The retelling of June 6, 1944, from the perspectives of the Germans, US, British, Canadians, and the Free French. Marshall Erwin Rommel, touring the defenses being established as part of the Reich's Atlantic Wall, notes to his officers that when the Allied invasion comes they must be stopped on the beach. "For the Allies as well as the Germans, it will be the longest day"
Production
Actual ships, planes, and French beaches—not a green screen in sight.
Acting
Burton's poetic drunk, Wayne's sprained ankle—chaotic star power.
Direction
Three directors somehow made ONE coherent three-hour war machine.
Director
Ken Annakin
John Wayne
Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort
Robert Mitchum
Brig. Gen. Norman Cota
Henry Fonda
Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
Richard Burton
Flying Officer David Campbell
Sean Connery
Pvt. Flanagan
Leslie Phillips
RAF Officer Mac
Robert Ryan
Brig. Gen. James M. Gavin
Paul Anka
U.S. Army Ranger
Wolfgang Büttner
Maj. Gen. Dr. Hans Speidel
Mel Ferrer
Maj. Gen. Robert Haines
Ray Danton
Capt. Frank
Peter Lawford
Lord Lovat
Eddie Albert
Col. Thompson
Arletty
Madame Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault
Father Louis Roulland
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Sean Connery filmed his tiny role during a Dr. No break—same year he became Bond. The helmet hides it well.
This was the most expensive black-and-white film ever made until Schindler's List—Hollywood's last gasp of WWII worship before Vietnam changed everything.
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