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[[File: Bulge sheet A.jpg|300px|thumb|left|Battle of the Bulge Poster (1965)]]
The ‘Battle of the Bulge’ is an enduringly popular American war movie. The director of the movie was Ken Annakin and it was released on the 21st anniversary of the battle in 1965. The original screenplay was based on the work of John Melson, but his original work was rewritten by other screenwriters. The movie was produced by the legendary Hollywood mogul Jack Warner Jr. He refused to hire several directors for the film because he wanted someone he could control. <i>The Battle of the Bulge</i> was filmed in Spain and had the support of the government of the dictator Franco.
In many ways, the motion picture was a typical Hollywood epic with an all-star cast. Among the stars in the <i>Battle of the Bulge</i> are Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Telly Savalas, Henry Fond, Robert Shaw, George Montgomery, and Robert Ryan. The movie premiered with typical Tinseltown glitz and glamor at the Pacific Cinerama Dome Theatre in Hollywood, CA. In the movie, the director tried to squeeze a series of battles that took place over three weeks into three hours and tried to give both the German and the American perspective.<ref> Whiteclay, John and Culbert, David. World War II, Film, and History (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 156</ref>
====Background to the battle====
The film opens with a narrator setting the scene but there are some inaccuracies in the narration. The narrator claims that the British Field Marshal Montgomery was stationed to the north of the Ardennes with his 8th army. This was not correct as patently false because the 8th army was in Italy in December 1944.<ref> Shaw, Antony. World War II Day by Day, (Osceola: MBI Pub. Co, 2001), p. 156</ref> The narrator also fails to mention that General Omar Bradley was in overall command of the US army group involved in the Battle of the Bulge. Despite this, perhaps the most accurate part of the movie are the early scenes. It successfully shows the atmosphere among the Germans and the Americans. The motion picture shows the Americans to be confident, complacent and believe that the war was already won. After all, they were now positioned on the border of Germany and the Third Reich seemed about to fall any day. In one scene General Grey, played by Henry Fonda is more interested in getting the G.I.'s their Christmas dinner than preparing for any German attack. The movie captures very well how this complacency led to an intelligence failure. In several scenes in the movie before the offensive, American intelligence is shown as indicating that there would be a German offensive. The warnings are all ignored in the movie and this was also the case in 1944. The screenplay gives a very accurate portrayal of the Germans and their concerns prior to the Ardennes Offensive. One of the preoccupations of the Nazi Generals was the need to secure oil. They were very concerned that the offensive could grind to a halt because of a shortage of oil for their tanks and trucks. It also shows many of the German Generals simply not believing that the offensive could achieve the goals set by Hitler. Publicly they agreed with the offensive but in private they knew that it was doomed, except for some hard line and fanatical SS generals. There was only a narrow window of opportunity for the Germans to inflict a decisive defeat on the allies and this is shown in one of the more memorable scenes. Colonel Joachim Peiper particulary good start when your opening narration is briefed by his commanding officer, who states that Germany had only 50-hour to win the battle because they lacked resources such as men and oil. The reliance of the Germans on their ‘wonder weapons’ is also very well shown in the movie. Hitler believed that the massive Tiger Tanks and the V1 and V2 rockets could turn the tide of the war in Nazi Germany’s favor<ref> Parker, Danny S, The Battle of the Bulge, The German View: Perspectives from Hitler's High Command (London, Pelican, 1999), p. 13</ref>: This confidence was proved to be misplaced and this was evident in the outcome of the Battle of the Bulge, which was a resounding American victorywrong.
Despite this, perhaps the most accurate part of the movie are the early scenes. It successfully shows the atmosphere among the Germans and the Americans. The motion picture shows the Americans to be confident, complacent and believe that the war was already won. After all, they were now positioned on the border of Germany and the Third Reich seemed about to fall any day. In one scene General Grey, played by Henry Fonda is more interested in getting the G.I.s their Christmas dinner than preparing for any German attack. In several scenes in the movie before the offensive, American intelligence is shown as indicating that there would be a German offensive. These warnings were ignored in the movie and this was also the case in 1944.
The screenplay gives a very accurate portrayal of the Germans and their concerns prior to the Ardennes Offensive. One of the preoccupations of the German generals was the need to secure oil. They were very concerned that the offensive could grind to a halt because of a shortage of oil for their tanks and trucks. It also shows many of the generals did not believe that the offensive could achieve the goals set by Hitler. Publicly they agreed with the offensive, but in private they knew that it was doomed, except for some hard line and fanatical SS generals. There was only a narrow window of opportunity for the Germans to inflict a decisive defeat on the allies and this is shown in one of the more memorable scenes.
Colonel Joachim Peiper is briefed by his commanding officer, who states that Germany had only 50-hour to win the battle because they lacked resources such as men and oil. The reliance of the Germans on their ‘wonder weapons’ is also very well shown in the movie. Hitler believed that the massive Tiger Tanks and the V1 and V2 rockets could turn the tide of the war in Nazi Germany’s favor.<ref> Parker, Danny S, The Battle of the Bulge, The German View: Perspectives from Hitler's High Command (London, Pelican, 1999), p. 13</ref>. This confidence was proved to be misplaced and this was evident in the outcome of the Battle of the Bulge, a resounding American victory.
====The Setting of the Battle====
