The Longest Day

Summary

John Wayne , Sean Connery , and Henry Fonda headline an all - star ensemble stamp inThe Longest Day , one of the majuscule cinematic portrayals of the D - Day landings . The confederate invasion of Normandy on June 6 , 1944 , was the largest seaborne invasion in account . Since then , filmmakers have been hear to cheer the intuitive holy terror of D - Day on the big screen . The D - Day landings were chronicled in Budd Boetticher’sRed Ball Expressin 1952 , Arthur Hiller’sThe Americanization of Emilyin 1964 , Samuel Fuller’sThe Big Red Onein 1980 , and , of class , Steven Spielberg’sSaving Private Ryanin 1998 .

But those movies usually depict the Normandy landing place as a piece of a larger story . InThe Big Red One , D - Day is just one of many military campaigns shown in a collage of an unnamed sergeant leading his police squad over a two - year menstruum . InSaving Private Ryan , D - Day is the opening set - piecethat immerses viewers in the picture ’s World War II setting . They rarely focus exclusively on D - Day . But one classic warfare epos , released in 1962 , did just that : The Longest Dayshows the Normandy landings from every dissimilar perspective .

What Is The Longest Day? The D-Day Movie Explained

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

establish on Cornelius Ryan ’s 1959 non - fiction ledger of the same name , The Longest Daychronicles the D - Day landings from the American , British , French , and German perspective . It was a collaborative sweat between three manager : Andrew Marton handled the American scenes , Ken Annakin handled the British and Gallic scenery , and Bernhard Wicki treat the German scenes . The Longest Daywas such an challenging , monumental undertaking that it took three movie maker to make it chance . military man from both the Allied and Axis sides of the D - Day landings do as consultant on the picture show to ensure its historical accuracy .

Although it ’s a Hollywood dramatisation , The Longest Daywas shot in the style of a docudrama to make it feel as naturalistic as possible . When it was publish in 1962 , it was widely praised by critics and became a massive corner office success . It was lauded for its blend of an epical exfoliation , capturing the full extent of the conflict , with personal inside information peppered in for an intimate flavour . The Longest Daywas nominated for five Oscars at the 35th Academy Awards , including Best Picture , and win Best Cinematography ( in the 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 Dayhas one of the biggest and most star - stud casts in Hollywood history . The monumental ensemble isheadlined by John Wayne , who was the most famous western movie star at the time ; Sean Connery , who get playing James Bond in the same yr ; and Henry Fonda , cinema ’s most beloved everyman . The stamp also sport seven - time Oscar candidate Richard Burton , spicy off his Tony - succeed number inCamelot ; Robert Mitchum , renowned for his antihero role ; and Rod Steiger , who played Marlon Brando ’s blood brother inOn the Waterfront .

There are so many huge headliner in the cast ofThe Longest Daythat most of them are relegated to cameo coming into court . The digest plaster bandage have George Segal , who would afterwards co - sensation with Burton inWho ’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? ; Gert Fröbe , who would later co - star with Connery inGoldfinger ; andA Kiss Before Dyingstar Robert Wagner . The movie also has appearance by Kenneth More , Richard Todd , Steve Forrest , Red Buttons , Peter Lawford , Eddie Albert , Jeffrey Hunter , Stuart Whitman , Curd Jürgens , and Paul Anka .

A batch of the form member – include Albert , Fonda , More , Steiger , and Todd – had serve in the Second World War .

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The Longest Day Is An All-Time Great D-Day Movie

It captures the epic scope of the conflict

There are a ton ofgreat D - Day moviesout there – 1945’sTrue Glory , 1950’sBreakthrough , 1965’s36 Hours , 1985’sCode Name : Emerald – but , more than 60 years later on , The Longest Daystill keep up as one of the very best . It captures the larger-than-life cathode-ray oscilloscope of the conflict from every slant , but not at the expense of play . The Longest Daymanages the thoroughgoing balance between historic fact and human emotion . The whole thing plays as a docudrama paper of the upshot of the D - Day landings , but that could amount off as very wry and impersonal .

The Longest Daymixes in mass of personal accounts from the frontlines , soit capture the Normandy landing on a micro scale as well as a macro scale . It delivers all the crucial fact about how the invasion went down – the strategy , the execution , the backwash – but it also delivers a handful of personal linear perspective to keep it grounded in human experience . Anyone who wants a cryptic understanding of D - Day ( or just a mind - blowing cinematic experience ) should check outThe Longest Day .

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Cast

The Longest Day is a 1962 warfare film depict the result of June 6 , 1944 , from multiple perspectives , including the German , US , British , Canadian , and Free French force , as they navigate the complexity of the D - 24-hour interval encroachment .

This 3-Hour War Epic With John Wayne, Sean Connery & Henry Fonda Is One Of The Best D-Day Movies Ever

Custom Image by Milica Djordjevic

The cast of The Longest Day in military uniforms

The Longest Day is a 1962 war film depicting the events of June 6, 1944, from multiple perspectives, including the German, US, British, Canadian, and Free French forces, as they navigate the complexities of the D-Day invasion.

Soldiers in the battlefield in The Longest Day

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hEADSHOT oF John Wayne

The Longest Day