Battle of the Bulge poster & wallpaper

Barbara Werle, Charles Bronson, Dana Andrews

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 ar...( read more  read more... )e 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 Battle of the Bulge 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 Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, this one looks antique. --Robert Horton

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69% liked it

7,429 ratings

Unrated, 170 min.

Directed by: Ken Annakin

Release Date: December 16, 1965

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DVD Release Date: May 3, 2005

Stats: 244 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (244)

  • PvtCaboose91
    April 22, 2008
    PvtCaboose91
    "Our column has made the farthest advance! We have outrun the other Panzers! The eyes of Germany are on us! The Fuhrer himself will decorate me. We have done it Conrad! We have done it!"

    I will never understand why this war film was so heavily pasted by critics and audi...( read more)ences. Battle of the Bulge is a true classic, and stands among some of the finest war movies ever made. Granted it's no-where near perfect, but well made and with good production values.

    The film chronicles the battle that took place in December 1944 between the Germans and the Americans. One of the main focuses of the story is the Germans recruiting English-speaking German soldiers to disguise themselves as Americans and parachute behind enemy lines to sabotage the defence.

    Like most classic war films, the film also shifts its focus to a host of different characters on both sides of the offensive. I found the production most impressive, as all the uniforms look great, each tank looks accurate and every detail is crafted brilliantly.

    There are very good performances all round, including Robert Shaw as a strict German officer, and Henry Fonda as an American who predicts the assault. The battles look most impressive, especially the epic scale (like the number of extras, and the realistic props) but when compared to today's war movies it seems pretty tame in terms of gore.

    It all seems very antique, but still stands as a fine movie even by today's standards. The director of The Longest Day, Ken Annakin, does a damn fine job of bringing the film to life. However it wasn't without flaws.

    First off, the script felt rather banal at times. I am amazed that all the Germans speak fluent English when planning their attacks and while present in a war room.

    Also, the film runs far too long. The dialogue is interesting, but it's not much of a history lesson.

    Nonetheless, Battle of the Bulge is a good war film. It's enjoyable and entertaining, but very dated at the same time.
  • doboy1
    December 26, 2007
    doboy1
    All-star cast in this recreation of one of ww2's most famous battles.
  • garyX
    April 4, 2007
    garyX
    A WWII story that is interesting more for it's characters rather than the visual spectacle of the battle itself. Several sub-plots are interlinked involving Nazi spies posing as allied soldiers, a race against time to prevent the germans reaching a fuel depot, a self centred oper...( read more)ator's redemption and philosophical musings about the nature of war and the individuals who fight it. The many stories don't quite hang together as a whole, but Robert Shaw steals the movie as the cold-hearted professional soldier who commands the german tank column.
  • sportboy
    July 25, 2009
    sportboy
    This wasn't to bad for a world war 2 movie but the problem this movie had was there wasn't enough of a story so thats why I'm giving this movie 2 stars.

    The begining of this movie didn't tell us enough of what actually happened during world war 2 nor did it give enough informa...( read more)tion to show that world war two actually did exist so basically there wasn't enough information to show the actual truth of world war 2.

    They also could of showed more of how the world war 2 finished what happened how did it stop because in this film there wasn't enough information to show that.

    The acting was good by Henry Fonda but there were a few weak acting parts in this film Charles Bronson didn't do too bad either.

    So the part what suffered the most in this film was the story it had some rediculous twists and did suffer in the begining because it wasn't too enjoyable and it didn't give enough information or their didn't give accuate evidence to show what actually happened during the world war 2 was truthful and the ending of this movie suffered by not showing how the world war 2 ended and so on.

    So basically they could of had more of an interesting story,a faster story,better begining,ending,better acting and better directing.

    Overall this movie was bad it was interesting in parts but it wasn't good enough so if you can avoid it please do so I will not be reccomending this movie to you.
  • jonnycrumley
    February 7, 2009
    jonnycrumley
    Beautifully shot war movie with an all-star cast and great battle scenes. I thought Henry Fonda was miscast in his role, as he wasn't very believable. However the rest of the cast were great, super tough guys Charles Bronson, Telly Savalas and Robert Ryan fitted the bill perfectl...( read more)y, and Robert Shaw is excellent as the German Commander.
  • Yelverton
    November 11, 2009
    Yelverton
    Good movie about the final battle in WWII Europe.
  • aminorml
    July 17, 2009
    aminorml
    I saw this movie with my father, who fought in the Battle of the Bulge. It is fair representation of the battle, although fictionalized.
    There are a lot of tank scenes and they even include the famous "Nuts" reply to surrender to the Germans, by Gen.McAuliffe.
  • riyals
    May 4, 2009
    riyals
    Classic and great film with great cast.
  • 01MovieMan
    November 22, 2008
    01MovieMan
    This is a great movie
  • d70ko46santa
    September 13, 2008
    d70ko46santa
    The might of King Tiger tank

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Battle of the Bulge Trivia

  • Which World War II film depicted the titular battle in the wrong time of year?  Answer »
  • In the 1965 film, Battle of the Bulge, the Germans were running short of what?  Answer »
  • In which movie did Deacon, a World War 2 soldier, take part in the Battle of the Bulge and try to save Menai, Belgium?  Answer »
  • In the 1965 movie "Battle of the Bulge" who play with Henry Fonda as lead actor.  Answer »
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