The
turning point in WWII, indeed, some would say in human history, came on June 6,
1944 when the Allied Forces, under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower,
invaded Nazi occupied France at Normandy Beach. It was the largest invasion
force of men, ships and materiel ever assembled and it marked a crucial moment
in the war. The Allies desperately needed to secure a beachhead from which they
could penetrate into France and Germany. But it wasn't easy. The German forces
were dug in deep, with massive, fortified bunkers and machine gun nests. The
beaches were lined with mines, barbed wire and huge pieces of wood and iron,
designed to impede access. Thousands of men stormed the beaches in one of the
bloodiest, most hard fought battles of the war. It was D-Day. It was the longest
day.
In the early 1960s, 20th Century Fox producer Darryl Zanuck determined to
make what would become the definitive film about D-Day. As source material, he
turned to Cornelius Ryan's book, The Longest Day, which had become a
bestseller and was widely regarded as the best, minute-by-minute account of the
battle.
Zanuck approached the project like a military campaign, marshalling his
forces and money to produce the ultimate World War Two epic. He used an army of
stars, a veritable who's who of both Hollywood and the European film industry to
provide an omniscient, general's eye view of the unfolding battles from both
sides of the front lines. While grand in scope The Longest Day also
contains many moments of personal battles, sheer terror and unheralded bravery
amid the massive armies on the move. Zanuck oversaw every aspect of the
production and when it was completed, he had spent $10 million on the film,
making it the most expensive black and white movie of the time. But the money is
well spent. Every penny is on the screen and the attention to historical
accuracy and details yields an unforgettable film. The stars didn't come cheap
either. The Longest Day is a terrific, living history lesson, a moving
document of a momentous day…
In recent years there has been a revival of interest in D-Day…
especially due to Steven Spielberg's film, Saving Private Ryan (1998).
The first thirty minutes of Ryan offer the most horrific re-staging of
the invasion ever put on film and it makes for an interesting contrast to The
Longest Day. Zanuck's production takes the larger view while Spielberg puts
us into the heart of combat, focusing on one small group of men. Both are valid
ways of depicting the invasion.
from the Review for Paramount Movies,
originally @ www.austintheatrealliance.org/
html/films/2001/longest.html