This documentary is as much a tribute to the surviving Bitish, Canadians, and Americans as it is a typical documentary, the sort that follows units and armies around on a map. It's good that it was made. These participants won't be with us much longer. One of them is ninety-three.
Three subjects are covered: (1) The taking of the Belgian port of Antwerp, which shortened Allied supply lines considerably; (2) The clearing of the islands in the Scheld Estuary by the Canadians and Royal Marines. These half dozen or so low-lying muddy islands guarded the sea approaches to the port of Antwerp. Until the German bunkers were cleared, the port was useless.
(3) The famous (or infamous) Operation Market Garden, the quick Allied dash across Holland into the industrial heartland of the Ruhr, designed to bring the war to a more rapid end.
We don't hear much about these operations. Antwerp was bombed by V-2 rockets, the only time these monsters were put to tactical use. Otherwise, until the Scheld was open, it was just another liberated city.
Taking the islands off shore was not very glamorous -- slogging through the muddy plains on food or grinding over them with amphibious vehicles. There was no scenic background, no monumental battles. The bunkers were taken one by one, as the Germans ran out of ammunition and surrendered.
And Operation Market Garden, subject of Richard Attenborough's feature film, was a brave but costly effort due to the higher echelon's shrugging off reports of a Panzer division being located in the area, poor planning, and plain bad luck -- the Germans found a wrecked glider with a briefcase inside, detailing all the plans of the attack. And the hand-held radios didn't work well in that terrain.
The program doesn't mention all of the blunders -- sending Polish paratroopers into the inferno when it was already clear that the battle was lost -- but instead concentrates on the undeniable tenacity of the British airborne troops trying to hold their position against overwhelming odds.
The footage is mostly of combat and still photos, with plenty of time given to personal anecdotes by the survivors. (None are German.) The director seems to have taken particular delight in putting the signs of aging on prominent display -- the wrinkles, the discolored fingers, the blotchy skin and rheumy eyes. I thought it was tasteless.
And a new feature is introduced. If a talking head mentions artillery, we see beautiful real explosions in high definition and ultra-slow motion. We can follow every pebble. Used prudently, devices like this can help but I do hope it doesn't become a fad.
Three subjects are covered: (1) The taking of the Belgian port of Antwerp, which shortened Allied supply lines considerably; (2) The clearing of the islands in the Scheld Estuary by the Canadians and Royal Marines. These half dozen or so low-lying muddy islands guarded the sea approaches to the port of Antwerp. Until the German bunkers were cleared, the port was useless.
(3) The famous (or infamous) Operation Market Garden, the quick Allied dash across Holland into the industrial heartland of the Ruhr, designed to bring the war to a more rapid end.
We don't hear much about these operations. Antwerp was bombed by V-2 rockets, the only time these monsters were put to tactical use. Otherwise, until the Scheld was open, it was just another liberated city.
Taking the islands off shore was not very glamorous -- slogging through the muddy plains on food or grinding over them with amphibious vehicles. There was no scenic background, no monumental battles. The bunkers were taken one by one, as the Germans ran out of ammunition and surrendered.
And Operation Market Garden, subject of Richard Attenborough's feature film, was a brave but costly effort due to the higher echelon's shrugging off reports of a Panzer division being located in the area, poor planning, and plain bad luck -- the Germans found a wrecked glider with a briefcase inside, detailing all the plans of the attack. And the hand-held radios didn't work well in that terrain.
The program doesn't mention all of the blunders -- sending Polish paratroopers into the inferno when it was already clear that the battle was lost -- but instead concentrates on the undeniable tenacity of the British airborne troops trying to hold their position against overwhelming odds.
The footage is mostly of combat and still photos, with plenty of time given to personal anecdotes by the survivors. (None are German.) The director seems to have taken particular delight in putting the signs of aging on prominent display -- the wrinkles, the discolored fingers, the blotchy skin and rheumy eyes. I thought it was tasteless.
And a new feature is introduced. If a talking head mentions artillery, we see beautiful real explosions in high definition and ultra-slow motion. We can follow every pebble. Used prudently, devices like this can help but I do hope it doesn't become a fad.