36 Years Before Saving Private Ryan, John Wayne Was In The Best D-Day Movie Ever Made

By Faith Roswell

Published Sep 29, 2024

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best D-Day movies ever made. However, it is rivaled by a 1962 John Wayne movie that is, arguably, more realistic.

The Longest Day's cast is an enormous international ensemble, which includes Sean Connery and Henry Fonda. John Wayne plays Benjamin H. Vandervoort: a real soldier who had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel just five days before D-Day. On release, The Longest Day was immediately praised for its thorough covering of the D-Day landing from many different perspectives and the movie went on to win five awards. At the time of release, The Longest Day was one of the first-ever D-Day movies made, but, even decades later, it is still considered one of the best.

The Longest Day Was The Best D-Day Movie Ever Made When It Was Released (& Perhaps Still Is)

John Wayne Played Lieutenant Col. Benjamin H. Vandervoort

a black and white photo of John Wayne in an army uniform and helmet sitting among other soldiers in the Longest Day

The Longest Day was less likely to get the glossy "Hollywood treatment" than most movies, as it was made less than 20 years after the D-Day landings. This meant that many people close to the production, including some of the main actors, could recall the events and advise on the details. Unlike movies that are a little further removed from history, The Longest Day had the potential to pack an emotional punch, for better or worse. Historical mistakes could have been catastrophic for everyone involved, and The Longest Day has been praised for its accuracy.

Christopher Lee also auditioned for a role in The Longest Day but was turned down as he did not look the part of a soldier, even though he had served in World War II.

One extremely inaccurate detail in The Longest Day is the portrayal of Vandervoort, who was a paratrooper in his 20s at the time of the D-Day landings. Although popular actor Charlton Heston wanted the role, it was cast to John Wayne, who had decided to take part in the movie at the last minute. Wayne was 28 years older than Vandervoort had been at the time, and though Wayne was a highly-respected actor, the real Vandervoort was said to be deeply upset at this casting choice, as he felt that he was not realistically represented in the movie.

Saving Private Ryan Rivaled The Longest Day As Hollywood's Greatest D-Day Movie

One D-Day Detail Is Taken Directly From Veterans' Reports

Tom Hanks looking shellshocked in Saving Private Ryan

There were reports of veterans being so emotionally affected by Saving Private Ryan's realism that they could not finish the movie. Saving Private Ryan's ambush scene was rated "perfect" by a historian and its violent D-Day scene is arguably the most memorable in the movie. However, while The Longest Day gives a more thorough perspective of D-Day, Saving Private Ryan is a smaller story about mercy, covering the mission to retrieve Private Ryan, to prevent his mother from losing her fourth and final son to the war. This very human story resonated with viewers, and Saving Private Ryan won five Academy Awards.

Saving Private Ryan vs The Longest Day
Title	Year	Budget	Box Office	Rotten Tomatoes Critics	Rotten Tomatoes Audience
Saving Private Ryan	1998	$65-70 million	$482.3 million	94%	95%
The Longest Day	1962	$7.75 million	$50.1 million	84%	90%

Even amid its D-Day scene in which so much action is occurring, Saving Private Ryan pays attention to the smaller sensory details. Tom Hanks's character, John H. Miller, seems to lose part of his hearing while looking at the surrounding horror: the sound is distorted, as though Miller is underwater, and although this detail might seem like a creative choice, it is accurate. This is called "acoustic trauma," and when a historian assessed Saving Private Ryan, he highlighted this detail as one of his favorites for its realism. The reports of hearing distortion were from veterans' s of the war.

Saving Private Ryan & The Longest Day Tell Very Different Versions Of D-Day

Both Movies Were Based On True Stories (But Saving Private Ryan Might Have Been Less Popular In 1962)

The Longest Day was filmed as a docudrama, and its historical accuracy means that it is still a highly relevant war movie today. However, unlike Saving Private Ryan, The Longest Day does not overly address the individual people involved in the war. The Longest Day's "main character" is the war itself, while Saving Private Ryan focuses on the people who, as we saw in Saving Private Ryan's legendary D-Day scene, might be killed at any moment. While The Longest Day is a more detailed and well-rounded depiction of World War II, both movies are highly rated in their own right.

Matt Damon, Tom Hanks, Paul Giamatti and Bryan Cranston Saving Private Ryan actors

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Saving Private Ryan is based on a true story, in which one man heard that three of his four brothers had been lost to war (although there were actually two surviving brothers.) The Longest Day is based on a book of real people's recollections of D-Day, which contributed to its greatest strength: portraying the collaboration among soldiers and strategists of all kinds. This factual and honest approach credited as many people as possible and was well-received while Saving Private Ryan's focus on one story might have been less popular if it had been made so soon after D-Day.