The Bridge at Remagen

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Guillermin directs. Stanley Cortez behind the camera. Elmer Bernstein scores. William T. Cartwright cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in German, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 157 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
• 2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: German, English.
• 3Directed by John Guillermin, shot by Stanley Cortez. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by Elmer Bernstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor William T. Cartwright shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6George Segal and Robert Vaughn and Ben Gazzara carry the top of the cast.
• 7Marketing tagline: "Thus ended the last great German stand in the West.".
• 8IMDB entry: tt0064110 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography

Stanley Cortez

Original score

Elmer Bernstein

Editing

William T. Cartwright

Production design

Alfred Sweeney

Makeup / hair

Miloslav Jandera

Stunt coordinator

Hal Needham

Runtime

117 min · 1h 57m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

The Bridge at Remagen (1969) ↗

Also by

John Guillermin

• 
  Smart Alec

  1951 · ★ 9.0
• 
  Miss Robin Hood

  1952 · ★ 8.1
• 
  Song of Paris

  1952 · ★ 7.8
• 
  Death on the Nile

  1978 · ★ 7.2
• 
  Rapture

  1965 · ★ 7.1
• 
  The Towering Inferno

  1974 · ★ 7.0

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  A Chance To Make History

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Ambushed On The Road

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Attack Plan

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• John Chard2014-03-09
  ★ 7/10

  The Amazing Story of March 7, 1945. The Bridge at Remagen is directed by John Guillermin and collectively adapted to screenplay by William Roberts, Richard Yates and Roger O. Hirson from the book The Bridge at Remagen: The Amazing Story of March 7, 1945. It stars George Segal, Robert Vaughn, Ben Gazzara, Bradford Dillman and E.G. Marshall. A Panavision/ De Luxe Color production, music is by Elmer Bernstein and cinematography by Stanley Cortez. Film is a fictionalised account of the battle for control of The Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine during the tail end of World War II. A war film that’s rich with action and no little intelligence as it views the battle equally from both sides of the warring factions. The bridge is crucial to the war effort to both sides, but for different reasons, here the narrative is a little complex so total investment in the dialogue is strongly recommended. The characterisations are high quality, even if the war is hell weariness of the American soldiers had been done many times before in other notable war movies. Guillermin thrusts the psychologically hurt soldiers into desperate combat situations, from which we the viewers indulge in seeing the survival of the fittest. A sweeping score from Bernstein, gritty looking photography by Cortez, and a cast giving good turns, rounds this out as a thoroughly enjoyable World War II picture. 7/10

  Read full review ↓
• Wuchak2020-09-05
  ★ 7/10

  Sorta obscure WW2 flick from the late 60s with George Segal and Robert Vaughn As the Allies are about to invade Germany in March, 1945, the Germans decide to blow up the last bridge on the Rhine in the area of Oberkassel, but a dissenting general (Peter van Eyck) convinces a major (Robert Vaughn) to keep it up as long as possible so troops can escape Germany. On the American side George Segal plays a lieutenant, Ben Gazzara a sergeant and Bradford Dillman their commander. "The Bridge at Remagen" (1969) is a WW2 film loosely based on real-life events similar to the later “A Bridge Too Far” (1977), but with a lesser cast, albeit more streamlined and colorful, like the contemporaneous “Castle Keep,” but less artsy and more straightforward. It may not be great like “Where Eagles Dare” (1968) or near-great like “Kelly’s Heroes” (1970), but it’s solid and fills the bill if you’re in the mood for WW2 movie from the European theater. The film runs 1 hour, 55 minutes, and was shot in Davle & Most, Czech Republic (the river is the Vltava). Filming was interrupted by the Soviet invasion of August, 1968, wherein Cast & crew were taken to safety via a convoy of 28 taxis. The film was completed in Hamburg, Germany, and various Italian locations. The film unit was amusingly accused by the Soviets & East German press of smuggling weapons into the country, supposedly being a cover-up for the CIA. GRADE: B

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• WO

  Wolper Pictures

  US

Key crew

• ProducerDavid L. Wolper
• EditorWilliam T. Cartwright
• EditorHarry V. Knapp
• EditorMarshall Neilan Jr.
• CastingLynn Stalmaster
• Production DesignAlfred Sweeney
• Stunt CoordinatorHal Needham
• StuntsGary McLarty
• StuntsFritz Ford
• MusicianSam Freed Jr.
• Associate ProducerJulian Ludwig
• Associate ProducerTheodore Strauss
• Casting DirectorLynn Stalmaster
• Art DirectionBohuslav Kulič
• Makeup ArtistMiloslav Jandera
• Production ManagerHorst Meyer
• Production ManagerOttavio Oppo
• Production ManagerJiří Pokorný
• Assistant DirectorRidgeway Callow
• Second Unit DirectorWilliam Kronick
• Property MasterDonald B. Nunley
• Construction CoordinatorHendrik Wynands
• Sound MixerHans Ebel
• Sound MixerAl Overton Sr.

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• world war ii
• bridge
• soldier
• explosion
• thoughtful
• dramatic
• commanding

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1969-06-26R

Also known as

International titles

• Most na ReniePL
• Most w RemagenPL
• 浴血雄师CN