bridge Too far (1977)

Directed by Richard Attenborough.

Starring:

Dirk Bogarde as Lieutenant General Frederick "Boy" Browning

James Caan as Staff Sergeant Eddie Dohun

Michael Caine as Lieutenant Colonel John Vandeleur

Sean Connery as Major General Robert Urquhart

Edward Fox as Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks

Elliott Gould as Colonel Robert Stout

Gene Hackman as Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski

Anthony Hopkins as Lieutenant Colonel John Frost

Hardy Kruger as Major General Ludwig

Ryan O'Neal as Brigadier General James Gavin

Laurence Olivier as Doctor Jan Spaander

Robert Redford as Major Julian Cook

Maximilian Schell as Lieutenant General Wilhelm Bittrich

Liv Ullmann as Kate ter Horst

If the greatest cast ever assembled wasn't enough the supporting cast includes: Denholm Elliott, Arthur Hill, Richard Attenborough, Jeremy Kemp, Alun Armstrong, John Ratzenberger, Colin Farrell (the famous one from Minder), Hitler, Patton, de Gaulle, Montgomery, Eisenhower, Churchill and Roosevelt.

For me, this is the best war film ever made. It's an epic in every sense and begins with the planning shown in meticulous detail (or as near to as Hollywood would allow). The hope of an early finish to the war is evident in the boistrous good humour and optimism shown by the planners and the men tasked with completing their missions.

It's more or less non-stop once it begins. The sight of the Dakotas pulling the tow ropes is hypnotising when seen with the stirring theme music playing underneath. From there on in the action begins and almost from the off the plan hits stumbling blocks.

The acting is great, the source novel isn't a novel at all, it's a well respected history book from the man who also wrote the source for the equally epic war picture "The Longest Day". Cornelius Ryan was an Irish journalist who reported on the war for the Daily Telegraph emigrating to America at the end of the fighting. He was based first with American airmen, then later with Patton's Third Army. After the war he became a respected WWII historian. His insight during the war years gave him invaluable experience and leant an authentic edge to his writing.

The film pretty much follows the course of the battle, and all the main players are represented. On the set, actors were in awe of the men they played, and a number of the survivors were on set to give hints as to what really happened.

I watched this film innumerable times as a lad round at my best mate's house. At the time we could almost quote it word for word. I went on holiday to Holland with him whern I was 11, then visited again in 2005 where we followed the route of XXX Corps and explored the sites where the airborne troops fought their desperate battles.

As well as being a fairly accurate historical account, A Bridge Too Far is superb entertainment. Whenever I watch it I always wish it would go on a little longer.

Review by Kevin Hunt.

Book Review

Four Journeys by Kevin D. Hunt (2009)

Move over Bryson. Move over Maconie. Move over Holmes. Move over Major Holt. And new (Mostonian) gunslinger is in town.

Kevin Hunt's debut book is a brief History of a society that he is a member of - the North Manchester Battlefield Society - an organisation who gad around Europe looking at battlefields and war graves, Mannequins and road kill badgers. Kevin's wonderfully open and frank account of these trips make glorious reading with a warm smile of humour that builds to a Northern working-class banter at times.

In a no-holds barred account which range from the author witnessing a colleague masturbating to the hellish trip of coach travel to Cologne, the author entertains and enlightens the reader in equal spades.

At times you see what Stuart Marconie would have written if he had been FUBAR in St. Lo after a problem with cars and hotels - an for this reviewer/reader comparing Hunt's writing with Maconie is a HUGE compliment. It's that warm northern humour I was on about. You could not have seen a bloke who goes to Ypres from Tonbridge Wells called Giles giving such a funny, warm, brilliant account of four trips in Europe.

It is hard to criticise the book, maybe the only grumble would be I did not want it to end. But like all good authors, Hunt has left you wanting more and I believe he has deliberately left room for a sequel. SH

*****