What have you watched recently? 3D!

Argentina 1985

Follows the prosecutor and his team who must go after the military dictators who have just been ousted from power after 7 years.

Some fairly harrowing witness accounts of the brutality of the regime and an always great performance from Ricardo Darin means this is a great watch.

Could well win the best foreign language Oscar.

Commando – I remember when it came out and not being overly impressed. Still sucks.

Kill count is insane, takes out a whole army single handily, not a scratch. Low budget action scenes reminiscent of the A-Team.

Arnie’s beef with Bennet, a fat Freddie Mercury look alike who’s a big Dandy donned in chain mail. The words they exchange before the fisticuffs ensues, gayest dialogue ever written.

I loved the Irma Vep series - just so widely different to most shows these days and I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. Still thinking about it a few months on which is a real sign of a show that has made it's mark.

'A Bridge Too Far'

A very long, very loud and very good war film from Richard Attenborough, and based on the non-fiction book by Cornelius Ryan, that details the failed allied attempt to seize a number of bridges that spanned the Rhine in a prelude to an invasion of Germany in September 1944. 'A Bridge Too Far' is a star studded epic that we'll probably not see the likes of again and it's attention to detail and commitment to getting it right was, and still is, a commendable and valiant effort. Unfortunately, that ends up being one of the film's general flaws in that the average viewer will have absolutely no idea what's going on or who's who and why it's important. Attenborough's epic almost requires the viewer to have, at least, some knowledge of the real Operation Market Garden, and while people with a interest in such things will delight in the details and scope, most folk will be all at sea. No doubt this was a contributing factor to the film's decidedly unimpressive box office when it was released in 1977, even if most critics were relatively favourable toward it in their assessment. Although we must also take into account that a certain George Lucas put out a little film called 'Star Wars' that destroyed the potential box office of every other movie released at or around the same time.

What can't be denied, however, is the sheer weight of the visuals on offer and all pulled off without a single ounce of computer trickery, matte effects notwithstanding of course. What you see happen on the screen was shot for real and because of that, the whole film feels very authentic. Although part of me feels that the familiar faces of Sean Connery, Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, etc does a lot to take away a portion of that authenticity. And therein lies another problem with the film. While most of the actors turn in decent and serviceable performances, there are a number of questionable casting choices going on. Ryan O'Neal, who somehow managed to carve out a respectable Hollywood career despite having a terribly mediocre level of talent, is curiously odd as General James Gavin, head of the American 82nd Airborne Div. He never ever looks comfortable in his role and always appears to be at some level of struggle with his lines and what's going on. Sean Connery, who plays the British General in charge of the 1st British Ariborne Div. Roy Urquhart is...well...just Sean Connery. And while he was always a consummate professional in whatever movie he was in, it's impossible to see him as anything other than Sean Connery. James Caan's turn as the fictional (but based on a real person) SSgt. Eddie Dohun gives a goofy, sleepy, performance in a short vignette that remarkably had its roots in a real event. Caan, hot off his success as Sonny Corlione a few years before has nothing of the energy he was famous for and ends up being very disappointing. Elliott Gould, another more than capable actor, appears in the shape of one of the most awful Hollywood war movie cliches as another fictional character, Col. Robert Stout. He's a cigar chomping, loud mouthed, Yank farce that is as annoying as he is ludicrous as he roars his way through his scenes shouting for "Bailey crap" to span Rhine after the Son Bridge is blown sky high. But worst of all is a woefully miscast Gene Hackman who presents the absolute nadir of his acting career in the shape of Polish General, Stanisław Sosabowski. Hackman chose, or was directed, to employ a truly awful "foreign" accent that borders on the laughable at times. He's also given the most dreadful lines in the entire film to say, that one can't help but feel sorry for him. This is a bit of a shame because, historically, Sosabowski was an important figure in the whole Market Garden shambles, even if the Polish 1st Parachute Brigade were a relatively junior partner in the operation. It was Sosabowski who one of the figures that pointed out the very serious, and glaring, problems with the Allied plan in the first place, and who was subsequently proven to be correct.

However, if there are a number of sub par performances here and there, there are also some great ones. The stand out being Anthony Hopkins as Lieutenant-Colonel John Frost, commander of the British 1st Parachute Brig. in Arnheim. Hopkins worked closely with the real John Frost to give a no nonsense portrayal of the real man, who was on set to steer the actor correctly. Dirk Bogarde also deserves mention for his effort as Lieutenant-General Frederick Browning, even if there was some controversy about it at the time. Michael Caine plays Michael Caine, but he's supposed to be Joe Vandeleur, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Irish Guards although he puts in a typical Michael Caine shift which is pleasing enough. And all the best lines go to Edward Fox, who gives an excellent performance as the lively Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks, Commanding Officer of XXX Corps. A man that could inspire anyone go to war with him.

It's a bit of a pity, therefore, that the German counterparts to the Allied men are somewhat portrayed as typically stiff German stereotypes. Although it's a nice touch on behalf of Attenborough to have hired German actors to fill in the prominent roles of the men of the 9th and 10th Waffen SS Divisions. However, Maximilian Schell plays Wilhelm Bittrich as a kind of Prussian aristocrat, when the real man was anything but, and in reality the men of the Waffen SS tended to despise that particular class. He's also far too young looking as well, even though he was only 4 years younger than the real man at the time of shooting. Hardy Kruger plays a composite character, General Major Karl Ludwig of the 10th Waffen SS Div. fighting around Nijmegen, a man constantly at odds with his superiors about how to handle the battle. One of those superiors is Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model who is, frankly, given a ridiculous portrayal by Walter Kohut and is absolutely nothing like the actual man. Model is played kind of for laughs here which is a bit unfortunate as it's neither that funny or accurate. And Wolfgang Preiss appears briefly to give a suitably entertaining performance as Generalfeldmarschall Gerd Von Rundstedt.

But while the film's flaws are present, they cannot take away the stunning achievement that Attenborough manages at getting some of the most incredible and realistic military sequences on the screen. The centre piece being the beginning of the operation where a large number of C-47's take off loaded with paratroops and carrying Horsa gliders. It must have been a nightmare to shoot, but the result is fantastic. There was also an admirable effort to get as many Sherman tanks as possible to pose as XXX Corps' amour, lending the ground scenes an appropriate level of photo realism. Unfortunately though, elsewhere that level of realism could not be attained for other equipment. While there is, indeed, a Mk IX Spitfire used as a reconnaissance aircraft, it's perplexing that the producers chose to use T-6 Texans as other Allied fighters. It's understandable that T-6's be used as a stand in for P-47's which were unavailable, but Spitfire's would have been a better choice. Naturally, the German equipment tends to suffer the most from a lack of availability, with modern day Leopards having to pretend to be period Tigers.

But most of the above criticisms can be written off as nitpicks at the end of the day because, over all, 'A Bridge Too Far' remains one of the greatest war epics ever made and it stands over many others that preceded it. These days it's rightly held up as an admirable effort to get onto the screen an accurate account of a World War II battle, even if at the time of its release it was met with much less enthusiasm.

8/10

I've only watched about 5 seconds of Basic Instinct. I have actually watched that 5 seconds multiple times - normal speed, slo-mo, zoom in etc.

Very intriguing movie. 🤐 👌