Big War Movie Themes - 5) The Longest Day (1962)

Theme tune: Really oddly there is absolutely no music whatsoever in this film! Except for the duh, duh, duh, dah - from Beethoven's fifth, I believe. Which represents the letter V (in morse code . . . _ ). The theme tune - The Longest Day - finally appears at the very end, not sure if a certain "Jarre" might have been involved in the music, but the credited artist (on the album) is Paul Anka. A Canadian singer / songwriter who's Theme from The Longest Day is also the official march of the Canadian Airborne Regiment. Even more fun he actually appears in the film as a U.S. Army Ranger. Does this make him the only composer of the theme tune to actually be in one of these movies.

Year: 1962

Directors: Ken Annakin (British and French exteriors), Andrew Marton (American exteriors), and Bernhard Wicki (German scenes)

Length: 2h58m

Format: BBC iPlayer (free)

Synopsis: Biggest ever land invasion of Europe, lots of things go bang. The allies triumph in the end.

For more go here 

Historical Accuracy: Yes, not bad at all. Many actual soldiers and locations were used and splitting the filming into three different sections with their own (local language) directors made a lot of sense. Not a patch on modern films like Saving Private Ryan, but for it's time a colossal effort.

Is it a good film?: I'll be honest, I drifted off a bit, but nevertheless it's a classic, innit! It's got Richard Burton in it, after all, he pops up quite a lot in these films.  It's also got John Wayne and Robert Mitchum in it, neither of whom is fantastic. Apparently it didn't do all that well at the box office.

Overall: 8/10

Up next: WHERE EAGLES DARE  (1968)