'' is a 178-minute
1962 War Film , based on the
1959 book ''
The Longest Day '' by
Cornelius Ryan , about "
D-Day ", the
Invasion Of Normandy on
6 June 1944 .
The movie was adapted by
Romain Gary ,
James Jones ,
David Pursall ,
Cornelius Ryan and
Jack Seddon from the Ryan book. It was directed by
Ken Annakin (British exteriors),
Andrew Marton (American exteriors),
Gerd Oswald (parachute drop scene),
Bernhard Wicki (German scenes) and
Darryl F. Zanuck (uncredited).
Many of the military consultants and advisors who helped with the film's production were actual participants in the action on D-Day, and are portrayed in the film. The producers drew them from both sides. Among them are
Günther Blumentritt (a former German general),
James M. Gavin (an American general),
Philippe Kieffer (who led his men in the assault on
Ouistreham ), Max Pemsel (a German general), Werner Pluskat (the major who was the first German officer to see the invasion fleet), and Josef "Pips" Priller (the hot-headed pilot).
One thing that sets the film apart from most films set in the
Second World War is that all characters speak in their own languages, with subtitles in
English wherever the characters speak either
French or
German . The usual
Nazi stereotypes are avoided, and most
German characters are portrayed as human beings. The words "
Sieg, Heil! ", for instance, are not uttered even once in ''The Longest Day'', although they are seen written on a bunker wall in Ouistreham.
It won
Academy Awards for
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White and
Best Effects, Special Effects , and was nominated for
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White ,
Best Film Editing and
Best Picture .
Lyric of the theme from the film, the ''Longest Day'' written by
Paul Anka :
Many men came here as soldiers
Many men will pass the way
Many men will count the hours
As they live the longest day
Many men are tired and weary
Many men are here to stay
Many men won't see the sunset
When it ends the longest day
The longest day the longest day
This will be the longest day
Filled with hopes and filled with fears
Filled with blood and sweat and tears
Many men the mighty thousands
Marching on right into battle
In the longest day in history
The music is also the authorized
March of
Le Régiment De La Chaudière , the
Canadian Parachute Centre , and the former
Canadian Airborne Regiment of the
Canadian Forces .
- Sergeant Kaffekanne's last name is from the German for "coffee pot", which he always carries.
- Bill Millin , the piper who accompanies Lord Lovat to Normandy with his Bagpipes , played himself in the film. Lord Lovat had ignored a general order against pipers to bring Millin to Normandy, where Millin escaped being shot by German snipers — because they thought he was crazy!
- In Sainte-Mère-Église , Private Steel from the 82nd Airborne (played by Red Buttons ) has been memorialized by the local population with a dummy hanging from a parachute from the church tower on which he accidentally landed.
- Richard Todd , who plays the leader of the British Airborne unit that lands at Pegasus Bridge , took part in the real bridge assault on D-Day .
- Curd Jürgens , who plays the German General Blumentritt who muses on the incompetence of his superiors, was actually imprisoned by the Nazis in his youth.
- As well as featuring 007 himself ( in " The Spy Who Loved Me " while Gert Fröbe played Auric Goldfinger in " Goldfinger ".
- Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was considered for the role of himself in the film, and he indicated his willingness. However, it was decided that makeup artists couldn't make him appear young enough to play his WWII self.
- During the filming of the landings at Omaha Beach, the American soldiers appearing as extras didn't want to jump off the landing craft into the water because they thought it would be too cold. Robert Mitchum, who played General Norm Cota, finally got disgusted with them and jumped in first, at which point the soldiers had no choice but to follow his example.
- The role of Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin H. Vandervoort was actively sought by Charlton Heston but the last-minute decision of John Wayne to take a role in the film prevented Heston from participating.
- The footage used to depict the Allied invasion force shows Douglas AD Skyraider attack planes flying over the ships. However, the Skyraider did not begin flight testing until 1945.
