A Bridge Too Far appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie came with a decent but dated presentation.
Sharpness seemed adequate but rarely better. While some elements – usually daytime exteriors – offered fairly good delineation, others seemed on the slightly soft side.
Light edge haloes compounded this factor, as did the apparent use of noise reduction. Grain seemed lighter than expected, and fine detail felt inconsistent.
No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects materialized. In terms of print flaws, occasional examples of small specks appeared, but these remained modest.
Colors usually appeared somewhat bland. The film opted for a natural palette that offered acceptable range but the hies rarely came across as full and rich.
Blacks felt reasonably deep, while shadows offered mostly positive detail. Though the image never became terrible, it seemed inconsistent and less than impressive.
As for the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it worked well for its age. On the positive side, the soundfield provided a solid sense of depth and breadth throughout the movie.
The forward speakers demonstrated good localization across the channels, as a mix of effects popped up usefully from the sides. Sounds moved cleanly across the front channels and they blended together quite well. Localized speech seemed pretty well-placed as well.
Surrounds kicked in with a decent amount of information during appropriate scenes. The battle sequences were the main beneficiaries of this trend, but don’t expect much excitement.
The back speakers tended to reinforce various elements like explosions and gunfire, and they also occasionally threw in unique elements. The soundscape wasn’t up to modern standards, of course, but it added some pizzazz.
Audio quality was also fine for its age. Speech showed a little edginess at times but usually appeared acceptably natural. Music seemed well-reproduced and bright.
Effects were more than adequate. While I’d be hard-pressed to call them especially realistic by today’s standards, they showed perfectly acceptable clarity and depth.
Battle scenes boasted some slightly loose but generally full bass response. For a nearly 45-year-old movie, this was a pretty good soundtrack.
In addition to the film’s trailer, we find promos for Platoon, Flyboys and Windtalkers. No other extras appear here.
Despite the involvement of many notables in front of and behind the camera, A Bridge Too Far never really kicks into gear. The movie offers occasional intrigue but it offers such a broad depiction of events that it rarely hits home. The Blu-ray boasts surprisingly good audio but visuals seem lackluster and the disc lacks bonus materials. Though it depicts an important historical event, Bridge doesn’t connect on a consistent basis.