The Longest Day (1962)
(Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki, US 1962, 178 min., 35mm)
D-Day. This epic adaptation of the events of D-Day, from both the Allied and German points of view, required no less than three credited directors and included one of the biggest (male) all-star casts of all time. Among those taking part are John Wayne, Richard Burton, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, and Robert Wagner—plus singers Paul Anka and Fabian and a pre–James Bond Sean Connery. The black-and-white Cinemascope photography evokes the documentaries of the time on a grand scale, giving the film a gravitas and feeling of reality that is difficult to shake.
Admission free to active and retired military personnel (with ID) and their families.