BRIDGE TOO FAR / PATHS OF GLORY 2PK (DVD/BACK-TO-BACK) DVD

A Bridge Too Far
It's late 1944, and the Allied armies are confident they'll win the World War II and be home in time for Christmas. What's needed, says British general Bernard Law Montgomery, is a knockout punch, a bold strike through Holland, where German troops are spread thin, that will put the Allies into Germany. Paratroops led by British major general Robert Urquhart (Sean Connery) and American brigadier general James Gavin (Ryan O'Neal) will seize a thin road and five bridges through Holland into Germany, with paratroops led by Lieutenant Col. John Frost (Sir Anthony Hopkins) holding the most critical bridge at a small town called Arnhem. Over this road shall pass combined forces led by British Lieutenant Gen. Brian Horrocks (Edward Fox) and British Lieutenant Col. Joe Vandeleur (Michael Caine). The plan requires precise timing, so much so that one planner tells Lieutenant Gen. Frederick Browning (Dirk Bogarde), "Sir, I think we may be going a bridge too far." The plan also has one critical flaw: Instead of a smattering of German soldiers, the area around Arnhem is loaded with crack SS troops. Disaster ensues. Based on a book by historian Cornelius Ryan, A Bridge Too Far is reminiscent of another movie based on a Ryan book, The Longest Day. Like that movie, it is loaded with more than 15 international stars, including Sir Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, Hardy Krueger, Gene Hackman, Maximilian Schell, and Liv Ullman. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide

Paths of Glory
Adapting Humphrey Cobb's novel to the screen, director Stanley Kubrick and his collaborators Calder Willingham and Jim Thompson set out to make a devastating anti-war statement, and they succeeded above and beyond the call of duty. In the third year of World War I, the erudite but morally bankrupt French general Broulard (Adolphe Menjou) orders his troops to seize the heavily fortified "Ant Hill" from the Germans. General Mireau (George MacReady) knows that this action will be suicidal, but he will sacrfice his men to enhance his own reputation. Against his better judgment, Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) leads the charge, and the results are appalling. When, after witnessing the slaughter of their comrades, a handful of the French troops refuse to leave the trenches, Mireau very nearly orders the artillery to fire on his own men. Still smarting from the defeat, Mireau cannot admit to himself that the attack was a bad idea from the outset: he convinces himself that loss of Ant Hill was due to the cowardice of his men. Mireau demands that three soldiers be selected by lot to be executed as an example to rest of the troops. Acting as defense attorney, Colonel Dax pleads eloquently for the lives of the unfortunate three, but their fate is a done deal. Even an eleventh-hour piece of evidence proving Mireau's incompetence is ignored by the smirking Broulard, who is only interested in putting on a show of bravado. A failure when first released (it was banned outright in France for several years), Paths of Glory has since taken its place in the pantheon of classic war movies, its message growing only more pertinent and potent with each passing year (it was especially popular during the Vietnam era). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Dirk Bogarde as Lt. Gen. Frederick Browning James Caan as Sgt. Eddie Dohun Michael Caine as Lt. Col. Joe Vandeleur Sean Connery as Maj. Gen. Robert Urquhart Edward Fox as Lt. Gen. Brian Horrocks Elliott Gould as Col. Bobby Stout Gene Hackman as Maj. Gen. Stanislaw Sosabowski Anthony Hopkins as Lt. Col. John Frost Hardy Kruger as Gen. Ludwig Laurence Olivier as Dr. Spaander Ryan O'Neal as Brig. Gen. James Gavin Robert Redford as Maj. Julian Cook Maximilian Schell as Lt. Gen. Wilhelm Bittrich Liv Ullmann as Kate Ter Horst Arthur Hill as Tough Colonel Wolfgang Preiss as Field Marshal von Rundstedt Siem Vroom as Underground Leader Mary Smithuysen as Old Dutch Woman Nicholas Campbell as Capt. Glass Christopher Good as Maj. Carlyle Keith Drinkel as Lt. Cornish Peter Faber as Capt. Harry Bestebreurtje Kirk Douglas as Col. Dax Ralph Meeker as Corp. Paris Adolphe Menjou as Gen. Broulard George Macready as Gen. Mireau Wayne Morris as Lieutenant Roget Richard Anderson as Maj. Saint-Auban Joe Turkel as Private Arnaud Timothy Carey as Private Ferol Peter Capell as Col. Judge Susanne Christian as German Girl Bert Freed as Sgt. Boulanger Jerry Hausner as Cafe Owner Harold Benedict as Capt. Nichols John Stein as Capt. Rousseau

Crew Ludwig Reiber - Art Director Ilse Dubois - Costume Designer Stanley Kubrick - Director Eva Kroll - Editor Gerald Fried - Composer (Music Score) Arthur Schramm - Makeup Hannes Staudinger - Camera Operator Georg Krause - Cinematographer James B. Harris - Producer Erwin Lange - Special Effects Martin Mueller - Sound/Sound Designer Jim Thompson - Screenwriter Calder Willingham - Screenwriter Stanley Kubrick - Screenwriter Humphrey Cobb - Book Author Ludwig Reiber - Art Director Ilse Dubois - Costume Designer Stanley Kubrick - Director Eva Kroll - Editor Gerald Fried - Composer (Music Score) Arthur Schramm - Makeup Hannes Staudinger - Camera Operator Georg Krause - Cinematographer James B. Harris - Producer Erwin Lange - Special Effects Martin Mueller - Sound/Sound Designer Jim Thompson - Screenwriter Calder Willingham - Screenwriter Stanley Kubrick - Screenwriter Humphrey Cobb - Book Author

A Bridge Too Far
Screenwriter William Goldman called this movie his generation's answer to The Longest Day (1962), and it's a fairly apt analogy. A Bridge Too Far was, like Day, based on a book by historian Cornelius Ryan, and has a galaxy of stars, including Sir Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, Sean Connery, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Hardy Krueger, Michael Caine, Gene Hackman, Maximilian Schell, James Caan, Elliott Gould, and Liv Ullman. It also reflects the 1970s in that it is a far darker, less patriotic film (it examines the disastrous battle of Arnhem, in which a division of British paratroopers was nearly wiped out) than the almost jingoistic Day, which trumpeted the Allies' successful D-Day landing. Yet, as directed by Sir Richard Attenborough and lensed by cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth, the film is far superior to The Longest Day. The film is gorgeous, and the Oscar-winning Goldman handles the plot's necessary exposition far more deftly than did Ryan, who wrote The Longest Day. That's the film's primary improvement on Day and it's significant. The film is also bloodier, which makes the battle scenes more realistic. A Bridge Too Far is a good movie that tells a terrible story of a military disaster. It's long, it's detailed, it won't cheer you up, but it may engross you. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide
 

Paths of Glory
Paths of Glory is a remarkable anti-war film that retains its impact decades after its release. The story's horrifying, tragic inevitability combines with Stanley Kubrick's forthright documentary style to create a film of rare power, a stinging, pre-Vietnam indictment of the inflexibility of war-time decision-making. Kirk Douglas, who produced the film, seems an odd choice to play a French colonel in World War I, yet he fills the screen with his righteous indignation. Kubrick's indictment of a military elite out of touch with -- even openly antagonistic towards -- its own men is brilliantly vicious. Filmed in pristine black-and-white that mirrors the thematic emphasis on the battle between good (enlisted men) and evil (the officers), with Kubrick's keen eye toward detail, Paths of Glory is both an intellectual and a visual treat. The film touched many raw nerves, and it was banned in several European countries, with France the last to lift the ban in the late 1970s. The conclusion features the soon-to-be Mrs. Kubrick in a sentimental and melodramatic scene that has been criticized as out-of-step with the rest of the somber and gritty film. ~ Dan Jardine, All Movie Guide
 

Disc Title: A Bridge Too Far - People Awards: Edward Fox: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (winner) Geoffrey Unsworth: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Cinematography (winner) Gerry Humphreys: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Soundtrack (winner) John Addison: British Academy of Film and Television, Anthony Asquith Award (winner) Leslie Wiggins: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Soundtrack (winner) Peter Horrocks: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Soundtrack (winner) Robin O'Donoghue: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Soundtrack (winner) Simon Kaye: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Soundtrack (winner)

Paths of Glory - Film Awards: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Film - Any Source (nominated) Library of Congress, U.S. National Film Registry (winner)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: English, French Sound Processing: DD2: Dolby Digital Stereo DD1: Dolby Digital Mono Additional Features: "A Bridge Too Far": Dual layer for interruption-free playback 8-page booklet Original theatrical trailer "Paths of Glory": 4-page booklet Theatrical trailer DVD Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1: Cinemascope 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: PG DVD Discs Included: 2 DVD Sides: 2 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 263 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- A Bridge Too Far 1. Logo/Prologue/Title [7:33] 2. German Army H.Q. [3:22] 3. Browing's H.Q. [8:07] 4. 8 Miles From Arnhem [6:34] 5. Poor Projection [2:17] 6. "The Cavalry" [4:31] 7. Guarantees [3:45] 8. Airborne [7:09] 9. Road to Success? [3:31] 10. The Drop [7:28] 11. First Shots/Lunatics [5:35] 12. Further Frustrations [3:28] 13. The Son Bridge [4:07] 14. The Bridge at Arnhem [5:01] 15. Another Try at Dusk [4:54] 16. Enemy Reinforcements [2:55] 17. Urquhart's Risk [5:49] 18. Fulfilling a Promise [6:38] 19. Bridge Building [9:48] 20. Battle at Arnhem [5:38] 21. The Supply Drop [3:45] 22. Kate/The Un-Surrender [4:39] 23. Julian Cook [3:44] 24. Rough Crossing [3:37] 25. Bridge Warfare [4:37] 26. Frost's Last Stand [7:06] 27. Germans on the Bridge [3:43] 28. Kate's Kindness [6:35] 29. Rubber Raft Brigade [2:50] 30. The Decision Made [4:32] 31. "A Bridge Too Far" [6:38] 32. End Credits [5:58] Side #2 -- Paths of Glory 1. Logos/Main Title 2. Intro & Assignment 3. Shell-Shocked Man 4. "Take the Anthill!" 5. Fortified Bravery 6. Cowardice Under Fire 7. Gloomy Forecast 8. Methods of Dying 9. A Toast to France 10. Go on the Whistle 11. A War of Wills 12. Court Martial Talks 13. "I'll Break You!" 14. The Unlucky Three 15. Presenting Prisoners 16. In No Man's Land 17. Condemned by Lottery 18. Unconscious Coward 19. A Prosecutor's Plea 20. The Defense Protests 21. Executioner's Review 22. The Final Meal 23. Last Rites 24. Save Him to Kill Him 25. Firing Squad Leader 26. Blackmailing Facts 27. "I Don't Wanna Die!" 28. "Ready, Aim, Fire!" 29. A Just Turnaround 30. "I'm Not Your Boy!" 31. Melody of Tears 32. The End/Credits