Wow! Such a good movie.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Couldn't finish re-watching this movie for this review. Time-filler for a Saturday afternoon. Uncomplicated storyline and characters. George Segal probably miscast. Role needs more gravitas, which Gazarra has in spades but he's wasted. Just badly directed. Watch an episode of "Combat" if you want more tension and better depiction of soldiers.

The Bridge at Remagen is directed by John Guillermin and collectively adapted to screenplay by William Roberts, Richard Yates and Roger O. Hirson from the book The Bridge at Remagen: The Amazing Story of March 7, 1945. It stars George Segal, Robert Vaughn, Ben Gazzara, Bradford Dillman and E.G. Marshall. A Panavision/ De Luxe Color production, music is by Elmer Bernstein and cinematography by Stanley Cortez.Film is a fictionalised account of the battle for control of The Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine during the tail end of World War II.A war film that's rich with action and no little intelligence as it views the battle equally from both sides of the warring factions. The bridge is crucial to the war effort to both sides, but for different reasons, here the narrative is a little complex so total investment in the dialogue is strongly recommended. The characterisations are high quality, even if the war is hell weariness of the American soldiers had been done many times before in other notable war movies. Guillermin thrusts the psychologically hurt soldiers into desperate combat situations, from which we the viewers indulge in seeing the survival of the fittest. A sweeping score from Bernstein, gritty looking photography by Cortez, and a cast giving good turns, rounds this out as a thoroughly enjoyable World War II picture. 7/10

What I liked about this film was the exploration about following orders. Both the German and American commanding officers had to do the same. Both subordinate troops rankled at the orders. Both commanding officers were threatened with treason. But both remained true in the end to the real forces that led them. I think that exploration elevates the film. So too does what now we call special effects but in 1968 we see real buildings disappearing. One with a mother and child just barely making it. Too close for me. And some geese who were as brave as any of the combatants in one scene.An ancient film with great real special effects, that overshadow a difficult them.

Competent war movie benefits from its distinguished cast led by George Segal as the tired unit leader given instructions to prevent the Germans from destroying the Remagen bridge, which is vital to the allies advancement. His nemesis Major Paul Kruger (Vaughn) is similarly under pressure from his superiors to repel the allies, but questions the tactics and futility, his unpopular opinions quietly shared by another battle-weary German officer leading them both into harm's way within their own establishment.Robert Vaughn, while miscast as Kruger, doesn't hamper the overall impact. He adopts all the mannerisms and props, but it's his character's conscience and complexities that go beyond the stereotypical Nazi veneer. Key supporting cast includes Gazzara as the rebellious sergeant Angelo (profiting from the war whenever and however he can), Bradford Dillman as the by-the-book major with whom Segal frequently clashes, and Peter Van Eyck as the sympathetic German officer, a clichéd role (the reluctant soldier) but well undertaken."Bridge at Remagen" boasts some top notch action sequences and stunt-work, along with the occasional human touch that elevates it beyond casual war fodder. Gazzara in particular is given reasonable depth with his characterisation, and given Segal's ambivalence, could even be considered the central character. Bystanders Anna Gael and Sonia Zeimann are the token females with little to offer but some much-needed testosterone balance (although their roles are sexualised to varying degrees), while a number of reasonably well known actors comprise the bit parts (Bo Hopkins, Robert Logan, Paul Prokop, Matt Clark and Fritz Ford). The film tapers off in the final thirty minutes, but is somewhat resurrected by the finale to which the victors go the spoils, and the defeated treated as pariahs while the firing squad awaits. Gritty, worth a look.