Overrated

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

This is a complete and BS movie that has been Hollywood-ized to death. Ike, Bradley, and everyone else of note who was involved totally rejected this movie - using such terms as "disgusting" and worse. The bozos who made this film couldn't even figure out that a key issue was the extremely harsh blizzard conditions. Viewers should not view this film as history. It is a show-biz alternate reality version made by lazy, money-grubbing Hollywood morons.

A few years before this was released, there was "The Longest Day" - a movie version of the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944. That was a very good movie with a star-studded cast. I'm guessing that "Battle of the Bulge" was an attempt to unofficially follow up on that movie. It's not as star-studded (although there's a bit of cross over in the cast, most notably Henry Fonda.) Truthfully, though, this movie is nowhere near as good as "The Longest Day."It's supposed to be an account of The Battle of The Bulge, which took place in December of 1944. It was the last significant German offensive of the war, intended to break through the Allied lines and re- capture the port city of Antwerp, Belgium - thus throwing Allied supply lines into chaos. The movie gets some things right. The Germans did, indeed, get troops disguised as American MPs behind the American lines, and they were able to cause confusion and chaos. The Germans were also woefully short of fuel, and had targeted an American supply depot which would have given them access to a huge amount of gasoline for their tanks. The famous demand for the surrender of Bastogne, and the reply of the commanding American general to that demand - "NUTS!" - is accurate. But there are also a lot of problems with the historical accuracy of the film. First is that all of the characters are just that - characters. Composites, perhaps, but there's no portrayal of anyone who actually fought in the battle. There's also no mention at all of General George Patton's 3rd Army dramatically saving the besieged Americans at Bastogne. That's one of the better known incidents of the Battle of the Bulge, and why you wouldn't even mention it is beyond me. Many, of course, note the problem that the tanks used in the movie were of a much later vintage, and were't an accurate representation of the tanks that would have been used.At best, I'd say that this movie was OK. Terrible if you're thinking that you're learning much history from it, but OK as a movie that's somewhat dramatic, and I thought it was a reasonable portrayal of the ugliness of war - the Malmedy massacre (the cold blooded murders of Americans who had been taken prisoner by German SS troops) was portrayed, for example. I'd definitely say that if I were going to watch either again, I'd take in "The Longest Day." It's the better movie. This one gets a 5/10 from me.

Though often and rightly criticized for historical inaccuracy, the plot of this war epic is nevertheless coherent and engaging without succumbing to simplicity. The landscapes, from snowy forests to desert dunes, are beautifully-filmed. The sets—especially the town of Ambleve, which I was surprised to learn was constructed—are convincing. The characters, whether German or American, officer or enlisted man, all pop without straying too often or too completely into war movie archetypes. Telly Savalas and Robert Shaw are particularly effective at conveying a range of motivations and emotions. At its release this was perhaps the best WWII movie since "The Longest Day" (1962), also directed by Ken Annakin.

Warner Bros released this fine World War II Movie which I enjoyed a lot.The Cast is very fine indeed with stalwart film work from a cast of professionals such as Robert Ryan, Dana Andrews and Ty Hardin among many other fine actors. The real fine acting is done by one of the finest actors ever in my estimation ever go grace the great silver screen Mr. Henry Fonda.Congratulations to all for their work on this fine fine film and I recommend this movie to film buffs of the Military and the great men who fought for the ideals of America in The Battle Of The Bulge.Roger Mantee