Fine film about the allied invasion of France. It was a little long on heroism and short on horror, but in 1959 (14 years after the war) Americans had lived through enough horror.
It wouldn’t be until the mid-late ‘60s before gore became a thing in mainstream movies. Even then it was tame compared to what came after. And I suspect the screenwriters/directors were too reverent about the sacrifices made to concentrate on horror in lieu of heroism.
My comment was about reality vs film, not making the film with intentional gore. I know the world of the 1950s would not take the reality of war depicted in a film.
It is an excellent film. A bit of trivia: Irina Demick, who played the beautiful French Resistance fighter, was the mistress of producer Darryl Zanuck.
Also, the book American Betrayal by Diana West makes a strong case that the reason D-Day happened at all was the malign influence of Stalin’s agents in the FDR administration. The US had invaded North Africa and then Italy, but Stalin was worried that the continuation of that front would prevent the Soviets from taking Eastern Europe after the war. So, he had his people convince Roosevelt to essentially abandon the Italian front and focus on a huge and difficult invasion of France. If the pressure had been kept on the “soft underbelly of Europe,” the war might have ended a year earlier.
Exactly. And even then, Patton’s 3rd Army was on pace to reach Berlin before Christmas. So SHAEF diverted supply trains from what was working to the futile Operation Market Garden so Stalin would be able to capture eastern Europe. You know—because FDR was so concerned with the poor people of Europe and so determined to free them from tyranny.
O contraire: “It was also unprecedented to have so many big-name actors in one film; but it’s still a riveting movie even when you don’t recognize most of the star power.“
Fine film about the allied invasion of France. It was a little long on heroism and short on horror, but in 1959 (14 years after the war) Americans had lived through enough horror.
It wouldn’t be until the mid-late ‘60s before gore became a thing in mainstream movies. Even then it was tame compared to what came after. And I suspect the screenwriters/directors were too reverent about the sacrifices made to concentrate on horror in lieu of heroism.
My comment was about reality vs film, not making the film with intentional gore. I know the world of the 1950s would not take the reality of war depicted in a film.
It is an excellent film. A bit of trivia: Irina Demick, who played the beautiful French Resistance fighter, was the mistress of producer Darryl Zanuck.
Also, the book American Betrayal by Diana West makes a strong case that the reason D-Day happened at all was the malign influence of Stalin’s agents in the FDR administration. The US had invaded North Africa and then Italy, but Stalin was worried that the continuation of that front would prevent the Soviets from taking Eastern Europe after the war. So, he had his people convince Roosevelt to essentially abandon the Italian front and focus on a huge and difficult invasion of France. If the pressure had been kept on the “soft underbelly of Europe,” the war might have ended a year earlier.
Exactly. And even then, Patton’s 3rd Army was on pace to reach Berlin before Christmas. So SHAEF diverted supply trains from what was working to the futile Operation Market Garden so Stalin would be able to capture eastern Europe. You know—because FDR was so concerned with the poor people of Europe and so determined to free them from tyranny.
Never mind sewing the seeds for the cold war
I also loved the clip of the paratrooper fiasco if anything drives home the fog of war, this is it
Yeah, for sure. Truth can be stranger than fiction.
And who needs to watch the Twilight Zone, we are living in it!
And you didn't even mention the armada of stars in that flick...
O contraire: “It was also unprecedented to have so many big-name actors in one film; but it’s still a riveting movie even when you don’t recognize most of the star power.“
It’s “AU” contraire (I’m a pedant; sorry.)
All of Cornelius Ryan's books are FANTASTIC. And very readable.