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| Battle of the Bulge | |
|---|---|
| Original movie poster | |
| Directed by | Ken Annakin |
| Produced by | Sidney Harmon Milton Sperling Philip Yordan Dino De Laurentiis (uncredited) |
| Written by | Bernard Gordon John Melson Milton Sperling Philip Yordan |
| Starring | Henry Fonda Robert Shaw Robert Ryan |
| Narrated by | William Conrad |
| Music by | Benjamin Frankel |
| Cinematography | Jack Hildyard |
| Edited by | Derek Parsons |
| Production company | Cinerama Productions United States Pictures |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date | December 16, 1965 |
| Running time | 167 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6.5 million |
| Box office | $4.5 million (est. US/ Canada rentals) |
Battle of the Bulge is a 1965 American widescreen epic war film produced in Spain, directed by Ken Annakin, and starring Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Telly Savalas, Robert Ryan, Dana Andrews, and Charles Bronson. The feature was filmed in Ultra Panavision 70 and exhibited in 70 mm Cinerama. Battle of the Bulge had its world premiere on December 16, 1965, the 21st anniversary of the titular battle, at the Pacific Cinerama Dome Theatre in Hollywood, California.
The filmmakers attempted to condense the Ardennes Counteroffensive, a World War II battle that stretched across parts of Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg and lasted nearly a month, into under three hours. They also shot parts of the film on terrain that did not resemble actual battle locations. This left them open to criticism for lack of historical accuracy, but they claimed in the end credits that they had “re-organized” the chronological order of events to maximize the dramatic story.
There is also no mention of the role of Allied air power hitting the Germans hard at the first sign of clear weather. In fact, in the film, the sky during the battle is clear and partly cloudy.
The film recaptures the major aspects of the battle, depicting how the inexperienced replacement American units stationed in the Ardennes were initially overwhelmed and how confused the situation became. It points out the superiority of heavy German tanks and their major weakness, a lack of fuel.
Screenwriter Bernard Gordon claims to have rewritten John Melson’s original screenplay. Some of the original choices for director were Richard Fleischer, who turned it down; and Edward Dmytryk, with whom Jack L. Warner of Warner Bros. refused to work. Technical advisor on the film was Maj. Gen. (then Col.) Meinrad von Lauchert, who commanded the German tank division that made the most headway in the actual battle.
The film was one of the most popular movies at the British box office in 1966.
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