Blu-ray Review: The Longest Day

THE MOVIE: 4 1/2 stars out of 5
The Longest Day tells the story of D-Day, June 6, 1944, when the Allies invaded France with over 3 million men, gained a foothold on the shores of Normandy and turned the tide in WWII. The film, which premiered in 1962, sports an All-Star cast, with so many stars it is hard to keep track. Some of the stars in the film were just beginning their film careers. It was really a blast to pick out bit players who later became stars of either the big screen or the small screen. The Longest Day tells the tale the men involved in the invasion as they waited for the go-ahead due to bad weather through the actual invasion, from the men who lated at the beach to paratroopers to the men behind the invasion. The film also tells the tale of the invasion from some of the Nazi military hierarchy in France, some of whom expected the invasion and were right and ignored and others who were incompetent. As such, the film provides you with a nice slice of history of a day which helped shape the second half of the 20th Century. Highly recommended.

THE VIDEO: 4 3/4 stars out of 5
The Longest Day is presented on a BD50 disc and is encoded with AVC in its original aspect ratio of 2:35:1. In a word, the video presentation on tis disc is excellent. In fact, I really can’t imagine the film looking any better at home. The print appeared to me to be in pristine shape. I am sure that some will be taken aback by the fact that the film is in black and white. Not me. The black and white presentation here is a stellar one. The image is razor sharp with excellent detail. From the texture of the actors’ skin, the the fabric of their clothing, the various vehicles and the beaches and landscapes, all subtle details are well preserved. Black level is deep providing the film with a very three dimensional image. Overall clarity is excellent as well. THhs film is clear evidence of how effective black and white photography can be at setting a scene and telling a story. The superimposition of images from one frame of film to another is very evident so that you can clearly see where an actor is not at the scene shot but was added in post production. All subtle shades of gray are produced on this encode, each representing a different color in real life. Excellent work form the folks at Fox. This encode is even better than the one for Patton reviewed previously.

THE AUDIO: 4 stars out of 5
As is the practice over at Fox, the audio here is encode with DTS HD Master Audio 5.1. My opinion of the audio here is the same as stated in my review of Patton. I am sure that the encode here faithfully captures the sound on the original master which is all that we ask. It does not have the bombast of the opening of Saving Private Ryan which is an incredible aural experience, not that I expected it too given the age of the film. However, dialogue is well presented. The remixing of the film for 5.1 is well done also, with excellent use of the surrounds where appropriate. The musical score is well presented with very good fidelity. All in all, I was quite pleased with the audio on this release.

IN CONCLUSION
The Longest Day is an excellent film that tells the tale of the turning point in WWII. The film boasts some excellent acting from a cast of stars as well as excellent video. This is well worth a look for fans of history and film alike. Highly recommended.

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