A Bridge Too Far (1977)
When Dirk Bogarde as General Boy Browning declares "We're going to fly 35,000 men 300 miles and drop them behind enemy lines", you know the moustachioed thesp may have bitten off more than he could chew. A few concealed divisions of SS troops, for example. This recreation of Operation Market Garden, where the allied airborne forces were given the task of securing three bridges over the Rhine, at Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem, gives a swashbuckling account of the bravery which saw almost 2,000 British Paratroopers killed fighting house to house in the Dutch town of Arnhem, before XXX Corps, the British armoured division, could reach them.
It starts with a Dutch lady explaining how the war had progressed thus far and how the allies were giving Jerry a damn good kicking. This is spoken over archive footage of some Field Marshal Montgomery and the Allied Expeditionary Force strutting their stuff over Europe. She ends by saying how the plan was '...meant to end the war by Christmas and bring the boys back home'.
What follows is some top quality military snare drums with a fanfare of trumpets, finished by some serious bass. And by bass, I mean Tubas and Sousaphones, none of that modern nonsense. We are then treated to a long list of the topshelf acting talent on board. It would have been quicker to make a note of who wasn't in the film...
What follows is more stiff upper lip than a collagen'd trophy housewife, particularly from Edward Fox as Major Brian Horrocks of XXX Corps. Even Gene Hackman as the least convincing turn as a Polish man (General Sasobowski) in the history of mankind can't ruin it. Larry Olivier does a grand old job as a Dutch man and even though I know the outcome before the end, I always hold out that Edward Fox and Michael Caine will break through to help Anthony Hopkins. I won't spoil it, but it's a bloody good film.
Best Bit: When Major Carlyle (based on Major Digby Tatham-Warter) decides the best way to attack a crack SS armoured division is to walk slowly at them with an umbrella.
The Dam Busters (1956)
Some people find black and white films inaccessible. These people are morons. The Dam Busters tells the true story of the RAF's 617 Squadron breaching two enormous dams in the heart of Nazi Germany. They flew their 4-engined Lancasters at night. At 60 feet (its wingspan was over 100 feet). Dropping a bomb which skipped across the water. Which weighed 7 tons. With no margin for error. These men were ridiculously brave and very skilled. Of the 19 Aircraft which set out, 8 didn't return. Each aircraft had seven men on board. This film stands as an incredible tribute to them.
It opens with the Dam Busters March by Eric Coates, which everyone with functioning ears should be familiar with. We pass through clouds until we are told the film stars Michael Redgrave and Richard Todd, so immediately we are aware we are in for a treat. It follows Barnes Wallis's struggle to have the bomb recognised as a plausible weapon for attacking the dam. When asking the Minister of Aircraft production for assistance, the Minister remarks that for testing:
"You'll need a Wellington Bomber, they're worth their weight in gold. What possible argument could I put forward to get you one?"
Wallis coolly retorts: "Well, if you told them I designed it, do you think that might help?"
The film immediately cuts to a Wellington getting airborne with Wallis and Mutt Summers, the chief test pilot at Vickers. Great stuff.
We get to meet Guy Gibson, played by Richard Todd, and best of all, we get to see three real Lancasters flying around, none of that CGI nonsense. There's great banter amongst the crews and although the 1950s special effects are rather dated, the raid itself is incredibly tense. The ending is heartbreaking. We see the dining room where hours before the boisterous crews were having their pre-flight meals but now there are endless rows of empty tables.
This probably has the greatest musical score of cinema history, even if I am totally biased. Todd plays Gibson with appropriate levels of stiff upper-lippery and it was made so soon after the raid itself, that the design of the bombs itself was classified!
Best Bit: Just before the raid, all the aircrew are sat about, some are playing cricket, others having a little nap or a read, some are writing letters home. Gibson pops along and tells them it's time to go. The theme tune kicks in and the men are driven out to their Lancasters as they chuckle and wave away, some of them never to return.
Three more films to follow....
