The Longest Day

1962 • 178 minutes

About this movie

This is a spectacular account of the events leading up to and through the Allied Forces' invasion of Normandy, France on D-Day (June 6), 1944 to fight the occupying Germans.  The film is particularly interesting because it looks at D-Day through the eyes of all of the participants, including the Germans, who are overwhelmed by the forces brought against them.  It is in fact a German officer who gives the story its title -- when he views the approaching Allied armada, he says, "This will be the longest day."

Ratings and reviews

We just got back from our second trip to Normandy. This time it was during the D Day week with all of the ceremonies, etc. We had to watch this movie (again!!!) and it is fun to see the scenes in the actual places we were at just a week ago. The bunker scenes, Pegasus Bridge, etc were all very accurate and had very little "Hollywood" in it. We also toured the beach sites and those were equally as accurate. Not sure about the actual portrayal of the people by Hollywood actors. One interesting fact is the actor Richard Todd who portrayed Major Howard was actually a British soldier that took part in that same battle at the bridge.

Great cast of Hollywood All stars in one of the Best Movies about WWII. As told from Both Allied And Nazi Perspectives. A Movie well worth adding to your collection.

I love this movie... Yes it's "old". No, Spielberg did not make this movie. And I happen to love Spielberg's movies, absolutely. But you have to understand that these older movies were made in a different way at the time. I've been in love with older movies since I was a little girl. And I love movies about the Second World War. The Longest day is a brilliant movie for its time. A great cast for sure. The action is great. If you do not like it, that is up to you, of course. For me, with my love of these older movies, it's right up my alley.