The Longest Day

Rating:
Summary: NOT made obsolete by Private Ryan
Review: It's unfair to compare this epic 1960's recreation of the D-Day landings with the latter retelling of "Saving Private Ryan". In this film, we see the battle from many angles - from Generals to grunts, airborne troops to those who came in on the beach in the amhibious LST's, fighter pilots to tankers, civilians to fighters - as opposed to "Ryan's" story focused on a single anonymous unit. Here, an all-star cast fights the war on many fronts. It's early summer in Europe - the weather is horrible, but all sides think an allied landing on Europe's Atlantic coast is certain. At zero hour, allied troops pore onto the Normandy beaches, hoping they can seize the beach faster than coastal Wehrmacht units can machine-gun them. Airborne units move silently through the French countryside hoping they can take strategic spots and link up with the amhibious force on the coast. German units plead desperately for reinforcements while their superiors remain mute: whether convinced that the Normandy landings are a decoy for a real attack on Calais or simply because they haven't got the nerve to wake the Fuhrer from his nap. Chaos reigns on the beach, but something keeps the force cohesive - when units are destroyed, individual troops link up and form new ones. There is little gore, but that wouldn't work on a level as broad as this. In one extended shot, the camera follows a unit of Free-French troops trying to seize an occupied town. The charge of the anonymous troops - with the French casulaties simply dropping dead - looks more like something out of real-time strategy game like "Command and Conquer" than a war movie, but we know that such scenes were common, and that people did dies faceless, typical and unspectacular deaths. Death in war was gruesome and gory, but the compulsion to base the narrative on gore is pure Hollywood - among other things, it allows todays studios to pat themselves on the back for being more realistic, as well as showing off better special effects. In many ways, "Day" is more modern than "Ryan" because it relies on less heroism than "Ryan" does, and offers more irony in its place. While "Ryan" served up plenty of sentiment for the greatest generation, "Day" had John Wayne on the verge of tears (when entering a French town and first seeing scores of machine-gunned paratroops hanging by their chutes from the tops of buildings) and Richard Burton appropriately stoic as a downed Spitfire pilot with a shattered leg, cynically dismissing war as being fought by men lost with their guns. Just because "Day" doesn't give the "greatest generation" the Hollywood treatment doesn't mean it's any less a tribute than "Ryan", only one with a strategy of its own.

Rating:
Summary: An extrodianry film
Review: This is about the D-Day invasion made infamous by Saving Private Ryan. While watching this movie you can't help compare the two. While SPR went beyond the invasion to investigate the effects war has on people, this movie plays more like a history book. That's not to say it isn't moving to watch, there are some scenes in it that I'm amazed at how they did it. When this was made it was well before computer images could give you anything you want on the screen. To watch the scene where German planes attack the allies as they invade the beach you marvel at how much work it must have taken to film that scene. Another one that stands out is to watch Red Buttons as a trapped parachutist stuck on a church steeple watch his fellow soldiers get gunned down as they land. Because this movie plays more like a documentary, you don't get involved with many of the characters. We're really only introduced to the personal feelings of a few, but because there are so many characters, both on the American, European and German sides, it's easy to get lost in the mere scope of everything. It just shows how enourmous this movement was, something that's not always conveyed on films. Many people from all sides were involved, for better or worse. It's an epic in the sense of it's subject matter and how the producers took it on, not necessarily it's story-telling. It's still a movie that should be seen by anyone interested in this subject.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Top 10 War Movies...EVER!!
Review: This movie, from a time when Hollywood actually told an "Accurate" account from both sides and played more on Drama than some [regular] Love Romance, ranks as the Top 10 War Films I would have on my list.

Think of this movie as a History Account come alive. You could actually compare this (and many other Past War Movies [Hollywoods recent fare notwithstanding]) to a History book, and see the dead on accuracy in the storytelling.

Not only does it tell of each sides quest to stop each other, it has it's finer moments, with "Rupert" and his role in the attacks, the 5 cent toy that helped (or "killed") many GI's, and "personal" incidents, such as the Frenchmen at the beach, or even the fearless Nurse-Nuns....

Rating:
Summary: The Best of "D-Day" Films Overall
Review: Certainly The Longest Day can not compete with the first twenty minutes of Saving Private Ryan; Saving Private Ryan, however, can scarcely compete with The Longest Day overall, for where Saving Private Ryan gradually slows to a standstill, The Longest Day continues to roll forward with considerable momentum and excitement from its opening shots to its final credits. Definately a "Hollywood Movie," but in this case none the worse for that, with a grand and sweeping scope, a galaxy of international stars, and a cast of thousands.

Rating:
Summary: The Longest video lacks focus.
Review: Despite having 48 International stars and winning two Oscars. I found it to be a big let downThe sory of D-day told by both sides jumped around to much.It seems the plot was all sub plots.Rent it Don't buy it. Not a good war picture

Rating:
Summary: Best D-Day movie (Even better than Saving Private Ryan)
Review: If The Longest Day isn't the best depiction of D-Day, at least it is the most comprehensive. It shows not just the landings on Omaha, Utah, Gold, Sword and Juno beaches, but also the airborne landings made by the 82 and 101 Airborne Divisions, Glider assualts, The participation of the french underground and the actions of the german forces. It has great cinematography (Which is probably why it won an oscar for Black & White Cinematography). The musical score (Especially the theme played during the credits) is very good. It is also very accurate. For example, if you think the people depicted in the movie aren't real, Most of them were interviewed for the book by Cornelius Ryan and, if you look at the end credits, you will see some served as technical advisors It is also nice that people speak their native language, not just all English. Besides, subtitles are better than dubbing.

But it is in the action and acting departments that TLD succeeds. Sure you can tell that the AA Gunfire used against the planes are just pyrotechnics and that the planes themselves are models, but the action scenes for the D-Day landings and for the combat that takes place in the towns between French and German forces is spectacular. As for stars, a total of 42 of them make appearances, if only briefly. They include John Wayne, a colonel in the 82nd Airborne who fights despite a broken ankle, Henry Fonda as General Theodore Roosevelt Junior, Richard Burton as an RAF officer, Robert Mitchum as General Norman Cota, Red Buttons as the private who gets caught up on a Church during an air drop, Robert Wagner as an Army Ranger and Sean Connery as french Private Flanagan. Some complain about The Longest Day's lack of bloody violence and how it does not show how awful D-Day was. This movie came out in 1962. At this time, censors were not so leant on movies like they are today. Also, it was felt that audiences would not want to see violence similar to what happened on D-Day. And it was not yet possible to recreate that kind of gore (Unless you really had the actors get killed).

Thus, The Longest Day does not show the horror of D-Day but instead shows how D-Day happened and the blunders made by both sides. Saving Private Ryan shows the horror of D-Day but not how it happened and none of the planning that went into it. So If I were to choose, I would take the epicness of The Longest Day.

Rating:
Summary: Normandy Portrayed in Stark Detail
Review: I hold a B.A. in History, am a soldier, and have been to Normandy. I find that this movie, as much as it can in the time given, portrays the locations as actions of D-Day as well as any movie ever made. One can go to St. Mere Eglise today and see the replica 82nd Airborne Paratrooper hanging from the bell tower as illustrated in the film. One can visit Point du Hoc, and see the bombed out bunkers that the Rangers attacked, and one can see the results of the carnage of the beach fronts, Sword, Gold, Juno, Omaha, and Utah in the many grave above Omaha beach, and throughout the Normandy region. In my opinion, this classic film portrays the greatest military feat in history with dignity and accuracy in so much as was possible at the time it was made. Being shot in Black and White gives it a documentary feel. Each nationality represented speak their native language, adding to the realism. A wonderful movie for action fan and history buff alike! A definate keeper.

Rating:
Summary: 48 International Stars
Review: This movie is like watching an enteraining documentary. It shows all the events that happened right before D-Day and D-Day itself. The DVD release is just OK. The video quality is great, but is not 16x9 enhanced. The extras are a few trailers for Fox war movies. I would consider holding off on buying this because it just got 2 disc treatment in Europe.

Rating:
Summary: Saving Private Ryan was better then this movie
Review: Actually I found the movie to be fairly accuarte in so far as the events of D-Day go, but this is such a long movie and you can see where all three directors worked on it, as the tone of the movie changes almost every ten minutes, there are also too many characters to keep track of.

Rating:
Summary: "The Longest Day" holds its own some forty years later
Review: Since it's the anniversary of D-Day today, I thought I'd submit a review for "The Longest Day", the grand black and white classic about the Normandy invasion.

"The Longest Day" is truly a period piece, and by that I mean a reflection on all levels about the men in uniform on both sides who fought the ultimate battle. Filmed in 1962, with so many veterans still alive, the film is more style than substance, not needing much depth because everything about the characters was either true or familiar enough. The movie is ultimately a photo album on film, with famous actors of the day like John Wayne and Robert Mitchum capturing the star power of the real-life officers they play, and less iconic (at the time) actors such as Richard Burton and Sean Connery embodying the "everyman" characteristics of soldiers that would strike a familiar, resonant chord with the audience of 1962.

The film is properly epic, from its cinematography, its spare no expense use of props, and of course Maurice Jarre's omnipresent score - a call to arms cobbled around Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Rather than concentrate on any one character, the film constantly switches between plot lines thus capturing both the memorable events of the day and portraying moments most likely experienced by many who fought in the invasion.

I make the distinction regarding the film's construction of plot, because it is now sometimes unfairly compared to "Saving Private Ryan". Disregarding the obvious technical differences, I think the major difference that must be considered is who the target audiences for each film were. For "Saving Private Ryan", Spielberg made a film that would inspire and educate younger generations who only read about World War II in history books. For "The Longest Day", the film was made as a remembrance to be appreciated by a nation still not far removed from that great conflict.

"The Longest Day" is a fine tribute and a grand film. Buy it or rent it. Either way, you will enjoy it.