The Longest Day (1962) – Superb; a perfect blend of history and film

Genre – War Movie (true story)

Time: 2 Hours, 58 minutes

Platform: Amazon Prime (on rent)

Director: Ken Annakin – British and French segments. Andrew Marton – American segments. Bernhard Wicki – German segments.

D-Day means a particular date on which some operation or event is supposed to happen. There were MANY such D-Days in WW2 but universally and historically , it is agreed that D-Day meant THE eventful Allied landings on June 6,1944 on the Normandy coast of Northern France, which had been given the Allied code name Operation Overlord. Southern France experienced another D-Day on August 15th, but the future became certain when Paris was liberated on August 25th by elements of the Free French and Americans, who had landed on June 6th.

There was another D- Day in The Eastern front on June 22 . Operation Bagration had 1.5 million Soviet personnel assaulting the Germans and breaking their backs decisively. Cold War politics ensures that only D-Day was famous and not Bagration. Refer earlier post on Eastern Front 1 of 3, for the same.

The events leading up to the Allied landings had their own drama. It was impossible to hide the preparations that had been going on for months from anyone snooping around. So the Allies came up with a deception operation Fortitude, to convince the German thinking that such a landing will take place in the shortest path , from Dover in the UK to Calais in France. Allied forces employed dummy tanks, ships, and ghost armies, as well as deceptive reports from “German” spies, to spread false information. These “German spies” were all under British control with whom they cooperated voluntarily.There had also been a rehearsal for the Overlord that had gone terribly wrong when the ‘landing force’ had been ambushed by German boats. The whole affair was hushed up. 

The Germans knew that the landings will happen. General Rommel, the Desert Fox, was in charge of Western Atlantic defences and he set about laying millions of mines, hundreds of obstacles along the entire coastline, in keeping with the idea of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall, stretching continuously from Southern France to Norway.  The wall was only in Hitler’s imagination as it had various natural gaps.

The deception stories, the disastrous rehearsals and more were revealed only from the 1970s onwards. This film is solely based on the wonderful personal narrative-based history book of the same name The Longest Day which was published in 1959, by writer Cornelius Ryan, whose other works include the superb The Last Battle (about the Soviet assault on Berlin) and A Bridge Too Far (already discussed in this blog on December  31, 2022). It’s a great book, collating the experiences of civilians and military personnel from the UK, France, Germany, USA and presenting it in a cogent readable narrative.

The film follows the same format as the book. The events leading up to D Day and the actual landing as seen from both the Allied and the German sides.

BY 1962 all the allied equipment were on scrap. So the producers went the length and breadth of the world to gather suitable military equipment. Yet another challenge was whom to use – stars or  newcomers? Should the film be entirely in English or should it have subtitles for different languages?

All these problems and more were solved and the final result is THE BEST film about the ACTUAL OPERATION , from morning till the evening when finally the Allies break out of the beaches and even occupy  small nearby towns thus gaining a firm foothold.

Everyone wonders why the Germans didn’t respond promptly. Simple. The reserves were directly controlled by Hitler, who saw the Normandy landings as a diversion from the true landings at Calais.

The Allied Air superiority was so overwhelming that only two German planes dared to take off and attack the beaches. The Luftwaffe had long lost Air Superiority, and this lone attack on D-Day, was but a futile gesture.

The film looks like a who is who of American, British, French and German cinema with some bizarre casting disasters. 40+ John Wayne played a 27-year-old Lt. Col . to enhance his reputation but over time, most people have said it’s one of the worst casting disasters. Watch out for an unknown chap called Sean Connery who plunges gung-ho onto the French beaches , complete with a thick Scottish accent (Doctor No was about to be released the same year). Watch out also for Mr. “Goldfinger” as a German corporal riding a horse.

The extras in the DVD are narrated by producer Darryl Zanuck. Do check out the filming incidents and trivia in the film’s wiki page

The film is ON RENT in Amazon prime.

Since D Day’s 80th anniversary occurred just a few days ago, many movies are being falsely categorized as “D-Day movies” despite only mentioning D-Day in passing.

The link

https://www.timeout.com/news/the-6-best-d-day-movies-to-watch-for-the-allied-landings-anniversary-060424

My comments on the films in above link

• Saving Private Ryan – NO – its NOT a D-Day movie . It however starts with perhaps THE BEST and the MOST REALISTIC D-Day assault scene ever picturized. Real D-Day veterans reportedly walked out of the opening scene as it was very close to reality. This is the You Tube link to that opening beach assault scene . Graphic injuries warning . One of the best video game Company of Heroes 1 also immortalised the scene as the first “mission” is to get to the wall – alive

• Overlord (1975) – Whoa. I am unaware of this movie. Will have to check it out

• The Longest Day (1962)

• D-Day The Sixth of June (1956) . Unknown. But hero of this film Richard Todd participated in the D Day landing as a Lieutenant in the Airborne forces, capturing a key bridge along with his C.O, Major John Howard. In an incredible stroke of luck, he immortalised John Howard in The Longest Day, “capturing the key bridge” , on film , reliving the same operation, holding it until relieved. Probably one of the most incredible coincidences ever. (The only other person to relive his experience for reel life is American hero Audie Murphy in the film To hell and back – 1955). For more on Richard Todd’s wartime career and exploits check out this You Tube link

• The Great Escaper (2023)  – a true story of a WW2 British veteran who ‘snuck’ into the D Day anniversary celebrations despite frail health and alarmed British health care authorities. Michael Caine in fantastic form as the old soldier, and playing his age. Caine has also said that this will be last ever film as “he doesn’t get suitable leading ladies for his age” 😊 Available only on Amazon US and UK platforms.

• The Big Red One (1980) – Director Sam Fuller’s personal odyssey with the American 1st Infantry Division – The Big Red One of the title – becomes this powerful gritty ground level BRILLIANT view of combat seen at  ‘ground level’ that is squad level (about 10 men). The Normandy landings form only a small section in the film’s middle , mirroring the journey of the Division from its combat debut in North Africa through Italy to Northern France and finally Germany. More on the indomitable ‘in-your-face’ maverick Sam Fuller’s films, who wasn’t exactly liked by mainstream Hollywood, for showing many taboo topics in his films,  in later blogs (Eg – romance between a Japanese American woman and a White detective, Black soldiers in the Korean War when America was still racially segregated, etc).
  
  

Last but not the least. The film has a catchy ‘title song’ sung by Paul Anka. Figure out the Hindi equivalent – no great thinking cap required~! 😊

Real History/ Historical Background – 5 out of 5

Script – 5 out of 5

Story – 5 out of 5

Direction – 5 out of 5

Photography – 5 out of 5

Total – 5 out of 5

 PS: there is also a colorized version of this film. Meh !