The Longest Day (1962)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Directors:

Ken Annakin
Andrew Marton

Writers:

Cornelius Ryan (screenplay)
Cornelius Ryan (book)

Release Date:

4 October 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

42 STARS IN THE LONGEST DAY

Plot:

The events of D-Day, told on a grand scale from both the Allied and German points of view.

Plot Keywords:

Invasion | 1944 | D Day | Normandy | England

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Eddie Albert	...	Col. Thompson
Paul Anka	...	U.S. Army Ranger
Arletty	...	Madame Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault	...	Father Louis Roulland
Richard Beymer	...	Schultz
Hans Christian Blech	...	Maj. Werner Pluskat
Bourvil	...	Mayor of Colleville
Richard Burton	...	Flight Officer David Campbell
Wolfgang Büttner	...	Maj. Gen. Dr. Hans Speidel
Red Buttons	...	Pvt. John Steele
Pauline Carton	...	Maid
Sean Connery	...	Pvt. Flanagan
Ray Danton	...	Capt. Frank
Irina Demick	...	Janine Boitard (as Irina Demich)
Fred Dur	...	U.S. Army Ranger major

Runtime:

178 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Australia:PG | South Korea:All | New Zealand:PG | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1962) | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:G | West Germany:12 (f) (bw)

Filming Locations:

Calvados, France

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The biggest grossing black and white film up until the advent of Schindler's List (1993).

Goofs:

Factual errors: During the meeting with LtC Vandervoort, Brig. Gen. James M. Gavin is wearing branch insignia for Infantry. General officers at that time, (and until recently), did not wear branch insignia as they could command any type of unit.

Quotes:

Maj. Werner Pluskat: [on the phone again] You know those five thousand ships you say the Allies haven't got? Well, they've got them!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Home Improvement: The Longest Day (#5.22)" (1996)

Soundtrack:

The Longest Day

The Cast & The Actual Event: Overwhelming Numbers

This was an another one of these all-star casts that you don't see in more modern times, in which about everyone who was actor made an appearance....or it just seems that way. For those unfamiliar with this film, take a look back on the main page here and check out the famous names in this movie. Click the "more" under the cast overview and you'll see all the names. It's unbelievable. Some of them, to be fair, had very short roles in here, such as Henry Fonda, Rod Steiger and Roddy McDowell, but this is a real "Who's Who" of the acting profession in 1962. There are also a lot of German actors in here speaking German (with subtitles provided), perhaps numbering even more than the English-speaking stars. That's because the famous day of June 6, 1944, is seen from both sides of the conflict.

At three hours, it gives you plenty of D-Day World War II action. Almost two-thirds of the movie involves action from that famous invasion. In some spots, it just gets to be too much. Frankly, the whole film is too much and almost bogs down in too many areas....and it shouldn't, but it is a very technical film. And, for a film 45 years old, the action is pretty realistic. I thought the best shots were the overheads during one particular scenes when the Alies were going through a town.

I am anything but a WWII expert so how much detail of the infamous 'D-Day" here is correct, Since they went into such detail, I'll assume they were fairly accurate. I can't say but this movie educated me on the size of the task. I had no idea "D-Day" was this huge in scope: three million men and 5,000 ships??!!! Amazing.