A war epic, The Longest Day is a 1962 film depicting the Normandy D-Day landings of June 6, 1944.
With no fewer than three directors – Ken Annakin for the British and French exteriors, Andrew Marton for its American exteriors, and Bernhard Wicki for the German scenes – The Longest Day was a significant commercial success at the box-office. It went on to become the highest-grossing black-and-white movie of that time.
The film’s screenplay was written by Cornelius Ryan, who also wrote the book it was adapted from, with additional material threaded in by writers Romain Gary, James Jones, Jack Seddon, and David Pursall.
The Longest Day features an incredible, star-studded ensemble cast including John Wayne, Kenneth More, Robert Wagner, Richard Todd, Robert Mitchum, Richard Burton, Paul Anka, Steve Forrest, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Irina Demick, and George Segal, to name a few.
Several of these actors had cameo appearances in the film and a good number of the cast had actually been servicemen during the war, including Henry Fonda, Leo Genn, Eddie Albert, Kenneth More, Rod Steiger, and Richard Todd. In fact, Richard Todd was among the first British officers to land in Normandy during Operation Overlord and had participated in the assault of Pegasus Bridge.
In order to portray the most authentic depiction of the war, the filmmakers employed several real Allied and Axis D-Day participants as consultants on the film. Upon its release, The Longest Day received high praise and acclaim from critics and audiences alike.
The film was nominated for five Oscars at the 35th Academy Awards, including for Best Picture, and went on to bag two awards — Best Cinematography (Black-and-White) and Best Special Effects.
One critic called it “a solid and stunning war epic”, and another said: “It is hard to think of a picture, aimed and constructed as this one was, doing any more or any better or leaving one feeling any more exposed to the horror of war than this one does.”
Another review of the film called it: “A far cry from the gore-drenched Saving Private Ryan, legendary producer Darryl F. Zanuck’s heartfelt recreation of the D-Day landings is, in its own way, every bit as memorable.”
While one critic said: “It is, and will most likely always remain, the definitive D-Day picture.”
Audience reviews echoed a similar sentiment, with one viewer saying: “The Longest Day is the all-time top movie for D-Day..!! Made in the 1960’s and in black-n-white, it tops SPR as the go-to movie for historical accuracy..”
One audience review said: “This is an absolute classic War movie. Yes, it is long but tells about the events of D Day from all perspectives. Steller cast.” Another viewer declared: “The cast is immense and the movie is one of the greatest war movies ever made.”
Another added: “A great all star movie. While Saving Private Ryan has by far the best action scene of the landings (or maybe any battle scene), this old timer still reigns for scope and retelling the story of the Normandy Invasion.”
One viewer loved the fact that The Longest Day was in black-and-white. They said: “I thought it was amazing. The incredible detail and brilliant cameos. It was tragic seeing the loss of life and carnage on the beaches. I am glad it was in B/W.”
The Longest Day is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.