A Bridge Too Far

A Bridge Too Far is a 1977 epic war film directed by Richard Attenborough. Depicting Operation Market Garden, a failed Allied operation in Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, and based on a book of the same name by historian Cornelius Ryan, the film was directed by Richard Attenborough and with a screenplay by William Goldman. It stars an ensemble cast, featuring Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Elliott Gould, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Hardy Krüger, Laurence Olivier, Ryan O'Neal, Robert Redford, Maximilian Schell and Liv Ullmann. Independently produced by Richard and Joseph E. Levine, it was the second film based on a book by Ryan to be adapted for the screen (after The Longest Day) (1962). It was the second film based on the events of World War II's failed Operation Market Garden, following Theirs Is the Glory (1946). A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, the film was shot on location in the Netherlands, in many of the real locations where the historical events took place. Though it received a tepid critical response, A Bridge Too Far received several awards. At the 31st BAFTA Awards it won four out of eight nominated categories, including Best Supporting Actor for Edward Fox and Best Score for John Addison—who himself had served in the British XXX Corps during Market Garden. Attenborough was nominated for Best Direction, and the film was nominated for Best Motion Picture.