A little comment on the otherwise decent article on 'A bridge too far'. This is based on local knowledge from a guy whose grandfather was an extra and whose school was used as a set. It is not meant as a pun, but as an well meant critique.
Mentioned in the ‘Technical Aspects’ paragraph of the ‘A bridge too far', about 'Market Garden’ article is that the film was shot at the actual location that the battle of Arnhem took place. This is not correct!
The scenes depicting lieutenant colonel John Frost’s 2 PARA fighting at the Northern end of the Arnhem roadbridge were shot in Deventer, some 40 kilometers downstream. This was done because a) the actual battlefield was destroyed in the process and b) Deventer has a similar layout (though smaller) as Arnhem and also has a fairly modern roadbridge leading into the city centre.
The buildings in Arnhem were much closer to the bridge, though. So a number of prop houses were erected near the Deventer bridge to simulate the situation as it was in Arnhem in September 1944.
(One of the roofs that the Para’s were fighting from in the film is my old school!)
A number of other scenes were indeed shot at the actual location they actually happened. Hartenstein House and other parts of Oosterbeek come to mind. These places are still used in the annual remembrance of the battle and the Airborne march held in September every year.
Other scenes were shot at nearby cities that look like Arnhem. Zutphen and Deventer being the most prominent. Both German headquarters shown are city halls of these respective cities.
Most German armour shown during the movie were Royal Netherlands Army Leopard 1 tanks. The allied tanks were mostly bicycle propelled mock ups driven by local extras.