The Longest Day (1962) ♡ MOVIE REACTION - FIRST TIME WATCHING!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- Thank you for watching my reaction as I watch "The Longest Day" for the first time! ♡
🎬 P A T R E O N 🍿
for uncut, full-length movie reactions, early access and behind-the-scenes goodies check out my patreon! ↬ / centane
🍿 anime reactions ↬ / @centanimee
🎮 gaming channel ↬ / @kamillaa
✨ extra ways to support the channel ✨
subscribe to the channel ↬ / centane
full reactions ↬ patreon: / centane
wishlist ↬ www.amazon.co....
🩷 social media 🩷
linktr.ee/centane
↬ instagram: / stinekami
↬ twitter: / kcentane
↬ snapchat: / stinekami
↬ discord: / discord
↬ livestreams: / centane
💌 business inquiries:
centane@spiresagency.com
#moviereaction #firsttimewatching #TheLongestDay #centane #reaction
I'm so glad I'm not a "more modern viewer" and that classic films hold up quite well for me.
Is she kidding? This movie has more top notch A-list actors than just about any movie in history. Plus, the documentary-style cinematography is right on point throughout.
@@glennwisniewski9536 She was bored by the most epic day of the 20th century.
To be fair, while this movie is very accurate covering the actual events of D-Day, it is much more like a docu-drama with big name actors. There was no time devoted to any singular character or group of characters. This movie was more like a textbook retelling of the overall battle with anecdotes thrown in for flavor. You will notice this movie didn't get any nominations for acting, directing or writing.
Exactly! The "Docudrama" style war movie provided an overall god's-eye view of a particular battle (showing the General's plan, the enemy's plan, and many of the soldiers on both sides). The purpose of these is to educate an audience on the big picture of a battle. In addition to this movie, such films of this type include "The Battle of the Bulge", "Tora, Tora, Tora", and "A Bridge Too Far". On the other hand, the "Experiential" style war movie follows a single unit of men through a battle or campaign. The audience only sees what the featured unit sees, and none of them know the big overall picture of a particular battle, even as they experience the horrors of it. This is a much more intense and personal type of story, which would include such movies as "Saving Private Ryan", "Platoon", and "Battleground" (which I believe to be the first of this type). My own personal favorite class of war movie (and many may disagree with me) is the "Men on a Mission" style. These are not true war movies, as they depict no real life battle. They are, rather, completely fictional "Action Movies" that are only set in wartime (such as "Where Eagles Dare", "The Dirty Dozen" and "The Guns of Navarone"). Other types are the "Prison Camp" war movie ("The Great Escape", "Von Ryan's Express", and "The Colditz Story") , the "Psychological" war movie ("Bridge on the River Kwai", "Apocalypse Now", and both versions of "The Thin Red Line"), the "Biographical" war movie ("Patton", "The Gallant Hours", and "Sergeant York "), and the "Anti-War" war movie ("J' Accuse", "Two Women", and any version of "All Quiet on the Western Front"). There are probably more. I know I don't have to tell you this, eddieevans. This is for the benefit of our girl, Centane, who doesn't seem to grasp the concept of the "Docudrama" war movie and expected it to be like an "Experiential" one.
When any statement is made these days including the words "a modern audience," we all know what that means. It is in no way admirable, to say the least, but members of the "modern audience" are in no way aware of this. The present day western world can be amusing, in just the way solders find amusement in facing the hell of warfare as portrayed here. If things are falling apart, might as well laugh at the debacle.
As a total history geek and former 20 year Infantry veteran I totally love this movie. The accuracy is incredible, everyone had the right uniforms, rifles, machine guns all because it was made close enough to the war that all that stuff was still available. The book is absolutely awesome
Read the book. I totally agree. Amazing book!🤓
First saw it in the theater, with a 4 ID veteran of the day, later met that paratrooper that got hung up on the church in St Mere Eglise. You should get it right when your technical advisor is General of the Army Omar Bradley, if memory serves. Superb book and superb movie. I do still have a bit of a problem with the Duke as a paratrooper, seems a bit big physically . :)
@AlexanderWinterborn lucky I was 40 pounds lighter than you so the T10 put me on the ground like a leaf on the wind
@AlexanderWinterborn except for the time I was first out and my plf was into pine trees
@AlexanderWinterborn I don't either, just seems so. Certainly not impossible, most of those I knew were straight leg infantry and I met some AF in college. The one who stands out was Jimmie Doolittle who was maybe 5'6" and 139 lbs. About the size Sheridan liked for a cavalryman. I had three civilian jumps with a T10 and it wasn't any standing deal with me, smaller than Wayne, and no gear. It's only an observation, cause I know less than you guys.
Only 15 years later, another epic WW2 movie was made called "A Bridge Too Far", about Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands (Band of Brothers episode 4). That movie holds up much better from a movie making standpoint while still covering a complex operation and starring quite a number of big name stars. Trivia - Sean Connery appears in both movies, in the Longest Day he is mainly comic relief while in A Bridge Too Far he portrays a British general.
A bridge too far is fantastic, absolute classic. Also funny to see a cameo role from Liv Ullmann, norwegian actress with more than a slight resemblance to our reacter. ;)
Holds up better? Debatable.
My favorite actor in A Bridge Too Far is Sir Anthony Hopkins playing the real life Lt. Colonel John Frost, who commanded the paratroopers in the ultimately lost multi-day Battle of Arnhem. Short but wonderful performance.
The later film also directly references this fact. Connery was part of a unit in Longest day, his orders: take the bridge, hold until relieved.
His orders portraying a ranking officer in A Bridge Too Far? Take the bridge. Hold until relieved.
@@glennwisniewski9536 Real glad you said that👍👍
The US Paratrooper who landed on the church steeple in Sainte Mere-Eglise was named John Steele, he spent about 3 hours hanging there and could not free himself as the battle raged on below him. When Steele was able to break free, he was captured by the Germans, but escaped and rejoined his unit.
He took part in Operation Market Garden, was at the Battle of the Bulge, and with the 82nd Airborne until the end of the war.
To this day, that Church in Sainte Mere-Eglise has a monument honoring the American Paratroopers who helped free the city from German occupation. It has a US Paratrooper dummy hanging on the side of the church by his parachute.
There is also a permanent mannequin represeting John Steele hanging with his parachute on the church of Sainte Mère-Église.
Also among german actors had been war veterans. Gert Fröbe for example was Medic in final time of war. In the small scene in a german staff building, the man who shouted , Gurkensalat' into telephone was former Oberleutnant Bernhard Victor von Bülow, Iron Cross holder and member of wellknown prussian noblemans family . This man later became Germanies Most popular Comedian.
@@fontaineblanche3898 You beat me to it! I've seen it with my own eyes.
That man playing the bagpipes for the troops during the war, his name was Piper Millen and I had the honour of meeting him once in the 90’s when I visiting Bletchley Park with my family.
He had released a book documenting his experiences during the war and I got a signed copy of it. I only spoke to him for a few minutes but I could hear was a good man.
He also then played the bagpipes for the crowd and he didn’t miss a note.
Add these to your list, 12 O'clock High, A Bridge Too Far, The Dam Busters and Kelly's Hero's
Canadian pop idol and composer of hundreds of songs and one of the stars of The Longest Day, Paul Anka, also wrote and sang The Longest Day theme song. He's still popular and performing in concerts at 82.
One of the few movies that acknowledges that the British, Canadians, free French and others even took part in the war!
It barely acknowledges the Canadians, only a flag on the situation map at allied HQ.
@@stvdagger8074 As weird as it may be, I think Sean Connery was supposed to be Canadian. They did say it was Juno Beach.
Yeah that's true. The allocated screen time does not mirror the actual numbers that landed in France by sea or air. Around 73,000 US and 83,000 Brits & Canucks. The Free French numbered around 200. I didn't miss off any zeroes, you read that right - two hundred. As for the supporting navies, Commonwealth forces were double the number of the US Navy. But of course that was down to the commitments the US had in the Pacific theatre, which was much more of a sea/air campaign than Europe was. Nevertheless, it's still one of my all time favourite movies despite all that. I must've seen it 20+ times on TV and I treated myself to a DVD copy a couple of years ago. U-571 on the other hand - don't get me started... 😠
@@blacbraun He was with Lord Lovat's Commandos, which landed at Juno Beach and then went to releive the glider troops who had taken Pegasus Bridge. Not Canadian.
What are you on about?
The Stellar cast of this film is impressive. At the time this was of the most star-packed movies ever made. Incredibly well done. Enjoy the ride
Keep in mind this was only like 25 years after. Guys who went through it did NOT want to relive the horrors but the comedy was ok.
Not event that. It was released 18 years after D day.
Richard Todd, the man that played the British para commander on Pegasus Bridge, was the radio man for the real commander and fought in the actual battle! Can you imagine fighting in one of the most famous battles of WWII, then 20 years later playing your commanding officer in a movie?
In the early 1980s Todd had a role in a Doctor Who story, basically playing an old, uptight military officer. And sure, he looks his age, it's forty years later - but there's a moment in episode 1 where he drops to the floor and starts doing press-ups and it seems pretty clear that he kept himself fighting fit even into old age..!
From what I've read, Todd was actually not in the initial landing force at Pegasus Bridge. He was with the relief forces that arrived to help secure it.
I love how he changes his magazine without even thinking about it while he's talking. Just those little things.
Look up the movie Theirs The Glory from 1946, British veterans from Operation Market Garden reenacted their actions in that movie, just a little more than 2 years later, in the same ruins and foxholes as in 1944.
Richard Todd, who played John Howard, the commander D Company of the Oxfordshire. and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in the film was an officer in the 7th Parachute Battalion certainly not a radio operator! & Para landed near Pegasus Bridge in the early hours of June the 6th. Their mission was to create a perimeter around the bridges which they did being involved in several counterattacks by the Germans over the next few days.
I guess from your comments that you don't know. The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, the book on which this movie is based, contained the personal reminiscences of many dozens of actual participants in the D-Day Invasion -- the British, Canadians, Germans, Americans, French, everybody he could find several years after the war was over willing to talk. The book is real history and quite worth reading, as I have several times. In it, you will find greater attention to detail as you might expect from a book. Also, this movie is the first WW2 movie in which everyone spoke in their natural language with subtitles in English.
Another historical war movie recommendation adapted from Cornelius Ryan book is “A Bridge Too Far”.
My dad, who was there as a paratrooper had a copy of that book. Read a thousand times with all kinds of book marks and notations.
@@banzi403 All I can lay claim to is being in St.Mere Eglise on one of the nights Zanuck was trying to film the parachute drop landing on the church steeple. That night, it just didn't work, but I had my first sip of cognac to ward off the bitter cold. And to having a signed copy of Ryan's book, but that was procured elsewhere -- I think in London.
Henry Grace, who played General Eisenhower, was not an actor, but worked as a set decorator for films. He was cast because of his strong resemblance to the General. By this time, most films were made in color, although black and white was still an artistic option. It's to the credit of the storytelling that it took you a while to realize that it wasn't in color. If it's compelling enough ,it shouldn't be an issue. And in this case, color would have just been distracting.
The library at Ohio University in the US (NOT Ohio State) has a collection of Cornelius Ryan's papers. He had some connection to the University.
The RAF chap hiding with the French, with the big moustache is a fine British Actor called Leslie Phillips. He played the voice of the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter films.
The movie's use of black and white made it more authentic to audiences at the time who lived through WWII, since most or all of the actual footage and pictures they'd ever seen of it were black and white photos and newsreels. This movie wasn't made for pampered modern viewers who demand the comforting gloss of CGi special effects and flashier filmmaking techniques, and viewers back then didn't need extra blood and guts to remind them of the horrors they and their loved ones had just experienced. It's a shame when audiences today can't watch an older movie like this in its own context.
Another reason it was filmed in B&W was so the stock footage from the 1940s would blend in
A good choice for memorial day.
When this was made, most of the audience probably remembered D-Day (my parents certainly did), and some of the performers had participated in it.
If you compare this to the more recent war films you've covered, you might notice that this has no profanity and very little gore, reflecting the standards of the time when the film was made.
Love that. I try not to swear as much but I still do so I feel we’ve been polluted as a society.
@@acdragonrider The real pollution isn't the depiction of gore in war films or cursing. It's an entire generation or two of videoheads whose only frame of reference is MOH, Call of Duty, World of Tanks, etc., etc. These geeks actually look at the landing on Omaha Beach and claim "oh wow, just like a Call of Duty scenario!" No books, no actual research, ~~~nada, niente, zilch~~~they actually think Wikipedia is a reliable nerd source. That is "pollution"
You've picked one of the most iconic war movies of all time. ❤ It's Memorial Day today. A fitting choice, well done.
All of those little vignettes that are comedic or poignant, are events which actually occurred and were included to add authenticity and to reflect the bizarre nature of combat where the horrific is often accompanied by the absurd
"The Longest Day": The movie that saved the 20th Century Fox studio in the wake of epic overspending for "Cleopatra" (1963). Unlike other World War II movies, we see Operation Overlord from the German, French, and foot soldier's view. This movie has an almost "more stars than there are in the sky" feel to it. Personal note: My father and I went to a theater in Waikiki. What stood out was the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" just before the movie played; yes, we stood up and marveled at this reverence to the participants. I find it Criminal that "Pearl Harbor" (2001) plays all the time, while not even Turner Classic Movies screens "Tora! Tora! Tora!' (1970) any more. (Damn you, Roger Ebert!;)
Pearl Harbor is as nothing to Tora Tora Tora, and Titanic is as nothing to A Night to Remember. Sad.
There were not only a lot of A-list actors from each country represented in the movie, but many veterans as well, to include some who were there on D-Day. Other veteran officers who were there worked behind the camera as advisors.
The effects were actually pretty good. You don't often see the concussion from the shells depicted as well.
Hi Camilla, A little trivia for you - Richard Todd who played British Major John Howard in this film - actually was a paratrooper who landed in Normandy on D-Day. He met the actual Major John Howard on Pegasus bridge and was involved in helping to repulse German counter-attacks in that area.
At least you gave it try *Centane* I appreciate that. If you love film then obviously it's great to watch movies from every decade, even going back to the silent films.
So many of my favorite films are “old.” 1930s to 1960s.
@@acdragonrider same here, and I still have a lot of that time period to explore.
"What am I watching?" - The British army at its best, lol 🙂
The director wanted to do something like Saving Private Ryan. But wasn't allowed to. Censors wouldn't allow it. Instead, he had to settle for the soldier crying on the beach.
The thing was the Hays Code was slowly dying when films like "Some Like It Hot" and "Psycho" were handling sexuality. Extreme violence would come later with "Bonnie & Clyde" and "The Wild Bunch".
Many men came here as soldiers
Many men will pass this way
Many men will count the hours
As they live the longest day
Many men are tired and weary
Many men are here to stay
Many men won't see the sunset
When it ends the longest day
The longest day the longest day
This will be the longest day
Filled with hopes and filled with fears
Filled with blood and sweat and tears
Many men the mighty thousands
Many men to victory
Marching on right into battle
In the longest day in history
During WWII, Eddie Albert served in the Pacific (and was decorated), Douglas Fairbanks Jr. served with Naval commandos, Tyrone Power served in the Pacific (USMC pilot), Jimmy (James) Stewart served as bomber pilot, flying many missions over France and Germany, Clark Gable served for awhile as a gunner on a bomber and as an instructor, the beautiful Audrey Hepburn helped the Dutch resistance, and John Wayne made 'war' movies in Hollywood...(go figure)...
I get your comment but they weren't letting Wayne and others anywhere near the battlefield. Same in England. David Niven actually ran to Scotland to try to enlisted where nobody knew who he was. Plus Wayne was already over 30. Stewart was absolutely a hero but he trained before the war because he liked to fly. Bomber pilots were short in supply so he went. Plus, not that flying over Germany was ever easy they really didn't let him fly until the Luftwaffe was pretty much spent. Most of the famous people who fought weren't famous yet.
Watch the movie, “Attack!” 1956 with Eddie Albert. Great performance. Nothing like you have ever seen before.
Also he is in “Captain Newman, MD” 1963 with Gregory Peck and Angie Dickinson, Bobbie Darin and Tony Curtis. Great film.
@@user-rp5vx2pb9i I like Green Acres
All correct but nice to also remember that BGEN Stewart flew B36s thru the 50s and flew B52 mission over North Vietnam.
@@mikect500 In this movie, Henry Fonda, Rod Stieger, Richard Burton, Stewart Whitman, Gert Frobe, Red Buttons, Edmund O'Brien, Kenneth More, all saw service during the War. Curd Jurgens did time in a Nazi labor camp as "politically unreliable" after he insulted several ranking Nazis.
Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt lll died 1 month 6 days after the landings. He fought in WW1 and suffered wounds at the Battle of Cantigny. These wounds led to his arthritis later in life. Teddylll was a great commander always leading his men. During WW2 he fought in North Africa and Sicily before going to England to prepare for D-Day. Teddy lll not only suffered from arthritis but also had a heart condition that he kept secret. He died of a heart attack on July 12, 1944.
One of only 2 father-son Medal of Honor recipients along with his father. The other pair was General Douglas MacArthur (WWII) and his father Arthur MacArthur (US Civil War)
He landed alongside his men, and he's still with them.
@@benschultz1784 Was Arthur MacArthur related to Ronald McDonald?
His youngest brother, Quentin died in World War I. Had been a fighter pilot and was actually buried with full honors by the Germans when they realized who he was. Quentin would later be reburied next to his brother.
Gen. Patton wrote that Gen. Roosevelt was "one of the bravest men I've ever known", and served as a pallbearer at his funeral.
The actor playing Eisenhower was in fact a set designer who looks absolutely, totally like Eisenhower. So much so that other reactors watching the film thought it was, in fact, Eisenhower himself (who was still very much alive in 1962)
This is a terrific movie. Thank you for showing it to a wider audience
In Band of Brothers there is only one time the cricket was used and it was by Winters in episode two. This movie is based on the book by Cornelius Ryan, based on verbatim interviews.
I love the fact that you can still buy those "crickets" from the original manufacturer in the UK made using the original tooliing and machinery.
Here are some others I looked up. Donald Houston (played the RAF Pilot) was a tail gunner in the real RAF, Ray Danton was too young for WW2 but he did serve in the Korean War, Jeffrey Hunter served in the US Navy but saw no action due to an injury, Tom Tryon saw action in the Pacific while in the Navy, Arletty was in France during the Nazi occupation.....she was charged with treason for having an affair with a German pilot, this one is interesting Gert Frobe joined the Nazi Party at age 16 but left it before the war started.....he hid Jews in his basement until he was drafted...he served in the Green Army until the end of the war, another actor that served on the Russian Front was Hand Christian Blech (he played the German on Omaha's bunker than first saw the armada, Leopold John Genn was in a Royal Artillery Unit and later was a prosecutor in the trials of Nazi war criminals. Finally, there is Curd Jurgen (played General Gunther Blumentritt) was Austrian with Anti-Nazi opinions....in 1944 he was sent to a concentration camp.
So there you have it. So many actors with WW2 experiences, no wonder THE LONGEST DAY is so authentic.
Hello, Eddie Albert, invasion craft Pilot in the Pacific. Tarawa if I recall.
@@clutchpedalreturnsprg7710 I included Eddie Albert in my part one. This comment is part 2.
Try City Lights (1931), Grand Hotel (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933), The Thin Man (1934), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Casablanca (1942), Mildred Pierce (1945) or All About Eve (1950). Just a few of the hundreds of great b&w films.
"Hello England" 🇳🇴
Hello Norway! 🇬🇧 ♥️
I love that long tracking shot in the Ouistreham sequence.
Every time I watch it I notice something new.
It snubs the canadian contribution. Canad had its own beach. But the Movie completely omits that.
its juno beach 3rd infantry division n 2nd armoured brigade canadians casualties on juno beach 340 dead 574 wounded 47 captured total 961 against the german company 736 grendier regiment n 21st panzer division on that day
@@gamergenz21 Correct. But the movie portrays it as mainly a British and mostly American show. Even the French had a bigger part in the movie than Canada.
Well we have it coming! Why should foreigners be obligated to tell our stories? Canadian filmmakers have never, with very few exceptions, even attempted to build a national mythos. As long as I have lived all Canadians patriots get is the usual corny CBC Pablum!
@@Zebred2001 D-day was not uniquely Canadian event. Canadians Played a pivotal role far larger than than the french resistance for example. Not portraying them is a slap in the face. Now dieppe or ortona in can agree it is up us to tell that story. But to make epic film based on real events and on a book that does pay a great deal of attention to canadians was reprehensible.
@@Zebred2001 - The CBC actively disparages our history.
This was very historical, so if you are not into the history then it would be a difficult watch.
Personally I like older movies, they usually have better stories even if the dialogue can be more theatrical and they lack the modern effects.
Each to their own.
How about watching A Bridge Too Far, starring everyone!, next?
Excellent choice.
Heaven knows Mr Alison 1957
IMVHO, see I'm using modern anagrams, "The Longest Day" is a very well made war movie, real effects and all. NO CGI, no computers at all of course, the film was made in 1962, and I think the realism holds up, even today. And some of the biggest stars in Hollywood, and even a few musical idols of the day. John Wayne, Richard Burton, Robert Ryan, Jeffrey Hunter, Eddie Albert, Fabian, Paul Anka, Sal Mineo, Red Buttons, Peter Lawford, Rod Steiger, Henry Fonda, Edmund O'Brien, Sean Connery, Gert Frobe and Kurt Jurgens. I'm glad I have it in my Blu-ray DVD collection.
The German soldier delivering rations to the beach bunkers played Goldfinger in the Bond movie. We also have Roddy McDowell, who was to play Cornelius in a few years in Planet of the Apes, and Robert Wagner.
9:44 -- RE: Just noticed, it's in B&W; A: Funny you say this, but yes, sometimes black and white films have an almost magical quality of being able to suggest what the colors *should* be, if you've got enough imagination. I like Kurosawa's "Rashomon" the best as an example for exactly that reason, too, but this one is pretty darned good.
My dad commanded an LCT (Landing Craft, Tank) on Utah Beach. He had an Army engineer company with bulldozers and TNT.
Like most from that time, he was pretty stoic about the war, never really talked about it.
Once, I saw him and my mom watching this movie, and he was crying his eyeballs out.
The thing that made this movie huge in its time was that it featured over 50 major, major stars. I'm talking Brad Pitt, Leonardo Di Caprio, Tom Cruise level stars of that era. Over 50 of them. Young people today, though, wouldn't recognize those old stars - any more than people 50 years from now will recognize the 3 names I just mentioned.
Being an older viewer I would have to say that The Longest Day is one of the most enjoyable war movies ever made. The movie tells the D Day story from all sides and does so without extreme violence, making it suitable for all ages. While it was made in black and white, which was the norm in 1962, it is possible to get a colourised version on DVD. The movie is based on the best selling book of the same name by Irish writer Cornelius Ryan and it boasts a cast that is absurdly enormous. The makers of this movie basically cleaned out Hollywood and Europe for this production, bringing in virtually anyone and everyone who was a huge star in 1962, and many who would still be stars for several decades more.
Sean Connery, a Scotsman playing an Irish soldier, would go on to be a major star in several James Bond movies. Quite a few of the actors featured were themselves war heroes, and some also saw action on the actual D Day, While the movie is highly regarded for its historic accuracy there have been some quibbles about casting, particularly that of John Wayne who was in his mid 50s but playing Benjamin H. Vandervoort, who was only 27 years old in 1944. Despite the age mismatch, Wayne played the role quite well.
I would also recommend you react to another movie, A Bridge Too Far (1977) a war epic similar to The Longest Day, filmed in colour with an enormous cast of stars from the late 1970s. This second movie is based on the assault on Arnheim (Operation Market Garden) which, had it succeeded, might have shortened the war by a few months.
It was the same with Gavin, who at the time was the youngest general in the US Army.
Gert Frobe, who portrayed the German soldier on horseback delivering coffee to the beachgunners, would go on to star opposite fellow castmate Sean Connery in the classic 007 Bond film "Goldfinger" as the villain Auric Goldfinger.
In last stages of wwll he was a Medic/ Sanitäter , so Fröbe was a Veteran.
Reminder......this screenplay was based on the story, "The Longest Day" written by Cornelius Ryan who was there at Normandy. First hand experience. No modern day flamboyance in writing. Factual. Some comedy tossed in to lighten an intense film. "Corny" was on set during filming to keep with the story. The other views- French, German were from those living officers who were there on D-Day to give their personal accounts of the events. Hollywood today can make extravagant scenarios but it's all to elicit more reaction. "Corny" and directors had to tone it down due to the censorship at the time this was filmed. There were many veterans still living that saw this. Two from my hometown had been on the beaches at Normandy so it was difficult to relive it during watching this. (Side note: I was fortunate meet and to know Cornelius Ryan and his lovely wife, Katherine. Katherine was from my hometown.) It's still an iconic film. Never before did you have an all-star cast of so many actors. And several in the film had served in WWII as well.
Factual is used loosely....in the movies ouistreham battle it incorrectly shows the casino intact in 1944,but in reality had been demolished by the germans in 1942...the scene also features nuns walking into the battle,which didnt happen in real life.
The 'clicker' signal device was also shown in Band of Brothers, though they mostly used the "flash/thunder" password and reply. This movie is based on the book by Cornelius Ryan, which was meticulously researched, showing all the real people, from civilians to privates to generals, and the parts they played and interweaves them with the bigger military strategies as the battle unfolds. The movie is very faithful to the book, and the characters are based on the real people and even uses their real names. The paratrooper hanging from the church steeple during the fire, the German and American troops passing by each other, the German officer with his boots on backwards and even Dutch Schultz trying to lose his gambling winnings are all things that really happened. The only character I know that is not in the book is the RAF pilot, who was based on a French RAF pilot who had been executed by the Germans earlier in the war, who was added to the movie.
The movie isn't trying to suck audiences in with realistic combat scenes and characters who are dramatized to get you emotionally involved with them, it's trying to show the true stories of what actually happened so that you learn the history, so it is different than today's movies. Ryan also wrote the book "A Bridge Too Far" which was also made into a blockbuster film, based on the invasion of Holland (shown in "Band of Brothers".) It was made in the 70s, in color, and is in a more fast-paced style, so it holds up better today. I highly recommend the books to anyone interested in the actual history of World War 2.
Taking Chance… would be an excellent historical movie to watch for Memorial Day / Remembrance Day. It provides US military protocol for burial details and memorial services.
EVERYONE should see "Taking Chance"!!!
I'm watching the movie right now on UA-cam! This day marks a sad day for me my grandfather died on June 6,2019 the75 anniversary of D-Day at the age of 97 3 days before my Birthday June 9,he was stationed in Normandy in World War 2! I don't know if he were part of the invasion. I missed my grandfather, his name is Benny Herron! Blessings and HUGS! Happy 80th Anniversary! 👑💜
28:23 the point of the movie was to go though the historical elements of D-Day, most of the character development was thrown in the backseat. But still a good movie none the less
Very important for the younger viewers to know that this movie is a monument, where many actual combattants were appointed 20 years later either to take part or to serve as advisors. You also hardly can see that many stars gathered in the same movie
Decades ago, I bought a book that told the story of "The Longest day" with still frames from the movie arrnged like panels in a comic book with explanatory captions. Toward the end, it contained a scene where the French resistance woman who helped blow up the bridge excitedly running into a barn to tell the others about the success of her mission. Inside, she find the dead body of one of the other resistance fighters, and as she cradles his corpse, someone in a black uniform with the double lightning bolt "SS" insignia on the sleeve grabs her roughly and demands to know here the other of the resistance fighters are. It doesn't show what happens to her after being captured. I've never seen this scene in any American release of "The Longest Day." I wonder whether there is any version out there that includes it. It's kind of an important scene showing that the danger that persisted for the French despite the success of the Allied invasion.
The clicker used by American Airborne troops was referenced several times in Band of Brothers. This is more of a docu-drama focusing on the overall battle from all vantage points rather than a modern retelling of these events like Saving Private Ryan where you are focused on a small group of individuals. All the events occurring in the movie happened in real life. Some older war movies that you might find more engaging are Battleground and The Best Years of Our Lives.
Saw this in theater in 1976. I was 16 years old. I taught myself how to draw comic books of movies I’ve seen. The Longest Day was one of them. I watched many of the actors here while they were in their ‘prime’. That guy with the glasses sitting on the jeep is Roddy McDowall, the original Caesar in the Planet of the Apes films and TV series. That out of shape German soldier delivering coffee on the beach is Gert Frobe, the classic James Bond villain Goldfinger! And James Bond himself Sean Connery is one of the two British soldiers on the beach who hated the sound of bagpipes. That American engineer who was killed on the beach trying to lay down wires for explosives was Jeffrey Hunter, who was the original captain of the USS Enterprise in the pilot episode of Star Trek. I am also a modeller and an aviation artist. That German pilot who attacked the British on the beaches was Josef ‘Pips’ Priller. He survived the war with over 300 combat missions and credited with shooting down 101 enemy planes (the good guys). He was one of the main opponents in Masters of the Air! That attack by the French on the city of Ouistreham was one long continuous shot from a helicopter. It had to be well planned as they had to do it in one take. It requires many viewings as there were things taking place everywhere. You will miss a lot with just one viewing! You said you could not feel invested in the film. You reacted to Saving Private Ryan, it opened at Omaha Beach. You reacted to Band of Brothers, the second episode took place during The Longest Day. For modern audiences, imagine The Longest Day had Keanu Reeves, Russell Crowe, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Hugh Jackman, Bruce Willis, Josh Brolin…. And on, and on, and on. Let this sink in, this film did the impossible at that time as there are still hundreds of untold stories from The Longest Day in history. As a Canadian our part was left out of this epic. We had our own beach, Juno. Because of this film I illustrate military history for a living.
Curt Jürgens is also in the movie as a major and would play Stromberg in the Spy Who Loved Me. Bond regular Walter Gotell also appears as a German soldier.
The logistics of making this film was insane and likely impossible to do today. Actors from the U.S., the U.K., France and Germany. Cast in the thousands. Almost everything with practical effects. Real tanks, real planes, real explosions, real armies of stuntmen. Other war movies followed with bigger casts and bigger budgets. Three actors from this film Robert Ryan, the legendary Henry Fonda and German actor Hans Christian Blech (Pluskat in the bunker at the beach), later appeared together as different characters in Battle of the Bulge. The wounded British pilot at the end is the legendary Richard Burton, husband of Elizabeth Taylor, star of epic classic films like Alexander the Great, The Robe, Where Eagles Dare, roles that would have been given to the likes of Russell Crowe today. Sadly, talking with younger co-workers the names of many of these actors are unfamiliar. Getting all of them together, actors, comedian, singer, director, mime artist, to play soldiers was incredible.
You are right. that aerial shot of the beach is incredible movie making. It involved hundreds of men and dozens of vehicles with things blowing up all around them! All in one take! The scene where the French division takes Ouistreham is also incredibly impressive. It starts out with a shot of a commando peering around a corner and pulls back (by helicopter) to reveal a charge of several hundred men along two sides of a canal to end up on an angle from behind and above the enemy occupied casino, with German cannons on top - and all the while, things are exploding in water and on land, bullet squibs are hitting and footbridges are collapsing! Awesome movie making for one take! And all of it acted out with practical effects! No computer generation!
Being a student of history, I was well aware of the Canadian participation on Juno - but I didn't realize until you said it, that no Juno scenes were depicted in the movie! With all those British-style uniforms, I think I always assumed that some scenes must have featured Canadians - but now that you mention it, I guess I was wrong!
I noticed the absence of any reference to the Canadians and, as a Brit, I was irritated by it. A mention of Juno Beach on the screen was as near as they came to acknowledging the existence of the Canadians. Particularly unfair given that, by the end of the day, the Canadians had penetrated further into France than troops from any of the other beaches.
want a good black and white WW2 movie? "Casablanca."
The actor (Richard Todd) playing the British officer in the glider assault was actually a soldier on that very attack! He was playing the role of his actual commanding officer...
@philplace2726,,slightly incorrect Richard Todd was not in John Howards Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry glider troopers , he was in the Paratroopers that followed the gliders in to help Reinforce the bridges against Counter Attack ,...
I suggest ' 12 O'clock high ' ( 1949 I think ). uses real combat film and has that intensity >. and / or a submarine flick that'll give ya claustrophobia. ' run silent run deep ' - could be your start of Clark Gable flicks
Oh shit!
This is going to be an interesting movie for her to watch.
It was going well until that "modern audiences" comment.
An excellent war movie, made 8 years after this one, is "Tora! Tora! Tora!", about the attack on Pearl Harbor. It's in color, the acting is great, and it's very realistic. Also, it depicted what was happening on both sides, American and Japanese.
In The Longest Day, my favorite character is "Pips" Priller. I worked for a guy who had been an officer in the Air Force. He said Priller was a typical fighter pilot. A fighter plane is difficult to handle and the pilots have to fly into the most dangerous combat situations. To do this, a pilot has to have the right combination of high-level skill, unflinching courage, and insanity. My boss said no one can command them except an ex-fighter-pilot. They're impossible for anyone else to deal with.
"Is Paris Burning" also is excellent, and completes the trilogy.
Kudos on sticking with this long movie to the very end, Kamilaa. Even though its cast has a lot of famous actors from the 1960s, the director wanted to produce an accurate film of D-Day rather than tell a story that focused on just a few characters that you could bond with. I gather from your outro that he succeeded.
The ensemble cast in this movie is amazing. Nearly every great actor of this period made an appearance.
Kamila, I really love your reactions to movies and series. The Longest Day is a classic. It is about as accurate as you can get when it comes to the Normandy Landings. The only problem is you don't get the blood and gore that you get with real combat or as you saw in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. Some of the actors you see here were actually in Combat during WW2. Eddie Albert risked his life on Tarawa to save the lives of 40+ Marines.You already know about Richard Todd. Others in the movie that served were Steve Forrest, who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, Kenneth More served in the Royal Navy aboard an aircraft carrier, and Rod Steiger, a torpedo man aboard a destroyer during the Battle of Iwo Jima. These are the only ones I know of.
The audiences of the day would have had vivid memories of World War II and wouldn't need to be reminded of the "blood and gore."
@@glennwisniewski9536Not necessarily. Only those over 30 would remember and only those that had family members willing to talk about their experiences. I loved the movie when it first came out just like I loved SANDS OF IWO JIMA. However, when you compare those to today's films......., big yawn.
@@mikealvarez2322 Audiences were older back then in general. And, for me, today's films are stroke-inducing with their quick cuts.
May I suggest watching another black and white film? It's the first to win the top five Oscars for "Best Picture," "Best Director," "Best Actor," "Best Actress," and "Best Screenplay." It's considered to be the first romantic comedy too. 1934's "It Happened One Night." If you give it a chance, I think you would be pleasantly surprised. :)
Like Band of Brothers this is based off of a book also called "The Longest Day". Although not as dramatic as modern war movies this one is very historically accurate. As for the clickers used by the US Airborne you do see Winters use one in episode 2 of Band of Brothers.
I think it's funny in a way... the original singer of Kamilla's outro song is one of the stars of this movie!! Paul Anka played an Army Ranger. By the way, the First (modern) Rangers trained with British paratroopers in Northern Ireland to prepare for this invasion. Most Rangers were deployed at Juno Beach with a few landing at Gold and Utah beach. The Ranger motto was born when Gen. Cota tells men of 5th Rangers to lead the way. The other Rangers at Juno Beach were sent there with the orders to destroy guns that were surrounded by concrete and would heavily damage ships as they approached. When they landed they were faced with the 90 foot cliffs lining the beach. They also found evidence that there were never guns installed in the concrete bunkers. +
Part of their training was to lay on barbed wire so that soldiers can quickly step over them, since it would take too long for a solder to cut the barbed wires and put everyone else at risk. This move was referenced in The Avengers when Steve accused Tony of not being "the guy that lays on the wire so that others can cross." Tony replied "I would just cut the wires, which implies both ignorance of military strategy and implies naiveté on Tony's part, since he's never actually been in a combat situation like that before.. And, by the way, that cliff landing was the same one depicted in Saving Private Ryan.
A great classic with a great ensemble cast. It seams pretty tame by today’s standards and I think a modern remake with the feel of Band of Brothers would be good to see. Another really good WW2 movie with another great ensemble cast that I actually rank above this movie is “A Bridge Too Far”. The events in that movie take place a few months after D-Day with the Allies’ failed invasion of The Netherlands, Operation Market Garden. I highly recommend it and then think you would like it.
Interesting fact: the actor who played the British commander in the film who led the capture of the bridge, in fact, as a soldier, took part in the invasion during the capture of this bridge.
A couple of cast members did this movie while waiting for production to continue for the movie "Cleopatra". That movie took forever to make, so cast and crew did other projects.
One thing that I think helps keep it in perspective on viewers, is that a lot of the people at the time would have also been veterans of WWII or Vietnam. They didn't need a lot of the same effects to picture things.
Veterans of Vietnam??? The movie came out in 1962 the first combat troops arrived in Vietnam March 1965. Unless you mean the French, they got their arses kicked by the Vietnamese in the 50's.
@@aussie6910 I'm talking about the cinematic style, not this particular movie.
Several of the actors were WW2 veterans, for example Eddie Albert [the colonel who gets killed on the beach at the end of the movie] was in the Navy in the Pacific/ his ship picked up the dead who'd floated out to sea from the Marine invasion of Tarawa.
Second, the effects were different. Many of today's movies are like watching a video game, so if one isn't a gamer, the effects seem 'fake'. Try watching the movie "The Best Years of Our Lives" to see how a real vet who'd lost both arms had to adapt to coming home, or watch 'Twelve O'Clock High' to see real footage of B-17 missions over Germany & watch real planes go down. Black & white movies were able to squeeze real footage in, something modern movies can't quite get right.
In the end it's all about perspective; did the actors engage you, did the director's choices carry the story along. I'd also recommend 'The Great Escape' or even 'PT 109'///
It did a good job of depicting both sides, and the leaders decisions that they made. A lot of planning went into the D-day landings, beyond what any modern movie has shown. There's still some historical content that was added, changed or misrepresented...but it's still a really good movie taking place less than 20 years from the real thing.
I can't remember what TV show it was on, but as a kid, I saw a clip of the St. Mere Eglise scene with Red Buttons dangling helplessly from the church tower and seeing the Germans machinegunning paratroopers as they descended, and I HAD TO know what happened next, so I pestered and pestered my parents until they took me and my little sister to see the movie.
William Millin, commonly known as Piper Bill, was a Canadian musician who played bagpipes, and was personal piper to Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat, commander of the British 1 Special Service Brigade at D-Day. the Germans did not shoot at him thinking he must have been insane to march up and down the beach playing the bagpipes
For 1962, this was about as close to _Saving Private Ryan_ as Hollywood was allowed to get by the censors. There are inaccuracies, but none that really ticked people off...and Eisenhower did not walk out of this movie - he actually gave this movie high praise. What he _did_ walk our of, was _The Battle of the Bulge,_ from 1965.
Forgot to mention, i think one of the actors is Sal Mineo. A young member / victim of the odd Hollywood mystey death club, yeah , ( if thats him ), he was found in a back ally, around a Hollywood neighborhood somewhere, i believe, under or connected to mysterious cicumstances. And of course it is always great to see the legendary ( star of so many westerns and a super icon in his own Time )John Wayne himself. The movie just could not have been made without him and his biggar than life swagger.
A number of the actors in the movie actually saw action in WW2. Richard Todd as already mentioned at D Day itself but also Eddie Albert, Henry Fonda, Leo Genn, Kenneth More, and Rod Steiger all saw action during the war (though none at D Day). I think knowing that gives those actors a certain gravitas.
Gert Fröbe - Medic, , HANS CHRISTIAN BLECH - GERMAN OFFICER ON EASTERN FRONT, BERNHARD VON BÜLOW ( THE MAN SHOUTING , GURKENSALAT' INTO TELEPHONE WAS OBERLEUTNANT AND IRON CROSS HOLDER. ( AFTER WAR HE BECAME A POPULAR COMEDIAN - STAGE NAME LORIOT).
@@brittakriep2938 I only looked at thr allied soldiers, my error. Thank you for your information. I recognise Gert Frobe and Hans Christian Blech from other films but not Loriot although he looks like an interesting character. Again thanks for the info.
@@mildandbitter : Loriot was his stage name , the bird called Loriot ( in Latin) is in german Pirol, and is part of Coat of Arms of his family.. In tradition of his noble prussian ancestors he became officer. But in Interviews in old age ( died in 2011 or 2014) he often said, he was very shocked and ashamed, when after war got full truth of information about the crimes done in wwll. So an aristocratic officer, following His ancestors , but truely shocked. He started his artistic career in 1950s as caricaturist/ Cartoonist , mostly for newspapers.. His greatest invention Had been the ,people with potato nose' (. Knollennasenmännchen '). In late 1960s/ mid 1970s his popularity Had its peak. With a number of TV shows, showing Cartoons with Potato nose people and acted Jokes, in german called Sketch. Loriot was master of german language ( only Heinz Erhardt was better) , a man who Well understood German culture and habbits, and as nobleman a finemannered man. As actor He was Not so wellknown ( two Cinema movies in 1980s), but as Comedian, Cartoonist, Caricaturist, , Book author ( among others a totally nonsensical cooking Book, - Elephant cream, or hippopotamus in wine Sauce....) and a Lot of funny speeches. In UA-cam a lot of Clips of his Work can be Seen.
I suggest, the Producers of ,The longest day Had been rather surprised, hiring a german wwll officer of prussian nobility and getting him.
@@mildandbitter : Search for Loriot in UA-cam. A number of Clips exist, but of course in german language. But: A native english speaker should not have to large problems, learning German or french.
These guys were legitimately "stars" during the golden age of Hollywood. television had three channels when I was growing up so lots of reruns came on a lot. Lots of history in this. Not just WWII but cinema history too
This movie is based on the book 'The Longest Day' by Cornelius Ryan. Every one of the characters in the movie is based on a real person and their own experiences. So when you hear the characters talking they are using the words of the real people. The piper was Bill Millin and the Germans said they could easily have shot him but they were fascinated by the pipes so they let him live.
the cat on screen left at 4:15 min is roddy mcdowall. he's one of my favorite actors. he has a credit list a mile long.
4 years after this, in 1966, he starred with tuesday weld, harvey korman and ruth gordon in "lord love a duck." where, at 35 years old, he CONVINCINGLY plays a high school student. its one of the craziest movies your ever likely to see. 2 years after that he plays the ape "cornelius" in "the planet of the apes." he also appeared in "the poseidon adventure" (1972) "the legend of hell house" (1973) and "fight night" (1985).
he was a child actor starring in john ford's 1941 oscar winner "how green was my valley." then he starred in 2 kid's classics "my friend flicka" and "lassie come home" both in 1943. thanks for the video.
Great reaction! A similar movie that describes events near the war's end is called *A Bridge Too Far* (1977). It's about Operation Market Garden. It's on a far larger scale than D-Day. That film is more modern and much more entertaining to watch and react to. You won't be disappointed, trust me.
This was not long after the actual event and many people did not want see graphic depictions of death for the allied soldiers like in Saving Private Ryan, It was too soon. However it was okay to show us killing many Germans. It was a memorial to those who fought on that day
Well done, Kam. This movie was made for WWII veterans to watch. It was only 18 years after the events portrayed. Hollywood sensors kept the action subdued. The point was to get the information to the masses. Thanks for letting us know that you hadn't noticed it was in black and white. It was in black and white, so actual footage could be spliced in. A number of the scenes were based on photos taken at the locations. The ensemble cast in this thing helped to show the importance of the event. I only met one of the participants. Omar Bradley went to my high school. If you ever visit New Orleans, you need to see the D-Day Museum. It isn't the name now, but it is what it is.
In '62 most movies were shot in colour. For The Longest Day, however, they used old B/W stock. To save on expenses or to give it a more documentary feel or whatev. There is also a coloured version available that was made when they restored the old material in the '90s or somewhere around that time.
When this movie was made it was a mere 18 years after the actual events. The audience was full of veterans and everyone already knew the story. Most people would have recognized the names of the generals in the film. There really wasn't any need to make a big action film loaded with special effects. The people watching the movie had lived through the real thing. - Besides that, this is an all star cast extravaganza. Even today I recognize a good 25 of the actors in the film, many of them top stars in their prime. That was a big draw for people in 1962 but it is sadly lost on you because you haven't seen enough films yet. There are quite a lot of films with large all star casts and my advice is to avoid them and save them for some time in your future after you have watched a few thousand more movies. - There is an endless supply of old good movies for you to watch. Once upon a time people knew how to tell really good stories without the need for action and special effects. I clicked the like button for you.
Your effort to watch and understand this movie, and the D-day landings is much appreciated by me! The movie is based on the book by journalist Cornelius Ryan, called "The longest Day". He made thousands of interviews with Germans, French, American, Canadian and English participants. Great book.
I was a kid when I first saw this and even though I appreciate the advances in SFX it still remains one of the best WW II movies. Richard Todd who played the leader of the Parachute regiment did actually fight on D- Day.
Great review, glad you chose to watch it. Yes, the effects are dated when compared to Saving Private Ryan. Although, until Spielberg made Ryan, The Longest Day was in many ways the cinematic masterpiece of D-Day. This one is better at explaining the whole battle not just small parts of the battle as told by Ryan and Band of Brothers. For example, Winters and Lipton when they parachuted into France the landed just on the outskirts of St. Mare Eglise. Easy company did have the toy clickers one of the guys breaks his as they are flying across the channel in episode 1 or 2. Also, the one issue with Ryan is that it shortens the length of the battle on Omaha Beach, as is shown in this movie, it took until about 1 or 2 in the afternoon before the troops made it up the hills overlooking the beach. The other interesting part is most of the comedy parts of the film actually happened. It's been 30 years since I read the book, but the British beach commander on Sword did bring his dog with him. That where The Longest Day is better than Ryan it is showing the overall situation and that the battle was chaotic. It also shows that the entire battle front was about 40 miles of beaches plus all of the landing zones, so where Ryan shows the horrors of Omaha, this one shows that was happening all over the battle front at the same time.
Looking forward to more!!
As a history major it's encouraging to see a young person interested in history. Btw this was maybe one of the last major motion pictures released in black and white. I was grown before they started selling only color televisions (of course b&w plays on either) when I was a kid people specified when someone had money enough for a color TV and a 19-21 inch screen were the biggest models
Before 1968, the 30yr old Hays code for film taboos, language, gore, behavior was still in effect. That may be part of it. When you look at the cast list you’ll see this movie had one of if not the greatest international list of stars you may ever see. Lots of big names from at least the 40s and would still be big in the 80s. The acting style was what they knew b/c that was how they were typically told to deliver the lines for the somewhat stereotypical characters and the way they were written. Check out John Wayne, LtCol Vandervoort in this one, in “The Green Berets (1969)”. A lot had changed in the story style in 7 yrs. I hadn’t heard a cuss word in a movie until a few yrs after that one. It’s useful to note the changes and the actors that did their best with what they were given. Great reaction Kamila as always.
Thank you Ms. K! It's MEMORIAL DAY here in the USA, so I'll be starting my day with your reaction .. .. Gracias, Hermosa .. ..
There is one omission in this movie and in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN that I have an issue with. There were Black soldiers that landed on those beaches. The 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion landed on those beaches and suffered the same as all the other troops. Their job was to put up the Barrage Balloons to keep the German fighters from straffing our troops. Corporal Waverly Woodson was a combat medic landing in the 3rd wave. His landing craft hit a mine killing the man next to Woodson and severely injuring him and others. Woodson had his wounds treated then began treating others by setting up a field hospital. It didn't matter what color they were he did his job and then some. He did some procedures that normally a surgeon would do. On one occasion he noticed some men in the surf that were still alive but seriously injured. He dragged them out administered CPR and saved their lives. Woodson is credited with saving the lives of over 200 men. He should have been awarded The Metal of Honor and he would have if he had been white. Woodson received a purple heart and was due to receive a Bronze Star but never got it due to some technicality.
During the Korean War Woodson was scheduled to train medics but due to his race he was assigned to the morgue autopsy department at the Walter Reed Medical Center. He was also promoted to Sergeant.
Woodson wanted to study medicine but couldn't find a university that would take him. Instead he got a degree in biology then worked at the National Naval Medical Center in their Bacteriology Department. From there he went on to work in the Clinical Pathology Department at the National Institute of Health.
Personally I think this man deserves the Medal of Honor. What he did was at least equal to what Desmond Doss did on Hacksaw Ridge.
Get over it. No movie could possibly show everything and this movie was a basic overview of an enormous operations and had lots of historical flaws. Saving Private Ryan was mostly fiction and had many flaws as well.
Some of the best movies ever made were made before this reactor was born. In time she may discover this, and I for one envy her journey.
Naturally after this you need to watch Sink the Bismarck, The guns of Navarone, The dirty Dozen, A bridge too far and my favourite Where eagles dare!
Teddy Roosevelt, Jr. was an actual hero, fighting in 5 WWI campaigns and 4 WWII campaigns - to include leading his troops on D-Day invasion, and the only General in the first wave. He was also the oldest man at Normandy, being 56. He died in France of a heart attack about 5 weeks after the invasion. I'll recommend a similar film (but in color), A BRIDGE TOO FAR (1977) with a cast of thousands portraying the 35,00 man invasion of The Netherlands in Operation: Market Garden, a failed operation. When I was young, WWII seemed a lifetime away - being my father's war. But around age 12, I realized that war ended only 10 years before I was born. It was rather common to ask one's father what they did in the war, which prompted a wartime comedy WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR, DADDY? (1966) and I think you would really love it - situated in Nazi controlled Italy. Directed by Blake Edwards and starred James Coburn, Aldo Ray, Sergio Fantoni, Giovanna Ralli, Harry Morgan ...
Richard Todd who plays Major Howard who led the glider attack on Pegasus Bridge actually fought in that very battle. Apparently in the film he wore the beret he had worn on D-Day. I have the honour f meeting Bill Millin, who famously played the bagpipes for Lord Lovat during the invasion, and also knew the man who played him in this film. Pipe-Major de Lespay had been the private royal piper and when he retired he lived in my village and taught the schoolchildren, including me, Scottish dancing.
I don't know if you learned this at school but there were eleven Norwegian ships taking part in the invasion as well.
One of which, the destroyer Svenner, was torpedoed and sunk on D-Day. :(
This was just 18 years after the D Day landings. At the time, there were millions of veterans who were alive to watch the film and had vivid memories of the day. Quite a few of the cast were in fact veterans of the actual landings and battles--it was a class production involving actors from all the nations involved (including German veterans) and very close to the actuality of the day. Just think: 18 years ago was 2006. Justin Timberlake, Rhianna, Shakira, Beyonce. Pirates of the Carribean, The DaVinci Code and Borat. Doesn't seem very long ago, does it?
Funny how your closing music was Paul Anka's Put Your Head On My Shoulder. Anka was one of the dozens of major star names who appeared in this movie.
The British soldier who complains about landing in the water and then about the bagpipes is Sean Connery, the future and best James Bond, a year away from becoming a star. The irony of him stating about the Irish playing the pipes better than the Scots is that Connery was Scottish. The soldier beside him, with only a few lines, would play The Beatles' beleaguered manager in their first Movie, A Hard Day's Night.
This movie was released only 18 years after these events happened so the majority of the audiences were very familiar with the general story. That's the reason the film focuses more on little personal moments instead of one single beach or parachute landing. It's an overall view of the entirety of the day of days and the beginning of the end of the war.
I couldn't begin to guess how many times I have watched this movie. It is a classic war film. My father served in WWII so it does carry some extra impact for me, however the story is great. So many international stars. I just got to the point where you realized the film is in b & w. B&W films are beautiful and should always be watched in B&W.
What you're watching is the most accurate, overall view of what happened on D-Day. The "quiet crash" were glider planes (no engines) towed by planes and once released had limited steering and could only go down - they were a way one trip into battle.
This was a different time in movie making! They just never dreamed of making movies like Saving Private Ryan or Hacksaw Ridge or Platoon back then 😊
From 1962 to 67, We had the TV show Combat, a fictional show about the American soldiers, and sometimes British soldiers and French underground, their battles, and issues after D-Day. It followed a speciic group of soldiers to make it more personal. Lots of action and Hollywood explosions and special effects, but many serious and sometimes funny episodes. Many guest stars. It had a good audience of Veterans and middle aged people who experienced WWII, and us kids got information on the history of the War thourgh the shows like that and parents comments. It was quite realistic
'and sometimes British soldiers'
What? like once, for 15 seconds with a script that was designed to make them look ridiculous?, or deceiptful?, or incompetent?
A very detailed and historically very accurate movie (the US Paratrooper hanging from the steeple is now a very disputed myth though). Way too many to of the famous actors were actually far too old to accurately portray their historical characters - it really was a young mans war. "Rupert" was actually a lot more rough and ready looking than the example in the movie. Cornelius Ryan's book was made from interviews with the actual people and he strove for historical accuracy - he did a pretty good job. But there were thousands of other fantastic, compelling stories of that day that never could make the movie. The movie was made in black and white deliberately so that they could include as much real war footage as possible.
The officer that John Wayne is portraying, Lieutenant Col. Benjamin H. Vandervoort,
was only 27 years old on June 6th 1944. Wayne was approximately 51 years old at time of filming.