I remember watching A Bridge Too Far with my parents when I was a kid at the Lola Theater in Legaspi City in the late 70s. I didn't know much about WWII then, but I still enjoyed the movie since a trip to a movie house in those days was a luxury that not too many kids my age from my place had experienced.
It wasn't until the summer vacation of my fourth grade that I developed an interest in WWII and History as a whole after reading an old copy of the book Guadalcanal Diary from my grandfather's mini library at home -- I sought any information about the subject that I could lay my hands on thereafter.
In high school, I encountered Cornelius Ryan's books at the town's municipal library and devoured The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far in a span of a few days.
But it wasn't until I was in medical school that I was able to watch the movie again on a pirated VCD in the Philippines in the mid-90s and was amazed that I could still recall with clarity the scenes in the movies. Of course, it also helped that I was knowledgeable about the subject matter by then (Operation Market Garden, Bernard Montgomery, etc.) as well as familiar with the ensemble of actors (Sean Connery, James Caan, Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, Michael Caine, Anthony Hopkins) who portrayed the lead personalities in the film that I appreciated it more.
I now find it amusing that almost twenty years later on a cold October night, I once again encountered A Bridge Too Far on cable and made a worthwhile trip down memory lane. Ah, the cycle continues…
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