"the-longest-day"

When we think of movie heroes, soldiers always rank high, particularly those on the front lines. Bradley Cooper's Oscar-nominated turn in last year's "American Sniper" is just the latest example. These men face the prospect of death most every day, leading or working with other men to accomplish seemingly impossible objectives.

I’ll never forget the segment on “60 Minutes” a couple of years ago, when Morley Safer interviewed our most famous living historian, David McCullough.

It’s nearly impossible to discuss a truly great movie without mentioning its musical score. Can you  honestly ponder the Spielberg classic “Jaws” (1975) without hearing those relentless, alternating two notes (played on a tuba!) that announce the killer shark’s arrival? Or think of “Rocky” (1976) without remembering how Bill Conti’s soaring trumpet theme made your heart race? 

Two gunslingers stand toe-to-toe in a dusty crossroads… on the left, a powerfully built man donning a cowboy hat and wearing a leather vest and bandanna; on the right, a tall, cool customer in a serape, with a rope burn ‘round his throat.     You duck down inside an old barrel and hold your breath… a tumbleweed rolls by… and the church bells chime…. bong… bong…bong... (Cue the “Waah Waah Waah Waah Waah” of Ennio Morricone’s signature soundtrack theme).     As far as I’m concerned, the only man thick-skinned enough to stand up in a town square to the cool, rattler squint of Clinton “Clint” Eastwood, would be the Duke himself (better known as John Wayne). But on which would you stake your claim when facing a hail of bullets?

In preparation for this, the anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy, I re-visited what I feel are the two finest cinematic representations of this pivotal confrontation in the Second World War. Both moving tributes to the heroic men who fought and died on the critical day that turned the tide in the Allies’ favor, these films are…(drumroll)... “The Longest Day” (1962) and “Saving Private Ryan” (1998).