The Longest Day

A film review by Christopher Null - Copyright © 1999 Filmcritic.com

D-Day wasn't just fought at Omaha Beach, though Hollywood may have thought so before The Longest Day. D-Day involved a cast of thousands, and it took producer Darryl Zanuck, five screenwriters, four directors, and three hours just to bring it to the big screen. In fact, Spielberg cribbed large chunks of this film verbatim for Saving Private Ryan. Ultimately, Ryan is the better picture, but The Longest Day shows you more of the story (and it's closer to reality), from the paratrooper force sent in as a diversion, to a half-dozen beach battles, to the French Resistance and how they helped. Aside from a great war tale, Day also marks what must be the only film where you can see John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Fabián, Sal Mineo, Eddie Albert, Red Buttons, Peter Lawford, and Sean Connery all fighting the same war. And on the same side, no less.

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Rating

4.0 out of 5 Stars

Cast and Crew

  • Director: Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Gerd Oswald, Bernhard Wicki
  • Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck
  • Screenwriter: Romain Gary, James Jones, David Pursall, Cornelius Ryan, Jack Seddon
  • Stars: Eddie Albert, Paul Anka, Richard Beymer, Richard Burton, Wolfgang Büttner, Red Buttons, Pauline Carton, Sean Connery, Ray Danton, Irina Demick, Fred Durr, Fabián, Mel Ferrer, Henry Fonda, Steve Forrest, John Gregson, Paul Hartmann, Peter Helm, Werner Hinz, Donald Houston, Jeffrey Hunter, Alexander Knox, Peter Lawford, Christian Marquand, Dewey Martin, Roddy McDowall, Michael Medwin, Sal Mineo, Robert Mitchum, Kenneth More, Edmond O'Brien, Leslie Phillips, Ron Randell, Madeleine Renaud, Robert Ryan, Tommy Sands, George Segal, Jean Servais, Rod Steiger, Richard Todd, Peter van Eyck, Robert Wagner, Richard Wattis, Stuart Whitman, John Wayne
  • MPAA Rating: NR