Into the Blu

The Longest Day

Posted on 31. May, 2008 by Bill Geiger in 1080p, 2.35:1, AVC MPEG-4, DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 1.0 (French), Dolby Digital 2.0 (English), Fox, Reviews, War

It is very easy to compare a film like The Longest Day to a more current film in Saving Private Ryan. But where Saving Private Ryan only focused on how the Americans did things, The Longest Day went deeper. Based on the book of the same name written by Cornelius Ryan, The Longest Day is shown from 3 sides; the American/British, German and French.

It goes without saying that The Longest Day is considered one of the more important films of our time. The film, given a G rating, has plenty of violence, but not on the graphic front as compared to Saving Private Ryan. This star studded international cast is just impressive. It is next to impossible to single out one actor as the stand out. The performances are just so very good.

The Longest Day starts out just hours before the storming of the beaches at Normandy occur. The Germans, relaxed as they are, are feeling no threat from anyone as they have the weather on their side and feel they know the strategy of the enemy. Little do they know, The Allied Powers are all set to strike a blow right when they least expect it.

We are shown, in an almost documentary form, of what took place and at what exact time it occurred. The reason for the title, The Longest Day, is due to the fact that the attacks occurred just shortly after midnight.

Running just shy of three hours, The Longest Day gives us plenty of insight and detail of the planning and strategy that took place from all sides. The main flaws pointed out in the film from the Germans side was their underestimating of the British & Americans points of attack as well as the lack of leadership by the Fuhrer (never mentioned by name as Hitler). One of the American groups, lead by Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort (John Wayne) shows his worries about their parachuting attack and possible undershooting or overshooting their intended targets, which did indeed occur. The French underground used radio broadcasts to get out their message about what was to be done, all in secret code.

It was truly a wonderful look inside to all sides as to how things took place, according to Cornelius Ryan findings.

One of the nicest things I found about the film, besides its transfer, was the fact that when the Germans spoke, it was in German. The same for when the French spoke, it was in French. I love it when the true languages are used instead of just using English for the entire film. This, to me, makes the film all the more genuine.

Video

The 2.35:1 1080p high definition transfer, filmed in black and white, is truly magnificent. Aside from a few times throughout the film were some shimmering was noticed, as well as grain (albeit mild), there were no issues with the transfer at all. Fox did an incredible job of ridding this film of any kind of dirt that may have been on it prior. It is obvious that a lot of hard work went into making this transfer the best it could be. Having not seen The Longest Day previously, this was a fantastic way to experience it for the first time. Just stunning.

Audio

The audio made available for The Longest Day includes English DTS HD 5.1 Master Lossless audio, English 4.0 Dolby surround and Spanish and French mono. I listened to the DTS audio and the sound was pretty good. Surrounds were great during the action scenes. The dialogue was all center channel and was very clear.

Special Features

The main special features appear on the 2^nd disc, which is not a Blu Ray disc, but a standard definition disc. Well over 2 hours worth of extras on the 2^nd disc. Mostly all of the features focus on Darryl Zanuck, producer of The Longest Day.

Disc 1:

• Historical Commentary with Mary Corey

• Film Commentary with Ken Annakin

Disc 2:

• A Day to Remember Featurette
  • Ken Annakin discusses his work on the film and how much of an influence producer Darryl F. Zanuck was to his directing.

• Longest Day: A Salute to Courage Featurette
  • Narrated by Burt Reynolds, this is a look back on how the film came to be.

• AMC Backstory: The Longest Day
  • A look back on Darryl Zanuck and his passion for film and his vision in Hollywood and for The Longest Day.

• D-Day Revisited Documentary
  • Film clips shown alongside of what Normandy currently looks like (25 years after June 6, 1944.) Narrated by Darryl Zanuck.

• Richard Zanuck on The Longest Day Featurette
  • Another extra that focuses on Darryl Zanuck and his vision and how this film actually saved 20^th Century Fox.

• Still Gallery

• Original Theatrical Trailer

Final Thoughts

At 33 years old, I have no idea what it is like to have gone into war, and I am thankful I didn?t have to. From World War 1 & 2 to Vietnam and they others following and before, it takes courage to go into battle. Darryl Zanuck?s vision, taken from Cornelius Ryan?s book, is a fascinating look from all sides. The Longest Day is rightfully so one of the more important films in history and shall remain so for quite some time. This is an easy recommendation.