Review of The Longest Day (1962) by Macdara B — 14 Jun 2015

When you land in Normandy, you will only have one friend...God.

Three generals are approaching Normandy on D-Day during World War II. We watch as both the Allie and German's prepare for the invasion. The Allies are coming in from both land, water, and air and the aerial attack should just overshoot the Germans and catch them in an unanticipated crossfire. The aerial team is having a hard time practicing their jumps and has concerns about the ability to be successful on their mission. If the airborne unit isn't successful, the entire mission and war may be lost. Can they make it work or will the German's prevail?

"Only two types of people are going to stay on this beach, those that are already dead and those that are about to die.".

There were five directors that collaborated to delivers this almost three hour war epic. The storyline is very compelling as was the characters. The script was well done and the picture was delivered with the right amount of grit. The action scenes were also intense and fairly well done for the time. The acting was first rate and the cast includes John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Richard Burton, Sean Connery, Red Buttons, Roddy McDowall, and Robert Mitchum.

"Beyond that peaceful horizon a monster awaits.".

I came across this picture on Netflix and had to add this classic to my queue. The cast was unbelievable and the intensity and action was well done. I am not a huge war genre fan but this was well written and I enjoyed the characters. This is worth a viewing despite being almost three hours.

"There are a lot of very peculiar blokes on this beach.".

Grade: B.