This 3-hour war epic starring John Wayne, Sean Connery and Henry Fonda is one of the best D-Day films of all time

John Wayne, Sean Connery and Henry Fonda were the headliners of a star ensemble in The longest dayone of the greatest cinematic depictions of the D-Day landings. The Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 was the largest seaborne invasion in history. Since then, filmmakers have tried to recreate the visceral terror of D-Day on the big screen. The D-Day landings were captured in Budd Boetticher’s Red Ball Express 1952 Arthur Hillers The Americanization of Emily 1964 Samuel Fuller’s The Big Red in 1980, and of course Steven Spielberg’s The soldier James Ryan In 1998.

But these films usually portray the Normandy landings as part of a larger story. The Big RedD-Day is just one of many military campaigns shown in a montage in which a nameless sergeant leads his troops over a period of two years. In The soldier James RyanD-Day is the opening scene that immerses the viewer in the setting of World War II. Rarely do they focus exclusively on D-Day. But a classic war epic released in 1962 did just that: The longest day shows the landing in Normandy from all possible perspectives.

What is the longest day? The D-Day film explains

The Longest Day is an ambitious epic about World War II with three directors

Based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Cornelius Ryan from 1959. The longest day Chronicle of the D-Day landings from American, British, French and German perspectivesIt was a collaboration between three directors: Andrew Marton took care of the American scenes, Ken Annakin took care of the British and French scenes and Bernhard Wicki took care of the German scenes. The longest day was such an ambitious, monumental undertaking that it took three filmmakers to make it a reality. Allied and Axis soldiers who took part in the Normandy landings served as consultants on the film to ensure its historical accuracy.

Although it is a Hollywood dramatization, The longest day was shot in the style of a docudrama to make it as realistic as possible. When the film was released in 1962, it was met with critical acclaim and was a huge box office success, winning praise for its mix of epic scale, which captured the full scope of the conflict, and personal details, which created an intimate atmosphere. The longest day was nominated for five Oscars at the 35th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won the awards for Best Cinematography (Black-and-White category) and Best Special Effects.

“The Longest Day” has a huge cast

Richard Burton, Robert Mitchum, Rod Steiger – the list goes on

The longest day has one of the largest and most star-studded casts in Hollywood history. The huge ensemble is led by John Wayne, the most famous Western film star of the time, Sean Connery, who began his role as James Bond the same year, and Henry Fonda, cinema’s most popular everyman. The cast also includes seven-time Oscar nominee Richard Burton, who just finished his Tony-winning performance in Camelot; Robert Mitchum, known for his antihero roles; and Rod Steiger, who played Marlon Brando’s brother in The water in the neck.

There are so many big stars in the cast of The longest day that most of them are limited to cameo appearances. The supporting cast includes George Segal, who later worked with Burton in Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Gert Fröbe, who later worked with Connery in Golden Finger; And A kiss before dying Star Robert Wagner. The film also stars Kenneth More, Richard Todd, Steve Forrest, Red Buttons, Peter Lawford, Eddie Albert, Jeffrey Hunter, Stuart Whitman, Curd Jürgens and Paul Anka.

“The Longest Day” is a great D-Day movie of all time

It captures the epic scale of the conflict

There are a lot of great D-Day movies – 1945 True glory1950s breakthrough1965s 36 hours1985s Codename: Emerald – but more than 60 years later The longest day is still considered one of the very best. It captures the epic scale of the conflict from every angle, but not at the expense of drama. The longest day creates the perfect balance between historical facts and human emotions. The whole thing feels like a documentary report on the events of the D-Day landings, but this could seem very dry and impersonal.

The longest day mixes in many personal reports from the front, so It captures the Normandy landings on both a micro and macro scale. It provides all the important facts about how the invasion unfolded – the strategy, the execution, the consequences – but it also provides a handful of personal perspectives to ground it all in the human experience. Anyone wanting a deeper understanding of D-Day (or just a mind-blowing cinematic experience) should watch this film. The longest day.

The longest day

The Longest Day is a 1962 war film that depicts the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, from the perspective of both the Allies and the Germans. The cast includes John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and Richard Burton, among others. Directed by several directors, the film focuses on the planning and execution of the operation, offering a detailed and layered look at one of the defining moments of World War II.

director

Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki, Darryl F. Zanuck

Pour

Eddie Albert, Paul Anka, Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault, Richard Beymer, Hans Christian Blech

Duration

178 minutes