The Bridge at Remagen
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Actor: Ben Gazzara, Bradford Dillman, E.G. Marshall, George Segal, Robert VaughnBrand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Color, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 115 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-02-29
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of The Bridge at Remagen
DVD Review: Factual Account with Fictional Characters
Summary: 4 Stars
David L. Wolper's 1969 THE BRIDGE AT REMAGEN closely follows Ken Hechler's best selling account of the American capture of the Ludendorff rail bridge over the Rhine River. The facts and events occurring in the movie are largely factual with actors George Segal, Robert Vaughn and Ben Gazzara adding some fictional depth to the original participants. In fact, the actual names of the real-life combat participants were changed for this film.
March 1945. The German Reich is collapsing. With its forces spread too thinly to hold back the Western Allies the Germans count on the wide Rhine River to bar the allied advance. All the Rhine bridges, but one, have been destroyed. German Major Paul Krueger accepts command of the Remagen Bridge forces. His immediate superior, General von Brock, has a hidden agenda in assigning the bridge defense to Krueger. On the surface he entrusts Krueger with the mission of defending the bridge long enough for a stranded German army group to escape across the bridge. However, he also seems to entertain the idea that allowing the intact bridge to fall into American hands as a "brilliant plan," though his motives are left ambiguous in the film.
Opposing Krueger is American Lieutenant Phil Hartman. Hartman is the platoon leader of an armored reconnaissance platoon -- and later company commander when his captain is killed by German fire. Hartman's glory-seeking battalion commander volunteers his exhausted unit for the drive to Remagen. Meanwhile a disappointed Krueger arrives at Remagen discovering that the actual defense forces are a pitiful fraction of what was promised. The situation is further aggravated by the tardy arrival of substandard demolition charges that arrive just as the Americans force their way through the town. The Germans are able to detonate the charges, but the damage is insufficient to destroy the bridge. Hartman and a squad of men seize the east bank of the bridge and maintain a tenuous hold until reinforcements arrive. At that point Major Krueger sets off on a hopeless mission to gather counter-attack forces. Unfortunately for Krueger he is arrested, tried, and executed for allowing the bridge to fall intact to the Americans.
The latter part of the 1960's and very early 1970's were the golden years for war movies. In those years films like PATTON, TORA,TORA,TORA, M*A*S*H, CATCH 22, THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN and KELLY'S HEROES (To name a few) made names for themselves at box offices. Producer David Wolper, known for the historical accuracy constraints of his productions, undertook THE BRIDGE AT REMAGEN. The Rhine crossing operations were the next logical big screen production. THE LONGEST DAY took care of D-Day. Ken Annakin's 1965 production of THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE had taken on the Ardennes Offensive. The breaching of the Reich's last natural obstacle to the western allies was a logical choice.
Teams searched throughout Europe for a site that closely resembled the Remagen terrain. In the end they located a bridge over the Vltava River at Davle, south of Prague, in what was then Czechoslovakia. Two sets of prop towers were added to each end of the bridge giving it the appearance of a narrow version of the Ludendorff Bridge. The production team even blasted a shallow tunnel out of the hill on the east bank of the Vltava to replicate the entrance to the Erpeler Ley rail tunnel. Additionally, the REMAGEN production team was fortunate in that they were able to film in an evacuated section of the Czech village of Most. Most, which is northwest of Prague in the old Sudeten region, was slated for partial destruction in order to accommodate strip mining of soft coal. Portions of the town were intentionally demolished during the filming thus serving the film's purpose.
Czech arsenals were full of German weapons and uniforms -- most carefully preserved in the event of a "next" war. Indeed the Czechs still had at their disposal their own version of the German Sdkfz 251 half-track in the form of the almost identical Czech OT-810. Everything seemed to be going the right way for Wolper Productions.
Serious filming began in 1968, but was not completed before the Warsaw Pact's 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia. The cast and crew were forced to convoy out of Czechoslovakia leaving the majority of their props, weapons, uniforms and extras behind. Fortunately the production team was able to complete filming in Italy with the result that there is hardly any noticeable continuity break in the film.
In general the film is historically correct regarding the main events surrounding the taking of the Ludendorff Bridge. Fictional characters and dialogue aside there are three minor historical errors. Early in the film Major Krueger reviews a map mentions to General von Brock that the Russians are at the Elbe River. In reality the Red Army was at the Oder River. General von Brock emphasizes the need to keep the bridge open to facilitate the withdrawal of the German 15th Army. True as Remagen was in the southern end of the 15th Army's sector, but the German 7th Army was the main force that was about to be cut off in the Eifel and stranded on the west bank if the bridge was lost. Finally the Gestapo and SS security forces are dressed in their pre-war black uniforms. In wartime uniformed Gestapo and SS wore field gray. WHERE EAGLES DARE boasts a similar faux pas.
Look for some other familiar faces in THE BRIDGE AT REMAGEN such as war film veterans Peter van Ecke (THE LONGEST DAY, ATTACK), Hans Christian Blech (THE LONGEST DAY, THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE), and E.G. Marshall (CHRISTMAS VACATION). The soundtrack was composed by Elmer Bernstein (THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, THE GREAT ESCAPE)and is superbly suited for the movie. As war films go, this is one of the better movies about the last months of World War II in Europe.
Description of The Bridge at Remagen
An all-star castincluding George Segal, Robert Vaughn, Ben Gazzara and E.G. Marshallbrings all the glory and agony of war to stunning life in this intense and exhilarating, but uniquely human, look at a struggle widely regarded as the most strategic coup of World War II. "Excellent special effects, spectacular photography and fine action sequences" (Motion Picture Exhibitor) put you on the front lines of the battle and with the courageous soldiers who fought it. 1945: The Allies are making their final advance into German territory, and only one strategic bridge on the Rhine River remains in Nazi hands. Both sides have much to gain: the Germans, the lives of 50,000 soldiers stationed on the wrong side of the bridge; and the Allies, a quicker end to the war with fewer lives lost. Though both armies would fight valiantly, only one could win the heart-rending battle for The Bridge at Remagen.Fine casting, rugged characters, and authentic military detail make The Bridge at Remagen one of the best World War II action films of the 1960s. Based on actual incidents during the final Allied advance on Germany in March 1945, the story focuses on the U.S. Army's exhausted 27th Armored Infantry, assigned to seize the bridge at Remagen, on the Rhine River, to prevent 50,000 German troops from retreating to safety. Lieutenant Hartman (George Segal) leads the mission, while a Nazi major (Robert Vaughan) defies orders by attempting to hold the bridge instead of blowing it up. With strong emphasis on war's harsher realities, the film features compelling characters who illustrate the camaraderie of survivors and the heroism of mavericks in the thick of battle. Segal and Ben Gazzara effectively convey a hard-won friendship, and the film's dynamic action (filmed in Czechoslovakia and Italy) never overwhelms the story's emotional impact. Highly recommended. --Jeff Shannon
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