The Longest Day
 | Two-Disc Collector's EditionDirected by Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki, Darryl F. Zanuck, Ken Annakin Starring: John Wayne, Robert Ryan, Richard Burton, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum 20th Century Fox, 1962, DVD Customer Rating: 231 reviews Recommend |
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This special collector's commemorative edition has been issued in honor of the June 6, 1944 Allied invasion of France, which marked the beginning of the end of Nazi domination over Europe. The attack involved 3,000,000 men, 11,000 planes and 4,000 ships, comprising the largest armada the world has ever seen.
The Longest Day is a vivid, hour-by-hour recreation of this historic event. Featuring a stellar international cast, and told from the perspectives of both sides, it is a fascinating look at the massive preparations, mistakes, and random events that determined the outcome of one of the biggest battles in history. Winner of two 1962 Oscars® (Special Effects and Cinematography), The Longest Day ranks as one of Hollywood's truly great war films.
The Longest Day is Hollywood's definitive D-day movie. More modern accounts such as Saving Private Ryan are more vividly realistic, but producer Darryl F. Zanuck's epic 1962 account is the only one to attempt the daunting task of covering that fateful day from all perspectives. From the German high command and front-line officers to the French Resistance and all the key Allied participants, the screenplay by Cornelius Ryan, based on his own authoritative book, is as factually accurate as possible. The endless parade of stars (John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Sean Connery, and Richard Burton, to name a few) makes for an uneasy mix of verisimilitude and Hollywood star-power, however, and the film falls a little flat for too much of its three-hour running time. But the set-piece battles are still spectacular, and if the landings on Omaha Beach lack the graphic gore of Private Ryan they nonetheless show the sheer scale and audacity of the invasion. — Mark Walker
Title: The Longest Day (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Sales Rank: 4364 in DVD
Actor: John Wayne, Robert Ryan, Richard Burton, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum
Director: Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki, Darryl F. Zanuck, Ken Annakin
Studio: 20th Century Fox, 2006-05-23, Theatrical Release: 1962-10-04
Format: Black & White, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC, Acpect Ratio 2.35:1
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), German (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Region Code: 1
Running Time: 178 minutes
Item Dimensions: 0.4 pounds
Package Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches, 0.25 pounds
- "The Longest Day" on DVD. 1962.
- A well made WWII film, with an all-star cast, starring John Wayne, Richard Burton, Robert Wagner, and a list of others as well. The Allied Invasion of Normady is depicted in the film, and appears in a realistic sense, filmmaking wise, done only the way Hollywood can. More reviews
- The Longest Day
- A wonderful classic, war movie. They don't make movies like this anymore nor do they have great actors like those in this movie. This is why I buy the older movies. Most remakes are horrid and the actors are worse. More reviews
- One of the best war movies ever made, very realistic
- Although there are many stars in this war movie, there is no star of the movie. It is also one of the best war movies ever made as it accurately chronicles the Allied invasion of France on D-Day. The German soldiers and officers speak German with English subtitles and are not depicted as bumbling clods that cannot shoot straight.
It opens with… More reviews
- Great movie - inferior version
- I gave four stars because I think the movie itself deserves five, but this DVD version only deserves three. This is a great classic for all the reasons mentioned in other reviews - Great performances, excellent script, and the engrossing telling of a many-faceted historical story in a coherent manner. This DVD version has its problems, however. On the plus side,… More reviews
- Gang Oh and Stome that beach
- What Stars and what action. Any collector of war movies, like me have to have this gold standard movie for their collection. I saw the movie in the theatre when I was a kid and it wow me, then any Harry Potter would ever could. I seen a colorized version, but love the black and white one. This movie never… More reviews
