Ike: Countdown to D-Day (2004) (TV)

Director:

Robert Harmon

Writer (WGA):

Lionel Chetwynd (written by)

Release Date:

31 May 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | War

Plot:

IKE: COUNTDOWN TO D-DAY depicts the tense 90 days leading up to the D-Day invasion and how Dwight Eisenhower, against all odds, brilliantly orchestrated the most important military maneuver in modern history.

Plot Keywords:

D Day | Military | Major | World War Two | General

Awards:

Nominated for 6 Primetime Emmys. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Tom Selleck	...	Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
James Remar	...	Gen. Omar Bradley
Timothy Bottoms	...	Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith
Ian Mune	...	Prime Minister Winston Churchill
Bruce Phillips	...	Gen. Bernard Law Montgomery
John Bach	...	Air Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory
Nick Blake	...	Air Marshal Arthur W. Tedder
Kevin J. Wilson	...	RAdm. Bert Ramsay
Gerald McRaney	...	Patton
Christopher Baker	...	Group Cpt. Major James Stagg
George Shevtsov	...	General Charles DeGaulle
Gregor McLennan	...	Captain Chapman
Paul Gittins	...	Major General Henry Miller
Bruce Hopkins	...	U.S. Colonel at Savoy
Catherine Boniface	...	Woman at Savoy
Mick Rose	...	King George
Carole Seay	...	Queen Elizabeth (as Carol Seay)
Paul Barrett	...	Major Wiatt
Rachel Wallis	...	WAC Sergeant
Stephen Brunton	...	Corporal Younger
Brian Gidley	...	Chief Whip
Andrew Robertt	...	101st Lieutenant
Robert Pollock	...	101st Sergeant
Craig Hall	...	101st Corporal
Millen Baird	...	101st Private
Clint Sharplin	...	101st Paratrooper
David Mackie	...	Projector Sergeant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mark Cirillo	...	Paul A. Hodgson (as John Anthony Cirillo)

Directed by
Robert Harmon

Writing credits (WGA)
Lionel Chetwynd		(written by)

Produced by
Dennis A. Brown	....	producer
Lionel Chetwynd	....	executive producer
Tim Christenson	....	associate producer
David Craig	....	supervising producer: A&E Network
Delia Fine	....	executive producer: A&E Network
Stephanie Germain	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Jeff Beal

Cinematography by
David Gribble		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Chris Peppe

Casting by
Terri De'ath		(as Terri De'Ath)

Production Design by
Ralph Davies

Art Direction by
Nick Bassett
Andy McLaren

Set Decoration by
Jill Cormack

Costume Design by
Lesley Burkes-Harding

Makeup Department
Lon Bentley	....	makeup designer: Mr. Selleck
Susan Glass	....	key makeup artist
Paul Pattison	....	hair stylist supervisor
Paul Pattison	....	makeup supervisor
Kimberley Spiteri	....	hair stylist supervisor: Mr. Selleck

Production Management
Liz DiFiore	....	production manager
Ronnie Hape	....	unit manager
Cynthia Stegner	....	post-production executive (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Katie Flannigan	....	second second assistant director
George Lyle	....	first assistant director
Katie Tate	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Viv Kernick	....	property master
Murray Sweetman	....	construction manager

Sound Department
Alan Decker	....	sound re-recording mixer
Wayne Heitman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tony Johnson	....	production sound mixer
Mark Larry	....	sound supervisor
Michael O'Corrigan	....	sound supervisor
Tim Philben	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Gunner Ashford	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
George Port	....	visual effects supervisor

Camera and Electrical Department
Rob Marsh	....	camera operator
Jay Munro	....	key grip
Sean O'Neill	....	gaffer

Casting Department
Yvonne Bennett	....	extras casting coordinator
Susie Maizels	....	casting: Australia

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Erin O'Neill	....	costume supervisor (as Erin O'Neil)

Editorial Department
Amy Flint Catherwood	....	assistant editor (as Amy Flint)

Music Department
Craig Pettigrew	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Ronnie Hape	....	transportation manager
Chris Wildermoth	....	vehicle wrangler

Other crew
Gunner Ashford	....	armorer
Paul Carran	....	production services: Film Factory New Zealand Limited
Helen Mackenzie	....	production accountant (as Helen MacKenzie)
Dianne Moffatt	....	script supervisor
Robin Murphy	....	location manager
Lyn Willis	....	production coordinator
Marlea Willis	....	senior unit publicist: A&E Network
Alejandro de Quesada	....	historical consultant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• A&E Television Networks (in association with)
• Lionel Chetwynd Productions
• Stephanie Germain Productions
• Sony Pictures Television

Distributors

• A&E Television Networks (2004) (USA) (TV)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2004) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Eén (2010) (Belgium) (TV)

Other Companies

• Sony Pictures Studios  post-production facilities
• Carlton International Media  "Henry V" courtesy of
• Film Factory New Zealand Limited  production services

Also Known As:

"Countdown to D-Day" - International (English title) (informal short title)
"Ike" - International (English title) (informal short title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild language

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG | Singapore:PG | Australia:PG | Brazil:14 | Netherlands:AL | Canada:PG (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Airport, Ardmore, Auckland, New Zealand

Company:

A&E Television Networks

Trivia:

A written message written by Eisenhower and taking full responsibility by him and to be issued to the media should the D-Day landings fail was found in one of the pockets of his military uniforms years later after D-Day. These details about this message were worked into this tele-movie's script.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the Overlord briefing for King George VI there are a series of flags and regimental colors displayed in the Headquarters. All of the US flags are displayed with the blue field of stars in the upper right hand corner when they should be hung with the field in the upper left hand corner. This could be written off as a historically representative mistake, but this many flags in the presence of the King of England, the Prime Minister of the UK and the Supreme Commander of the Allied forces would be hung correctly.

Quotes:

Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith:Last one at the dance or the first?
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower:Hell it's just the way it is Bedell, one minute I'm exactly what Churchill described me the most powerful man in history. Now the Order's given, hell; I'm just audience front row center to the shoe. But a Corporal on Juno, a Private on Utah there the ones who will affect the outcome not me. It's up to them now.

Movie Connections:

Features Cover Girl (1944)

A Good Performance by Tom Selleck in a Tough Role

Dwight D. Eisenhower was the perfect choice for Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces that stormed French beaches on the one D-Day that indelibly evokes 6 June 1944. Having successfully commanded the forces that invaded North Africa and subsequently Sicily, Eisenhower was the right man at the right time, the indispensable molder of a coalition with perhaps too many headstrong generals and admirals. All these senior officers had combat command experience-Eisenhower never left the United States during World War I. He was a remarkably competent staff officer whose abilities were noted by, probably, the shrewdest judge of Army men in America, George Marshall. And Marshall elevated his protege from lieutenant colonel to General of the Army in a very short period.

The problem with portraying Eisenhower in the tense and confusing period before the actual invasion is that never-ending talk, not action - briefings, meetings, staff reports - were the basis for the Supreme Commander's decision to launch the invasion or postpone it. Weather issues were critical but The Weather Channel has much more excitement every night than that found in the calm, Scottish-accented reports RAF Group Captain Stagg, Eisenhower's meteorologist, delivered several times a day.

"Ike: Countdown to D-Day" has no battle sequences nor does it explore the emotional territory of the fighting men who would begin what Eisenhower termed "The Great Crusade," the title of his postwar bestselling memoir.

Tom Selleck, in an outstanding performance, captures the nuances of a general with high ideals and a simple but consummate love of his country. British generals and some American ones, including Patton, decried Eisenhower's lack of battlefield command experience and even his ability to grasp complex tactical situations. They were, to a certain degree, correct but what they missed was that his job was not to micro-manage combat but to hold together men of extreme temperaments and often mutual dislikes against the forces that might pull them apart and damage the coalition effort.

Selleck's Eisenhower is quiet, thoughtful and fully engaged in being an ALLIED leader and his gifts in that capacity are well reflected by this actor. Yes, some incidents are perhaps subject to challenge by the historically knowledgeable (including me) but in the main this is as accurate a movie dramatization of D-Day planning and decision-making as we're likely to get.

While Eisenhower's driver and confidant, Kay Summersby, an attractive Englishwoman in uniform, is present kudos go to the writers and director for not hyping up the film with an unnecessary romantic digression into the general's alleged extramarital affair with the winsome chauffeur.

This film might bore some but it's a fairly good capture of the tensions and issues preceding the issuance of one of the most momentous orders in the history of warfare: "Let's go!," Eisenhower simple command that translated years of preparation into a massive assault that presaged the liberation of Europe.

9/10