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Fictional recreation of the WWII Battle of Arnhem featuring performances from soldiers who fought in the actual battle. The ensuing fighting was frantic and chaotic and gave rise to the popular movie 'A Bridge Too Far'.
THEIRS IS THE GLORY is the filmed record of the ill-fated battle of Arnhem in September of 1944, when the Allied forces combined to force a total German retreat from Holland.
Product Identifiers
Producer
Castleton Knight
EAN
5060105721885
eBay Product ID (ePID)
21048562642
Product Key Features
Film/TV Title
Theirs Is the Glory
Director
Brian Desmond Hurst
Format
DVD
Language
English
Release Year
2014
Features
Remastered Version-70th Anniversary
Genre
Documentaries, Military, Documentaries & Biographies, World War
Run Time
79 Mins
Additional Product Features
Certificate
PG
Number of Discs
1
Country/Region of Manufacture
United Kingdom
Consumer Advice
Contains moderate war violence
Additional Information
THEIRS IS THE GLORY earned some of the highest critical praise ever afforded a British wartime docudrama. This is the filmed record of the ill-fated battle of Arnhem in September of 1944, when the Allied forces combined to force a total German retreat from Holland. The 'bridge too far' at Arnhem proved to be the Waterloo of this particular strategy, due to a series of unforseen mishaps and miscalculations. Of the 10,000 troops engaged in the offensive, 8,000 lost their lives.
"These are REAL men. The only way to get them out of those buildings is feet first..."
[German corporal and Stalingrad veteran reporting back to his Officer Commanding]
There are several points to make about this docudrama film. Firstly, it's a documentary drama. Most action films take liberties with real events for dramatic effect. This film doesn't. It's purpose is to honour the men of the 1st Airborne Division who fought - and died - there. It doesn't need to exaggerate, given the legendary stand at Arnhem. The people involved would have considered it bad form and insulting to their dead comrades.
Where the epic "A Bridge Too Far" covers Operation Market-Garden as a whole, this film covers only the two battles of the British 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem bridge and in Oosterbeek. The timeline is more correct and easier to follow.
Fans of "A Bridge Too Far" will see scenes that shall be very familiar. The scene of the Airborne soldier running out to recover a CLE supplies container is more realistic in this film: these things were incredibly heavy. Sadly, both films miss many of the events during the battle. Only a miniseries might manage that.
I last saw this film when I was a teenager before I knew any Arnhem veterans. I (wrongly) remembered it for having Mr Cholmondley-Warner-esque acting but rewatching it, it's nowhere near so bad. It's actually really good! I actually prefer it to "A Bridge Too Far".
Some of the actors may seem wooden at times: the "actors" are in fact many of the people who took part in the battle. They're not Oscar nominees but they bring the authenticity of experienced and skilled war veterans who'd been there and done it. Most notable are Majors Gough and Lonsdale, who each played a significant part of the battle; war correspondents Stanley Maxted and Alan Wood who reported the battle around them, and; Dutch civilians Father Dyker and Kate ter Horst who tended to the wounded. The mind boggles at what went through the minds of the veterans of the battle as they revisited the still wrecked town a year after and re-enacted their experiences.
It's good to see the real people involved - particularly the Dutch to whom so much is owed - if only to privately honour them.
The film is interwoven with footage shot during the battle. The war cameramen were Sergeants Mike Lewis, Dennis Smith and Gordon Walker. Although all men were parachutists, it was Sgt Lewis who jumped, filming during his descent - as a former Paratrooper AND studio photographer who's done this with a more modern and smaller 35mm stills camera, I can tell you that this is no mean feat!
They jumped from 450-500 feet as opposed to the 650+ feet of peacetime. Because Sgt Lewis used a wide angle lens, it looks MUCH higher. He got a great deal of high quality footage for the mere seconds that he was in the air. His footage is another scene recreated in "A Bridge Too Far" - but impossible to surpass.
One of the realistic details in this film is that you don't see the enemy soldiers in close detail, except at the field hospital - much like in real war. Flame throwers widely used, too, along with tanks the biggest problems for the Airborne soldiers at Arnhem. In this battle, German and British soldiers were often occupying the same buildings, attacking and counterattacking for occupancy of each room.
For fans of "A Bridge Too Far", it's DEFINITELY well worth watching if only to see the scenes that inspired the scenes in the 1977 film.
INCIDENTALLY:
In his broadcast, Stanley Maxted introduces himself as "Maxted, Stanley Maxted". Considering that this film was partially scripted by the man who later became director of the earlier James Bond films, I can't help feeling that Maxted's 1944 battlefield broadcast inspired a staple idiosyncracy of the James Bond franchise.
The composer of the film "A Bridge Too Far", John Addison, was a member of 30 Corps during Operation Market-Garden. In my opinion, his music for "A Bridge Too Far" is genuine brilliance. That said, you might notice occasional "bits" from this film that seem to be echoed in "A Bridge Too Far". I've long felt that some of the more tragic parts of the "A Bridge Too Far" music are reminiscent of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake", especially 35 seconds and again at 1:31 minutes into the "Swan Theme".
THE DVD:
The only options/features of the DVD are "Play Feature" and "Scene Selection". So long after the battle, isn't it a pity that there's no-one available to make a director's commentary feature?!
Sadly, the colour depiction of a Paratrooper on the DVD cover has MANY faults - but I'm REALLY nit-picking. Modern parachutes behind, postwar Smock, totally wrong badge in place of where a modern DZ flash would be, wrong rifle, futuristic grenade...Read full review
Not Simply a Great Film But an Important Piece of History.
Truly amazing film made just after WW2 involving many troops and civilians who were actually there. Don't expect a Hollywood epic but prepare to be surprised by how very well it all works. Historically accurate and involving and the clarity of the "remaster" is excellent. Not simply a great film but an important piece of history.
Superb classic 1945 re-enactment of the Second World War battle of Arnhem by British Airborne Forces. Saw it some years ago on TV so nice for it to be now always available to watch.
The film also uses archive footage of the battle to tell the story on top of the new scenes shot using veterans who actually took part in the battle, just one year previously.
The template for the much later film "A Bridge Too Far".
If you have an interest in world war 2 and operation market garden in particular then you need this film. It’s basically A Bridge too Far made with combat footage and with the men who were actually there. It works wonderfully well. Highly recommended!
