Rating: 
Summary: Great movie, though not indicative of all players
Review: The movie, no doubt, is a great piece of work. I first watched the movie as a young boy and was caught up in the action immediately. My ONLY criticism of the film is the complete lack of reference to the Canadian beach, Juno. When Sean Connery, who played a Canadian with a bad accent, came to shore, he was greeted by a Frenchman drinking champaign, a fact that does not take into account the battle as it happened. Though a member of the Commonwealth, Canada took the beach as a sovereign army - not mere colonial forces. Though Canada only had a population of approx. 11 million, it put more people in uniform per capita than any other nation - including Russia. The million Canadians that finally served in WWII (1939-45) earned the right to have their own beach and were the only allied nation to attempt a landing prior (Dieppe 1942).
Though this has strayed from the movie review, I believe that the movie is indicative of the WWII genre that forgets that it was a World War with many players, not just the one that are depicted on the silver screen. Nonetheless, great entertainment and highly enjoyable dispite the historical gaff.
Rating: 
Summary: You don't need to mess with history to tell a great story
Review: Compared to more recent films, the Longest Day is something that is more than just entertainment. A true tribute to the "Greatest Generation" the film is packed with facts; and is a story we can all learn from. Based on the excellent book by Cornelius Ryan it goes into both the tactical and strategic decisions aswell as showing the problems faced with the GI's/Tommies. One interesting fact. Richard Todd (who'se most famous role as Wing Commander Guy Gibson in the Dambusters) plays Major John Howard, who glider unit the first unit in action on D-Day. Richard Todd was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Elite British Parachute regiment at the time who dropped into Normandy on the same night and was the unit that linked up with the glider assault at Pegasus Bridge.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Overview
Review: While Saving Private Ryan gives the story of a group of soldiers, this gives the story of the whole battle. Since this was made in the 50's, its not as gritty as Private Ryan, however there is the same amount of tension. I especially like the part of the two Luftwaffe pilots who strafe the beach and jokingly refer to themselves as the mighty Luftwaffe.
My only complaint about this movie is that it had John Wayne in it. I didn't really like his performance, he seemed way too macho for his role.
Anyways, with this one and A Bridge Too Far, I wish they would work on The Last Battle.
Rating:
Summary: The Longest Day Is To History What Ryan Is To Acting
Review: First off, forget about saying "SPR" wasn't that good. There are thousands (maybe millions, or billions) of people that will say otherwise. "SPR" was a good movie, but for historical accuracy, "The Longest Day" wins hands down. Even though this film was remastered, and has beautiful THX sound, I do have a few gripes (which brought the rating of the DVD package from 5 to 4 stars). I'm 47, and wasn't around for the real war. Some historical newsreel footage would have been nice, as well as a "Making of" feature. Some cast & crew material would have also been nice. Other than that, I thought the film was well done (however, a bit over acted - maybe). The film was probably shot in B&W for the same reason Psycho was. Living color violence in those days was harder to make believable. So the solution is shoot in B&W. Now days, Color & CGI take care of it. Considering when it was made (1962), it was very well done.
Rating:
Summary: The Classic D-Day Film
Review: This all time classic still holds up well after many years. Although burdened a bit by the grand review of 40 odd stars, many of which to viewers today would be unknown, the movie still holds up well. Most roles in it are cameo parts so even the hammy John Wayne is not too hard to stomach as the tough American para commander. The movie shows well the drama and confusion leading right up to the invasion itself. Its interesting how the movie provides ordinary GIs mostly. The British and Germans are mostly shown from the HQ level, not down in the ditches as the Americans are. Kind of a subtle bias here. Didn't the Germans and British also have ordinary soldiers worth portraying as well? The book upon which the movie is based by Cornelius Ryan certainly had allied and German accounts in it. As a book and researcher Ryan certainly holds up well to the likes of Ambrose, just as this movie does the same with the somewhat overdone "Saving Pvt. Ryan" While "Ryan" provides a fox hole perspective, the overly American view point is a bit irksome after a while, and mind you I'm not British or German myself! Still, its good for today's viewers to see that not only American troops were involved with the liberation of France. The action scenes in this film are intense, but not overly graphic. The atmosphere of combat is captured quite well here with squads of soldiers wandering around with the sounds of battle in the background. There is also quite a lot of sardonic humor in this film which adds to its quality. Certainly a classic of its kind, I personally would take it over "Ryan" on most days. To view both of these films will provide the viewer with a good movie perspective of the D-Day landings. The acting is par, and the big names don't get in the way of the overall story too much. The old b/w picture quality adds atmosphere as well. The DVD format was ok, the letter box screen I find annoying at times though. This is a big screen movie and should be viewed that way.
Rating:
Summary: D-Day for Dummies
Review: I have loved this movie since I was a kid. Before I bought the movie on DVD I had not seen it in years. So comparing what was in my mind's eye as a kid (an epic battle with lots of booms and bangs) to a 30 year old adult was quite a different experience. Now I look at it as if it should have been called "D-Day For Dummies". The acting is pretty much sub-par, but overall the picture shows what happened in a semi-factual sense of the events that happened on that day (even as some other reviewers have pointed out that some of what happened in the film and what happened really are a little skewed). As stated above, I though the acting was a little off (particularly any of the allies). They seemed to be just giving off speaches about the whole plan, what was involved and what was happening at any moment in the film as if the people around them (including the audience) had no idea why they were there or what was involve (John Wayne's idiotic speach in the parachute packing hanger was the epitome of these speeches). At any rate, overall for an earlier film, it was a very good attempt. Also, comparing the realism of death as to that of Ryan is not fair since movies of this date had to be subdued due to that particular age of movies and the public. So, comparison between the two is hardly fair.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the best
Review: I have watched all world war II movies and consider "The longest day" the best from a historical and acting perspective. Saving Private Ryan was a big disappointment and an opportunity lost....All the "The longest day" needs is to be done in color.
Rating:
Summary: Hidden message here??
Review: As we all know Sean Connery is seen jumping off a landing craft in the movie. However, how many here know that the lazy, fat German on the horse taking coffee out to the soldiers in the bunkers is Gert Frobe, aka Goldfinger!
I think there is a subtle message here somewhere, perhaps Connery captured Frobe later in a scene, that was cut, could explain why Goldfinger trys to cut Bond in half with a laser in later years.
Anyway, despite having tongue-firmly-in-cheek, it is a great movie, most certainly a classic.
Strongly recommended!!
Rating:
Summary: This war was the bloodiest of them all.
Review: An extremely good movie. Top actors, top everything.
Rating:
Summary: D-Day
Review: Per the cover, this video has 48 international stars in the movie. Since this video was originally released in the early 1960s, the average movie audience will not recognize many of the stars. Also, if you are not familiar with European movie stars, you will recognize fewer. The movie heavies are there. There are appearances from Henry Fonda, John Wayne, Robert Wagner, Eddie Albert, Rod Steiger, Sean Connery, Red Buttons, Robert Mitchum, Roddy McDowell, Richard Burton, and Mel Ferrer. There was also the singing star Fabian. I would say that the movie did not belong to any one of them, but belonged to the whole ensemble. Although John Wayne and Robert Mitchum seemed to have more scenes, each stars part is relatively short so that the action will keep moving. The movie begins on June 5 as the Allies are debating whether to postpone the invasion again due to the weather. The actors playing Eisenhower and Montgomery will cause you to take a double take. I thought I was watching old documentary footage. The movie ends with the taking of Omaha Beach. You will listen to the Germans go through their plans thinking that the Allies will not invade. These parts are done in German with subtitles. Likewise, scenes with the French commandos or the French Resistance are also shot in French. It adds to the overall effect of the film. Although this does not have the gore that many modern war movies have, you still look into the minds of the different combatants as they work their way through their longest day. I would highly recommend this movie.
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