THE LONGEST DAY [1962 / 2014] [Limited Edition SteelBook] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
Never So Timely! Never So Great! 45 International Stars!
‘THE LONGEST DAY’ is a vivid re-creation of the June 6, 1944 Allied invasion of France, which marked the beginning of the end of Nazi domination in Europe. Featuring a stellar international cast, and told from the perspectives of both sides, this fascinating look at one of history’s biggest battles ranks as one of Hollywood’s truly Great War films.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1962 National Board of Review, USA: Win: NBR Award for Best Film. Win: NBR Award for Top Ten Films. 1963 Academy Awards®: Win: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White for Jean Bourgoin and Walter Wottitz. Win: Best Effects and Special Effects for Jacques Maumont (audible) and R.A. MacDonald (visual). Nominated: Best Picture for Darryl F. Zanuck. Nominated: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White for Gabriel Béchir, Léon Barsacq, Ted Haworth and Vincent Korda. Nominated: Best Film Editing for Samuel E. Beetley. 1963 Golden Globes: Win: Best Cinematography in Black-and-White for Henri Persin, Jean Bourgoin and Walter Wottitz. Nominated: Best Motion Picture in a Drama. 1963 American Cinema Editors: Win: Eddie Award for Best Edited Feature Film for Samuel E. Beetley. 1963 David di Donatello Awards: Win: Best Foreign Production (Migliore Produzione Straniera) for Darryl F. Zanuck (producer). 1963 Directors Guild of America: Nominated: DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki and Ken Annakin. 1963 Laurel Awards: Win: Golden Laurel for Top Action Drama. Nominated: Golden Laurel for Top Action Performance for Robert Mitchum [5th place].
FILM FACT No.2: The film was shot at several French locations including the Île de Ré, Saleccia beach in Saint-Florent, Haute-Corse, Port-en-Bessin-Huppain filling in for Ouistreham, Les Studios de Boulogne in Boulogne-Billancourt, and the actual locations of Pegasus Bridge near Bénouville, Calvados, Sainte-Mère-Église, and Pointe du Hoc. During the filming of the landings at Omaha Beach, the extras appearing as American soldiers did not want to jump off the landing craft into the water because they thought that it would be too cold. Robert Mitchum as Gen. Norman Cota became disgusted with their trepidation. He jumped in first, at which point they followed his example. The Rupert Para dummies used in the film were far more elaborate and lifelike than those actually used in the decoy parachute drop (Operation Titanic), which were simply canvas or burlap sacks filled with sand. The dummies dressed in American jumpsuits were used in filming the Sainte-Mère-Église sequence. In the real operation, six Special Air Service soldiers jumped with the dummies and played recordings of loud battle noises to distract the Germans. With a budget of $10 million ($82 million in 2019 dollars), this was the most expensive black-and-white film made until 1993, when ‘Schindler's List’ was released. In the scenes where the paratroopers land, the background noise of frogs croaking was incorrect for northern French frog species and showed that the film probably used an American recording of background night noises. Colin Maud lent Kenneth More the actual shillelagh that he carried ashore in the invasion. (More had served as an officer in the Royal Navy during World War II, albeit not as a Beachmaster.) Similarly, Richard Todd wears the beret that he actually wore on D-Day, although he changed the cap-badge to that of Maj. John Howard's regiment, the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. In the film, three Free French Special Air Service paratroopers jump into France before British and American airborne landings. This is accurate. Thirty-six Free French SAS (4 sticks) jumped into Brittany (Plumelec and Duault) on June 5 at 23:30 (operation Dingson). The first Allied soldiers killed in action were Lt. Den Brotheridge of the 2nd Ox & Bucks Light Infantry as he crossed Pegasus Bridge at 00:22 on June 6, and Corporal Emile Bouétard of the 4th Free French SAS battalion at the same time in Plumelec, Brittany. The United States Sixth Fleet extensively supported the filming and made available many amphibious landing ships and craft for scenes filmed in Corsica, though many of the ships were of newer vintage. The Springfield and Little Rock were World War II light cruisers extensively reconfigured into guided missile cruisers, and both were used in the shore bombardment scenes. Gerd Oswald was the uncredited director of the parachute drop scenes into Sainte-Mère-Église. Darryl F. Zanuck said that he himself directed some uncredited pick-ups with American and British interiors. Elmo Williams was credited as associate producer and coordinator of battle episodes. He later produced the historical World War II film ‘Tora! Tora! Tora!’ [1970] for Darryl F. Zanuck. It depicted the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, also using the docudrama style. A mistake crept into the final film when the German officer, Field Marshall Rommel, examining coastal defences disappears from shot but can still be heard on audio and then reappears.
Cast: Eddie Albert, Paul Anka, Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault, Richard Beymer, Hans Christian Blech, Bourvil, Richard Burton, Wolfgang Büttner, Red Buttons, Pauline Carton, Sean Connery, Ray Danton, Irina Demick, Fred Dur, Fabian, Mel Ferrer, Henry Fonda, Steve Forrest, Gert Fröbe, Leo Genn, John Gregson, Paul Hartmann, Peter Helm, Werner Hinz, Donald Houston, Jeffrey Hunter, Karl John, Curd Jürgens, Alexander Knox, Peter Lawford, Fernand Ledoux, Christian Marquand, Dewey Martin, Roddy McDowall, Michael Medwin, Sal Mineo, Robert Mitchum, Kenneth More, Richard Münch, Edmond O'Brien, Leslie Phillips, Wolfgang Preiss, Ron Randell, Madeleine Renaud, Georges Rivière, Norman Rossington, Robert Ryan, Tommy Sands, George Segal, Jean Servais, Rod Steiger, Richard Todd, Tom Tryon, Peter van Eyck, Robert Wagner, Richard Wattis, Stuart Whitman, Georges Wilson, John Wayne, Patrick Barr (uncredited), Yves Barsacq (uncredited), Geoffrey Bayldon (uncredited), Michael Beint (uncredited), Charles Bondi (uncredited), Lyndon Brook (uncredited), Lucien Camiret (uncredited), Jean Champion (uncredited), Yvan Chiffre (uncredited), Bryan Coleman (uncredited), Gary Collins (uncredited), John Crawford (uncredited), Jo D'Avra (uncredited), Armin Dahlen (uncredited), Mark Damon (uncredited), Richard Dawson (uncredited), Leslie de Laspee (uncredited), Eugene Deckers (uncredited), Gil Delamare (uncredited), Colin Drake (uncredited), Michel Duchaussoy (uncredited), Frank Finlay (uncredited), Harry Fowler (uncredited), Bernard Fox (uncredited), Robert Freitag (uncredited), Bernard Fresson (uncredited), Lutz Gabor (uncredited), Arnold Gelderman (uncredited), Harold Goodwin (uncredited), Walter Gotell (uncredited), Henry Grace (uncredited), Clément Harari (uncredited), Ruth Hausmeister (uncredited), Jack Hedley (uncredited), Michael Hinz (uncredited), Walter Horsbrugh (uncredited), Jean-Pierre Janic (uncredited), Patrick Jordan (uncredited), Til Kiwe (uncredited), Mickey Knox (uncredited), Simon Lack (uncredited), Harry Landis (uncredited), Rudy Lenoir (uncredited), Joseph Lowe (uncredited), Wolfgang Lukschy (uncredited), Victor Maddern (uncredited), Howard Marion-Crawford (uncredited), Neil McCallum (uncredited), Edward Meeks (uncredited), John Meillon (uncredited), Kurt Meisel (uncredited), Gérard Moisan (uncredited), Tony Mordente (uncredited), Louis Mounier (uncredited), Al Mulock (uncredited), Bill Nagy (uncredited), Kurt Pecher (uncredited), Rainer Penkert (uncredited), Malte Petzel (uncredited), John Phillips (uncredited), Siân Phillips (uncredited), Maurice Poli (uncredited), Hartmut Reck (uncredited), Trevor Reid (uncredited), Heinz Reincke (uncredited), Alexandre Renaud (uncredited), John Robinson (uncredited), Paul Edwin Roth (uncredited), Marcel Rouzé (uncredited), Ernst Schröder (uncredited), Dietmar Schönherr (uncredited), Heinz Spitzner (uncredited), Nicholas Stuart (uncredited), Hans Söhnker (uncredited), Alice Tissot (uncredited), Serge Tolstoy (uncredited), Michel Tureau (uncredited), Roland Urban (uncredited), Lionel Vitrant (uncredited), Vicco von Bülow (uncredited), Joe Warfield (uncredited) and Dominique Zardi (uncredited)
Directors: Andrew Marton (American exteriors), Bernhard Wicki (German episodes), Darryl F. Zanuck (uncredited), Gerd Oswald (parachuting scenes in Sainte-Mère-Église) and Ken Annakin (British and French exteriors)
Producers: Darryl F. Zanuck and Elmo Williams
Screenplay: Cornelius Ryan (screenplay/book), David Pursall (additional episodes written), Jack Seddon (additional episodes written), James Jones (additional episodes written) and Romain Gary (additional episodes written)
Composer: Maurice Jarre
Cinematography: Jean Bourgoin (Director of Photography) and (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black-and-White)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (CinemaScope)
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio,
German: 5.1 DTS-HD Audio
French 5.1 DTS-HD Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH, German, Begleilender Text, French, Insert French Text, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norway and Swedish
Running Time: 178 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 2
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: Sometimes a great filmmaker's best intentions can be swamped by the dictates of the marketplace. 20th-Century-Fox producer Darryl F. Zanuck hoped that ‘THE LONGEST DAY’ [1962], a blow-by-blow account of the Allied invasion on D-Day, would be an anti-Hollywood war film, a picture that would, once and for all, show audiences what war is really like. But Darryl F. Zanuck, who may well have been viewing the picture as his swan song, knew that an undertaking of this size was a risky business proposition to say the least. So he hedged his bets by casting as many name stars as he could get his hands on, thus nixing any opportunity he may have had to fully immerse viewers in a realistic, documentary portrayal of the events and the ultimate price of victory.
Everyone from John Wayne to Henry Fonda to Robert Mitchum to Eddie Albert gets a few moments of screen time, with teen idols like Paul Anka, Tommy Sands, and Fabian thrown into the mix to attract the younger viewers. Darryl F. Zanuck was operating on such a grand scale; he needed no less than four directors to shoot the film, with numerous assistants working the perimeter. The final product, though often memorable, seems more like an exposition-laced military manoeuvre than an actual narrative. Regardless of what's going on and there's always something going on and it's not hard to imagine Darryl F. Zanuck standing beside the camera, heatedly chomping his cigar while he writes his OSCAR® acceptance speech. Much more to Darryl F. Zanuck's liking was a young French actress, Irina Demick, who was one of the few women to appear in a substantial role in the film. Brigitte Bardot and Marina Vlady had originally been approached for the part but turned it down. Irina Demick not only won the role, but also became Darryl F. Zanuck's mistress during the production.
All of the massive organisation of that most salient invasion of World War Two, and all the hardship and bloodiness of it, all the courage and sacrifice involved, are strongly and stalwartly suggested in the mighty mosaic of episodes and battle-action details that are packed into this film. From the climactic concentration of Allied forces along the English coast, ready to launch the invasion in early June, 1944, to a few sample incidents at nightfall on D-Day, June 6, the immensity and sweep of the great battle to crack the Nazi's hold on France are portrayed.
There's the highly suspenseful moment when General Eisenhower has to make the fateful decision as to whether the invasion will go or have to be postponed. There's the nervousness and impatience of officers waiting the word, the restlessness and time-killing pastimes of soldiers poised to go. And then there's the breathless excitement of the Pathfinders being sent by air to parachute into Normandy at midnight to light the way for the following Para troopers; the tension and terror of the airborne strike of Canadians to secure the critical Orne River Pegasus Bridge; the violence and confusion of the experiences of elements of the American 82nd and 101st Airborne Division before dawn around Sainte-Mère-Église.
As daylight comes, there is the thunder of the first landing craft piling in on the fortress-fringed Normandy beaches, the bloody battles along the fire-raked strands of the Utah and Omaha sectors, fought by the Americans, and the assaults upon Sword, June and Gold by the British and Canadians. There's the smashing fight of French commandos to capture the seaside town of Ouistreham and the terrible climb by American Rangers up the sheer cliffs of Point-du-Hoc. And there's a lot about French Resistance people fighting behind the main assaults. Nor are the Germans neglected. Indeed, the picture begins with the cameras glimpsing their activities and anxieties behind the Atlantic Wall. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel is here to state the tension of German uncertainty and to cue in the picture's main title with his famous prediction as to the actual “the longest day.” And then, all the way through, the bickering and bungling’s of the German general, from Gerd von Rundstedt down, are interlarded, historically and dramatically.
No character stands out particularly as more significant or heroic than anyone else. John Wayne is notably rugged as Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort, the dogged officer of the 82d who hobbled through D-Day on a broken ankle, using a rifle as a crutch. Robert Mitchum is tough as General Norman Cota, who led his men of the 29th Division onto Omaha Beach and then off it after a day of deadly pounding by forcing a breach of the Vierville-sur-Mer roadblock. Red Buttons is very effective as paratrooper John Steele, who watched the pitiful slaughter of many of his buddies in the town square of Sainte-Mère- Église while hanging from the church steeple in the harness of his parachute. Richard Beymer does well as a young soldier who wanders dazedly through the whole thing, never connecting with his outfit and never firing a shot. And dozens of other actors are convincing and identifiable in roles that call for infrequent appearances or only single shots in the film.
It's difficult to pinpoint the real “star” of ‘THE LONGEST DAY’ film, but Robert Mitchum would have to rank high on the list. As Major General Norman Cota, Sr., of the United States Army, the Allied commander of the Twenty-ninth Infantry Division, he somehow manages to convey the gravity of the situation without coming across like a movie star wearing an Army suit. Many of the other faces are so familiar such as John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and Richard Burton that it's hard to convince yourself that these actors represent real people caught up in earth-shattering events.
Intelligently made, and the picture has been photographed in Black-and-White to give a virtual newsreel authenticity to the vivid, realistic battle-scenes. And the illusory aspect of reality has been achieved in other respects, notably in the use of their own languages by the Germans and the French, with English subtitles appended to translate what they say. The total effect of the picture is that of a huge documentary report, adorned and coloured by personal details that are thrilling, amusing, ironic, and sad. It makes no conclusive observation, other than the obvious one that war is hell and that D-Day was a gallant, costly triumph for the Allied forces, not for any one man. It is not hard to think of a picture, aimed and constructed as this one was, doing any more or any better or leaving one feeling any more exposed to the horror of war than this one does.
This sort of production is always a breeding ground for oddball occurrences and trivia, and ‘THE LONGEST DAY’ is no different. Perhaps it's best to simply list some of the more interesting titbits of information and is as follows:
Roddy McDowall only appears in the film because he was in Italy, pulling his hair out over the endless delays on ‘Cleopatra’ [1963]. He begged Darryl F. Zanuck to cast him in ‘THE LONGEST DAY’ simply because he wanted a chance to actually act for a while!
Richard Todd [Major John Howard] actually fought at Normandy on D-Day while a member of the British Air Force. He entered the fray, as did hundreds of other men, via a highly dangerous parachute drop.
The real-life American soldiers who Darryl F. Zanuck hired to storm Omaha Beach in the picture were reluctant to enter the water because it was too cold, but they finally relented when a disgusted Robert Mitchum jumped in first.
The producers had to make certain that members of a nearby nudist colony didn't wander onto the beach during the “invasion.”
Sean Connery, who of course, would make his name playing James Bond, and appears in ‘THE LONGEST DAY’ film opposite Gert Frobe and Curd Jurgens, two future James Bond villains.
Dwight D. Eisenhower was interested in playing himself in ‘THE LONGEST DAY,’ but it was determined that he simply looked too old to pull it off! Forget World War Two, several years in the White House will do that to you.
Perhaps the most important piece of information, as far as Darryl F. Zanuck was concerned, was that ‘THE LONGEST DAY’ cost $10,000,000 to make and a totally astronomical amount at the time in 1962. But it earned back every penny, and then some. In Hollywood terms, anyway, that's called winning the battle.
THE LONGEST DAY MUSIC TRACK LIST
THE LONGEST DAY (Written by Paul Anka) [Performed by Mitch Miller with His Orchestra and Chorus]
DON’T FENCE ME IN (uncredited) (Music by Cole Porter) [Played on the radio when General Norman Cota is introduced]
LAMBETH WALK (uncredited) (Music by Noel Gay) (Lyrics by Douglas Furber) [Sung by the British soldiers on the glider]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – ‘THE LONGEST DAY’ storms onto the Blu-ray format with an awesome and impressive Black-and-White 1080p encoded image, with an equally impressive 2.35:1 (CinemaScope) aspect ratio. If this is what classic Black-and-White films, especially War Films are going to look like on Blu-ray, I enthusiastically recommend that the studios bring them on and congratulate 20th Century Fox for producing something so totally stunning and awesome at the same time. The 1080p image is remarkably sharp with excellent detail on the 2 All Region Blu-ray discs. Even though this is a classic Black-and-White images, there is still excellent separation of shades, and black levels are strikingly solid. There is also some wonderful cinematography in this film; especially with a long, continuous and panning shot of a running gun battle is mesmerising, and one of my favourite parts of this brilliant war films scenes, ever. The downside of the increased Blu-ray clarity is that it's far easier to notice the special effects, such as the placement of these actors, pre-digitally, over a background shot elsewhere at another time and the clarity even benefits the action scenes. Note that the original subtitles were replaced with more aesthetically pleasing text during the remastering process and appear overtop of the image.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – The 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio sound presentation on ‘THE LONGEST DAY’ this Blu-ray disc, is a totally awesome solid one. Surround sounds manage to be in use a good bit of the time, delivering both ambiance and action. They aren't always active, especially in a few spots where we would expect them to be in some scenes. The militaristic, percussion-heavy music sounds wonderfully powerful and engaging, as do the opening credits featuring Beethoven's Fifth symphony. As planes strafe troops or drop bombs during the film's landing sequences about two hours in, you'll feel the impact of the munitions and almost constantly hear echoes and the distant sounds of gunfire and explosions. It's a nice effect, and a chilling one. This lossless soundtrack is obviously the best I've ever heard this film, and easily surpasses the totally inferior DVD disc I owned for some time, but I have now dumped it into the total oblivion of ghastly 480i inferior images.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Historical Commentary with Mary Corey: This first historical audio commentary with Mary Corey, who is a post-World War II professor of intellectual and cultural history at UCLA. Mary Corey discusses the importance and nuances of the musical cues of the film, points out some historical inaccuracies, like the hair of the bicycle girl at the beginning of the film, and also provides some really fascinating trivia about ‘THE LONGEST DAY’ film, where we are informed that at the time in 1962, that it was the most expensive Black-and-White film ever made. Mary Corey brings that lecture hall sense to the audio commentary track, which I really liked to listen to and it is totally enthralling and fascinating to listen to.
Audio History Commentary with Ken Annakin: This second fascinating historical audio commentary, features co-director Ken Annakin, and the only living director to have worked on ‘THE LONGEST DAY’ film. Ken Annakin discusses and informs us the origins of the film, and especially covering much of what is discussed in the other supplement extras, but this track remains totally fascinating to listen to. Ken Annakin has plenty of amusing and interesting stories to inform us, but never allowing us to become totally bored with listening to him speak about ‘THE LONGEST DAY’ film and filling us in some gaps about what input the other co-directors put into making their part in the film, and Ken Annakin also discusses both the German and American actors, but unfortunately does not just focus on Ken Annakin’s segments in the film sadly.
Special Feature: A Day to Remember: A Conversation with Ken Annakin the Director [2006] [1080p] [1.78:1] [17:52] This special feature is a discussion with one of the film's directors, Ken Annakin, who recounts his memories about the making of the film. Screenplay by Adam Hauck. Produced by Adam Hauck and George Cawood. Music by Kristian Dunn. Cinematography by Michael Osment and Sovonto Green.
Special Feature: The Longest Day: A Salute to Courage [2001] [480i] [1.37:1] [43:46] This is a The History Channel TV Special entitled “History Through The Lens.” In this special documentary that looks at the importance of the true battle and how the real story far outweighs the brilliance of the film based around it. In this documentary it examines the contributions of Cornelius Ryan, the author of the 1959 ‘The Longest Day book of the same name as this 1962 film, and the project. This is a solid documentary that anyone who enjoys war films, classic films, or history of the Second World War. Contributors include: Victoria Ryan Bida, Douglas E. McCabe, Darryl F. Zanuck (archive footage), Darrilyn Zanuck DePineda, Elmo Williams, Red Buttons, Richard Todd, Ken Annakin, Rudy Behlmer, Lawrence H. Suid, Paul R. Sands, Robert M. Murphy, Leonard Lommel, Rudy Meyer, William Friedman, Noel A. Dube, Richard D. Zanuck and Irina Demick (archive footage). Narrated by Burt Reynolds. Produced by Erika Schroeder, Kevin Burns, Micah Joyce, Michael D. Stevens, Rick Davis, Scott Hartford and Susan Werbe.
Special Feature: Backstory – ‘THE LONGEST DAY’ [2000] [480i] [1.37:1] [25:08] This is a made for TV “Back Story” Special. In this fascinating documentary feature, it focuses on the life and times of Darryl F. Zanuck and the importance The Longest Day played in his life and career, as well as the painstaking lengths the filmmakers went through to make the most authentic D-Day film imaginable. Contributors include: Darrilyn Zanuck DePineda, Darryl F. Zanuck (archive footage), David Brown, Rudy Behlmer, Robert Wagner, Mel Gussow, Ken Annakin, Roddy McDowall (archive footage), Red Buttons, Richard D. Zanuck, Irina Demick (archive footage) and Édith Piaf (archive footage). Narrated by Rino Romano. Directed by Michele Farinola and Mimi Freedman. Screenplay by Jon Hofferman. Produced by Kevin Burns, Michele Farinola and Mimi Freedman. 20th Century Fox Film Corporation. Prometheus Entertainment. AMC Original Production.
Special Feature: D-Day Revisited [1968] [1080i] [1.37:1] [51:50] This is a D-Day special with a personal insight by Daryl F. Zanuck the Producer of ‘THE LONGEST DAY.’ Here we get to see Darryl F. Zanuck personally revisits the places where ‘THE LONGEST DAY’ had been filmed, with excerpts from the film, and also features footage from the film along with behind-the-scenes colour footage filmed by Darryl F. Zanuck himself, and Darryl F. Zanuck also does a special tribute in telling the story of D-Day itself. Produced by Christian Ferry. Cinematography by Henri Decaë and Walter Wottitz. 20th Century Fox Film Corporation.
Special Feature: Darryl F. Zanuck: A Dream Fulfilled [2006] [1080i] [1.78:1] [3:58] In this special short feature, we have Richard D. Zanuck, recounts a few highlights from his father's career that revolve around the film ‘THE LONGEST DAY.’ Produced by Adam Hauck. Music by Kristian Dunn. Cinematography by Michael Osment.
Theatrical Trailer [1962] [480i] [1.37:1] [3:08] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for ‘THE LONGEST DAY.’ What a shame they could not have found the original trailer with a 1080p image quality and especially in the 2.35:1 (Cinemascope) aspect ratio. Very strange?
WWW.FOX.CO.UK – This particular information asks you to log onto their web site to find out “An Exclusive Insider’s Look” for Exclusive Previews; Behind-The-Scenes news and Hot New Releases on DVD and Blu-ray.
WWW.FOXINTERNATIONAL.COM – This particular information asks you to log onto their web site to find out “An Exclusive Insider’s Look” for Exclusive Previews; Behind-The-Scenes news and Hot New Releases on DVD and Blu-ray.
Finally, this I one of the finest Second World War films of all time, and ‘THE LONGEST DAY’ remains a total crowd pleaser and first-rate war epic of all time. It has the combining of intelligence and definitely the thinking man's war film. ‘THE LONGEST DAY’ stands proudly near the top of the list of the all-time greatest war films, and this comes from one of the genre's biggest fans. 20th Century Fox has once again gone above and beyond the call of duty, providing fans a glorious transfer that feels larger than life and looks fantastic, too. The audio quality is a marked improvement over any version I've heard before, and the supplemental materials are exhaustive and interesting. As far as classic Second World War films on Blu-ray go, they don't get a whole lot better than this, and ‘THE LONGEST DAY’ comes with brilliant pedigree and an honour to add this to my Blu-ray Collection and especially it is now in the brilliant designed Limited Edition SteelBook. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
