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| The Longest Day (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) | 
 enlarge | Directors: Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki
Actors: Eddie Albert, Paul Anka, Arletty, Jean-louis Barrault, Richard Beymer
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $10.37
You Save: $9.61 (48%)
Buy New/Used from $9.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  (203 reviews)
Sales Rank: 1334
Format: Black & White, Special Edition, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), German (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: G (General Audience)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 178 minutes
Number Of Items: 2
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: FOXD2233466D
UPC: 024543234647
EAN: 0024543234647
ASIN: B000EHSVRS
Release Date: May 23, 2006
Theatrical Release Date: October 4, 1962
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Description
This special collector's commemorative edition has been issued in honor of the June 6, 1944 Allied invasion of France, which marked the beginning of the end of Nazi domination over Europe. The attack involved 3,000,000 men, 11,000 planes and 4,000 ships, comprising the largest armada the world has ever seen. The Longest Day is a vivid, hour-by-hour recreation of this historic event. Featuring a stellar international cast, and told from the perspectives of both sides, it is a fascinating look at the massive preparations, mistakes, and random events that determined the outcome of one of the biggest battles in history. Winner of two 1962 Oscars (Special Effects and Cinematography), The Longest Day ranks as one of Hollywood's truly great war films.
Amazon.com
After seeing Saving Private Ryan, this epic tale about the Normandy invasion will look sanitized. But in its re-creation of events leading to the epochal battle, the film is captivating and grand, and the parade of famous actors who cross the screen naturally give the already charged action even more of a boost. Three directors worked on it: Ken Annakin (Battle of the Bulge), Andrew Marton (Crack in the World), and Bernhard Wicki (this film being his only credit). --Tom Keogh
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| Customer Reviews: Read 198 more reviews...
 Great vehicle for exposing popular actors of the time. November 16, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a 1962 attempt to be an accurate rendition of D day, based on Cornelius Ryan's book, "The Longest Day", when the allied forces of world war two crossed the English Channel and fought their way up the beaches of France. The whole film is of the events of that day.
The list of popular actors playing the parts of the various countries and ethnicities of the time is too long to mention in this review. However Eddy Albert (a method actor) was quite believable and contributed much to the energy of this rendition. Be sure to see Eddy Albert again in uniform in "Teahouse of the August Moon" (1956.) And that little cutie Irina Demark was the girlfriend of the producer, Darryl F. Zanuck.
You can tell this picture was remastered some time recently as it looks as crisp as the day it was made. And you can only find a few missed specks on the Blu-ray rendition. The Blu-ray version has the obligatory voice-over recollections forom the only remaining director.
The film is a keeper and is worth the purchase.
The Teahouse Of The August Moon (DVD) Marlon Brando, Glenn Ford
 Anamorphic presentation not well focused November 15, 2008
After having purchased the non-anamorphic version of "The Longest Day", one of the truly great war epics, I recently purchased the two-disc "Cinema Classics Collection" and was sorely disappointed with lack of clarity of the image when viewed on a 46" Samsung LCD. Compared to excellent B/W DVD releases such as Warner's presentation of "Citizen Kane" (1941) or Criterion's release of David Lean's "Great Expectations" (1946), this Fox release of "Longest Day" is totally unacceptable. To make matters worse, this disc begins with a burst of noise accompanying a preview which cannot be defeated with the menu button. A real bummer over-all. How would the public feel if every music CD began with commercials for new CD releases? How are they getting away with this?
If, at the beginning of this practice, consumers returned dvd's with commercials on them to the manufacturers or the dealers, it probably could have been stopped fast. The outer packaging of such discs should at least contain a statement in easily readable lettering that this dvd contains advertising.
The Longest Day October 26, 2008
I love this classic war movie! Because it has
the best Actor of all times is John Wayne. Well
anyway the movie looks really good on Blu-ray. But it
is not in color. But you should own it today and yes it's
a great movie.
 Good Copy October 21, 2008
Nice reproduction. It was originally filmed in great quality. Not real sure if the Blue-ray version is that much better. I viewed it on a 720p 42" LCD. But the price made it worth it.
 Overrated and dated, but still a great subject September 14, 2008
I've just been listening to a BBC program called "And The Academy Award Goes To..." when I heard a film reviewer make a sacrilegious statement, "The Longest Day is not a very good movie". I've felt that for years. The first weekend The Longest Day opened, my buddy & I rode the bus 14 miles into Seattle to see this. We were thrilled, but since we were watching through our clear 10 year old eyes, we could spot a "fakey" movie when we saw it. The use of Messerschmidt bf-108's was glaring, and of course most of the cast was too old, like John Wayne as Gen. James Gavin(no wonder his ankle broke, the Duke weighed about 500 pounds), or was too phoney, like Paul Anka. Still, at least this was not "woven around the love of a man and a woman", and this is a decent interpretation of the events around the D-Day invasion. The scenes of Omaha & Utah beaches were too wide open, the weather too good. The cinematographer should have concentrated on quality of image, rather than always going for sweeping views of the beaches, where the 2- or 3 thousand extras were swallowed up by the vastness of the undertaking. I feel the best battle scenes are around the fortified casino in Ouistreham. The contribution of the Brits, Commonwealth Forces, and French were overexpanded, everyone knows the US did this alone. HEY, I am KIDDING about that- I'm sick of war flicks where so-called artistic license is taken to overemphasize, maximize, or invent the American contribution, such as in the equally overrated "The Great Escape", and "U-571". At least this isn't colorized, which some people think would enhance this film. Personally, when I think of the war in the Pacific, I think in color, for the ETO, it's black & white, "The Great Escape" notwithstanding. The bottom line: this isn't a "great" movie, only a fair one, but the events depicted are pivotal to civilization. If the panzer reserves were closer to the beaches, if the weather was worse, or too fine, the Allies could easily have been thrown back into the sea. Like the Battle Of Britain, El Alamein, the Coral Sea, Midway, the Normandy invasion plays a pivotal role in the recovery and preservation of a free Western Europe. And "The Longest Day" played a pivotal role in the preservation of 20th Century Fox, make Fox safe for reality TV
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