MovieChat Forums > A Bridge Too Far (1977) Discussion > Insulting the Polish?

Insulting the Polish?

posted 3 years ago by Rolltide (964)
1 reply | jump to latest

For the record the average IQ in Poland is around 99 which is comparable to that in Sweden and Germany. Among the highest in the western world. Poles are not and have never been dumb. They are also good in video games and love esports.

A thread was started on Gene Hackman's suitability for his role as a Polish general. This is not about that. It has to do with his lines especially near the beginning and at the end.

To quote he said '''''''''"I am a pole, considered by some to be smart. If that is true it makes me a member of a true minority group."''''''''

WTF? I guess that supposed to be sarcasm but it serves no purpose at all.

Then at the end of the film he makes a mini anti war speech. With all the generals standing around giving their opinions of what went wrong and when things went wrong he makes this moronic comment.

""""Doesn't matter what it was. When one man says to another i know what to do today. Let's play the war game. Everybody dies."""

This is the dumbest quote in the history of WW2 films. Any general who in that circumstance in that war makes cracks about war being a game should be instantly demoted. In the film he gets the last word. William Goldman must have forgot which war he was writing about.

[–] ccr1633 (1523) 3 years ago

I can't say my feelings are that strong on the particular issues you raise, but I have to say that Hackman was bad to the point of distraction in this film. His supposed Polish accent is pathetic. He seemed to think a Polish accent consisted of rolling a few r's like an Italian might, just as he did in Superman II as Lex Luthor...."Superman's address?" I'm a big fan of Gene Hackman. This is the only film of his that I consider his acting to be subpar. And not just subpar. Wretchedly bad.