... The date which witnessed some of the bloodiest casualties in World War II both for Allies and Germans. An event in history marked by ego clashes, last minute decisions, a battle marked by two sides unwilling to concede an inch. Some of the greatest military persons Rommel, Eisenhower were ... Read review
After seeingSaving Private Ryan, this epic tale about the Normandy invasion will look ... more
sanitised. But in its re-creation of events leading to the epochal battle,The Longest Dayis captivating and grand, and the parade of famous actors who cross the scree...
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After seeingSaving Private Ryan, this epic tale about the Normandy invasion will look ... more
sanitised. But in its re-creation of events leading to the epochal battle,The Longest Dayis captivating and grand, and the parade of famous actors who cross the scree...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
On June 6 1944 the Allied Invasion of France marked the beginning of the end of Nazi ... more
domination over Europe. The attack involved 3 000 000 men 11 000 planes and 4 000 ships comprising the largest armada the world has ever seen. Presented in its o...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
On June 6, 1944, the Allied Invasion of France marked the beginning of the end of Nazi ... more
domination over Europe. The attack involved 3,000,000 men, 11,000 planes and 4,000 ships, comprising the largest armada the world has ever seen.Presented in its orig...
On June 6, 1944, the Allied Invasion of France marked the beginning of the end of Nazi ... more
domination over Europe. The attack involved 3,000,000 men, 11,000 planes and 4,000 ships, comprising the largest armada the world has ever seen.Presented in its original black & white version, The Longest Day is a vivid, hour-by-hour re-creation of this historic event. Featuring a stellar international cast, and told from the perspectives of both sides, it is a fascinating look at the massive preparations, mistakes and random events that determined the outcome of one of the biggest battles in history.Winner of two Oscars (Special Effects and Cinematography), The Longest Day ranks as one of Hollywood's truly great war films.
Erica and her younger sister Nancy live in the small village of St Agnes on Rowansdale. ... more
Each year the village holds an event to celebrate the longest day of summer. On this day there is a cricket match on the village green, and Lord and Lady Jarvis throw open Rowansdale Hall to the public.
Production Year: 1970 - War - Director: Brian G. Hutton - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring: Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Carroll O'Connor, Donald Sutherland, Don Rickles, Gavin MacLeod
Advantages: Top class performances, superb, realistic depiction of D Day Disadvantages: Tad too long
June 6 is traditionally considered the longest day of the year due to summer solstice. From a historical perspective, June 6,1944 is one of the most significant dates in world history. In military terms, its simply called the D-Day, but as Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, tells his soldiers at the Atlantic Front, "This would be the longest day for Allies as well as the Germans".
June 6,1944- To any one even remotely interested ... ...the day when the Allies launched one of the largest assault by sea, air and land on the German forces. The date which witnessed some of the bloodiest casualties in World War II both for Allies and Germans. An event in history marked by ego clashes, last minute decisions, a battle marked by two sides unwilling to concede an inch. Some of the greatest military persons Rommel, Eisenhower were part of this event.
And to make such a path breaking ... more
June 6 is traditionally considered the longest day of the year due to summer solstice. From a historical perspective, June 6,1944 is one of the most significant dates in world history. In military terms, its simply called the D-Day, but as Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, tells his soldiers at the Atlantic Front, "This would be the longest day for Allies as well as the Germans".
June 6,1944- To any one even remotely interested in war history, this is an unforgettable day. This is the day when the Allies launched one of the largest assault by sea, air and land on the German forces. The date which witnessed some of the bloodiest casualties in World War II both for Allies and Germans. An event in history marked by ego clashes, last minute decisions, a battle marked by two sides unwilling to concede an inch. Some of the greatest military persons Rommel, Eisenhower were part of this event. And to make such a path breaking historical event into a 3 hour long movie, is no mean achievement. And that's what makes the 1962 Movie, The Longest Day, one of the greatest war classics to ever hit silver screen. Mind you the movie is not a Saving Private Ryan which showed the futility of war, it's a retelling of what happened on June 6,1944.
4 directors, 4 screen writers, including Cornelius Ryan, the original author on whose book the movie was based and 42 top class stars came together to make this epic of a movie. The stars were all A Grade talents- John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Curt Jungens, Richard Burton, Robert Ryan, Rod Steiger and Sean Connery.
The movie is significant in that it narrates the events of June 6,1944 from 4 different view points, The Germans, the Americans , the French Resistance fighters and the British. It also helped that the military consultants for this movie were people who had actually seen first hand combat in D-Day. The popular military tune was written by Paul Anka, a popular Canadian singer who also acted in the movie. The movie starts off with a French resistance squad receiving coded information about a likely Allied assault on the coast of Normandy. Codenamed as Operation Overlord, it was the largest sea borne invasion in history, with 3 million troops. The main divisions came from US, UK and Canada in the assault phase. And then the movie goes into the actual planning phase, with the senior officers planning out the assault. The French resistance job was to blow up train tracks, bridges to halt the German advance.
From the German view, we learn of how the senior brass takes it casually, inspite of Erwin Rommel's warnings, as he says in the memorable quote: "Just look at it, gentlemen. How calm... how peaceful it is. A strip of water between England and the continent... between the Allies and us. But beyond that peaceful horizon... a monster waits. A coiled spring of men, ships, and planes... straining to be released against us. But, gentlemen, not a single Allied soldier shall reach the shore. Whenever and wherever this invasion may come, gentlemen... I shall destroy the enemy there, at the water's edge. Believe me, gentlemen, the first 24 hours of the invasion will be decisive. For the Allies as well as the Germans, it will be the longest day... The longest day."
But Field Marshal Gerd Von Runsteldt is unconvinced, and he feels that the Normandy invasion is just a diversionary tactic. The Germans were under the impression that as Pas-de-Calais was closer to England, the Allies were likely to attack there, and they neglected to fortify Normandy, inspite of Rommel's warnings. Runsteldt feels that a landing at Normandy would be against all military logic. And this makes one of the most memorable scenes in the movie, when a German pair of guards, watch in shock as they see the large flotilla approaching, and they ring up HQ.
More memorable is one more scene, where a local French resident of Normandy, jumps about in joy as he hears the allied ships firing on the beach, unmindful of the artillery hitting his home also. And yes the actual landings at Normandy, are depicted superbly, the Allies landing on the beach, the Germans fighting back fiercely, the casualties, and a touch of humor with a Scotsman playing bag pipes.
As also the scenes showing the hand to hand fighting between the Germans and Allies as they move inwards. Another memorable scene is one where Pvt John Steele, lands on a church tower, and finds himself caught on the clock. One scene which is quite tragic is, when the American soldiers use a double click as a code, to identify themselves. Unfortunately one of them, walks into a German trap and is shot dead.
The movie has some top class actors Richard Burton as RAF Flying Officer David Campbell. Henry Fonda as Brig Gen Theodore Roosevelt Jr, the son of former US presiden Teddy Roosevelt, he lead the US 4th Infantry at Utah Beach. Robert Mitchum as Brig Gen Norman Cota, he was against the concept of landing during daylight and believed pre dawn landings would be safer. John Wayne as Benjamin Vandervoort, one of the toughest commanders famous for his quote "You cant give the enemy a break send him to hell". Curt Jungens as Maj Gen Gunther Blumentrit, who has to put up with the incompetence of his superiors. Other important persona like Eisenhower, Gen Omar Bradley, Rommel, Montogomery are played by relatively lesser actors.
For a movie made in the 60's when technology was not advanced, and that too filmed completely in black and white, the action sequences are thrilling and top class. Many of the battle sequences have a realistic touch to them. For all war movie lovers, go do watch this movie to see what happened on one of the most momentous days in world history.
Advantages: Excellent retelling of the Normandy Landings Disadvantages: None.
...pretty accurate telling, from both the Allied and Axis points of view, of the events surrounding the Normandy Landings and, although the 'special effects' are not up to modern standards, it looks pretty accurate (though there is less of the 'noise' that you get in "Saving Private Ryan". The film was shot in black & white, and this helps lend an air of the documentary to the film, especially as each of the main characters is named onscreen in subtitles.
... ...and all play exceptionally well.
The edition I have is a little short on 'extras' - There are a couple of trailers (for this film and a couple of other war films). Sound is a little quiet - though this might be just my hearing - but clear; subtitles are also clear and readable (though there are a couple of typo's in there) I don't know if the original film had subtitles for the non-English Language sections (a fair part of the film is in German ...
quaint1 28.07.2005 (03.08.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Longest Day (DVD)
Advantages: Best War Movie ever made! Disadvantages: None
This is quite simply the best War film ever made in my opinion.Deserved more than the two oscars it received(cinematography and special effects).The film chronicles the D-Day landings from the conception,planning, to the day itself on the 6th of June 1944 when the first of three million allied soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy.The attack involved eleven thousand planes and four thousand ships,comprising the biggest armada ever assembled.Told ...
morgan1878 14.08.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of The Longest Day (DVD)
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Advantages: Only major film to attempt to capture the scope and drama of D-Day Disadvantages: None
would later executive produce the Japanese-American Pearl Harbor classic, Tora! Tora! Tora!
The movie basically follows the book's structure in its three major acts: The Wait, about the preparations on both sides for the invasion; The Night, about the night airborne assault; and The Day, about the landings on the five invasion beaches. The DVD breaks these three acts into 12 chapters.
While by early 21st Century standards The LongestDay's combat scenes are rather tame - there are no extremely gory scenes as explicit as those in Saving Private Ryan - they do capture the vastness and complexity of the Normandy landings. Shot in a semi-documentary style (major characters are introduced with identifying "credits" so we know who is who), The LongestDay is as accurate as a 1962-era film studio could depict an actual event. The black ...
Advantages: Excellent film, Cracking Actors, Great Story Disadvantages: Very Long
all over the countryside and were seperated from their groups as well as landing directly into the middle of one town.
You then follow the story slightly after the actual invasion as the troops move away from the beaches, etc.
Trivia:
Did you know that the LongestDay was filmed in both black and white and colour? They decided to release the film in Black and White because it looked more authentic, however you can get the film in colour still (although it does not look as good).
This fim is the Winner of two Oscars, namely Special Effects and Cinematography.
Quotes:
1st Quote:
Flight Officer David Campbell: He's dead. I'm crippled. You're lost. Do you suppose it's always like that? I mean war.
2nd Quote:
Lt. Col. Ocker:
[Pluskat is currently inside a bunker and has just seen the Allies Warships and has realized ...
Advantages: Own a classic, epic war movie Disadvantages: Special features aren't that special
The LongestDay - an epic and a classic war movie now on DVD with a special feature DVD. It is a wide screen version and worth being played on a wide screen/ large TV. I have a projector and its great to set up the home cinema, surround sound (although its not Dolby), set up the projector and sit down with a few beers.
I like this film, when I first saw it back in the 1980's as a young boy; it sent my imagination running - poor old action man. The film is all about heroes, courage and sacrific plus a little humour from the Directors -Ken Annakin - (I wonder if George Lucas watched the credits and came up with the idea of Anakin Skywalker from the director's name), Andrew Marton and Bernhard Wicki.
I'll do a quick synopsis and then review the package as a whole. Then I'll give a bit more detail below.
Quick synopsis: The Longest ...
An account of the events surrounding the Allied invasion of the beaches of Normandy during D-Day, June 1944. Seen from every angle, including that of the Germans, who were totally overwhelmed by the size of the Allied armies thrown against them.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; Deluxe Video Service - Fox
James Jones, Cornelius Ryan, Romain Gary, David Pursall, Jack Seddon
Art Director
Ted Haworth, Leon Barsacq, Vincent Korda
Director of Photography
Jean Bourgoin, Walter Wottitz
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Vanilla Version
Professional reviews
Review
"...Incredible scope and sweep....Fast-moving, dramatically on-target, and searingly realistic..." -- Rating: B+ (Entertainment Weekly, p.64, 03/06/1994)
DVD Description
An all-star cast has been enlisted for this epic recreation of the Allied invasion of Normandy that took place on June 6, 1944. This spectacular film noisily dramatises the viewpoints of the French, English, German, and American soldiers. Featuring Oscar winning special effects and cinematography, THE LONGEST DAY is an historic tour de force of spectacular sound and vision. This moment by moment account of the climactic battle of the second World War, fought on land, sea and in the air, is loaded with top class acting from John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, Richard Burton, Sean Connery, Rod Steiger, Roddy MacDowall and many many more, almost as many as the 3 million men deeply involved on that historic summer day 1944.
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