The Longest Day

The previous comments about Canadian participation in the Normandy invasion were significant - insofar as there weren't very many. One of the five Normandy beaches was Canadian (Juno), but there is almost no mention of this in The Longest Day, and I'm sure that one would be hard pressed to find many Americans (and not a whole lot more Canadians) who know this. Unfortunately, it is movies such as this and other popular media that shape the historic knowledge of people on both sides of the border. In the near absence of Canadian content, I find it ironic that a young Canadian (Paul Anka) not only played a part in the movie as an American soldier, but also wrote the theme music. I find it also ironic that the legendary rifle used by US soldiers during WW2 and shown in this movie was designed by a Canadian as well (Garand is a French Canadian name). The cruelest irony, of course, is the fact that thousands of Canadian soldiers were maimed or lost there lives on 6 June 1944 and the days thereafter, with virtually no acknowledgement in this movie. I have always enjoyed watching this movie, but it is unfortunate that I must use my imagination to see in it the heroic and selfless wartime effort of my father's generation, in similar fashion to viewers in the US and UK.

'The Longest Day' is perhaps the greatest dramatic record of one of the defining moments in world history. After the intimacy of 'Saving Private Ryan', many critics have accused it of being a 'sanitized' version of the Normandy Invasion, but it is a different kind of film, entirely! While Steven Speilberg's aim was to personalize the horror facing the first wave of troops to hit the beach, Producer Darryl F. Zanuck, a D-Day vet, himself, wanted to create a mosaic of the myriad of personalities, events, and experiences that shaped the day. It is a film that looks objectively at all the forces who fought this epic battle, wisely casting major stars of each country to portray actual and fictitious characters. This was a bold move at the time, as subtitles are used extensively, giving the film has a uniquely international flavor. This is not your usual war film with 'American actors doing funny accents'!

There are many standout performances; a few that deserve particular recognition are Richard Burton's war-weary RAF pilot, the last survivor of his original squadron; Dietmar Schönherr as one of the few remaining Luftwaffe pilots, faced with the impossible order of stopping the invasion with two airplanes; Jeffrey Hunter, a young sergeant who is 'Dear John'ed and faces the horrendous Omaha landing; a pre-James Bond Sean Connery as a cocky Irish infantryman; Red Buttons, as a paratrooper whose chute snags on a church tower, and is forced to view the carnage as Germans annihilate jumpers dropping into a French town square; and John Wayne (himself a war film icon), as Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Vandervoort, the Airborne commander, who impatiently waits for the 'Go' order, then breaks his ankle jumping into Normandy.

Filled with drama, humor, and pathos, 'The Longest Day' works on many levels, and is never dull! Over forty years after its initial release, it's semi-documentary style still seems as fresh and engrossing as ever, and works equally well viewed by itself, or paired with 'Saving Private Ryan'.

It should be an essential part of your film library!

This is perhaps one of the most ambitious, epic WW2 films to have been made; certainly it is the last of the classic B&W films made about the subject. Featuring an all-star cast (John Wayne, Richard Burton, Kurt Jurgens... even a cameo by Sean Connery!), it comprehensively details the build-up and execution of the Normandy landings in 1944, taking care to show how the event was perceived by Allied and Axis soldiers and commanders, as well as the Free French resistance. This is a film that takes great care in documenting the events of the day, without lapsing into sickly sentimentalism or getting distracted with fictional characters' personal lives (a failing of many WW2 movies since about 1970), or over-emphasising any one nation's importance in the operation (although, admittedly, Canadians may feel a little short-changed).

Classic moments abound, notably the landing at St.Mere-Eglise and the soldier who gets caught in the church steeple, the frustrations of the front-line German commanders and fighters, and the numerous cameos for film nerds to keep track of.

If you want a wartime romance, or an appearance by Matt Damon or Ben Affleck, or long, loving shots of the Stars & Stripes in slo-mo, or a gritty blood'n'guts fest, you'll be disappointed. This film has broader concerns, and was made with much more thoroughness. There is no agenda at work here, pro-war or anti-. It is solely concerned with documenting Operation "Overlord" for the film-going public, and succeeds brilliantly; a shame then, that it has not made the top 50 war films list.

A must-see for any fan of war films.

THE LONGEST DAY is one of the if not the greatest World War II movie epics. However, it is unfair to compare it to Steven Spielberg's SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. To do so would really be comparing apples and oranges. Spielberg's movie was meant to convey the gore and horror of war and succeeded quite admirably. In THE LONGEST DAY, which was shot in semi-documentary style, Zanuck's intent was to show the monumental effort involved, on the part of the allies, in mounting a successful cross channel invasion. In that regard this film also succeeded quite admirably. It should be regarded more as a history lesson rather than as simply dramatic entertainment. The historical value of the film far outweighs any minor dramatic licenses taken by Zanuck.

The Longest Day works on several levels - the most obvious being the "don't blink or you might miss several" nature of the Star-Studded cast. Much of the cast works very well (Sean Connery's little comedy double act with Norman Rossington is an unexpected highlight). Some less so, and some is just downright tokenism - Rod Steiger getting all of 43 seconds on-screen for example. But overall, it's always a watchable movie - beautifully shot.

Some previous comment have surprised me, particularly the assertion that The Longest Day is, in any way, a "pro-war" film. I'm not sure if there *is* such a thing, but if there is then The LOngest Day certainly doesn't fall into this category - the scene of bewilderment between Richard Burton and Richard Beymer at the end about the confusion and directionlessness of war is the perfect example, ending with the memorable line "I wonder who won".

I'm also surprised that a European reviewer should have accused this film, of all world war II movies, of being American propoganda. I wonder how many other WWII films include both German and (almost unqiuely) French perspectives of the war to such an extent that almost half of the dialogue in them is in a language other than English. I find the German sequences in The Longest Day to be amongst the most interesting historically and dramatically.

The film is certainly as accurate as it's possible for a fictional movie to be - the list of advisors that it had working on it should prove that - including many people who are portrayed by actors in the movie itself. These include the characters played by Peter Lawford, Richard Todd and Kenneth More, along with several of the German field officers. Little touches that seem utterly out of place (like the nuns procession through the French village bringing a temporary ceasefire) are actually historically spot-on.

The final problem for the modern reviewer, of course, is the inevitable comparison between this film and Saving Private Ryan. But, as several other contributors have noted, SPR is not only the product of a different age with a different view of these events - historical as opposed to something which happened so recently that half of the audience are likely to have lived through them. But, ultimately, something usually forgotten about Operation Overlord is that Omaha Beach was merely one battle of a very long day indeed. Americans tend to focus on it because of the death toll, but the taking of Utah, Sword and Gold were just as important to the overall outcome. The Longest Day is a film about five beaches, many battles, and many men - some, as Richard Burton says, dead, some crippled and some lost. It is an anti-war film which proves that you can be anti-war and still celebrate and acknowledge heorism. The heroism of the young American and British troops, falling face-first into the salt water of the Normandy killing grounds. The incredible bravery of the Rangers who scaled the cliffs at Pointe du Luc on and, ultimately, meaningless mission. The heroism of the two Luftwaffe pilots commanded to face the invading armies alone, and who did so (another historically accurate point).

The Longest Day is a historic film about a historical event and it should be viewed as such.

9/10