The Longest Day [DVD] (Black & White)

I’ve seen this film quite a number of times and being black and white doesn’t detract from its message. Enjoyable and good to see some of the old stars such as Richard Burton, John Wayne and Henry Fonda. Made in 1962 so only 18 years since the actual event when there would have been many thousands of ex military who had been involved in that decisive battle, watching that momentous occasion.

It may not contain the Iconic Saving Private Ryan Omaha scene but it’s hands down the best, most encompassing film about D-Day there is…My favourite scene had Richard Todd playing Maj. John Howard at Pegasus bridge being updated by a character playing Lt. Richard Todd!!!

A superb film about the defining moment during the second world war. We had keant our dvd to a relative so hoped the showing was exactly the same but some bits have been cut.

Epic telling of probably the most important day of recent times. If D-Day had failed, the Russian attack from the east may have faltered and Hitler may have gotten his greedy hands on the Soviet oilfields. With such resources he may have been unstoppable.With a huge cast of international stars, a very large budget, plenty of impressive hardware and at least four directors filming different aspects of the invasion, you certainly get your money's worth with The Longest Day. Yes it may be romanticised and to a certain degree the awfulness of war sanitised for general audiences, but in the main the facts about the build up, the sheer numbers of men and materials and the enormous amount of effort needed to undertake the mammoth task of invading mainland Europe is presented quite clearly. And although not a history lesson by any means it is quite clear that a lot of care was taken to try and get things at least historically as correct as is possible. Using Cornelius Ryan's best selling book as a base for the screenplay was a very good start. Considering that the real invasion involved three million men, four thousand ships and over ten thousand planes the production manages with a some skill to convey the sheer scale of the exercise rather well. Something Christopher Nolan failed to achieve in his recent film of the Dunkirk evacuation.Filming the invasion from both the Allies and the Germans perspective simultaneously and the use of skilful editing and intercutting was a master stroke that gives the film a non linear feel even though you are literally watching the hours tick by chronologically on screen. Cause and effect in real time does give the film a certain documentary feel at times, allied soldiers doing one thing and the Germans reacting to the new situation as best they could. The black and white image, rather than colour, works very well and actually helps to sell the documentary and slightly grimy feel successfully.The acting although often a tad cheesy is at least watchable. Fonda, Wayne, Mitchum and a very underused Richard Burton all playing real people put in terrific performances that really sell the desperate situation of the men parachuting behind enemy lines and those attempting to get off those deadly beaches under ferocious German fire. Many many other notable and recognisable character actors put in sterling performances. Watch out for a pre bond Sean Connery in a couple of numerous beach scenes.The sets, especially the German beach defences, the costumes and general art direction is first class and everything looks right. The regular back projection shots, usually inserts picked up during the editing process, are pretty ropey even for 1962 and look rushed to be honest. The DVD picture quality on this two disk version is not brilliant. The grain shows through and I suspect the Blu Ray will be much crisper, however these little annoyances are nothing compared to the general production values that are very high indeed. At a little less than three hours you would think the film would have slow points or unnecessary scenes, but you would be wrong, the run time really does fly by. Although a big financial success it was overlooked at the Oscars winning just two awards.The Longest Day is not meant to be a history lesson, it is a film designed to entertain and entertain it does. However even if you never read a single page of D-Day history you will come away with a working knowledge of what happened and how it was done. Seven years later the same producer made the equally good Tora, Tora, Tora about the attack on Pearl Harbour using the same technique of telling the story from both sides of the conflict.Tremendously entertaining.

Old films are the best

It may be early 1960's and in B&W but well worth buying.

NICE TO SEE THE BRITISH TROOPS

10/10The best WWll movie going next to The Battle of the Bulge

Dvd acheté usagé mais fonctionne comme un neuf

Consegna rapids. Dvd in ottimo stato

À conseiller super film

Très bonne qualité.

Seeing the movie was going back to school memories. I had missed watching this movie then. Don't remember if the film was ever screened in the theaters after that.