The Longest Day
Released: Oct 4, 1962
Directed by: Ken Annakin, Andrew Martin, & Bernhard WickiStarring: John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Sean Connery
Plot in a Nutshell:
A recreation of the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, told on a massive scale from both German and Ally perspectives.What I thought:
This film is flat out immense. Thousands of extras, grand action, enormous and complicated shots; this is the definition of epic filmmaking. Requiring three directors to tell the tale, and an international cast of hundreds, this film is BIG. Sitting at just under 3 hours in length, it takes its time relaying the events of D-Day. And I think that is what could be a problem with this by-the-facts historical epic.The events surrounding and leading up to Normandy are all present here. The film is told with such care as to get historical facts right, that it becomes a detriment to the picture. I'm not saying it isn't enjoyable, it is just that at times it's scope gets weighted in its portrayal of small events that aren't important to the whole.
An example is that one of the troops gets caught hanging by his chute. Suspended from a church, he hangs for hours, as he goes unnoticed by the Germans in the courtyard. He watches as his buddies are mowed down and rounded up. It is a curious fact, but it feels like it was thrown in just because it really happened. Another example is the Chaplin who must find his case before he moves on. Or the paratrooper's clickers getting mistaken with a German's gun being cocked. The whole movie is this way, a series of happenstances that slowly build and then encompass the invasion itself, the story seems to be told by the events occurring and not through any thought or motivation of the characters.My point is that they shouldn't feel as forced as they seem. Events should flow, not simply thrown in because it really happened. It makes for a nice historical film, but fails to illustrate the thoughts behind the actions. People act because that is what they did. There doesn't seem to be any exploration into why things were done. Ultimately, it is a minor complaint as the whole of the film is just too damn impressive to be knocked down by a little historical accuracy.
The scope that is on display, is grand. Told from both perspectives, you see every gamut of emotion that happened on the day, through every rank. From General to Private, everybody's story is represented here. That is one thing I love about this film, and one of its war-film brethren, Tora Tora Tora. It has the courage to humanize the enemy. Very rarely do you see this in a war film, rarer to see it in one that is nearing 50 years old.Bottom Line:
Quite simply, it is an incredible look at one of the most important days in WWII, it just gets a little bogged down with too much fact, but is still a rousing war film from yesteryear.A-
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