InsidePulse DVD Review – The Longest Day

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Image Courtesy of Amazon.com

Directors:

Ken Annakin (British exterior episodes)
Andrew Marton (American exterior episodes)
Bernhard Wicki (German episodes)

Cast:

Eddie Albert……….Col. Thompson
Paul Anka……….U.S. Army Ranger
Hans Christian Blech……….Maj. Werner Pluskat
Bourvil……….Mayor of Colleville
Richard Burton……….Flight Officer David Campbell
Wolfgang Büttner……….Maj. Gen. Dr. Hans Speidel
Red Buttons……….Pvt. John Steele
Sean Connery……….Pvt. Flanagan
Henry Fonda……….Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
Steve Forrest……….Capt. Harding
Werner Hinz……….Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
Robert Mitchum……….Brig. Gen. Norman Cota
Kenneth More……….Capt. Colin Maud
John Wayne……….Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort

The Movie

Storming the beaches of Normandy on D-Day was one of the turning points of World War II. With General Patton and his troops occupying the German Army’s focus, Allied forces were able to land on the beaches and behind the liberation of France and the rest of mainland Europe from Nazi control. Many men died that day and many more would die as Allied forces marched from there and spread out into Europe in one of the greatest military campaigns ever waged from start to finish. And before war movies would focus on the soldier facing the absurdity of war and existential questions about death and dying, they focused on war itself.

The Longest Day focuses on the events of this day from both perspectives. The Germans, who are normally demonized for World War II movies, are shown in the same light as the Americans. This is a battle for the supremacy of Europe, politics be damned, and the film focuses on the battle itself. It’s a step by step look at the 24 hours of D-day. The procedures from the President’s war room to the grunts in the barracks are covered; it makes for an interesting viewing.

The thing that stands out most about the film is the cast; assembling lots of talented actors for one film was much easier 30-40 years ago, so it’s a bit more common than it is nowadays, but seeing John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fond and Sean Connery in the same movie is something to behold even 40 years removed from the film’s debut in the early 1960s. The film boasted “40 International Stars” on its original poster and it’s interesting to see that about every scene a major star from the era happens to be in the scene. It would be comparable to watching a film nowadays wherein Brad Pitt, Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone, Vin Diesel, Christian Bale and a dozen other major stars were all involved. It’s impressive to see that each actor tries to make the most out of what limited screen time is given; this is a group effort to make a great film, not a mixture of many stars all fighting to steal the scenery.

The film also is in black and white, which is definitely a different aesthetic for a war film. At this point in time color was predominant in film and as such black & white gives it a much more authentic look than color would due to the documentary-style direction. With so many directors shooting different sequences, it’s an easy style for all of them to follow. It also gives the film an unintentional philosophical connotation to the proceedings; most war movies are about good and evil with shades of grey in between, the black & white aspect gives it an ambiguity that color can’t provide.

The film also has some great action sequences that still hold over four decades later. While war films since have raised the bar in both intensity and the overall graphic nature of combat, the authenticity of the film’s combat and the attention to detail close the gap with modern war movies.

Overall The Longest Day is quite good and entertaining, as it’s an interesting watch as both a war movie as well as a relic of the genre. It’s a lasting reminder of how war films used to be, before society changed.

Score : 8 / 10

The Video

Presented in a widescreen format with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, The Longest Day is in black and white as well. The film has a decent transfer that isn’t much of an improvement from the bare bones DVD release. The film is grainy and is a bit fuzzy on occasion.

The Audio

Presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 format, the film sounds good though. The action sequences take full advantage of the format, coming through loud and clear, and the audio also allows the background noise like waves crashing to come through subtly without taking away from the dialogue.

The Extras

Disc One :

Commentary by director Ken Annakin

Commentary by historian Mary Corey

Disc Two :

“A Day To Remember” is a featurette that focuses on the film’s production. With much of the cast and production crew long since deceased, older members of the cast come back to talk about how the film was produced and crafted. There’s quite the attention to detail in this featurette, which runs around 18 minutes, as it talks about how certain scenes were shot as well as some technical details as well. The landing on Sword Beach, for example, used five video cameras as the directive was that with the large effects budget used on the film that all of it should be seen and heard. There are some other interesting tidbits nestled inside as well about the film.

“Longest Day: A Salute to Courage” is a featurette that originally ran on The History Channel included for this DVD. This is more of a historical look at how the film came to be. Producer Daryl F Zanuck loved the book by Cornelius Ryan and wanted to bring the book to life. Zanuck’s personal life was in disarray, as a disastrous affair and five straight box office flops had left his production legacy in a bit in doubt. Having optioned the book on accident, it’s interesting to note that Ryan and Zanuck did not like each other in any way. Zanuck supervised the script that Ryan had written and assembled a large cast of major stars who owed him a favor as well as actors he knew who had served on the events of the day. Putting up two million dollars of his own money to help bring the film to life, the nature of the film and the nature of the event seem to come together as the featurette focuses on how Zanuck’s drive to success is the driving factor behind it all. Considering this is a History Channel feature there is also a focus on the film’s historical accuracy compared to what actually happens in the film featuring veterans who fought during some of the events of the film; it’s interesting to hear how the men talk about the real life events juxtaposed against the events of the film. It’s also interesting to note how Zanuck had to rescue the film; 20th Century Fox wanted to rush the film into theatres in a much shorter form to help stem the upcoming box office disaster that was Cleopatra. Running 43 minutes, it’s a fascinating look at the film from history’s perspective and is narrated by Burt Reynolds.

“AMC Backstory: The Longest Day” is a featurette that initially ran on AMC and is also included on this DVD release. This documentary covers a lot of what’s already covered but focuses much more on the Hollywood perspective than the historical or production narratives. This featurette has a lot of insider Hollywood stories and tales from the entertainment capitol about the film from only the kind of retrospective modern Hollywood can give itself. There even more nuggets of information about the film to be found in this feature, such as how the production had all four directors working at once to try and keep the film on schedule, and runs around 24 minutes.

“D-Day Revisted” documentary is a 1968 featurette about the film. Hosted by Daryl Zanuck, it places footage of the film against Zanuck’s photography of the beaches of Normandy (and other locations) as they stood in 1968. It’s a bit haphazardly put together as Zanuck tries to add in “real” moments of human interaction that come off as alternatively ludicrous and scripted then tops it all off with Zanuck making a passionate anti-war speech that Jane Fonda would be proud of. The featurette runs around 51 minutes.

Daryl F Zanuck: A Dream Fulfilled is a featurette focusing on Daryl Zanuck, narrated by his son, and how The Longest Day changed both he and his son’s lives. The film would be the vehicle which Zanuck and by proxy his son would use to leap back on top of 20th Century Fox and runs four minutes.

Original Theatrical Trailer plus bonus trailers for Patton and Tora! Tora! Tora!.

Still Gallery

Score : 9 / 10