The longest day

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Movie
German title The longest day
Original title The Longest Day
Country of production United States
original language English , German , French
Publishing year 1962
length 180 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Ken Annakin
Andrew Marton
Bernhard Wicki
Darryl F. Zanuck
Gerd Oswald
script Cornelius Ryan
Romain Gary
James Jones
David Pursall
Jack Seddon
production Darryl F. Zanuck
music Maurice Jarre
camera Jean Bourgoin
Walter Wottitz
cut Samuel E. Beetley
synchronization

The Longest Day is an American war film from 1962. It is considered to be one of the most elaborate war films and the last major black and white cinema films .

For the film, the three directors Ken Annakin ( The Last Battle ) , Andrew Marton ( A Rift in the World ) and Bernhard Wicki ( Die Brücke ) were hired to portray the storylines of the American, British , French and German warring parties in their respective languages . Erich Maria Remarque provided literary advice .

The longest day is a frequently used term for the D-Day of Operation Overlord , the day the Western Allies landed in Normandy in 1944, because for the deployed troops on this "endless" day, the supply for long hours under the defensive fire of the German troops failed to materialize. The title comes from a remark made by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, who said to his orderly officer in the spring of 1944: “Believe me, Lang, the first 24 hours of the invasion are crucial, the fate of Germany depends on them ... For the Allies and it will be the longest day for Germany. "

action

The film is based on the book of the same name by Cornelius Ryan .

occupation

American

French

German

British

criticism

  • Lexicon of international films : “Despite the attention to detail on the outside, the film offers a great star cinema rather than contributing to the historical clarification of the events. From a humanitarian point of view, the film hardly provides any emotional points of contact. "

Awards

The film won two Oscars in 1963 and was nominated for three more. The awards were made for

The film also won the National Board of Review Award for best film.

The film also received the Laurel Award for Best Action Drama in 1963.

The German Film and Media Assessment FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating particularly valuable.

The film was nominated for an Oscar in the following categories:

  • "Best movie"
  • “Best equipment in black and white” to Ted Haworth, Leon Barsacq, Vincent Korda and Gabriel E. Beetley
  • "Best editing" to Samuel E. Beetley

synchronization

In the original version, the actors speak in their respective national languages. However, there is also a fully dubbed English version, and the original cinema trailer was also shown entirely in English. The German version is fully synchronized in German. The speakers are:

Facts about the film

The film, originally shot in black and white, was released in a computer-colored version in 1994, in the 50th anniversary of the landing in Normandy.

Paratrooper doll as a movie prop

In the film, the observation bunker of the Longues-sur-Mer battery can be seen, but it only serves as a backdrop and not in its real function. Some scenes were also shot on the Ile de Ré near Saint-Clément-des-Baleines on the Conche des Baleines ("Walvis Bay").

Paratroopers' puppets were primarily intended as props in order to be able to film the extensive airborne operation in the hinterland with only a few actors or extras. But they were then also shown as a prime dummy in the film plot; the dolls actually used in 1944 (type "Rupert") were made of sackcloth and were much simpler.

Major Werner Pluskat, commander of I. (Division) / AR (Artillery Regiment) 352 (the 352nd Infantry Division) is portrayed in the book and film as the first German to sight and report the invasion fleet. However, his role is disputed by Heinrich Severloh in his war memories. “Major Pluskat himself was not present on the day of the invasion! Despite extensive research, it could not be found! "

Since the involuntarily dearly produced 20th Century Fox film Cleopatra did not bring in its production costs until 1966, the commercial success of the film The Longest Day saved the troubled company from bankruptcy and put it back in the black.

Co-author Romain Gary uses the motif of the D-Day in his last novel, Memory with Wings from 1980 in the final chapter, whereby, although himself a fighter pilot on the Allied side, he describes the horrors of the bombing for the residents of the region in detail and sensitively. The Allies had air sovereignty inland.

The film opened in theaters in the Federal Republic of Germany on October 25, 1962. It was first shown on German television on June 4, 1974 from 7.30 p.m. on ZDF .

literature

  • Cornelius Ryan : The longest day. Normandy: June 6, 1944 (Original title: The Longest Day ). Kaiser, Klagenfurt 1998, ISBN 3-7042-2026-4 .
  • Claus Löser: The longest day. In: Film Genres. War Movie. Edited by Thomas Klein, Marcus Stiglegger and Bodo Traber. Reclam, Stuttgart 2006, 177-181 [with literature]. ISBN 978-3-15-018411-0 .

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Der Spiegel from October 31, 1962 [1]
  2. The longest day. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  3. ^ Filmlexikon and Spiegel.de .