I’m a great fan of war movies and really enjoy discovering new WWII movies I haven’t seen. This is one of the best to come out of the sixties and was just recently released on DVD.

It is March, 1945. The Germans are in retreat. The West Wall has fallen. Columns are streaming towards the last great natural barrier of the Fatherland – the Rhine River. German detachments are busily blowing the Rhine bridges as fast as they can to forestall the allied forces that are nipping at their heels.

One by one the bridges come down, blown up by the Germans or blown down by the Army Air Corps. There is one remaining bridge, located at Remagen. German High Command orders Major Krueger (Robert Vaughn) to take command of the bridge and blow it. What about the 75,000 German soldiers that are West of the Rhine and heading for the bridge? “Blow the bridge,” he is told publicly, and “Hold it until the troops get over,” he is entreated privately by his immediate commander General von Brock (Peter van Eyck), who is a personal friend of his from before the war.

On the other side, Lieutenant Hartman’s (George Segal) battered company of American light infantry has been racing up the Rhine trying to capture a means of crossing. General Shinner (E. G. Marshall) orders Major Barnes’ battalion to race up to the river and blow the bridge thus trapping the fleeing Germans on the wrong side of the Rhine. Lt. Hartman’s company is the spearhead of the battalion… This is just what Hartman’s exhausted men want to hear, but despite their grumbling they saddle up and head for the objective anyway.

Meanwhile on his way to the bridge Krueger (Vaughn) gets stopped at a roadblock where he sees a fellow German officer executed by the SS for retreating… This disturbs him because he is a professional soldier and hardly a Nazi. Nonetheless, he gamely presses on with his task. When he arrives at the bridge he finds his command is about 10% of the authorized strength and composed of elderly and infirm “Home Guard” soldiers. He sets them to mining the bridge and fortifying the defensive positions for the battle that is sure to come.

Hartman’s company has reached the first objective, a rural village called Stadt Meckenheim. Roaring in, they dislodge a farmhouse full of German soldiers. After the smoke clears, Hartman’s second in command Sgt. Angelo (Ben Gazzara) is seen rifling through the pockets of the dead Germans, collecting souvenirs. “You’re a pig,” Lt. Hartman tells Angelo…

Just then, Major Barnes (Bradford Dillman) rolls up and tells them to push on to Remagen since there is no longer any resistance here.

When Krueger arrives at Remagen he discovers the city is ready to hang bed sheets out the windows in order to surrender to the allies. They quickly reverse themselves when they see the Major coming. General von Brock has assured Krueger he will have the support of two battalions of tanks…

The light infantry company arrives and begins fighting their way through Remagen. The Germans open up with their 88 mm guns and the Air Corps makes an air strike on the bridge. The battle has begun! When the smoke has cleared, the Americans are on the approach to the bridge and it is still miraculously standing. The Germans are feverishly working to complete their mining of the bridge so they can blow it. Major Barnes brings new orders. Hartman’s company is now to capture the bridge so the US Army can invade the Fatherland! Just how the rest of this story plays out I will leave to your viewing pleasure.

Based on a true story, The Bridge at Remagen was filmed in Czechoslovakia which had terrain and buildings that closely resembled the real area. For you trivia buffs, during filming the Russian 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia took place and the film company had to escape before being captured by the Soviets. The filming was completed in Castel Gondolfo, Italy where the crew constructed replica of the bridge.

Director John Guillermin did a very effective job of putting the story on film, aided by an all-star cast, including George Segal, Ben Gazzara, E. G. Marshall, and Robert Vaughn. Each performed their roles flawlessly, as did Bradford Dillman, the textbook example of a “chicken” officer and Peter van Eyck, the German 15th Army commander. Music score was written by the old master Elmer Bernstein who has written many a worthy score including The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape.

The MGM DVD is produced in 2.35: 1 Widescreen and is very well preserved with accurate colors and good mono sound. As usual, there are few features on the disk except for the original trailer and French and Spanish subtitles. There is a nicely done four-page booklet that describes some of the challenges overcame making this fine film.

The Bridge at Remagen belongs on the top shelf of all WWII video fans. If you liked Band of Brothers or The Great Escape, you need this film! Four stars.




Recommended:
Yes

Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening