If you have Nolan’s Dunkirk on one side as a serious war movie and Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds on the other side as a fun entertaining movie, then The Bridge Too Far falls right into the middle of both of them. It is strange how many funny quotable lines the movie has, compared to how seriously it takes itself. There is a particular scene where Germans offer their surrender and the dialog feels like a Monthy Python skit.

SS Panzer Officer: My general says there is no point in continuing this fighting! He wishes to discuss terms of a surrender!

Major Harry Carlyle: Shall I answer him, sir?

Lt. Col. John Frost: Tell him to go to hell.

Major Harry Carlyle: We haven’t the proper facilities to take you all prisoner! Sorry!

SS Panzer Officer: [confused] What?

Major Harry Carlyle: We’d like to, but we can’t accept your surrender! Was there anything else?

German officer walks off

For a war movie, it is a bit confusing, what the movie wants to be. It starts and sets the scene as a serious historical movie, then it leans more into small vignettes poking fun at british quirkiness such as drinking tea at most inapropriate moments (for example in a battle) and their overly cautious and friendly accent, to heroic acts of soldiers until it slowly turns around and ends on a negative, almost depressing note.

in the end, the Polish general who was sidelined in this operation and the only man who didn’t trust the orders was the smartest and most aware of the situation.

One thing about old movies is, that due to the lack of cgi, they take themselves extremely serious when it comes to scenery and costumes. I don’t think I have seen a movie with such a constant quality visuals. A lot of movie was shoot on actual locations in Netherlands, which only adds to the experience and realism.