Review of The Longest Day (1962) by Daniel K — 01 Dec 2008

The ridiculous effects of the opening scenes with the Generals looking on the beaches of Normandy while obviously not actually being there really harms the mood at the outset. It's hard to take the film seriously when you combine the effects with the blundering titles plastered on the screen introducing each character.

It's positively juvenile when compared with A Bridge Too Far, which chronicles the other large Allied invasion of WWII. The performances are ridiculous as well when compared with A Bridge Too Far.

This is a gigantic dissapointment as I was looking forward to a comparable reenactment. What's even more ridiculous is the filmmakers managed to put the wrong rank on John Wayne. Last time I checked a silver oak leaf was a Lt Col, not a Col.

Why not call a Brigadier General a Brigadier General instead of a General as well. I'm sure having four directors didn't help the film any either. The younger actors seem to be trying far too hard to be hip and cool.

It's like they all want to be James Dean or Marlon Brando. Initially I thought the film being filmed in black and white would make it seem more prestigious and timeless, but the relatively low quality of the work only seemed amplified by the choice.

The relative lack of explanation of the actual invasion plan is greatly to the films detriment. One of the most fascinating and well done aspects of A Bridge Too Far was the extremely easy to follow explanations of every intricacy of the invasion plan.

Everything was laid out like clockwork. By comparison, this is a muddled and confused telling of a much easier to understand invasion plan they only manage to explain bits and pieces of. There are of course elements that are very interesting and well done like the taking of the Orne bridge, the Rupert paratroopers, the breaching of the wall at Utah, the French resistance, etc.

There is little narrative force to the picture. I could almost care less what happened to the characters or the invasion at times. The self important and painfully obvious speeches about the grand day and how it will be remembered forever are sickeningly corny as well.

The battle sequenced are often pretty ridiculous compared to what one sees in better films from the era and certainly what one finds a decade later The film does begin to improve once the actual invasion has started, but by this time it has dug itself in a bit of a hole.

It would be difficult for a Normandy invasion filmed in the 60's to compare to that seen in works like Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. The action sequences and performances in the second and third acts seem to gradually improve as the film draws to a close, but ultimately fall short.

It's interesting that the filmmakers have chosen to pull back and use cranes and aircraft to film many battle sequences. This seems to be the problem with much of the film. It spreads itself far too thin by trying to cover too much of the invasion.

It's not always a bad film, but knowing what it could have been (more like A Bridge Too Far) makes it that much worse.