The Longest Day remains a towering World War II film

More than six decades after its release, The Longest Day still stands out as one of the most well-made World War II films. The production set out to tell the story of D-Day not from a single angle but through American, British, French, and German perspectives, and producer Darryl F.

Zanuck enlisted three directors—Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, and Bernhard Wicki—to handle different fronts. A cast of 42 A-list stars, including John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Sean Connery, Robert Mitchum, and Richard Burton, combined with thousands of extras, real paratroopers, actual battle locations, and veterans guiding the production to create a full-scale reenactment.

Shot in black and white and made without CGI or shaky-cam close-ups, the film relies on scale and technical rigor to convey its story. The near-three-hour film builds tension in its first hour as Allied leaders debate timing, French villagers smuggle intelligence, and German commanders spar over Hitler’s absence.

France

longest day, wwii, d-day, darryl zanuck, ken annakin, andrew marton, bernhard wicki, john wayne, paratroopers, no cgi