Not recognised as one of Goldman's classics even though in Adventures in the Screen Trade he spoke highly of the experience and the resulting film - he seemed to have only good things to say about Butch Cassidy and Bridge - I think later Princess Bride and Hearts of Atlantis were added to this.
It's done in that lively Goldman style very easy to follow and read, with little asides (eg "he's four days away from becoming a legend") and some bright dialogue. He was hamstrung by the fact many of the principals were still alive. Montgomery died in 1976 - I presume that's why he's not in the film at all, only mentioned. Lord Browning - who died in 1965 - has to take on some of the mistakes (eg ignoring intelligence reports that Germans were in the area), which for me was the main flaw of the film. It felt unfair.
I did struggle to tell the characters apart on the page - this was less of an issue on screen because the main roles were played by stars. There are some lively cameos - the sergeant who drives his "dead" captain to a hospital; the Americans going across the river to take the bridge; Major Frost and Urquhart's adventures behind enemy lines.
Some characters threaten to become interesting but don't, like that bridge-building captain (I think Elliot Gould played him) and the Irish guards officer Vandeleur (Michael Caine). Others are annoying like the Polish general, Sosabowski who whinges all the time.
Structurally although the film takes place over several days it feels like one afternoon - I know films sometimes struggle with that and wasn't sure how to fix it, it's just the reaction I got. Also it didn't feel as though it built - towards the end when the Poles started their attack, I was getting impatient.
Still some very effective moments - the siege, the build up, the death of the old lady and the little boy. And it gets points for being a British-American film about a big defeat. There aren't that many apart from Tora Tora Tora.
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