Battle of the Bulge

Released Dec 16, 1965

2h 47m

Drama

War

List

63%

8 Reviews

Tomatometer

67%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

American Lt. Col. Dan Kiley (Henry Fonda), a military intelligence whiz, discovers that the Nazis are planning to attack Allied forces near Belgium. Certain that the exhausted enemy can't muster much force, Gen. Joe Grey (Robert Ryan) isn't convinced by Kiley's findings, and his men pay the price when the German tanks begin their offensive. In the heat of this key World War II battle, Kiley must come up with a plan when it becomes clear that the Nazis are trying to steal fuel from the Allies.

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Connor S

One of the most horrific wars in United States history told in an almost documentary-like fashion.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/16/24

Full Review

Blu B

It's pretty cool they made a epic movie about this. And while it's defintely entertaining it has problems with it and I wouldn't call it good. The editing and pacing are just ok. Everything else is half decent about it. The 2 main core issues is whenever it focuses on the events of the battle and the key moments it's really interesting and the best parts. When it decides to focus more on personal drama like Telly's character, the beginning singing the German anthem, and in general anything to give the characters a human connection it doesn't work that well and there is a lot of it. They're isn't much special about all these characters in their own right to make them stick out save for Fonda. It needed to focus on just the actual events simliar to the Longest Day or A Bridge Too Far which do a much better job at staying focused on the key facts and limit the human connections in a much more sharp way. Second, this isn't that epic at certain parts. The camerawork is basic in non battle scenes, some sets look cheap, and other times it a lot of the battles have scale but they aren't really epic enough. Even the special effects while not terrible at all are just ok enough despite lots of practical use. IT also would've helped if there would've been time stamps throughout the battle also to give a better sense of the order of event sas well because it isn't always obvious because of how unfocused it can get at points, but in general the story is simple and can be followed overall. If your a big fan of any actors in this, the director, or WWII films than give this a shot.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/21/23

Full Review

TWMax65

I remember the action in this movie being done very well. While it may not be the most popular motion picture for WWII and while there are definitely some historical inaccuracies, there's a lot of good stuff here! The music/score is fantastic from start to finish and Robert Shaw always plays a great antagonist (as well as protagonist in his other movies). What a brilliant actor who died way too young, RIP! The movie was shot very well and it got me invested in what was going on. How these movies are produced/crafted for the time with epic large scale battles are truly impressive. I wish I saw this in theaters when it came out!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/15/23

Full Review

Ken L

Great cinematography. Lots of stars but for every star there is a cliche. You could tell this was done in the 60's. All the HQ's of both the Americans and Germans looked like the sets out of a James Bond movie. I usually like historical war movies. This isn't one of them. More interested in highlighting the stars and looking like a typical Bond flick than anything resembling what's represented in the title.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/19/23

Full Review

James K

Well we can conclusively say that the 1955 US Army could beat the 1945 US Army lol cuz that's what the Germans were using. Really weird to see the Germans I. full American kit but German uniforms. Of course all the extras are the Spanish Army where it was filmed. Loses 1 star for not trying to get equipment right. But a great classic cast that holds down the movie. A quality film and watch

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/02/23

Full Review

Justine Isaac R

the movie was quite long. but the all star cast except Henry Fonda performance quite little bit. but it was ok epic war movie such as Paris is Burning, Guns of Navarone and The Dirty Dozen. but if you are a war lover fan you must recommended

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/30/22

Full Review

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Ken Annakin

Director

Henry Fonda

Lt. Col. Dan Kiley

Robert Shaw

Col. Hessler

Robert Ryan

Gen. Joe Grey

Dana Andrews

Col. Pritchard

George Montgomery

Sgt. Duquesne

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Almar Haflidason

BBC.com

Rated: 4/5

Nov 11, 2003

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Yes “Battle of the Bulge” is long and sometimes talky. No it’s not a movie to watch in order to learn the real details of this historical and important battle. But in terms of cinematic entertainment, the movie works.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 19, 2022

Full Review

John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

The most harrowing sequences in the show occur at the beginning and the end... It's the two-and-a-half hours in between that are the problem.

Rated: 6/10

May 16, 2007

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: B+

Jul 3, 2005

Full Review

Keith Breese

Filmcritic.com

when all the dust settles, Battle of the Bulge is a really long, really talky movie

Rated: 3/5

May 16, 2005

Full Review

Philip Martin

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Rated: 3/5

Dec 15, 2004

Full Review

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Synopsis

American Lt. Col. Dan Kiley (Henry Fonda), a military intelligence whiz, discovers that the Nazis are planning to attack Allied forces near Belgium. Certain that the exhausted enemy can't muster much force, Gen. Joe Grey (Robert Ryan) isn't convinced by Kiley's findings, and his men pay the price when the German tanks begin their offensive. In the heat of this key World War II battle, Kiley must come up with a plan when it becomes clear that the Nazis are trying to steal fuel from the Allies.

Director: Ken Annakin
Producer: Dino De Laurentiis, Sidney Harmon
Screenwriter: John Melson, Milton Sperling, Philip Yordan
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Genre: Drama, War
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 16, 1965, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 19, 2016
Runtime: 2h 47m

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