There’s more than Private Ryan to this story
Storming the beaches of Normandy (and yes there were multiple beaches) was no easy task. It took exact planning, cooperation between countries that never worked together before in a large scale event, and a ton of courage. If you haven’t experienced The Longest Day before, it will put you in the thick of battle. Not so much like Steven Spielberg did with his tremendous film Saving Private Ryan, where everything was graphically detailed (gore galore), but rather it puts you on the beaches with the troops and in their intense situation as they are pinned down by the Germans. It’s more of a ‘how the hell are they going to get out of this situation’ and less of ‘I can’t watch someone getting their head blown off’. If Spielberg had captured both, then there isn’t a chance in hell I would say what I said at the beginning of this review. Alas, he didn’t and now, after nearly 50 years, The Longest Day is still the end-all-be-all. Here’s why.
First and foremost, the gigantic cast of actors was enormous. You’ve got Peter Fonda, John Wayne, Eddie Albert, Robert Mitchum, Robert Wagner, Richard Burton, Red Buttons, Sean Connery and an entire slew of supporting actors. This movie is loaded. What’s more impressive is that all of these actors put their egos aside and made one of the greatest war movies of our time. After watching this, it still blows my mind that not one of them stood out individually, it was all a team effort to make this movie great. That’s the first impressive part of the film.
The second, probably more important to the story, is how it all comes together and draws the audience in. For nearly the first half of the film, you’re sitting waiting with the men from all the allied forces, wondering when the invasion is going to happen. You go through the torment of thinking you’re leaving, but finding out you’re not. The viewer goes through the anguish of knowing that if the invasion doesn’t happen that Europe, and the war, might be lost. The movie puts you there. This is 1962! They’re accomplishing this feat of movie magic in 1962! And nothing, to this date, has come close to it. Of course, when the invasion finally gets the green light, you’re right there in the middle of the chaos. You’re there with Robert Mitchum, storming the beach of Omaha, trapped under heavy German fire, needing to find a solution, while the troops around you are getting slaughtered. It’s an amazing, trapping, horrifying feeling, but the movie puts you there. This really drives the film, great pacing by the director, excellent editing, and technical work well ahead of its time (wait until you see the french village the camera cranes through).
As for the directors, Ken Annakin and Andrew Marton, there isn’t any other way this film could have been done without them. There had to be two directors with enough focus into bringing this many sides of the story together. You get the french, the english and american viewpoints. You have the troops storming the beaches, the paratroopers falling from the skies and having a story of their own. Each little piece of this war was presented evenly in the film, smoothly and it fit together perfectly. I can’t imagine an epic war film such as this being pulled off this successfully during our time. Not enough money, too many egos. Again, 1962! Unbelievable.
Finally, you won’t find a flaw in the film. Despite the black and white, it still maintains the visuals really well. The endless amount of troops, the accurate vehicles, down to the obstacles on Omaha. It’s all there, almost recreated without missing a beat. I couldn’t find one flaw in this film, it still holds its own this day and age. It beats out all other takers in this genre.
This is truly the best war movie to date.
Making a war better
When I first saw this on Blu-ray, I was blown away. This film looks like it was made yesterday on black and white film. It’s probably the sharpest image I’ve seen on Blu-ray. The audio equaled it. You won’t be disappointed by these two things, you’ll hug your Blu-ray so tightly and thank it. It preserved the best version of The Longest Day, nothing will rival it.
As for the features, here’s what you get:
DISC ONE
-Historical Commentary with Mary Corey
-Film Commentary with Ken Annakin
DISC TWO
–A Day to Remember Featurette
–Longest Day: A Salute to Courage Featurette
-AMC Backstory: The Longest Day
-D-Day Revisited Documentary
–Richard Zanuck on the Longest Day Featurette
-Still Gallery
-Theatrical Trailer
The movie is long and entertaining, the featurettes are no different. For any history or war buff out there, this is literally the perfect package for you. Though presented in standard definition, they’re still entertaining and informative. You get everything from this Blu-ray.
Perfect ends
This is the best war movie ever. It’s even better on Blu-ray. What else can I tell you? Let’s just leave it at that.