Battle of the Bulge [HD DVD]

Buy This Item Battle of the Bulge [HD DVD] by Warner Home Video  Available from Amazon  $15.99  on 8-27-2008     The German offensive in December 1944 became the basis for this all-star Hollywood take on the Battle of the Bulge. Henry Fonda is an officer who predicts the assault, Robert Ryan and Dana Andrews are Army brass skeptical of his intuitions, and Robert Shaw (his hair dyed yellow and his eyes glinting with malice) is a German officer leading the tank attack. Shaw is certainly the most compelling thing about the film, especially in his philosophical debates with ambivalent underling Hans Christian Blech. Elsewhere, the movie jumps around to sidebar stories (cowardly James MacArthur becomes a leader, wheeler-dealer Telly Savalas falls in love) while messing around with the historical facts of the battle. There are interesting episodes, such as the Malmedy massacre of American POWs and the Germans' use of English-speaking spies, but overall <I>Battle of the Bulge</I> has the feeling of having been patched together from different scripts. On the physical level the movie comes up short, with the Spanish locations rarely suggesting the wintry misery of the battle, and the use of models and studio sets highly inadequate. A number of war films from this era are compelling on their own terms, but in the wake of <I>Saving Private Ryan</I> and <I>Band of Brothers</I>, this one looks antique. <I>--Robert Horton</I> Reader Reviews Very entertaining war movie with a big-name cast that can be enjoyed by all, especially when viewed in Blu-ray format on a 50-inch screen where the 2.76:1 widescreen format is sized to 17" x 44". Excellent BD picture quality and the tank battle scenes look very good in widescreen. The BD has some extras including a brief interview with Robert Shaw and some interesting shots of his wife and kids on the set. This movie was completed after an 8-month shoot. Former German general Von Lashert (something like that), an actual participant in the battle, was a major advisor on the film and helped to ensure the authenticity of uniforms and equipment. I've seen some reviews here that criticize the authenticity of the tanks but, if true, it certainly does not detract from the movie; after all much in the way of spare parts and left-over equipment was needed to assemble the tanks.

Battle of the Bulge [HD DVD] Available from Amazon Price: $15.99 Updated on 8-27-2008.

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