Battle of the Bulge (1965)
Country: US
Technical: col/scope 167m
Director: Ken Annakin
Cast: Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, Hans Christian Blech, Dana Andrews, Charles Bronson, Pier Angeli, James MacArthur
Synopsis:
In December 1944 the Germans mount an armoured offensive through the Ardennes but are confounded thanks to the persistence of an intelligence officer.
Review:
Fictionalized true story seen from both sides and complete with Sixties gimmicks, in this case a German fifth column dressed as MPs. By and large an intelligent representation of the tactics underlying the battle with one or two unnecessary digressions for anti-war sentiment and a few dubious model shots. Reliable acting from such as Fonda and Ryan, but it is Shaw who shines as a monomaniacal Tiger tank commander. The action is of necessity limited to the critical first days of the battle, which in fact went on into January, but it is the human cameos, rather than the action sequences, that stick in the mind, however fanciful: Blech telling Shaw a few home truths, Fonda squaring up to Andrews. Which is just as well since the production, though handsome enough in terms of vehicles and equipment, is compromised by the inadequacy of Spanish locations standing in for Belgium.
Country: US
Technical: col/scope 167m
Director: Ken Annakin
Cast: Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, Hans Christian Blech, Dana Andrews, Charles Bronson, Pier Angeli, James MacArthur
Synopsis:
In December 1944 the Germans mount an armoured offensive through the Ardennes but are confounded thanks to the persistence of an intelligence officer.
Review:
Fictionalized true story seen from both sides and complete with Sixties gimmicks, in this case a German fifth column dressed as MPs. By and large an intelligent representation of the tactics underlying the battle with one or two unnecessary digressions for anti-war sentiment and a few dubious model shots. Reliable acting from such as Fonda and Ryan, but it is Shaw who shines as a monomaniacal Tiger tank commander. The action is of necessity limited to the critical first days of the battle, which in fact went on into January, but it is the human cameos, rather than the action sequences, that stick in the mind, however fanciful: Blech telling Shaw a few home truths, Fonda squaring up to Andrews. Which is just as well since the production, though handsome enough in terms of vehicles and equipment, is compromised by the inadequacy of Spanish locations standing in for Belgium.
Country: US
Technical: col/scope 167m
Director: Ken Annakin
Cast: Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, Hans Christian Blech, Dana Andrews, Charles Bronson, Pier Angeli, James MacArthur
Synopsis:
In December 1944 the Germans mount an armoured offensive through the Ardennes but are confounded thanks to the persistence of an intelligence officer.
Review:
Fictionalized true story seen from both sides and complete with Sixties gimmicks, in this case a German fifth column dressed as MPs. By and large an intelligent representation of the tactics underlying the battle with one or two unnecessary digressions for anti-war sentiment and a few dubious model shots. Reliable acting from such as Fonda and Ryan, but it is Shaw who shines as a monomaniacal Tiger tank commander. The action is of necessity limited to the critical first days of the battle, which in fact went on into January, but it is the human cameos, rather than the action sequences, that stick in the mind, however fanciful: Blech telling Shaw a few home truths, Fonda squaring up to Andrews. Which is just as well since the production, though handsome enough in terms of vehicles and equipment, is compromised by the inadequacy of Spanish locations standing in for Belgium.