The Longest Day

The Longest Day (1962)

Runtime: 178 minutes

Directed by: Ken Annakin/Andrew Marton/Bernhard Wicki/Darryl F. Zanuck

Starring: An incredible all-star cast; the highlights include John Wayne, Richard Burton, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Christian Marquand, and Curt Jurgens

From: 20th Century Fox

You know, I really haven’t seen too many war movies at all. That’s just how it’s been. In particular, before I saw this film, I had not seen any flicks about D-Day. That’s right, no Saving Private Ryan or even the Band of Brothers miniseries. I had heard about this movie for years now and I know that my mom enjoys it, so I finally was able to watch this late last week via a Blockbuster rental of a Blu-Ray disc; it looks really nice in that format.

This big-budget (inflation would make the cost of it around 70 million in current dollars) all-star extravaganza-they don’t make them like this anymore-is all about D-Day, from the night before, when the Allies finally decided to make the surprise invasion after several delays, to the journey to Normandy to the combat itself on the shores of northern France. Many different viewpoints are seen, and not just from the Allies. You get to see moments with the generals of the U.S., England, Scotland, France, and Germany, along with the soldiers of all those countries, and even the countrymen and freedom fighters in France. That’s why the movie is 3 hours long and yet it’s never boring. Among other things, you get to see that at times, war is indeed hell and brutal rather than the romantic image that is popularly attached to it. Also, you get to see the toll that being in the situation has caused for the soldiers, and how the whole effort was a massive undertaking. You learn that the decision to invade Normandy was a shocking one as it was the least predictable thing for them to do, so that’s why they did it and totally caught the Germans with their pants down.

Besides the drama and some comedic moments, you also end up with many action sequences, which are entertaining to watch and some of them are very nicely filmed too. What is noteworthy is that the German and French people speak their own languages, so there’s lot of subtitles. But, unless you’re a total rube that should be of no bother to you.

If you enjoy war movies or heck, grand old tales from the older days of motion pictures, then you should enjoy this 3 hour epic film filled with many stars of yesteryear, both in America and abroad. You’ll also better appreciate the D-Day invasion (the anniversary of which was just a week ago), so all around this is a classic film from the 60's.

I'll be back on Friday night with another review.