Film Friday: «The Longest Day» (1962)
On September 2, 1945, Japan signed a formal surrender that effectively brought an end to World War II. In honour of the 71st anniversary of «V-J Day,» as the occasion became known, this week on «Film Friday» I bring you a picture that documents the events that marked the beginning of the end of six long years of devastating conflict. Directed by Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton and Bernhard Wicki, The Longest Day (1962) opens in June 1944 in England, where the Allied troops are preparing to invade France through the coast of Normandy. Despite threats of poor weather that might ruin their changes, General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Henry Grace) decides that the assault will take place in the early hours of June 6. On the other side of the Channel, the German High Command — expecting the invasion to happen at Pas-de-Calais, and assuming it will not happen anyway due to the current bad weather — is caught completely unaware. Because Adolf Hitler has taken a sleeping pill and left orders tha...
