The Longest Day Wikipedia film pages

 



 
   
   




        
A Bridge Too Far (book)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

A Bridge Too Far
A Bridge Too Far - 1974 Book Cover.jpg
First edition cover

Author
Cornelius Ryan
Country
United States
Language
English
Genre
War
Published
1974 (Simon & Schuster)
Media type
Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages
672 pp (first edition)
ISBN
0-684-80330-5
A Bridge Too Far, a non-fiction book by Cornelius Ryan published in 1974, tells the story of Operation Market Garden, a failed Allied attempt to break through German lines at Arnhem across the river Rhine in the occupied Netherlands during World War II in September 1944. The title of the book comes from a comment made by British Lt. Gen. Frederick Browning, deputy commander of the First Allied Airborne Army, who told Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery before the operation, "I think we may be going a bridge too far."
Prior to Ryan's book, Market Garden had been a classic example of victors writing the history. Popular histories of World War II of the time usually tended to not mention the battle at all, mentioned it in passing or put Montgomery's spin on it as being a "partial success".[1]
A Bridge Too Far was responsible for bringing to the general public's attention the full extent of this massive operation, including a catalogue of errors and miscalculations, whilst highlighting the extreme bravery of the participants.
Movie adaptations[edit]
The book was also made into a 1977 film titled A Bridge Too Far, with an ensemble cast including Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins, and Robert Redford.[2]
References[edit]


 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)
1.Jump up ^ "The Battle for Arnhem". The Parachute Regiment. Retrieved 2007-09-13.[dead link]
2.Jump up ^ Goldman, William (1977), William Goldman's Story of a Bridge Too Far, Coronet Books, ISBN 0-340-22340-5 [NB: Book has no page numbers]


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Cornelius Ryan


World War II trilogy
The Longest Day (film adaptation) ·
 The Last Battle ·
 A Bridge Too Far (film adaptation)
 

Other
Cornelius Ryan Award
 




Stub icon This article about a book on military history is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.




 


Categories: History books about World War II
1974 books
Operation Market Garden
Military history book stubs








Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Български
Esperanto
Română
Српски / srpski
Suomi
Edit links
This page was last modified on 12 September 2014 at 08:01.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bridge_Too_Far_(book)










 



 
   
   




        
A Bridge Too Far (book)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

A Bridge Too Far
A Bridge Too Far - 1974 Book Cover.jpg
First edition cover

Author
Cornelius Ryan
Country
United States
Language
English
Genre
War
Published
1974 (Simon & Schuster)
Media type
Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages
672 pp (first edition)
ISBN
0-684-80330-5
A Bridge Too Far, a non-fiction book by Cornelius Ryan published in 1974, tells the story of Operation Market Garden, a failed Allied attempt to break through German lines at Arnhem across the river Rhine in the occupied Netherlands during World War II in September 1944. The title of the book comes from a comment made by British Lt. Gen. Frederick Browning, deputy commander of the First Allied Airborne Army, who told Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery before the operation, "I think we may be going a bridge too far."
Prior to Ryan's book, Market Garden had been a classic example of victors writing the history. Popular histories of World War II of the time usually tended to not mention the battle at all, mentioned it in passing or put Montgomery's spin on it as being a "partial success".[1]
A Bridge Too Far was responsible for bringing to the general public's attention the full extent of this massive operation, including a catalogue of errors and miscalculations, whilst highlighting the extreme bravery of the participants.
Movie adaptations[edit]
The book was also made into a 1977 film titled A Bridge Too Far, with an ensemble cast including Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins, and Robert Redford.[2]
References[edit]


 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)
1.Jump up ^ "The Battle for Arnhem". The Parachute Regiment. Retrieved 2007-09-13.[dead link]
2.Jump up ^ Goldman, William (1977), William Goldman's Story of a Bridge Too Far, Coronet Books, ISBN 0-340-22340-5 [NB: Book has no page numbers]


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Cornelius Ryan


World War II trilogy
The Longest Day (film adaptation) ·
 The Last Battle ·
 A Bridge Too Far (film adaptation)
 

Other
Cornelius Ryan Award
 




Stub icon This article about a book on military history is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.




 


Categories: History books about World War II
1974 books
Operation Market Garden
Military history book stubs








Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Български
Esperanto
Română
Српски / srpski
Suomi
Edit links
This page was last modified on 12 September 2014 at 08:01.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bridge_Too_Far_(book)











A Bridge Too Far (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search


A Bridge Too Far
Bridge too far movieposter.jpg
original film poster

Directed by
Richard Attenborough
Produced by
Joseph E. Levine
 Richard P. Levine
Screenplay by
William Goldman
Based on
A Bridge Too Far
 by Cornelius Ryan
Starring
Dirk Bogarde
James Caan
Michael Caine
Sean Connery
Edward Fox
Anthony Hopkins
Gene Hackman
Hardy Krüger
Laurence Olivier
Robert Redford
Maximilian Schell
Music by
John Addison
Cinematography
Geoffrey Unsworth, BSC
Edited by
Antony Gibbs
Production
 company
Joseph E. Levine Productions

Distributed by
United Artists
Release dates
June 15, 1977
Running time
176 minutes
Country
United States[1]
Language
English, German, Dutch, Polish
Budget
$25 million[2]
Box office
$50,750,000[3]
A Bridge Too Far is a 1977 epic war film based on the 1974 book of the same name by Cornelius Ryan, adapted by William Goldman. It was produced by Joseph E. Levine and Richard P. Levine and directed by Richard Attenborough.[4]
The film tells the story of the failure of Operation Market Garden during World War II, the Allied attempt to break through German lines and seize several bridges in the occupied Netherlands, including one at Arnhem, with the main objective of outflanking German defences.
The name for the film comes from an unconfirmed comment attributed to British Lieutenant-General Frederick Browning, deputy commander of the First Allied Airborne Army, who told Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, the operation's architect, before the operation: "I think we may be going a bridge too far."[5]
The ensemble cast includes Dirk Bogarde, Ryan O'Neal, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Elliott Gould, Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, Hardy Krüger, Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, Maximilian Schell and Liv Ullmann. The music was scored by John Addison, who had served in the British XXX Corps during Market Garden.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot 1.1 Introduction and planning
1.2 Operation begins
1.3 Operation ends
2 Cast and roles 2.1 Allies
2.2 Germans
2.3 Dutch civilians
2.4 Military consultants
3 Production 3.1 Interesting facts
4 Reception 4.1 Critical
4.2 Box Office
5 William Goldman's Story of A Bridge Too Far
6 See also
7 Notes
8 References
9 External links

Plot[edit]
Introduction and planning[edit]
The film begins with a montage of archival film footage narrated by a Dutch woman, Kate ter Horst, describing the state of affairs in September 1944. The Allied advance is being slowed by overextended supply lines. A Dutch family, part of the Dutch resistance underground, observes the German withdrawal toward Germany. The Germans in the Netherlands have few resources in men or equipment and morale is very poor.
U.S. General George S. Patton and British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery have competing plans for ending the war quickly, and being the first to get to Berlin. Under political pressure, Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower chose Montgomery's Operation Market Garden.
Operation Market Garden envisions 35,000 men being flown 300 miles from air bases in England and being dropped as much as 64 miles behind enemy lines in the Netherlands. The largest airborne assault ever attempted, with Lieutenant-General Frederick Browning saying, "We're going to lay a carpet, as it were, of airborne troops"[6] over which armored divisions of XXX Corps can pass and confidently suggests that "We shall seize the bridges - it's all a question of bridges - with thunderclap surprise, and hold them until they can be secured".[7]
Two divisions of U.S. paratroopers, the 82nd & 101st Airborne divisions, are responsible for securing the road and bridges as far as Nijmegen. A British division, the 1st Airborne, under Major-General Urquhart is to land near Arnhem, and take and hold the far side of the bridge at Arnhem, backed by a brigade of Polish paratroopers under General Sosabowski. XXX Corps are to push up the road to Arnhem, as quickly as possible, over the bridges captured by the paratroopers, and reach Arnhem two days after the drop.
After the Market Garden command briefing, General Sosabowski voices his deep doubts that the plan can work. American commander Brig. General Gavin of the 82nd worries about parachuting in daylight.
British commanders brief that they are badly short of transport aircraft and the area near Arnhem is ill-suited for a landing. They will have to land in an open area eight miles (13 km) from the bridge. The British officers present at that briefing do not question the orders, but Sosabowski walks up to check the RAF briefing officer's uniform insignia and says "Just making sure whose side you're on." Later, when General Urquhart briefs his officers, some of them are surprised they are going to attempt a landing so far from the bridge, but they have to make the best of it. General Urquhart tells them that the key for the eight mile distance from the drop zone to the bridge, is the use of gliders to bring in reconnaissance Jeeps. Browning lays out that if any one group fails, the entire operation fails.
The consensus among the British top brass is that resistance will consist entirely of "Hitler Youth or old men",[8] but young British intelligence officer, Major Fuller, brings reconnaissance photos to General Browning showing German tanks at Arnhem. Browning dismisses the photos, and also ignores reports from the Dutch underground. Browning does not want to be the one to tell Montgomery of any doubts because many previous airborne operations have been cancelled. Major Fuller's concerns are brushed off and he is removed from duty, sent on 'sick leave'.
British officers note that the portable radios are not likely to work for the long distance from the drop zone to the Arnhem Bridge amid the water and trees of the Netherlands. They choose not to rock the boat and do not convey their concerns up the chain of command.
At the XXX Corps briefing, the overall plan is outlined by Lt. Gen. Brian Horrocks, laying out the bridges that will be taken by the paratroopers, held and then secured by ground forces. Speed is the vital factor, as Arnhem must be reached within 2–3 days. It is the crucial bridge, the last means of escape for the German forces in the Netherlands and an excellent route to Germany for Allied forces. The road to Arnhem, however, is only a single highway linking the various key bridges - trucks and tanks have to squeeze to the shoulder to pass. The road is also elevated causing anything moving on the road to stand out. The XXX Corps column would be led by the Irish Guards, under Col. 'Joe' Vandeleur.
Operation begins[edit]
The airborne drops catch the Germans totally by surprise, and there is little resistance. Most of the men come down safely and assemble quickly, but the Son bridge is blown up by the Germans, just before the 101st Airborne secures it. German Field Marshal Model, thinking that the Allies are trying to capture him, panics and retreats from Arnhem. However, soon after landing, troubles beset Urquhart's division. Many of the Jeeps either don't arrive by gliders at all or are shot up in an ambush. Their radio sets are also useless, meaning no contact can be made with either paratroopers moving into Arnhem under Lt. Col. John Frost or XXX Corps. Meanwhile, German forces reinforce Nijmegen and Arnhem.
XXX Corps' progress is slowed by German resistance, the narrowness of the highway and the need to construct a Bailey bridge to replace the destroyed bridge at Son. XXX Corps is able to move onto the Grave bridge without much resistance, but is halted at Nijmegen. There, soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division perform a dangerous daylight river crossing in flimsy canvas-and-wood assault boats. Ultimately, despite heavy casualties the river crossing is successful, and the Nijmegen bridge is captured. The Germans close in on the isolated British paratroopers occupying part of Arnhem at the bridge. Urquhart is separated from his men, and the supply drop zones are overrun by the Germans. German attacks on the paratroopers at the bridge are repelled. British Armour continues to fight its way up the corridor, but is delayed by strong German resistance.
Operation ends[edit]
After securing Nijmegen Bridge, XXX Corps waits several hours for its infantry forces to finish securing the town. Finally Sosabowski's troops enter the battle. They attempt to reinforce the British in Arnhem, but fail. With the Germans fully alert, they gun down numerous Poles during their drop. They are only able to get a few men across to reinforce the British. After days of house-to-house fighting in Arnhem, with paratroops versus crack SS infantry and panzers, many of the paratroopers are either captured or forced to withdraw, and the city is indiscriminately razed. [9] Operation Market Garden has failed. Urquhart manages to escape capture with fewer than two thousand of his troops, the remainder are forced to stay behind and give themselves up. Urquhart confronts Browning about his personal feeling about the operation, which was determined to have been 90% successful by a satisfied Montgomery. When asked if he thinks the operations went well, Browning replies "Well, as you know, I always felt we tried to go a bridge too far" (contradicting his earlier optimism for the operation).
Cast and roles[edit]
Allies[edit]

Actor
Role
Notes
Dirk Bogarde Lieutenant-General Frederick "Boy" Browning GOC I British Airborne Corps, and at HQ First Allied Airborne Army as its deputy commander, British Army at Nijmegen
James Caan Staff Sergeant Eddie Dohun
 (based on Charles Dohun) runner for Captain LeGrand King "Legs" Johnson, CO, Company F, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division U.S. Army (attacking Best)
Michael Caine Lieutenant-Colonel J.O.E. Vandeleur CO, 3rd Battalion (Infantry), The Irish Guards, The Guards Armoured Division, XXX Corps, British Army[10]
Michael Byrne Lt. Col. Giles Vandeleur acting CO, 2nd Battalion (Armoured), The Irish Guards, British Guards Armoured Division. Cousin to 'Joe'.
Sean Connery Major General Roy Urquhart GOC, 1st British Airborne Division, Arnhem
Edward Fox Lt. Gen. Brian Horrocks GOC, XXX Corps,[11] British Second Army
Elliott Gould Col. Robert Stout
 (based on Robert Sink) CO, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division[12]
Gene Hackman Maj. Gen. Stanisław Sosabowski, CO, Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade, Polish Armed Forces[13]
Anthony Hopkins Lt. Col. John Frost CO, 2nd Parachute Battalion, 1st Parachute Brigade, 1st British Airborne Division at Arnhem road bridge
Ryan O'Neal Brig. Gen. James Gavin CO, US 82nd Airborne Division, U.S. Army at the bridge across the Maas river in Grave, later at the Maas-Waal canal and the bridge across the Waal river in Nijmegen
Robert Redford Maj. Julian Cook CO, 3rd Battalion, 504th PIR, 82nd Airborne, U.S. Army seizing key bridges over the Maas-Waal Canal and the river assault crossing of the Waal river.
Denholm Elliott RAF meteorology officer fictional[14]
Peter Faber Capt. Arie D. "Harry" Bestebreurtje Liaison officer with the 82nd Airborne Division, Office of Strategic Services,[15] Royal Dutch Army[16][17]
Christopher Good Maj. Carlyle
 (based on Maj. Allison Digby Tatham-Warter) CO, A Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion, 1st Parachute Brigade, Arnhem,[18] British Army
Frank Grimes Maj. Fuller
 (based on Brian Urquhart) G-2 (Intelligence Officer) for the 1st Airborne Corps,[19] British Army stationed at the HQ located in Moor Park Golf Club, Hertfordshire, England
Jeremy Kemp RAF briefing officer RAF, but the briefing probably took place at the 1st Airborne Corps HQ located in Moor Park Golf Club, Hertfordshire, England
Nicholas Campbell Capt. Glass
 (based on Captain LeGrand King "Legs" Johnson) CO, F Company, 2nd Battalion, 502PIR,[20]
Paul Copley Pvt Wicks Batman to Lt. Col. Frost, CO, 2nd Parachute Battalion, British Army[21]
Donald Douglas Brigadier Gerald Lathbury CO, 1st Parachute Brigade, British Army in Arnhem. Wounded and briefly paralysed, Lathbury made a complete recovery and escaped captivity during Operation Pegasus.
Keith Drinkel Lieutenant Cornish
 (based on Captain Eric Mackay, 9th Parachute Sqdn R.E.) 1st Airborne Division
Colin Farrell Corporal Hancock 1st British Airborne Division, Urquart's batman
Richard Kane Col. Weaver
 (based on Graeme Warrack) Senior Medical Officer, Headquarters RAMC, 1st British Airborne Division, at the Main Dressing Station in the Schoonoord Hotel of the Oosterbeek Perimeter
Paul Maxwell Maj. Gen. Maxwell Taylor CO, 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army at the Zon bridge and later St-Oedenrode
Stephen Moore Maj. Robert Steele
 (based on Major Anthony "Tony" John Deane–Drummond)[22] Second–in–Command, 1st Airborne Divisional Signals[23] British Army, Arnhem
Donald Pickering Lt. Col. C.B. Mackenzie Principal General Staff Officer (Chief of Staff), Headquarters, 1st Airborne Division, British Army, Divisional HQ at the Hartenstein Hotel[24]
Gerald Sim Col. Sims
 (based on (acting Colonel) Lt. Col. Arthur Austin Eagger)[25] Senior Medical Officer, 1st Airborne Corps, R.A.M.C., British Army
John Stride Grenadier Guards major (based on Captain Lord Carrington) British Grenadier Guards Commander who argues with Major Cook after 82nd capture Nijmegen Bridge
Alun Armstrong Cpl. Davies 2nd Battalion, 1st Parachute Brigade, 1st British Airborne Division
David Auker 'Taffy' Brace Medic, 1st British Airborne Division
Michael Bangerter British staff colonel British XXX Corps staff officer at General Browning's HQ
Philip Raymond Grenadier Guards Colonel (based on Lt. Colonel Edward H. Goulburn) C.O. 2nd Armoured Grenadier Guards Battalion
Michael Graham Cox Capt. Jimmy Cleminson T/Capt., [Sir] James Arnold Stacey "Jimmy" Cleminson Officer Commanding, 5 Platoon (B Company), 3rd Parachute Battalion, British Army, Arnhem[26]
Garrick Hagon Lieutenant Rafferty Lieutenant, 101st Military Police Platoon, 101st Airborne Division, Division Field Hospital, U.S. Army[27]
John Ratzenberger Lt James Megellas
 (based on Lt James Megellas) Lieutenant, Company H, 504th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division, U.S. Army, at Waal River crossing[28]
Arthur Hill U.S. Army surgeon (colonel) Chief Division Surgeon Lt Col. David Gold, 101st Airborne Division Clearing Station
Mark Sheridan Sergeant Tomblin 2nd Battalion, 1st Parachute Brigade, 1st British Airborne Division
George Innes Sergeant MacDonald British 1st Airborne Division radio operator at the Hartenstein Hotel
Germans[edit]

Actor
Role
Notes
Hardy Krüger Generalmajor der Waffen-SS Karl Ludwig Based on Heinz Harmel, as he did not want his name to be mentioned in the film
Maximilian Schell General der Waffen-SS Wilhelm Bittrich CO of II SS Panzer Corps
Wolfgang Preiss Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt OB West (commander of the German forces on the Western Front)
Walter Kohut Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model CO of Army Group B
Hartmut Becker German Army sentry 
Hans von Borsody General der Infanterie Günther Blumentritt 
Lex van Delden Oberscharführer Matthias Bittrich's aide.
Fred Williams Hauptsturmführer Viktor Eberhard Gräbner Commander of the reconnaissance battle group of 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen
Source: A Bridge Too Far at the Internet Movie Database
Dutch civilians[edit]

Actor
Role
Laurence Olivier Dr. Jan Spaander
Liv Ullmann Kate ter Horst
Siem Vroom Underground leader
Erik van 't Wout Underground leader's son
Marlies van Alcmaer Underground leader's wife
Mary Smithuysen Old Dutch lady
Hans Croiset Old Dutch lady's son
Josephine Peeper Cafe waitress
Erik Chitty Organist
Richard Attenborough Lunatic wearing glasses (uncredited cameo)
Albert van der Harst Medic
Source: A Bridge Too Far at the Internet Movie Database
Military consultants[edit]
Colonel John Waddy
Major General John Dutton Frost
General James M. Gavin
Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks
Major General Roy Urquhart
Brigadier Joe Vandeleur
Source: Goldman, William Goldman's Story of a Bridge Too Far
Production[edit]
Air filming was done in the first weeks of September 1976, culminating in a series of air drops of a total of 1,000 men,[citation needed][29]) together with the dropping of supplies from a number of Dakota aircraft. The Dakotas were gathered by the film company Joseph E. Levine Presents Incorporated. All aircraft were required to be CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) or FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) registered and licensed to carry passengers. An original deal for the purchase of ten fell through when two airframes were rejected as passenger configured without the necessary jump doors. Eleven Dakotas were procured. Two Portuguese, ex-Portuguese Air Force, 6153, and 6171, (N9984Q and N9983Q), and two Air International Dakotas, operating from Djibouti in French Somaliland, F-OCKU and F-OCKX, (N9985Q and N9986Q) were purchased by Joseph E. Levine. Three Danish Air Force, K-685, K-687, and K-688, and four Finnish Air Force C-47s, DO-4, DO-7, DO-10 and DO-12, were loaned for the duration of the parachute filming.
Aircraft 6171 doubled as the camera ship on most formations, with a camouflaged Piper Aztec, G-AWDI. A camera was mounted in the astrodome, one on the port upper mainplane surface, with a third camera on the outside of the forward port cabin window and a fourth under the aircraft centre section. In addition, centre escape hatches were removed to make additional camera ports available, provided that no troops were aboard during filming. A second Aztec, G-ASND, was a back-up camera ship on some shots, but it was not camouflaged. An Alouette, G-BDWN, was also employed. After a mishap with G-AWDI, two locally-hired Cessna 172s, PH-GVP and PH-ADF, were also used. Ten Horsa glider replicas were built, but a wind storm damaged almost all of them. Seven or eight were hastily repaired for the shoot. The replica gliders were tail-heavy and required a support post under the rear fuselage, with camera angles carefully chosen to avoid revealing this. Dakota 6153 was fitted with tow gear and Horsa replicas were towed at high speed, though none went airborne. A two-seat Blaník sail-plane, provided by a member of the London Gliding Club, Dunstable, was towed aloft for the interior take-off shots.
Four Harvards portrayed American and German fighters. Their original identities were PH-KLU, PH-BKT, B-64 and B-118, the latter two aircraft loaned by the Royal Netherlands Air Force. These were flown by members of the Gilze Rijen Aero Club, which also provided an Auster III, PH-NGK, which depicted an Auster V, RT607, in wartime camouflage. Spitfire Mk. IX, MH434, depicting a photo reconnaissance variant, coded AC-S, was lent by the Hon. Patrick Lindsay, and was flown by aerobatic champion Neil Williams.[30]



 Shooting of a scene in Deventer on 18 May 1976. German vehicles are crossing the bridge
The scenes around the 'Arnhem' bridge were actually shot in Deventer, where a similar bridge over the IJssel was still available. Although the original bridge in Arnhem still existed, it was, by the mid-1970s, sitting in a modern urban surroundings which could not be used to portray a 1940s city. A few scenes were shot in Zutphen, where the old municipality house (a white building which in the film featured the Nazi command centre) and the main church can be seen.
The film includes some distortions of military history that are not present in the book; in particular, the reasons for the delay in XXX Corps reaching the Arnhem bridge (leading to the failure of the attack) differ considerably from those given in Cornelius Ryan's text.
An episode of the Dutch TV history programme Andere Tijden[31] (English: Different Times) about the making of this movie stated that producer Joseph E. Levine told the Deventer town government that their town would host the world premiere for A Bridge Too Far, on June 14, 1977. This never came to be, though, and Deventer even missed out on the Dutch premiere, which was held in Amsterdam.
Interesting facts[edit]
Joseph E. Levine financed the $22 million budget himself. During the production, he would show footage from the film to distributors who would then pay him for distribution rights. By the time the film was finished, Levine had raised $26 million, putting the film $4 million in the black before it had even opened.
United Artists agreed to pay $6 million for US and Canada distribution rights.[32]
All the star-name actors agreed to participate on a favoured-nation basis (i.e. they would all receive the same weekly fee), which in this case was $250,000. per week (the 2012 equivalent of $1,008,250. or £642,000).[33]
According to Levine, the foreign star that distributors most wanted in the film was Robert Redford, followed by Sean Connery.[32]
Richard Attenborough wanted to use Steve McQueen for a role and approached him. McQueen's manager demanded $6 million for three weeks on A Bridge Too Far and three weeks on Apocalypse Now, plus Levine would buy McQueen's house which McQueen was having trouble selling. Levine refused.[32]
Shooting of the American-led assault on the Bridge at Nijmegen was dubbed the “Million-Dollar Hour”. Because of the heavy traffic, the crew had permission to film on the bridge between eight and nine o'clock on October 3, 1976. Failure to complete the scene, would have necessitated rescheduling at a cost — including Redford's overtime — of at least a million dollars. For this reason, Attenborough insisted that all actors playing corpses keep their eyes closed.[4]
Michael Caine's scripted line to order the column of tanks and armoured cars into battle, was "Forward, go, charge". Luckily for Caine, Lieutenant Colonel Joe Vandeleur was on the set, so he could ask him what the actual line was. Vandeleur told him, "I just said quietly into the microphone, 'Well, get a move on, then'", which is what Caine says in the film as released.
Edward Fox had known General Horrocks before working on the film, and considered him a friend; thus, Fox took great care to portray him accurately. Years later, he would cite his portrayal of Horrocks as his favorite film role.[34]
Dirk Bogarde had known General Browning from his time on Field Marshal Montgomery's staff during the war and took issue with the film's largely negative portrayal of the general. General "Boy" Browning's widow, the author Daphne du Maurier, ferociously attacked his characterisation and "the resultant establishment fallout, much of it homophobic, wrongly convinced [Bogarde] that the newly ennobled Sir Richard had deliberately contrived to scupper his own chance of a knighthood."[33]
Sean Connery initially turned down his role, fearing that the film would glamorize a military disaster, but changed his mind after reading the finished screenplay.
Connery and Caine worked together on the 1975 film The Man Who Would Be King, although they had no scenes together in this movie.
Even though Maximilian Schell spoke fluent English, he remained true to his character as General Bittrich and spoke no English in the movie.
Audrey Hepburn (who had lived in the Netherlands during Market Garden) was the first choice to play Kate Ter Horst, but declined due to the low salary. Roger Moore was the first choice to play Horrocks but his contractual commitment to The Spy Who Loved Me prevented him from taking the part. Steve McQueen was originally offered the role of Major Cook but declined.
Redford was paid $2 million for five weeks work.[32]
A Bridge Too Far was the first war film in which actors were put through boot camp prior to filming. Attenborough put many of the extras/soldiers through a mini-boot camp and had them housed in a barrack accommodation during filming.
Reception[edit]
Critical[edit]
The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. According to a "making-of" documentary included in a special edition DVD of A Bridge Too Far, at the time of its release, "the film was shunned by American critics and completely ignored at Oscar time for daring to expose the fatal inadequacies of the Allied campaign."[35] Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 73% of 11 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.8 out of 10.[36] While critics agreed that the film was impressively staged[37] and historically accurate, many found the film too long and too repetitive.[38] James Caan[38] and Anthony Hopkins were cited by many critics for the excellence of their performances in a film filled with hundreds of speaking roles and cameos by many of the period's top actors.
Box Office[edit]
The film was a box office disappointment in the US but performed well in Europe.[39]
William Goldman's Story of A Bridge Too Far[edit]
Story of A Bridge Too Far

Author
William Goldman
Country
United States
Language
English
Genre
non-fiction

Publication date
 1977
To promote the film, scriptwriter William Goldman wrote a book titled Story of A Bridge Too Far, published in December 1977. It falls into three sections:
1."Reflections on Filmmaking in General and A Bridge Too Far". This section features some essays that would be reprinted in Goldman's famous Adventures in the Screen Trade.[40]
2."A Bridge Too Far: The Story in Pictures" - 150 sequential photographs from the film with captions from Goldman.
3."Stars and Heroes" - some of the movie's actors and the men they play tell Goldman their thoughts on the film and the battle.
Goldman explains he wrote the books as a favour:

Joseph E. Levine was very kind to me and I had a great experience on A Bridge Too Far. It was my first movie with Richard Attenborough and he's a marvelous human being. A lot of movies are shit, the experience is just terrible, and Bridge was wonderful and Mr Levine wanted something to publicize the movie so I wrote that for him. It was just something like I've never done, but it was a as a favour for Mr Levine.[41]
See also[edit]
Theirs is the Glory (1946 British film about the Battle of Arnhem)
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6bc68604
2.Jump up ^ McKenna, A. T. (2011). "Joseph E. Levine and A Bridge Too Far (1977): A Producer's Labour of Love". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 31 (2): 211–227. doi:10.1080/01439685.2011.572606.
3.Jump up ^ "The Deep, Box Office Information". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
4.^ Jump up to: a b Goldman 1977
5.Jump up ^ Ryan 1974, p. 67
6.Jump up ^ 00:11:37,480 frames 93/94
7.Jump up ^ 00:11:41,280 frames 94/95
8.Jump up ^ 00:17:21,120 frames 177/178
9.Jump up ^ The dialogue between Frost and Bittrich's adjutant requesting surrender, and getting a reply the paratroopers do not have the facilities to accept German surrender, never took place. Instead Brigadeführer Heinz Harmel, commander of the 10th SS Panzer Division, selected a British prisoner, Sergeant Stanley Halliwell, and sent him into the British perimeter to request that Frost surrender his forces. After arriving, Halliwell explained what Harmel wants; Frost gave Halliwell a message for Harmel to “Go to hell.”, as is portrayed in the film. Halliwell then told Frost, “If it’s all the same to you, Colonel, I’ll stay. Jerry [the Germans] will get the message sooner or later.” - p.356, Arthur
10.Jump up ^ In the movie 'Joe' is depicted as leading the tanks of his cousin Giles' battalion although he commanded The Irish Guards Group as was the practice of combining two battalions from same regiment under senior regimental officer
11.Jump up ^ Carried the primary responsibility for the 'Garden' ground offensive part of the operation
12.Jump up ^ Attacked bridge at Zon and later entered Eindhoven to meet British troops
13.Jump up ^ Arrived in the 3rd lift north of Nijemegen and advanced towards Arnhem
14.Jump up ^ General Browning failed to arrange for RAF and USAAF liaison officers for the British I Airborne Corps. In the book Ryan says Sosabowski spoke with the chief liaison officer, Lieutenant Colonel George Stevens.
15.Jump up ^ "Capt. Arie D. Bestebreurtje - World War II Special Operations Soldier". B26.com. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
16.Jump up ^ escaping in 1941 to UK he studied at the Royal Military Academy, and later in Edinburgh he was trained as an OSS agent and assigned to operations behind in occupied Holland.
17.Jump up ^ Dutch Wikipedia article
18.Jump up ^ The Major did not die of wounds at Brigade HQ, but was taken prisoner, moved to the St. Elizabeth Hospital, and later conducted an escape Operation Pegasus with the Dutch Resistance to bring out 138 escapees of the battle, and returning to his post with the remnants of his Company Evasion Report: 21st September - 23rd October 1944 [1]
19.Jump up ^ p.132, Ambrose, Immerman
20.Jump up ^ He was initially wounded by a rifle bullet in the right shoulder. The following is taken from War Stories website [2] History vs Hollywood - Captain Legs Johnson "Medics made him lie down and set up an IV with plasma flowing into him. Medical jeeps bearing stretchers were evacuating wounded two at a time, to a field hospital in Zon. Since many of the wounded were hit more seriously than himself, Legs kept delaying his own evacuation, telling the medics to convey the others first. Even when Legs was finally loaded, he was still telling them to delay and take others. Against his objections, he was placed across the hood of the Jeep on a stretcher and then the Jeep scratched-off, headed for Zon. At that time, a German MG42 machine-gun fired at the Jeep from over 500 yards distance. One round entered Legs' helmet and tore into his head. He lost consciousness and would not wake -up until weeks later.
 At the hospital in Zon, Legs was briefly examined and since he was unconscious and his brains were exposed, he was relegated to the 'dead pile' of troopers who were wounded so seriously that they had no chance to survive.
 Later that afternoon, Sgt Charles Dohun (Hollywood changed his first name to EDDIE), who was Legs' runner [orderly] wandered over to the hospital for a specific purpose. He knew that the captain had a substantial amount of cash in his billfold and he didn't want a stranger from another unit to get it.
 Dohun spotted Captain Johnson in the dead pile and examined him-when he discovered that Legs was still breathing, he carried him into an operating room and ordered the surgeon to save him. When the doctor refused, Dohun pointed a souvenir Luger at him and threatened to shoot him (he did not use a .45 as shown in 'A Bridge Too Far', but a .45 looks more impressive).
 The operation was successful. "Legs" regained consciousness six weeks later in a hospital, "deaf, dumb, blind, and with a steel plate in my head." As of this writing (October, 2005), Legs is still alive in Florida. Charles Dohun survived World War II and lived in N.C. until his death about 15 years ago.
Regarding the Hollywood Depiction
 When I interviewed Legs Johnson in the late 1990s, he commented on how he and Sgt Dohun were portrayed in 'A Bridge Too Far', the 1977 Hollywood version of Cornelius Ryan's book about Operation Market Garden.
 "Legs" said :"In the movie, I was a little, scared guy, and Dohun was a great big guy. Hell, in real life I would've made TWO of Dohun."
 Cornelius Ryan described in his book, how Sgt Dohun was placed under arrest for threatening to shoot the surgeon. I have not learned the identity of that doctor, but he did NOT pardon the sgt, as shown in the film. Sgt Dohun was taken before LTC Steve Chappuis (later Brigadier General (Ret.) Steve A. Chappuis), the 2/502 C.O. and "Silent Steve" placed him under arrest for one minute. As Dohun stood at attention before his desk, the LTC looked at his watch for sixty seconds, then told Dohun he could go.
 Captain Hugh 'Duke' Roberts, the second battalion S-1 of the 502 PIR, was among the few individuals who knew the story of how Dohun had ordered the doctor to perform the operation, at gunpoint. Duke wrote a letter to Mrs Johnson,(Legs' wife), explaining how Sgt Dohun had been responsible for saving his life. When Cornelius Ryan was researching 'A Bridge Too Far', Mrs Johnson sent that letter to Ryan, which is how the author became aware of the story.
21.Jump up ^ Although ordered to load his shotgun, dinner jacket, and golf clubs into the staff car in the movie, seemingly to bring with him on the operation, these would eventually arrive in the 'Sea Tail' via Normandy beaches.
22.Jump up ^ The role is based to a point that he was the Major responsible for divisional signals. His depiction in the movie after landing is completely fictional.
23.Jump up ^ He became separated from his unit whilst trying to link up with 1st Parachute Brigade, who were surrounded at the north end of Arnhem Bridge, and along with three other soldiers spent three days trapped in a small room at the back of a German–occupied house. On managing to leave this building, they split up to cross the river; Deane–Drummond successfully swam to the south bank of the Rhine, but was almost immediately taken prisoner. The next day, he managed to escape from a group who were being escorted out of Arnhem, and spent the next eleven days hiding inside a large cupboard until he felt safe to move.
24.Jump up ^ he was effectively CO on the first day until Hicks was contacted by which time he had established Divisional HQ at the Hartenstein Hotel. He later swam the river Lek to contact Gen. Sosabowski, and through him the XXX Corps HQ.
25.Jump up ^ O.B.E. (Military Division) of the Order "in recognition of gallant and, distinguished services in Sicily" Supplement to The London Gazette, 23 March 1944
26.Jump up ^ Shown accompanying Maj. Gen. Urquhart he however did not become ADC to General Officer Commanding 1st Airborne Division until 1945, but was Mentioned In Dispatches for Arnhem
27.Jump up ^ The name is probably fictional since the event did not occur as portrayed in the movie
28.Jump up ^ Most decorated officer of the 82nd Division
29.Jump up ^ a member of the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment claims there were no more than 200 men involved.
30.Jump up ^ Hurst, Flt. Lt. K.J., DC-3 Project Officer for the film; AIR International, July 1977, Volume 13, Number 1, pp. 33-34, Talkback column
31.Jump up ^ "Geschiedenis 24 - Een Brug te Ver". Geschiedenis.vpro.nl. 2010-11-17. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
32.^ Jump up to: a b c d A., C. (June 15, 1977). "The final decision will be mine". The Washington Post (1974-Current File).
33.^ Jump up to: a b "Entirely Up To You, Darling"; page 152-3; paperback; Arrow Books; published 2009. isbn 978-0-099-50304-0
34.Jump up ^ A Bridge Too Far (1977) British Film Institute, retrieved 2009-10-19
35.Jump up ^ Papamichael, Stella. "A Bridge Too Far: Special Edition DVD (1977)," BBC website. Retrieved Sept. 5, 2010.
36.Jump up ^ "A Bridge Too Far (1977)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved Sept. 5, 2010.
37.Jump up ^ Canby, Vincent. "Film: It's a Long War In 'Bridge Too Far'," New York Times (June 16, 1977).
38.^ Jump up to: a b Morgan, Jason. "A Bridge Too Far," FilmCritic.com (Jan. 9, 2006).
39.Jump up ^ European filmgoers are holding up 'Bridge' Beck, Marilyn. Chicago Tribune (1963-Current file) [Chicago, Ill] 20 Oct 1977: a8.
40.Jump up ^ Egan p 145
41.Jump up ^ Egan p 145
References[edit]
Arthur, Max, Forgotten Voices of the Second World War: A new history of world war two in the words of the men and women who were there, Ebury Press, 2004 ISBN 0091897351 OCLC 57691717
Goldman, William (1977), William Goldman's Story of a Bridge Too Far, Coronet Books, ISBN 0-340-22340-5 [NB: Book has no page numbers]
Ryan, Cornelius (1974), A Bridge Too Far, London: Hamish Hamilton, ISBN 0-340-19941-5
Waddy, Colonel John (1977), The Making of a Bridge Too Far, After the Battle (London: Plaistow Press) (17): 10–34
Ambrose, Stephen E. & Immerman, Richard H., Ike's spies: Eisenhower and the espionage establishment, University Press of Mississippi, 1999. ISBN 0-385-14493-8 OCLC 6863017
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: A Bridge Too Far (film)
A Bridge Too Far at the Internet Movie Database
A Bridge Too Far at Box Office Mojo
A Bridge Too Far at AllMovie
A Bridge Too Far at the TCM Movie Database
"A Bridge Too Far". at British Cinema Greats.


[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Richard Attenborough


















[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Works by William Goldman









































































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Cornelius Ryan














 


Categories: 1977 films
1970s action films
English-language films
British films
British war films
British epic films
Films set in the Netherlands
Films set in 1944
American independent films
Operation Market Garden
World War II films based on actual events
Western Front of World War II films
War epic films
Films directed by Richard Attenborough
Screenplays by William Goldman
American war films
World War II films
United Artists films






Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Aragonés
Български
Català
Čeština
Deutsch
Español
Esperanto
فارسی
Français
한국어
Italiano
Magyar
Nederlands
日本語
Polski
Português
Română
Русский
Slovenčina
Slovenščina
Српски / srpski
Suomi
Svenska
Türkçe
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 18 October 2014 at 01:57.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bridge_Too_Far_(film)












A Bridge Too Far (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search


A Bridge Too Far
Bridge too far movieposter.jpg
original film poster

Directed by
Richard Attenborough
Produced by
Joseph E. Levine
 Richard P. Levine
Screenplay by
William Goldman
Based on
A Bridge Too Far
 by Cornelius Ryan
Starring
Dirk Bogarde
James Caan
Michael Caine
Sean Connery
Edward Fox
Anthony Hopkins
Gene Hackman
Hardy Krüger
Laurence Olivier
Robert Redford
Maximilian Schell
Music by
John Addison
Cinematography
Geoffrey Unsworth, BSC
Edited by
Antony Gibbs
Production
 company
Joseph E. Levine Productions

Distributed by
United Artists
Release dates
June 15, 1977
Running time
176 minutes
Country
United States[1]
Language
English, German, Dutch, Polish
Budget
$25 million[2]
Box office
$50,750,000[3]
A Bridge Too Far is a 1977 epic war film based on the 1974 book of the same name by Cornelius Ryan, adapted by William Goldman. It was produced by Joseph E. Levine and Richard P. Levine and directed by Richard Attenborough.[4]
The film tells the story of the failure of Operation Market Garden during World War II, the Allied attempt to break through German lines and seize several bridges in the occupied Netherlands, including one at Arnhem, with the main objective of outflanking German defences.
The name for the film comes from an unconfirmed comment attributed to British Lieutenant-General Frederick Browning, deputy commander of the First Allied Airborne Army, who told Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, the operation's architect, before the operation: "I think we may be going a bridge too far."[5]
The ensemble cast includes Dirk Bogarde, Ryan O'Neal, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Elliott Gould, Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, Hardy Krüger, Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, Maximilian Schell and Liv Ullmann. The music was scored by John Addison, who had served in the British XXX Corps during Market Garden.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot 1.1 Introduction and planning
1.2 Operation begins
1.3 Operation ends
2 Cast and roles 2.1 Allies
2.2 Germans
2.3 Dutch civilians
2.4 Military consultants
3 Production 3.1 Interesting facts
4 Reception 4.1 Critical
4.2 Box Office
5 William Goldman's Story of A Bridge Too Far
6 See also
7 Notes
8 References
9 External links

Plot[edit]
Introduction and planning[edit]
The film begins with a montage of archival film footage narrated by a Dutch woman, Kate ter Horst, describing the state of affairs in September 1944. The Allied advance is being slowed by overextended supply lines. A Dutch family, part of the Dutch resistance underground, observes the German withdrawal toward Germany. The Germans in the Netherlands have few resources in men or equipment and morale is very poor.
U.S. General George S. Patton and British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery have competing plans for ending the war quickly, and being the first to get to Berlin. Under political pressure, Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower chose Montgomery's Operation Market Garden.
Operation Market Garden envisions 35,000 men being flown 300 miles from air bases in England and being dropped as much as 64 miles behind enemy lines in the Netherlands. The largest airborne assault ever attempted, with Lieutenant-General Frederick Browning saying, "We're going to lay a carpet, as it were, of airborne troops"[6] over which armored divisions of XXX Corps can pass and confidently suggests that "We shall seize the bridges - it's all a question of bridges - with thunderclap surprise, and hold them until they can be secured".[7]
Two divisions of U.S. paratroopers, the 82nd & 101st Airborne divisions, are responsible for securing the road and bridges as far as Nijmegen. A British division, the 1st Airborne, under Major-General Urquhart is to land near Arnhem, and take and hold the far side of the bridge at Arnhem, backed by a brigade of Polish paratroopers under General Sosabowski. XXX Corps are to push up the road to Arnhem, as quickly as possible, over the bridges captured by the paratroopers, and reach Arnhem two days after the drop.
After the Market Garden command briefing, General Sosabowski voices his deep doubts that the plan can work. American commander Brig. General Gavin of the 82nd worries about parachuting in daylight.
British commanders brief that they are badly short of transport aircraft and the area near Arnhem is ill-suited for a landing. They will have to land in an open area eight miles (13 km) from the bridge. The British officers present at that briefing do not question the orders, but Sosabowski walks up to check the RAF briefing officer's uniform insignia and says "Just making sure whose side you're on." Later, when General Urquhart briefs his officers, some of them are surprised they are going to attempt a landing so far from the bridge, but they have to make the best of it. General Urquhart tells them that the key for the eight mile distance from the drop zone to the bridge, is the use of gliders to bring in reconnaissance Jeeps. Browning lays out that if any one group fails, the entire operation fails.
The consensus among the British top brass is that resistance will consist entirely of "Hitler Youth or old men",[8] but young British intelligence officer, Major Fuller, brings reconnaissance photos to General Browning showing German tanks at Arnhem. Browning dismisses the photos, and also ignores reports from the Dutch underground. Browning does not want to be the one to tell Montgomery of any doubts because many previous airborne operations have been cancelled. Major Fuller's concerns are brushed off and he is removed from duty, sent on 'sick leave'.
British officers note that the portable radios are not likely to work for the long distance from the drop zone to the Arnhem Bridge amid the water and trees of the Netherlands. They choose not to rock the boat and do not convey their concerns up the chain of command.
At the XXX Corps briefing, the overall plan is outlined by Lt. Gen. Brian Horrocks, laying out the bridges that will be taken by the paratroopers, held and then secured by ground forces. Speed is the vital factor, as Arnhem must be reached within 2–3 days. It is the crucial bridge, the last means of escape for the German forces in the Netherlands and an excellent route to Germany for Allied forces. The road to Arnhem, however, is only a single highway linking the various key bridges - trucks and tanks have to squeeze to the shoulder to pass. The road is also elevated causing anything moving on the road to stand out. The XXX Corps column would be led by the Irish Guards, under Col. 'Joe' Vandeleur.
Operation begins[edit]
The airborne drops catch the Germans totally by surprise, and there is little resistance. Most of the men come down safely and assemble quickly, but the Son bridge is blown up by the Germans, just before the 101st Airborne secures it. German Field Marshal Model, thinking that the Allies are trying to capture him, panics and retreats from Arnhem. However, soon after landing, troubles beset Urquhart's division. Many of the Jeeps either don't arrive by gliders at all or are shot up in an ambush. Their radio sets are also useless, meaning no contact can be made with either paratroopers moving into Arnhem under Lt. Col. John Frost or XXX Corps. Meanwhile, German forces reinforce Nijmegen and Arnhem.
XXX Corps' progress is slowed by German resistance, the narrowness of the highway and the need to construct a Bailey bridge to replace the destroyed bridge at Son. XXX Corps is able to move onto the Grave bridge without much resistance, but is halted at Nijmegen. There, soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division perform a dangerous daylight river crossing in flimsy canvas-and-wood assault boats. Ultimately, despite heavy casualties the river crossing is successful, and the Nijmegen bridge is captured. The Germans close in on the isolated British paratroopers occupying part of Arnhem at the bridge. Urquhart is separated from his men, and the supply drop zones are overrun by the Germans. German attacks on the paratroopers at the bridge are repelled. British Armour continues to fight its way up the corridor, but is delayed by strong German resistance.
Operation ends[edit]
After securing Nijmegen Bridge, XXX Corps waits several hours for its infantry forces to finish securing the town. Finally Sosabowski's troops enter the battle. They attempt to reinforce the British in Arnhem, but fail. With the Germans fully alert, they gun down numerous Poles during their drop. They are only able to get a few men across to reinforce the British. After days of house-to-house fighting in Arnhem, with paratroops versus crack SS infantry and panzers, many of the paratroopers are either captured or forced to withdraw, and the city is indiscriminately razed. [9] Operation Market Garden has failed. Urquhart manages to escape capture with fewer than two thousand of his troops, the remainder are forced to stay behind and give themselves up. Urquhart confronts Browning about his personal feeling about the operation, which was determined to have been 90% successful by a satisfied Montgomery. When asked if he thinks the operations went well, Browning replies "Well, as you know, I always felt we tried to go a bridge too far" (contradicting his earlier optimism for the operation).
Cast and roles[edit]
Allies[edit]

Actor
Role
Notes
Dirk Bogarde Lieutenant-General Frederick "Boy" Browning GOC I British Airborne Corps, and at HQ First Allied Airborne Army as its deputy commander, British Army at Nijmegen
James Caan Staff Sergeant Eddie Dohun
 (based on Charles Dohun) runner for Captain LeGrand King "Legs" Johnson, CO, Company F, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division U.S. Army (attacking Best)
Michael Caine Lieutenant-Colonel J.O.E. Vandeleur CO, 3rd Battalion (Infantry), The Irish Guards, The Guards Armoured Division, XXX Corps, British Army[10]
Michael Byrne Lt. Col. Giles Vandeleur acting CO, 2nd Battalion (Armoured), The Irish Guards, British Guards Armoured Division. Cousin to 'Joe'.
Sean Connery Major General Roy Urquhart GOC, 1st British Airborne Division, Arnhem
Edward Fox Lt. Gen. Brian Horrocks GOC, XXX Corps,[11] British Second Army
Elliott Gould Col. Robert Stout
 (based on Robert Sink) CO, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division[12]
Gene Hackman Maj. Gen. Stanisław Sosabowski, CO, Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade, Polish Armed Forces[13]
Anthony Hopkins Lt. Col. John Frost CO, 2nd Parachute Battalion, 1st Parachute Brigade, 1st British Airborne Division at Arnhem road bridge
Ryan O'Neal Brig. Gen. James Gavin CO, US 82nd Airborne Division, U.S. Army at the bridge across the Maas river in Grave, later at the Maas-Waal canal and the bridge across the Waal river in Nijmegen
Robert Redford Maj. Julian Cook CO, 3rd Battalion, 504th PIR, 82nd Airborne, U.S. Army seizing key bridges over the Maas-Waal Canal and the river assault crossing of the Waal river.
Denholm Elliott RAF meteorology officer fictional[14]
Peter Faber Capt. Arie D. "Harry" Bestebreurtje Liaison officer with the 82nd Airborne Division, Office of Strategic Services,[15] Royal Dutch Army[16][17]
Christopher Good Maj. Carlyle
 (based on Maj. Allison Digby Tatham-Warter) CO, A Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion, 1st Parachute Brigade, Arnhem,[18] British Army
Frank Grimes Maj. Fuller
 (based on Brian Urquhart) G-2 (Intelligence Officer) for the 1st Airborne Corps,[19] British Army stationed at the HQ located in Moor Park Golf Club, Hertfordshire, England
Jeremy Kemp RAF briefing officer RAF, but the briefing probably took place at the 1st Airborne Corps HQ located in Moor Park Golf Club, Hertfordshire, England
Nicholas Campbell Capt. Glass
 (based on Captain LeGrand King "Legs" Johnson) CO, F Company, 2nd Battalion, 502PIR,[20]
Paul Copley Pvt Wicks Batman to Lt. Col. Frost, CO, 2nd Parachute Battalion, British Army[21]
Donald Douglas Brigadier Gerald Lathbury CO, 1st Parachute Brigade, British Army in Arnhem. Wounded and briefly paralysed, Lathbury made a complete recovery and escaped captivity during Operation Pegasus.
Keith Drinkel Lieutenant Cornish
 (based on Captain Eric Mackay, 9th Parachute Sqdn R.E.) 1st Airborne Division
Colin Farrell Corporal Hancock 1st British Airborne Division, Urquart's batman
Richard Kane Col. Weaver
 (based on Graeme Warrack) Senior Medical Officer, Headquarters RAMC, 1st British Airborne Division, at the Main Dressing Station in the Schoonoord Hotel of the Oosterbeek Perimeter
Paul Maxwell Maj. Gen. Maxwell Taylor CO, 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army at the Zon bridge and later St-Oedenrode
Stephen Moore Maj. Robert Steele
 (based on Major Anthony "Tony" John Deane–Drummond)[22] Second–in–Command, 1st Airborne Divisional Signals[23] British Army, Arnhem
Donald Pickering Lt. Col. C.B. Mackenzie Principal General Staff Officer (Chief of Staff), Headquarters, 1st Airborne Division, British Army, Divisional HQ at the Hartenstein Hotel[24]
Gerald Sim Col. Sims
 (based on (acting Colonel) Lt. Col. Arthur Austin Eagger)[25] Senior Medical Officer, 1st Airborne Corps, R.A.M.C., British Army
John Stride Grenadier Guards major (based on Captain Lord Carrington) British Grenadier Guards Commander who argues with Major Cook after 82nd capture Nijmegen Bridge
Alun Armstrong Cpl. Davies 2nd Battalion, 1st Parachute Brigade, 1st British Airborne Division
David Auker 'Taffy' Brace Medic, 1st British Airborne Division
Michael Bangerter British staff colonel British XXX Corps staff officer at General Browning's HQ
Philip Raymond Grenadier Guards Colonel (based on Lt. Colonel Edward H. Goulburn) C.O. 2nd Armoured Grenadier Guards Battalion
Michael Graham Cox Capt. Jimmy Cleminson T/Capt., [Sir] James Arnold Stacey "Jimmy" Cleminson Officer Commanding, 5 Platoon (B Company), 3rd Parachute Battalion, British Army, Arnhem[26]
Garrick Hagon Lieutenant Rafferty Lieutenant, 101st Military Police Platoon, 101st Airborne Division, Division Field Hospital, U.S. Army[27]
John Ratzenberger Lt James Megellas
 (based on Lt James Megellas) Lieutenant, Company H, 504th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division, U.S. Army, at Waal River crossing[28]
Arthur Hill U.S. Army surgeon (colonel) Chief Division Surgeon Lt Col. David Gold, 101st Airborne Division Clearing Station
Mark Sheridan Sergeant Tomblin 2nd Battalion, 1st Parachute Brigade, 1st British Airborne Division
George Innes Sergeant MacDonald British 1st Airborne Division radio operator at the Hartenstein Hotel
Germans[edit]

Actor
Role
Notes
Hardy Krüger Generalmajor der Waffen-SS Karl Ludwig Based on Heinz Harmel, as he did not want his name to be mentioned in the film
Maximilian Schell General der Waffen-SS Wilhelm Bittrich CO of II SS Panzer Corps
Wolfgang Preiss Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt OB West (commander of the German forces on the Western Front)
Walter Kohut Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model CO of Army Group B
Hartmut Becker German Army sentry 
Hans von Borsody General der Infanterie Günther Blumentritt 
Lex van Delden Oberscharführer Matthias Bittrich's aide.
Fred Williams Hauptsturmführer Viktor Eberhard Gräbner Commander of the reconnaissance battle group of 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen
Source: A Bridge Too Far at the Internet Movie Database
Dutch civilians[edit]

Actor
Role
Laurence Olivier Dr. Jan Spaander
Liv Ullmann Kate ter Horst
Siem Vroom Underground leader
Erik van 't Wout Underground leader's son
Marlies van Alcmaer Underground leader's wife
Mary Smithuysen Old Dutch lady
Hans Croiset Old Dutch lady's son
Josephine Peeper Cafe waitress
Erik Chitty Organist
Richard Attenborough Lunatic wearing glasses (uncredited cameo)
Albert van der Harst Medic
Source: A Bridge Too Far at the Internet Movie Database
Military consultants[edit]
Colonel John Waddy
Major General John Dutton Frost
General James M. Gavin
Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks
Major General Roy Urquhart
Brigadier Joe Vandeleur
Source: Goldman, William Goldman's Story of a Bridge Too Far
Production[edit]
Air filming was done in the first weeks of September 1976, culminating in a series of air drops of a total of 1,000 men,[citation needed][29]) together with the dropping of supplies from a number of Dakota aircraft. The Dakotas were gathered by the film company Joseph E. Levine Presents Incorporated. All aircraft were required to be CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) or FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) registered and licensed to carry passengers. An original deal for the purchase of ten fell through when two airframes were rejected as passenger configured without the necessary jump doors. Eleven Dakotas were procured. Two Portuguese, ex-Portuguese Air Force, 6153, and 6171, (N9984Q and N9983Q), and two Air International Dakotas, operating from Djibouti in French Somaliland, F-OCKU and F-OCKX, (N9985Q and N9986Q) were purchased by Joseph E. Levine. Three Danish Air Force, K-685, K-687, and K-688, and four Finnish Air Force C-47s, DO-4, DO-7, DO-10 and DO-12, were loaned for the duration of the parachute filming.
Aircraft 6171 doubled as the camera ship on most formations, with a camouflaged Piper Aztec, G-AWDI. A camera was mounted in the astrodome, one on the port upper mainplane surface, with a third camera on the outside of the forward port cabin window and a fourth under the aircraft centre section. In addition, centre escape hatches were removed to make additional camera ports available, provided that no troops were aboard during filming. A second Aztec, G-ASND, was a back-up camera ship on some shots, but it was not camouflaged. An Alouette, G-BDWN, was also employed. After a mishap with G-AWDI, two locally-hired Cessna 172s, PH-GVP and PH-ADF, were also used. Ten Horsa glider replicas were built, but a wind storm damaged almost all of them. Seven or eight were hastily repaired for the shoot. The replica gliders were tail-heavy and required a support post under the rear fuselage, with camera angles carefully chosen to avoid revealing this. Dakota 6153 was fitted with tow gear and Horsa replicas were towed at high speed, though none went airborne. A two-seat Blaník sail-plane, provided by a member of the London Gliding Club, Dunstable, was towed aloft for the interior take-off shots.
Four Harvards portrayed American and German fighters. Their original identities were PH-KLU, PH-BKT, B-64 and B-118, the latter two aircraft loaned by the Royal Netherlands Air Force. These were flown by members of the Gilze Rijen Aero Club, which also provided an Auster III, PH-NGK, which depicted an Auster V, RT607, in wartime camouflage. Spitfire Mk. IX, MH434, depicting a photo reconnaissance variant, coded AC-S, was lent by the Hon. Patrick Lindsay, and was flown by aerobatic champion Neil Williams.[30]



 Shooting of a scene in Deventer on 18 May 1976. German vehicles are crossing the bridge
The scenes around the 'Arnhem' bridge were actually shot in Deventer, where a similar bridge over the IJssel was still available. Although the original bridge in Arnhem still existed, it was, by the mid-1970s, sitting in a modern urban surroundings which could not be used to portray a 1940s city. A few scenes were shot in Zutphen, where the old municipality house (a white building which in the film featured the Nazi command centre) and the main church can be seen.
The film includes some distortions of military history that are not present in the book; in particular, the reasons for the delay in XXX Corps reaching the Arnhem bridge (leading to the failure of the attack) differ considerably from those given in Cornelius Ryan's text.
An episode of the Dutch TV history programme Andere Tijden[31] (English: Different Times) about the making of this movie stated that producer Joseph E. Levine told the Deventer town government that their town would host the world premiere for A Bridge Too Far, on June 14, 1977. This never came to be, though, and Deventer even missed out on the Dutch premiere, which was held in Amsterdam.
Interesting facts[edit]
Joseph E. Levine financed the $22 million budget himself. During the production, he would show footage from the film to distributors who would then pay him for distribution rights. By the time the film was finished, Levine had raised $26 million, putting the film $4 million in the black before it had even opened.
United Artists agreed to pay $6 million for US and Canada distribution rights.[32]
All the star-name actors agreed to participate on a favoured-nation basis (i.e. they would all receive the same weekly fee), which in this case was $250,000. per week (the 2012 equivalent of $1,008,250. or £642,000).[33]
According to Levine, the foreign star that distributors most wanted in the film was Robert Redford, followed by Sean Connery.[32]
Richard Attenborough wanted to use Steve McQueen for a role and approached him. McQueen's manager demanded $6 million for three weeks on A Bridge Too Far and three weeks on Apocalypse Now, plus Levine would buy McQueen's house which McQueen was having trouble selling. Levine refused.[32]
Shooting of the American-led assault on the Bridge at Nijmegen was dubbed the “Million-Dollar Hour”. Because of the heavy traffic, the crew had permission to film on the bridge between eight and nine o'clock on October 3, 1976. Failure to complete the scene, would have necessitated rescheduling at a cost — including Redford's overtime — of at least a million dollars. For this reason, Attenborough insisted that all actors playing corpses keep their eyes closed.[4]
Michael Caine's scripted line to order the column of tanks and armoured cars into battle, was "Forward, go, charge". Luckily for Caine, Lieutenant Colonel Joe Vandeleur was on the set, so he could ask him what the actual line was. Vandeleur told him, "I just said quietly into the microphone, 'Well, get a move on, then'", which is what Caine says in the film as released.
Edward Fox had known General Horrocks before working on the film, and considered him a friend; thus, Fox took great care to portray him accurately. Years later, he would cite his portrayal of Horrocks as his favorite film role.[34]
Dirk Bogarde had known General Browning from his time on Field Marshal Montgomery's staff during the war and took issue with the film's largely negative portrayal of the general. General "Boy" Browning's widow, the author Daphne du Maurier, ferociously attacked his characterisation and "the resultant establishment fallout, much of it homophobic, wrongly convinced [Bogarde] that the newly ennobled Sir Richard had deliberately contrived to scupper his own chance of a knighthood."[33]
Sean Connery initially turned down his role, fearing that the film would glamorize a military disaster, but changed his mind after reading the finished screenplay.
Connery and Caine worked together on the 1975 film The Man Who Would Be King, although they had no scenes together in this movie.
Even though Maximilian Schell spoke fluent English, he remained true to his character as General Bittrich and spoke no English in the movie.
Audrey Hepburn (who had lived in the Netherlands during Market Garden) was the first choice to play Kate Ter Horst, but declined due to the low salary. Roger Moore was the first choice to play Horrocks but his contractual commitment to The Spy Who Loved Me prevented him from taking the part. Steve McQueen was originally offered the role of Major Cook but declined.
Redford was paid $2 million for five weeks work.[32]
A Bridge Too Far was the first war film in which actors were put through boot camp prior to filming. Attenborough put many of the extras/soldiers through a mini-boot camp and had them housed in a barrack accommodation during filming.
Reception[edit]
Critical[edit]
The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. According to a "making-of" documentary included in a special edition DVD of A Bridge Too Far, at the time of its release, "the film was shunned by American critics and completely ignored at Oscar time for daring to expose the fatal inadequacies of the Allied campaign."[35] Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 73% of 11 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.8 out of 10.[36] While critics agreed that the film was impressively staged[37] and historically accurate, many found the film too long and too repetitive.[38] James Caan[38] and Anthony Hopkins were cited by many critics for the excellence of their performances in a film filled with hundreds of speaking roles and cameos by many of the period's top actors.
Box Office[edit]
The film was a box office disappointment in the US but performed well in Europe.[39]
William Goldman's Story of A Bridge Too Far[edit]
Story of A Bridge Too Far

Author
William Goldman
Country
United States
Language
English
Genre
non-fiction

Publication date
 1977
To promote the film, scriptwriter William Goldman wrote a book titled Story of A Bridge Too Far, published in December 1977. It falls into three sections:
1."Reflections on Filmmaking in General and A Bridge Too Far". This section features some essays that would be reprinted in Goldman's famous Adventures in the Screen Trade.[40]
2."A Bridge Too Far: The Story in Pictures" - 150 sequential photographs from the film with captions from Goldman.
3."Stars and Heroes" - some of the movie's actors and the men they play tell Goldman their thoughts on the film and the battle.
Goldman explains he wrote the books as a favour:

Joseph E. Levine was very kind to me and I had a great experience on A Bridge Too Far. It was my first movie with Richard Attenborough and he's a marvelous human being. A lot of movies are shit, the experience is just terrible, and Bridge was wonderful and Mr Levine wanted something to publicize the movie so I wrote that for him. It was just something like I've never done, but it was a as a favour for Mr Levine.[41]
See also[edit]
Theirs is the Glory (1946 British film about the Battle of Arnhem)
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6bc68604
2.Jump up ^ McKenna, A. T. (2011). "Joseph E. Levine and A Bridge Too Far (1977): A Producer's Labour of Love". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 31 (2): 211–227. doi:10.1080/01439685.2011.572606.
3.Jump up ^ "The Deep, Box Office Information". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
4.^ Jump up to: a b Goldman 1977
5.Jump up ^ Ryan 1974, p. 67
6.Jump up ^ 00:11:37,480 frames 93/94
7.Jump up ^ 00:11:41,280 frames 94/95
8.Jump up ^ 00:17:21,120 frames 177/178
9.Jump up ^ The dialogue between Frost and Bittrich's adjutant requesting surrender, and getting a reply the paratroopers do not have the facilities to accept German surrender, never took place. Instead Brigadeführer Heinz Harmel, commander of the 10th SS Panzer Division, selected a British prisoner, Sergeant Stanley Halliwell, and sent him into the British perimeter to request that Frost surrender his forces. After arriving, Halliwell explained what Harmel wants; Frost gave Halliwell a message for Harmel to “Go to hell.”, as is portrayed in the film. Halliwell then told Frost, “If it’s all the same to you, Colonel, I’ll stay. Jerry [the Germans] will get the message sooner or later.” - p.356, Arthur
10.Jump up ^ In the movie 'Joe' is depicted as leading the tanks of his cousin Giles' battalion although he commanded The Irish Guards Group as was the practice of combining two battalions from same regiment under senior regimental officer
11.Jump up ^ Carried the primary responsibility for the 'Garden' ground offensive part of the operation
12.Jump up ^ Attacked bridge at Zon and later entered Eindhoven to meet British troops
13.Jump up ^ Arrived in the 3rd lift north of Nijemegen and advanced towards Arnhem
14.Jump up ^ General Browning failed to arrange for RAF and USAAF liaison officers for the British I Airborne Corps. In the book Ryan says Sosabowski spoke with the chief liaison officer, Lieutenant Colonel George Stevens.
15.Jump up ^ "Capt. Arie D. Bestebreurtje - World War II Special Operations Soldier". B26.com. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
16.Jump up ^ escaping in 1941 to UK he studied at the Royal Military Academy, and later in Edinburgh he was trained as an OSS agent and assigned to operations behind in occupied Holland.
17.Jump up ^ Dutch Wikipedia article
18.Jump up ^ The Major did not die of wounds at Brigade HQ, but was taken prisoner, moved to the St. Elizabeth Hospital, and later conducted an escape Operation Pegasus with the Dutch Resistance to bring out 138 escapees of the battle, and returning to his post with the remnants of his Company Evasion Report: 21st September - 23rd October 1944 [1]
19.Jump up ^ p.132, Ambrose, Immerman
20.Jump up ^ He was initially wounded by a rifle bullet in the right shoulder. The following is taken from War Stories website [2] History vs Hollywood - Captain Legs Johnson "Medics made him lie down and set up an IV with plasma flowing into him. Medical jeeps bearing stretchers were evacuating wounded two at a time, to a field hospital in Zon. Since many of the wounded were hit more seriously than himself, Legs kept delaying his own evacuation, telling the medics to convey the others first. Even when Legs was finally loaded, he was still telling them to delay and take others. Against his objections, he was placed across the hood of the Jeep on a stretcher and then the Jeep scratched-off, headed for Zon. At that time, a German MG42 machine-gun fired at the Jeep from over 500 yards distance. One round entered Legs' helmet and tore into his head. He lost consciousness and would not wake -up until weeks later.
 At the hospital in Zon, Legs was briefly examined and since he was unconscious and his brains were exposed, he was relegated to the 'dead pile' of troopers who were wounded so seriously that they had no chance to survive.
 Later that afternoon, Sgt Charles Dohun (Hollywood changed his first name to EDDIE), who was Legs' runner [orderly] wandered over to the hospital for a specific purpose. He knew that the captain had a substantial amount of cash in his billfold and he didn't want a stranger from another unit to get it.
 Dohun spotted Captain Johnson in the dead pile and examined him-when he discovered that Legs was still breathing, he carried him into an operating room and ordered the surgeon to save him. When the doctor refused, Dohun pointed a souvenir Luger at him and threatened to shoot him (he did not use a .45 as shown in 'A Bridge Too Far', but a .45 looks more impressive).
 The operation was successful. "Legs" regained consciousness six weeks later in a hospital, "deaf, dumb, blind, and with a steel plate in my head." As of this writing (October, 2005), Legs is still alive in Florida. Charles Dohun survived World War II and lived in N.C. until his death about 15 years ago.
Regarding the Hollywood Depiction
 When I interviewed Legs Johnson in the late 1990s, he commented on how he and Sgt Dohun were portrayed in 'A Bridge Too Far', the 1977 Hollywood version of Cornelius Ryan's book about Operation Market Garden.
 "Legs" said :"In the movie, I was a little, scared guy, and Dohun was a great big guy. Hell, in real life I would've made TWO of Dohun."
 Cornelius Ryan described in his book, how Sgt Dohun was placed under arrest for threatening to shoot the surgeon. I have not learned the identity of that doctor, but he did NOT pardon the sgt, as shown in the film. Sgt Dohun was taken before LTC Steve Chappuis (later Brigadier General (Ret.) Steve A. Chappuis), the 2/502 C.O. and "Silent Steve" placed him under arrest for one minute. As Dohun stood at attention before his desk, the LTC looked at his watch for sixty seconds, then told Dohun he could go.
 Captain Hugh 'Duke' Roberts, the second battalion S-1 of the 502 PIR, was among the few individuals who knew the story of how Dohun had ordered the doctor to perform the operation, at gunpoint. Duke wrote a letter to Mrs Johnson,(Legs' wife), explaining how Sgt Dohun had been responsible for saving his life. When Cornelius Ryan was researching 'A Bridge Too Far', Mrs Johnson sent that letter to Ryan, which is how the author became aware of the story.
21.Jump up ^ Although ordered to load his shotgun, dinner jacket, and golf clubs into the staff car in the movie, seemingly to bring with him on the operation, these would eventually arrive in the 'Sea Tail' via Normandy beaches.
22.Jump up ^ The role is based to a point that he was the Major responsible for divisional signals. His depiction in the movie after landing is completely fictional.
23.Jump up ^ He became separated from his unit whilst trying to link up with 1st Parachute Brigade, who were surrounded at the north end of Arnhem Bridge, and along with three other soldiers spent three days trapped in a small room at the back of a German–occupied house. On managing to leave this building, they split up to cross the river; Deane–Drummond successfully swam to the south bank of the Rhine, but was almost immediately taken prisoner. The next day, he managed to escape from a group who were being escorted out of Arnhem, and spent the next eleven days hiding inside a large cupboard until he felt safe to move.
24.Jump up ^ he was effectively CO on the first day until Hicks was contacted by which time he had established Divisional HQ at the Hartenstein Hotel. He later swam the river Lek to contact Gen. Sosabowski, and through him the XXX Corps HQ.
25.Jump up ^ O.B.E. (Military Division) of the Order "in recognition of gallant and, distinguished services in Sicily" Supplement to The London Gazette, 23 March 1944
26.Jump up ^ Shown accompanying Maj. Gen. Urquhart he however did not become ADC to General Officer Commanding 1st Airborne Division until 1945, but was Mentioned In Dispatches for Arnhem
27.Jump up ^ The name is probably fictional since the event did not occur as portrayed in the movie
28.Jump up ^ Most decorated officer of the 82nd Division
29.Jump up ^ a member of the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment claims there were no more than 200 men involved.
30.Jump up ^ Hurst, Flt. Lt. K.J., DC-3 Project Officer for the film; AIR International, July 1977, Volume 13, Number 1, pp. 33-34, Talkback column
31.Jump up ^ "Geschiedenis 24 - Een Brug te Ver". Geschiedenis.vpro.nl. 2010-11-17. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
32.^ Jump up to: a b c d A., C. (June 15, 1977). "The final decision will be mine". The Washington Post (1974-Current File).
33.^ Jump up to: a b "Entirely Up To You, Darling"; page 152-3; paperback; Arrow Books; published 2009. isbn 978-0-099-50304-0
34.Jump up ^ A Bridge Too Far (1977) British Film Institute, retrieved 2009-10-19
35.Jump up ^ Papamichael, Stella. "A Bridge Too Far: Special Edition DVD (1977)," BBC website. Retrieved Sept. 5, 2010.
36.Jump up ^ "A Bridge Too Far (1977)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved Sept. 5, 2010.
37.Jump up ^ Canby, Vincent. "Film: It's a Long War In 'Bridge Too Far'," New York Times (June 16, 1977).
38.^ Jump up to: a b Morgan, Jason. "A Bridge Too Far," FilmCritic.com (Jan. 9, 2006).
39.Jump up ^ European filmgoers are holding up 'Bridge' Beck, Marilyn. Chicago Tribune (1963-Current file) [Chicago, Ill] 20 Oct 1977: a8.
40.Jump up ^ Egan p 145
41.Jump up ^ Egan p 145
References[edit]
Arthur, Max, Forgotten Voices of the Second World War: A new history of world war two in the words of the men and women who were there, Ebury Press, 2004 ISBN 0091897351 OCLC 57691717
Goldman, William (1977), William Goldman's Story of a Bridge Too Far, Coronet Books, ISBN 0-340-22340-5 [NB: Book has no page numbers]
Ryan, Cornelius (1974), A Bridge Too Far, London: Hamish Hamilton, ISBN 0-340-19941-5
Waddy, Colonel John (1977), The Making of a Bridge Too Far, After the Battle (London: Plaistow Press) (17): 10–34
Ambrose, Stephen E. & Immerman, Richard H., Ike's spies: Eisenhower and the espionage establishment, University Press of Mississippi, 1999. ISBN 0-385-14493-8 OCLC 6863017
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: A Bridge Too Far (film)
A Bridge Too Far at the Internet Movie Database
A Bridge Too Far at Box Office Mojo
A Bridge Too Far at AllMovie
A Bridge Too Far at the TCM Movie Database
"A Bridge Too Far". at British Cinema Greats.


[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Richard Attenborough


















[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Works by William Goldman









































































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Cornelius Ryan














 


Categories: 1977 films
1970s action films
English-language films
British films
British war films
British epic films
Films set in the Netherlands
Films set in 1944
American independent films
Operation Market Garden
World War II films based on actual events
Western Front of World War II films
War epic films
Films directed by Richard Attenborough
Screenplays by William Goldman
American war films
World War II films
United Artists films






Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Aragonés
Български
Català
Čeština
Deutsch
Español
Esperanto
فارسی
Français
한국어
Italiano
Magyar
Nederlands
日本語
Polski
Português
Română
Русский
Slovenčina
Slovenščina
Српски / srpski
Suomi
Svenska
Türkçe
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 18 October 2014 at 01:57.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bridge_Too_Far_(film)












Tora! Tora! Tora!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

For the Melvins album, see Tora Tora Tora (album). For the MAX song, see Tora Tora Tora (song).

Tora! Tora! Tora!
ToraToraTora1970.png
Original movie poster

Directed by
Richard Fleischer
Japanese sequences:
Toshio Masuda
Kinji Fukasaku
Produced by
Elmo Williams
 Richard Fleischer
Screenplay by
Larry Forrester
 Hideo Oguni
 Ryuzo Kikushima
Uncredited:
Akira Kurosawa
Based on
Tora! Tora! Tora! by
Gordon W. Prange
 and The Broken Seal by
Ladislas Farago
Starring
Martin Balsam
Joseph Cotten
Sō Yamamura
 Tatsuya Mihashi
E. G. Marshall
James Whitmore
Jason Robards
Music by
Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography
Charles F. Wheeler
 Shinsaku Himeda
 Masamichi Satoh
 Osamu Furuya
Edited by
Pembroke J. Herring
Chikaya Inoue
James E. Newcom
Distributed by
20th Century Fox
Release dates
September 23, 1970

Running time
144 minutes
Country
United States
 Japan
Language
English/Japanese
Budget
$25,485,000[1][2]
Box office
$29,548,291 (domestic)[3]
Tora! Tora! Tora! (Japanese: トラ・トラ・トラ) is a 1970 American–Japanese war film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and stars an ensemble cast, including Martin Balsam, Joseph Cotten, Sō Yamamura, E. G. Marshall, James Whitmore and Jason Robards.
The title is the Japanese code-word used to indicate that complete surprise had been achieved. Tora (虎, pronounced [tòɽá])) literally means "tiger", but in this case was an acronym for totsugeki raigeki　(突撃雷撃, "lightning attack").


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
4 Historical accuracy
5 Reception
6 Honors
7 Popular culture
8 See also
9 References 9.1 Notes
9.2 Citations
9.3 Bibliography
10 External links

Plot[edit]
In 1941, the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (Sō Yamamura) and his predecessor, Zengo Yoshida (Junya Usami), discuss America's embargo that starves Japan of raw materials. While both agree that a war with the United States would be a complete disaster, army hotheads and politicians push through an alliance with Germany and start planning for war. With the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, Yamamoto orders the planning of a preventive strike, believing Japan's only hope is to annihilate the American Pacific fleet at the outset of hostilities.
When planning the attack, the Japanese commanders modify their torpedoes to dive to only 35 ft, negating Pearl Harbor’s shallow waters, which the Americans feel is a natural defense against torpedoes. In a major intelligence victory, American intelligence in Washington manages to break the Japanese Purple Code, allowing the United States to intercept secret Japanese radio transmissions.
Japanese commanders call on the famous Air Staff Officer Minoru Genda (Tatsuya Mihashi) to mastermind the attack. Genda's Japanese Naval Academy classmate, Mitsuo Fuchida (Takahiro Tamura), is chosen to be the leader of the attack.[4] At Pearl Harbor, although hampered by a late-arriving critical intelligence report about the attack fleet, Admiral Kimmel (Martin Balsam) and General Short (Jason Robards) do their best to enhance defenses. Short orders his aircraft to be concentrated in the middle of their airfields to prevent sabotage, though leaving them vulnerable to an air raid.
Diplomatic tensions increase between the U.S. and Japan as the Japanese ambassador continues negotiations to avoid war. Army General Tojo (Asao Uchida) is adamantly opposed to any last minute attempts at peace. The Japanese commence a series of 14 radio messages from Tokyo to the Japanese embassy in Washington that will conclude with the declaration of war. The final message will be received precisely at 1:00 pm on December 7, after which the Japanese embassy is to destroy the code machines, an ominous point. Attempts to convey this message to American commanders fail because it is Sunday and they have the day off. Finally, Chief of Naval Operations Harold R. Stark (Edward Andrews) is informed of the increased threat, but decides not to inform Hawaii until after calling the President, although it is not clear if he takes any action at all.
Finally, at 11:30 am, Colonel Bratton (E. G. Marshall) convinces the Army Chief of Staff, General George Marshall (Keith Andes), that a greater threat exists, and Marshall orders that Pearl Harbor be notified of an impending attack. An American destroyer, USS Ward (DD-139), spots a Japanese midget submarine trying to slip through the defensive net and enter Pearl Harbor, sinks it, and notifies the base. Although the receiving officer, Lieutenant Kaminsky (Neville Brand), takes the report of an attempted foreign incursion seriously, Captain John Earle (Richard Anderson) at Pearl Harbor demands confirmation before calling an alert. Admiral Kimmel later learns of this negligence and is furious he was not told of this foreign action immediately. Meanwhile, the two privates posted at the remote radar spot the incoming Japanese aircraft and inform the Hickham Field Information Center, but the Army Air Forces Lieutenant in charge, Kermit Tyler (Jerry Cox), dismisses the report, thinking it is a group of American B-17 bombers coming from the mainland.
The Japanese intend to break off negotiations at 1:00 pm, 30 minutes before the attack. However, the typist for the Japanese ambassador is slow, and cannot decode the 14th message fast enough. A final attempt to warn Pearl Harbor is stymied by poor atmospherics and bungling when the telegram is not marked urgent; it will be received by Pearl Harbor after the attack. The incoming Japanese fighter pilots don't even receive any anti-aircraft fire as they approach the base. As a result, the squadron leader radios in the code phrase marking that complete surprise for the attack has been achieved: "Tora! Tora! Tora!"
Once the attack is launched, the Americans are not even aware that they are under an organized attack until the first bomb detonates, and their resulting hasty response is desperate and only partially effective. The aircraft security precautions prove a disastrous mistake that allows the Japanese aerial forces to destroy the U.S. aircraft on the ground with ease, thereby crippling an effective aerial counter-attack: all the aircraft on the runways at the major airfields were destroyed either as they took off or while they were still parked. Two American fighter pilots (portrayals of Second Lieutenants Ken Taylor and George Welch) race to remote Haleiwa and manage to take off to engage the enemy, as the Japanese have not hit the smaller airfields.
The catastrophic damage to the naval base is widespread, with sailors fighting as long as they can and then abandoning sinking ships and jumping into the water with burning oil on the surface. At the end of the attacks, with the Pearl Harbor base in flames, its frustrated commanders finally get the Pentagon's telegram warning them of impending danger. The Secretary of State, Cordell Hull (George Macready), is stunned at learning of this brazen attack and urgently requests confirmation of it before receiving the Japanese ambassador, who is waiting just outside his office. In Washington, the distraught Japanese ambassador (Shōgo Shimada), helpless to explain the late ultimatum and the unprovoked sneak attack, is bluntly rebuffed by Hull.
The Japanese fleet commander, Admiral Chuichi Nagumo (Eijiro Tono), refuses to launch the third wave of carrier aircraft out of fear of exposing his six carriers to increased risk of detection and destruction from the still-absent U.S. carriers. At his home base, Admiral Yamamoto laments the fact that the Americans did not receive the declaration of war until after the attack had started, noting that nothing would infuriate the Americans more. He says: "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."[N 1]
Cast[edit]
The film was deliberately cast with actors who were not true box-office stars, in order to place the emphasis on the story rather than the actors who were in it. The original cast list had included many Japanese amateurs.[6] Cast in credits order:[7]
Martin Balsam as Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet
So Yamamura as Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander-in-Chief, Combined Fleet
Joseph Cotten as Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson
Tatsuya Mihashi as Commander Minoru Genda, Air Staff, 1st Air Fleet
E. G. Marshall as Colonel Rufus S. Bratton, Chief, Far Eastern Section, Military Intelligence Division, War Department
James Whitmore as Vice Admiral William F. Halsey, Commander, Aircraft Battle Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet
Takahiro Tamura as Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, Commander, Air Group, Akagi
Eijiro Tono as Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, Commander-in-Chief, 1st Air Fleet
Jason Robards as Lieutenant General Walter C. Short, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Army Forces Hawaii
Wesley Addy as Lieutenant Commander Alwin D. Kramer, Cryptographer, OP-20-G
Shogo Shimada as Admiral Kichisaburo Nomura, Japanese Ambassador to the United States
Frank Aletter as Lieutenant Commander Francis J. Thomas, Command Duty Officer, USS Nevada
Koreya Senda as Prime Minister Prince Fumimaro Konoe
Leon Ames as Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox
Junya Usami as Admiral Zengo Yoshida, Minister of the Navy
Richard Anderson as Captain John B. Earle, Chief of Staff, 14th Naval District
Kazuo Kitamura as Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka
Keith Andes as General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army
Susumu Fujita as Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, Commander, Second Carrier Division
Edward Andrews as Admiral Harold R. Stark, Chief of Naval Operations
Bontaro Miyake as Admiral Koshiro Oikawa, Minister of the Navy
Neville Brand as Lieutenant Harold Kaminski, Duty Officer, 14th Naval District
Ichiro Ryuzaki as Rear Admiral Ryunosuke Kusaka, Chief of Staff, 1st Air Fleet
Leora Dana as Mrs. Kramer
Asao Uchida as Rikugun Taishō (General) Hideki Tojo, Minister of War
George Macready as Secretary of State Cordell Hull
Norman Alden as Major Truman H. Landon, Commanding Officer, 38th Reconnaissance Squadron
Kazuko Ichikawa as Geisha in Kagoshima
Walter Brooke as Captain Theodore S. Wilkinson, Director of Naval Intelligence
Hank Jones as Davey, civilian student pilot
Rick Cooper as Second Lieutenant George Welch, pilot, 47th Pursuit Squadron
Karl Lukas as Captain Harold C. Train, Chief of Staff, Battle Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet
June Dayton as Ray Cave, secretary, OP-20-G
Ron Masak as Lieutenant Lawrence E. Ruff, Communications Officer, USS Nevada
Jeff Donnell as Cornelia Clark Fort, civilian flying instructor
Shunichi Nakamura as Captain Kameto "Gandhi" Kurishima, Senior Staff Officer, Combined Fleet
Richard Erdman as Colonel Edward F. French, Chief, War Department Signal Center
Hiroshi Nihonyanagi as Rear Admiral Chuichi Hara, Commander, 5th Carrier Division
Jerry Fogel as Lieutenant Commander William W. Outerbridge, Commanding Officer, USS Ward
Carl Reindel as Second Lieutenant Kenneth M. Taylor, pilot, 47th Pursuit Squadron
Elven Havard as Mess Attendant 3rd Class Doris Miller, USS West Virginia
Edmon Ryan as Rear Admiral Patrick N. L. Bellinger, Commander, Patrol Wing Two
Toshio Hosokawa as Lieutenant Commander Shigeharu Murata, Commander, 1st Torpedo Attack Unit, Akagi
Hisao Toake as Saburo Kurusu, Japanese Special Envoy to the United States
Toru Abe as Rear Admiral Takijiro Inishi, Chief of Staff, 11th Air Fleet (uncredited)
Hiroshi Akutagawa as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal Marquis Koichi Kido (uncredited)
Kiyoshi Atsumi as Japanese Cook #1 (uncredited)
Harold Conway as Counselor Eugene Dooman, U.S. Embassy in Tokyo (uncredited)
Dick Cook as Lieutenant Commander Logan C. Ramsey, Chief of Staff, Patrol Wing Two (uncredited)
Jerry Cox as First Lieutenant Kermit A. Tyler, Executive Officer, 78th Pursuit Squadron and Officer in Charge, Pearl Harbor Intercept Center (uncredited)
Mike Daneen as First Secretary Edward S. Crocker, U.S. Embassy in Tokyo (uncredited)
Francis De Sales as Lieutenant Commander Arthur H. McCollum, Head, Far East Asia Section, Office of Naval Intelligence (uncredited)
Dave Donnelly as Major Gordon A. Blake, Operations Officer, Hickam Field (uncredited)
Bill Edwards as Colonel Kendall J. Fielder, G-2 Intelligence Officer, U.S. Army Forces Hawaii (uncredited)
Dick Fair as Lieutenant Colonel Carroll A. Powell, Chief Signal Officer, U.S. Army Forces Hawaii (uncredited)
Charles Gilbert as Lieutenant Colonel William H. Murphy, Air Warning Development Officer, U.S. Army Forces Hawaii (uncredited)
Hisashi Igawa as Lieutenant Mitsuo Matsuzaki, pilot, 1st Torpedo Attack Unit, Akagi (uncredited)
Robert Karnes as Major John H. Dillon, Knox's aide (uncredited)
Randall Duk Kim as Tadao, Japanese messenger boy (uncredited)
Berry Kroeger as General (uncredited)
Akira Kume as First Secretary Katsuzo Okumura, Japanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. (uncredited)
Dan Leegant as George Street, RCA Honolulu District Manager (uncredited)
Ken Lynch as Rear Admiral John H. Newton, Commander, Cruisers, Scouting Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Commander, Task Force 12 (uncredited)
Mitch Mitchell as Colonel Walter C. Phillips, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Forces Hawaii (uncredited)
Walter Reed as Vice Admiral William S. Pye, Commander, Battle Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (uncredited)
Robert Shayne as Commander William H. Buracker, Operations Officer, Aircraft Battle Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (uncredited)
Edward Sheehan as Brigadier General Howard C. Davidson, Commander, 14th Pursuit Wing (uncredited)
Tommy Splittgerber as Ed Klein, RCA telegraph operator (uncredited)
G. D. Spradlin as Commander Maurice E. Curts, Communications Officer, U.S. Pacific Fleet (uncredited)
Larry Thor as Major General Frederick L. Martin, Commander, Hawaiian Air Force (uncredited)
George Tobias as Captain on Flight Line at Hickam Field (uncredited)
Harlan Warde as Brigadier General Leonard T. Gerow, Chief, War Plans Division, War Department (uncredited)
Meredith Weatherby as Joseph C. Grew, U.S. Ambassador to Japan (uncredited)
David Westberg as Ensign Edgar M. Fair, USS California (uncredited)
Bruce Wilson as Private Joseph L. Lockard, radar operator, Opana Point (uncredited)
Bill Zuckert as Admiral James O. Richardson, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet (uncredited)
Production[edit]



 The North American T-6 Texan stood in for the A6M Zero as there were no airworthy types at that time. Only Zeros from the carrier Akagi were depicted, identifiable by the single red band on the rear fuselage.


 A number of P-40 mockups were blown up during filming. This example, which was spared destruction, is currently on display at Wheeler Army Airfield, with markings identical to those of 2nd Lt George Welch.[8]
Veteran 20th Century Fox executive Darryl F. Zanuck, who had earlier produced The Longest Day (1962), wanted to create an epic that depicted what "really happened on December 7, 1941", with a "revisionist's approach". He believed that the commanders in Hawaii, General Short and Admiral Kimmel, though scapegoated for decades, provided adequate defensive measures for the apparent threats, including relocation of the fighter aircraft at Pearl Harbor to the middle of the base, in response to fears of sabotage from local Japanese. Despite a breakthrough in intelligence, they had received limited warning of the increasing risk of aerial attack.[1] Recognizing that a balanced and objective recounting was necessary, Zanuck developed an American-Japanese co-production, allowing for "a point of view from both nations."[9] He was helped out by his son, Richard D. Zanuck, who was chief executive at Fox during this time.
Production on Tora! Tora! Tora! took three years to plan and prepare for the eight months of principal photography.[9] The film was created in two separate productions, one based in the United States, directed by Richard Fleischer, and one based in Japan.[10] The Japanese side was initially to be directed by Akira Kurosawa, who worked on script development and pre-production for two years. But after two weeks of shooting, he was replaced by Toshio Masuda and Kinji Fukasaku, who directed the Japanese sections.[10][11]
Richard Fleischer said of renowned director Akira Kurosawa's role in the project:

Well, I always thought that even though Kurosawa was a genius at film making and indeed he was, I sincerely believe that he was miscast for this film, this was not his type of film to make, he never made anything like it and it just wasn't his style. I felt he was not only uncomfortable directing this kind of movie but also he wasn't used to having somebody tell him how he should make his film. He always had complete autonomy, and nobody would dare make a suggestion to Kurosawa about the budget, or shooting schedule, or anything like that. And then here he was, with Darryl Zanuck on his deck and Richard Zanuck on him and Elmo Williams and the production managers, and it was all stuff that he never had run into before, because he was always untouchable. I think he was getting more and more nervous and more insecure about how he was going to work on this film. And of course, the press got a hold of a lot of this unrest on the set and they made a lot out of that in Japan, and it was more pressure on him, and he wasn't used to that kind of pressure.[12]
Larry Forrester and frequent Kurosawa collaborators Hideo Oguni and Ryuzo Kikushima wrote the screenplay, based on books written by Ladislas Farago and Gordon Prange of the University of Maryland, who served as a technical consultant. Numerous technical advisors on both sides, some of whom had participated in the battle and/or planning, were crucial in maintaining the accuracy of the film. Minoru Genda, the man who largely planned and led the attack on Pearl Harbor was an uncredited technical advisor for the film.[1]
Four cinematographers were involved in the main photography: Charles F. Wheeler, Sinsaku Himeda, Masamichi Satoh and Osami Furuya.[13] They were jointly nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. A number of well-known cameramen also worked on the second units without credit, including Thomas Del Ruth and Rexford Metz.[13] The second unit doing miniature photography was directed by Ray Kellogg, while the second unit doing plane sequences was directed by Robert Enrietto.
Noted composer Jerry Goldsmith composed the film score and Robert McCall painted several scenes for various posters of the film.[14]
The flying scenes were complex to shoot, and can be compared to the 1969 film Battle of Britain. The 2001 film Pearl Harbor would contain cut scenes from both films.
The carrier entering Pearl Harbor towards the end of the film was in fact the Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LPH-10), returning to port. The "Japanese" aircraft carrier was the anti-submarine carrier USS Yorktown (CVS-10). The Japanese A6M Zero fighters, and somewhat longer "Kate" torpedo bombers or "Val" dive bombers were heavily modified RCAF Harvard (T-6 Texan) and BT-13 Valiant pilot training aircraft. The large fleet of Japanese aircraft was created by Lynn Garrison, a well-known aerial action coordinator, who produced a number of conversions. Garrison and Jack Canary coordinated the actual engineering work at facilities in the Los Angeles area. These aircraft still make appearances at air shows.[15]
In preparation for filming, the USS Yorktown (CVS-10) was berthed at North Island in San Diego to load all the aircraft, maintenance, and film crew prior to sailing to Hawaii. The night before filming the "Japanese" take-off scenes she sailed to a spot a few miles west of San Diego and at dawn the film crew filmed the launches of all the aircraft. Since these "Japanese" aircraft were not actual carrier based aircraft they did not have arresting gear with which to land back on the carrier, and continued on to land at North Island Naval Air Station. The USS Yorktown (CVS-10) sailed back to North Island and re-loaded the aircraft. She then sailed to Hawaii and the aircraft were off-loaded and used to film the attack scenes in and around Pearl Harbor. Aircraft Specialties of Mesa, AZ performed maintenance on the aircraft while in Hawaii.[citation needed]
A Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress’s actual crash landing during filming, a result of a jammed landing gear, was filmed and used in the final cut. The film crew received word that one of the B-17's could not lower their starboard landing gear so they quickly set up to film the "single gear" landing. The aircraft stayed aloft to use up as much fuel as possible, which gave the film crew some time to prepare, prior to landing. After viewing the "single gear" landing footage they decided to include it in the movie. In the sequence depicting the crash, only the final crash was actual footage. For the scenes leading up to the crash they manually retracted the starboard landing gear on a functioning B-17 and filmed the scenes of its final approach. After touching down on one wheel the pilot simply applied power and took off again. In the movie, all the approach footage was of this aircraft, and then, right at the moment of touchdown, they switch to the actual crash footage. The difference in production values between the actual footage and the final approach footage is quite clear. The B-17 that actually landed with one gear up sustained only minor damage to the starboard wing and propellers and was repaired and returned to service. A total of five Boeing B-17s were obtained for filming. Other U.S. aircraft used are the Consolidated PBY Catalina and, especially, the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk (two flyable examples were used). Predominately, P-40 fighters are used to depict the U.S. defenders with a full-scale P-40 used as a template for fiberglass replicas (some with working engines and props) that were strafed and blown up during filming.[16] Fleischer also said a scene involving a P-40 model crashing into the middle of a line of P-40s was unintended, as it was supposed to crash at the end of the line. The stuntmen involved in the scene were actually running for their lives.[17]
Historical accuracy[edit]



USS Yorktown during the filming of Tora! Tora! Tora!, 1968.
Parts of the film showing the takeoff of the Japanese aircraft utilize an Essex-class aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown, which was commissioned in 1943 and modernized after the war to have an angled flightdeck.[18] The ship was leased by the film producers, who needed an aircraft carrier for the film; Yorktown was scheduled to be decommissioned shortly afterwards. It was used largely in the takeoff sequence of the Japanese attack aircraft. The sequence shows interchanging shots of models of the Japanese aircraft carriers and the Yorktown. It does not look like any of the Japanese carriers involved in the attack, due to its large bridge island and its angled landing deck. The Japanese carriers had small bridge islands, and angled flight decks were not invented until after the war.[19] In addition, during the scene in which Admiral Halsey is watching bombing practice an aircraft carrier with the hull number 14 is shown. Admiral Halsey was on the USS Enterprise, not the Essex-class carrier USS Ticonderoga, which would not be commissioned until 1944. This is understandable, however, as both the Enterprise and all six of the Japanese carriers from the attack had been scrapped and sunk, respectively. Enterprise was scrapped in 1959, and four of the six, including Akagi, were sunk not six months after the attack at the Battle of Midway.
In Tora! Tora! Tora!, an error involves the model of the Japanese carrier Akagi. In the film, Akagi's bridge island is positioned on the starboard side of the ship, which is typical on most aircraft carriers. However, the aircraft carrier Akagi was an exception; its bridge island was on the port side of the ship. Despite this, the bridge section appeared accurately as a mirrored version of Akagi's real port-side bridge.[20] Secondly, all the Japanese aircraft in the footage bear the markings of Akagi's aircraft (a single vertical red stripe following the red sun symbol of Japan), even though five other aircraft carriers participated, each having its own markings. In addition, the markings do not display the aircraft's identification numbers as was the case in the actual battle. The white surround on the roundel on the Japanese aircraft was only used from 1942 onwards. Prior to this the roundel was red only.[21]
The USS Ward was an old "4-piper" destroyer commissioned in 1918; the ship used in the movie, USS Savage, which portrays the Ward looked far different from the original destroyer.[22] In addition, in the movie she fired two shots from her #1 turret. In reality, the Ward fired the first shot from the #1 4" un-turreted gunmount and the second shot from the #3 wing mount.[23]
A stern section of the USS Nevada was built that was also used to portray the USS Arizona and other U.S. battleships. The lattice mast (or cage mast) section of the Tennessee-class/Maryland-class battleship was built beside the set of the USS Nevada stern section, but not built upon a set of a deck, but on the ground as the footage in the movie only showed the cage mast tower. The large scale model of the stern shows the two aft gun turrets with three gun barrels in each; in reality, Nevada had two heightened fore and aft turrets with two barrels each while the lower two turrets fore and aft had three barrels each. Another model of Nevada, used in the film to portray the whole ship, displays the turrets accurately. It should be noted that the reason for this anomaly is because the aft section model was used in the film to portray both USS Nevada and USS Arizona. The ships looked remarkably similar except that Arizona had four triple turrets and a slightly different stern section. Footage and photographs not used in the film show the cage mast as being built on the ground. The USS Nevada/USS Arizona stern section was shown exploding to represent the explosion that destroyed the Arizona.
The film has a Japanese Zero fighter being damaged over a naval base and then deliberately crashing into a naval base hangar. This is actually a composite of three incidents at Pearl Harbor attack: in the first wave, a Japanese Zero crashed into Fort Kamehameha's ordnance building; in the second wave, a Japanese Zero did deliberately crash into a hillside after U.S. Navy CPO John William Finn at Naval Air Station at Kāneʻohe Bay had shot and damaged the aircraft; also during the second wave, a Japanese aircraft that was damaged crashed into the seaplane tender USS Curtiss.[24]
During a number of shots of the attack squadrons traversing across Oahu, a small cross can be seen on one of the mountainsides. The cross was actually erected after the attack as a memorial to the victims of the attack.[25]
Reception[edit]
At the time of its initial movie release, Tora! Tora! Tora! was thought to be a box office flop in North America,[26] although its domestic box office of $29,548,291 led to its being ranked the ninth highest-grossing film of 1970.[27] It was a major hit in Japan and over the years, home media releases provided a larger overall profit.[28][29]



 The Commemorative Air Force's Gulf Coast Wing's Tora! Tora! Tora! team still fly the movie's aircraft simulating the attack at airshows.
Roger Ebert felt that Tora! Tora! Tora! was "one of the deadest, dullest blockbusters ever made" and suffered from not having "some characters to identify with." In addition, he criticized the film for poor acting and special effects in his 1970 review.[30] Vincent Canby, reviewer for The New York Times, was similarly unimpressed, noting the film was "nothing less than a $25-million irrelevancy."[31] Variety also found the film to be boring; however, the magazine praised the film's action sequences and production values.[32] James Berardinelli, however, said it was "rare for a feature film to attain the trifecta of entertaining, informing, and educating."[33] Charles Champlin in his review for the Los Angeles Times on September 23, 1970, considered the movie's chief virtues as a "spectacular", and the careful recreation of an historical event.[34]
Despite the initial negative reviews, the film was critically acclaimed for its vivid action scenes, and found favor with aviation and history aficionados.[35] However, even the team of Jack Hardwick and Ed Schnepf who have been involved in research on aviation films, had relegated Tora! Tora! Tora! to the "also-ran" status, due to its slow-moving plotline.[35] The film holds a 59% "Fresh" rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes,[36] based on 27 critical reviews. In 1994, a survey at the USS Arizona Memorial in Honolulu determined that for Americans the film was the most common source of popular knowledge about the Pearl Harbor attack. [37]
Several later films and TV series relating to World War II in the Pacific have used footage from Tora! Tora! Tora! due to the film's "almost perfect documentary accuracy". These productions include the films Midway (1976; in the Tora! Tora! Tora! DVD commentary, Fleischer is angry that Universal used the footage), Pearl (TV mini-series 1978), From Here to Eternity (TV mini-series 1979), The Final Countdown (1980), and Australia (2008) as well as the Magnum, P. I. television series episode titled "Lest We Forget" (first airdate February 12, 1981).[38]
Honors[edit]
Despite the initial negative reviews, Tora! Tora! Tora! was nominated for five Academy Awards winning one for its Visual Effects.
Winner Best Special Effects (L.B. Abbott, A.D. Flowers}[34]
Nominee Best Art Direction (Jack Martin Smith, Yoshirō Muraki, Richard Day, Taizô Kawashima, Walter M. Scott, Norman Rockett, Carl Biddiscombe)
Nominee Best Cinematography (Charles F. Wheeler, Osamu Furuya, Shinsaku Himeda, Masamichi Satoh)
Nominee Best Film Editing (James E. Newcom, Pembroke J. Herring, Shinya Inoue)
Nominee Best Sound (Murray Spivack, Herman Lewis).[39]
Popular culture[edit]
The name of the film has been borrowed – and parodied – for various media productions, including the "Torah Torah Torah" episodes of the television shows Magnum, P.I. and NYPD Blue, the band Tora! Tora! Torrance!, the Toyah Willcox live album Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!, the Depeche Mode song "Tora! Tora! Tora!" from their first album Speak & Spell, and the Tory! Tory! Tory! documentary on Thatcherism.
See also[edit]
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Isoroku Yamamoto's sleeping giant quote
Pearl Harbor (film)
List of historical drama films
List of historical drama films of Asia
References[edit]
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ The exact quote in context is believed to be fabricated but likely based on an interpretation of a later 1942 quote by Yamamoto: "A military man can scarcely pride himself on having 'smitten a sleeping enemy'; it is more a matter of shame, simply, for the one smitten. I would rather you made your appraisal after seeing what the enemy does, since it is certain that, angered and outraged, he will soon launch a determined counterattack."[5]
Citations[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c Parish 1990, p. 411.
2.Jump up ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p256
3.Jump up ^ "Box Office Information for Tora! Tora! Tora!" The Numbers. Retrieved: January 9, 2012.
4.Jump up ^ Shinsato and Urabe 2011, Chapters 19, 20.
5.Jump up ^ Agawa 2000, p. 38.
6.Jump up ^ Steffen, James. "Tora, Tora, Tora." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: February 12, 2012.
7.Jump up ^ "Tora, Tora, Tora (1970) Full credits." imdb. Retrieved: May 5, 2009.
8.Jump up ^ Loran Doane (12 Jun 2008), Historic P-40 aircraft returns to 'action' near Kawamura Gate, United States Army, retrieved 22 Mar 2013
9.^ Jump up to: a b Orriss 1984, pp. 194–195.
10.^ Jump up to: a b Galbraith 2002, p. 156.
11.Jump up ^ Friis, Christian. "Tora! Tora! Tora!, Twentieth Century Fox, 1970". Pearl Harbor in the Movies, what to see..., November 5, 2002. Retrieved: May 5, 2009.
12.Jump up ^ Galbraith, Stewart. "Stuart Galbraith IV interview of Richard Fleischer." Tora! Tora! Tora! DVD commentary. Los Angeles: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Inc., 2001, Time stamp: 26:17–27:47.
13.^ Jump up to: a b ASC Magazine, March 2012: DVD Playback - Tora! Tora! Tora! Retrieved 2013-01-19
14.Jump up ^ Hanson, David. "Artwork for ‘Tora! Tora! Tora!’". Dave’s Warbirds, July 16, 2008. Retrieved: May 5, 2009.
15.Jump up ^ "Tora! Tora! Tora!" Commemorative Air Force. Retrieved: February 12, 2012.
16.Jump up ^ Hathaway 1969, p. 52.
17.Jump up ^ O'Hara 1969, p. 23.
18.Jump up ^ "USS Yorktown ." patriotspoint.org. Retrieved: February 12, 2012.
19.Jump up ^ Hone, Thomas C., Norman Friedman and Mark D. Mandeles. Innovation in Carrier Aviation: Newport Paper 37. Newport, Rhode Island: Naval War College Press: 2011. ISBN 978-1-884733-85-7.
20.Jump up ^ Orriss 1984, p. 196.
21.Jump up ^ Robertson 1961, pp. 160–161.
22.Jump up ^ "Tora, Tora, Tora, Chapter 9." .usssavagededer386.org. Retrieved: May 18, 2013.
23.Jump up ^ Storch, Paul S. "Conservation Treatment of the USS Ward forward gun: Minnesota State Capital Mall." Minnesota Historical Society, July 2006. Retrieved: February 12, 2012.
24.Jump up ^ Carnes 1996, pp. 228–231.
25.Jump up ^ "Introduction to Central Oahu." hawaiiforvisitors.com. Retrieved: February 12, 2012.
26.Jump up ^ "Flop! Flop! Flop! (Box office receipts of war film 'Tora! Tora! Tora!')." Variety. Retrieved: February 12, 2012.
27.Jump up ^ "Tora! Tora! Tora! Domestic Box Office." The Numbers. Retrieved: February 12, 2012.
28.Jump up ^ Parish 1990, p. 412.
29.Jump up ^ "Tora! Tora! Tora!" dvdmoviecentral.com. Retrieved: February 12, 2012.
30.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger. "Tora! Tora! Tora! (review)" Chicago Sun-Times, October 12, 1970. Retrieved: April 1, 2008.
31.Jump up ^ Canby, Vincent. "Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)" The New York Times, September 24, 1970. Retrieved: August 27, 2011.
32.Jump up ^ Variety staff. "Excerpt from the 1970 Variety review." Variety, January 1, 1970. Retrieved: April 1, 2008.
33.Jump up ^ Berardinelli, James. "Tora, Tora, Tora." Movie Reviews. Retrieved: February 12, 2012.
34.^ Jump up to: a b Orriss 1984, p. 200.
35.^ Jump up to: a b Hardwick and Schnepf 1989, p. 62.
36.Jump up ^ "Movie Reviews for 'Tora! Tora! Tora!'." Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved: January 29, 2012.
37.Jump up ^ Binational Pearl Harbor. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
38.Jump up ^ Dolan 1985, p. 87.
39.Jump up ^ Canby, Vincent. "Tora! Tora! Tora!" The New York Times, September 24, 1970. Retrieved: March 11, 2009.
Bibliography[edit]
Agawa, Hiroyuki. The Reluctant Admiral: Yamamoto and the Imperial Navy. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2000. ISBN 4-7700-2539-4.
Dolan, Edward F. Jr. Hollywood Goes to War. London: Bison Books, 1985. ISBN 0-86124-229-7.
Galbraith, Stuart, IV. The Emperor and the Wolf: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune. New York: Faber & Faber, Inc., 2002. ISBN 0-571-19982-8.
Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies." The Making of the Great Aviation Films. General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989.
Hathaway, John. "Tora! Tora! Tora!" Flying Review, Vol. 25, No. 3, July 1969.
O'Hara, Bob. "Tora Tora Tora: A great historical flying film." Air Classics, Volume 6, No. 1, October 1969.
Carnes, Mark C. "Tora! Tora! Tora!" Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies. New York: Holt, 1996. ISBN 978-0-8050-3760-9.
Orriss, Bruce. When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II. Hawthorn, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984. ISBN 0-9613088-0-X.
Parish, James Robert. The Great Combat Pictures: Twentieth-Century Warfare on the Screen. Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press, 1990. ISBN 978-0-8108-2315-0.
Prange, Gordon. "Tora! Tora! Tora!" Reader's Digest, October, November, 1963.
Robertson, Bruce. Aircraft Camouflage and Markings, 1907-1954. London: Harleyford Publications, 1961. ISBN 978-0-8168-6355-6.
Shinsato, Douglas and Tadanori Urabe. For That One Day: The Memoirs of Mitsuo Fuchida, Commander of the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Kamuela, Hawaii: eXperience, inc., 2011. ISBN 978-0-9846745-0-3.
Thorsten, Marie and Geoffrey White. “Binational Pearl Harbor?: Tora! Tora! Tora! and the Fate of (Trans)national Memory.” The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, December 27, 2010.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Tora! Tora! Tora!
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tora! Tora! Tora!.
Tora! Tora! Tora! at the Internet Movie Database
Tora! Tora! Tora! at AllMovie
Tora! Tora! Tora! at Rotten Tomatoes
Prange, Gordon W.


[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Richard Fleischer




















































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Toshio Masuda













[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Kinji Fukasaku




























































 


Categories: 1970 films
American war films
Japanese war films
English-language films
Japanese-language films
World War II aviation films
Films directed by Kinji Fukasaku
Films directed by Richard Fleischer
Films set in 1941
Films set in Tokyo
Films set in Washington, D.C.
Films shot in Honolulu, Hawaii
Films based on actual events
Films that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award
Pearl Harbor films
Seafaring films based on actual events
World War II films based on actual events
War epic films
United States Navy in World War II films
20th Century Fox films
Toei Company films
Films about the United States Army Air Forces
Aviation films
Film scores by Jerry Goldsmith









Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Български
Català
Deutsch
Español
Euskara
Français
한국어
Bahasa Indonesia
Italiano
Nederlands
日本語
Polski
Português
Русский
Suomi
Svenska
Türkçe
Українська
粵語
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 25 September 2014 at 22:07.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tora!_Tora!_Tora!












Tora! Tora! Tora!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

For the Melvins album, see Tora Tora Tora (album). For the MAX song, see Tora Tora Tora (song).

Tora! Tora! Tora!
ToraToraTora1970.png
Original movie poster

Directed by
Richard Fleischer
Japanese sequences:
Toshio Masuda
Kinji Fukasaku
Produced by
Elmo Williams
 Richard Fleischer
Screenplay by
Larry Forrester
 Hideo Oguni
 Ryuzo Kikushima
Uncredited:
Akira Kurosawa
Based on
Tora! Tora! Tora! by
Gordon W. Prange
 and The Broken Seal by
Ladislas Farago
Starring
Martin Balsam
Joseph Cotten
Sō Yamamura
 Tatsuya Mihashi
E. G. Marshall
James Whitmore
Jason Robards
Music by
Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography
Charles F. Wheeler
 Shinsaku Himeda
 Masamichi Satoh
 Osamu Furuya
Edited by
Pembroke J. Herring
Chikaya Inoue
James E. Newcom
Distributed by
20th Century Fox
Release dates
September 23, 1970

Running time
144 minutes
Country
United States
 Japan
Language
English/Japanese
Budget
$25,485,000[1][2]
Box office
$29,548,291 (domestic)[3]
Tora! Tora! Tora! (Japanese: トラ・トラ・トラ) is a 1970 American–Japanese war film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and stars an ensemble cast, including Martin Balsam, Joseph Cotten, Sō Yamamura, E. G. Marshall, James Whitmore and Jason Robards.
The title is the Japanese code-word used to indicate that complete surprise had been achieved. Tora (虎, pronounced [tòɽá])) literally means "tiger", but in this case was an acronym for totsugeki raigeki　(突撃雷撃, "lightning attack").


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
4 Historical accuracy
5 Reception
6 Honors
7 Popular culture
8 See also
9 References 9.1 Notes
9.2 Citations
9.3 Bibliography
10 External links

Plot[edit]
In 1941, the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (Sō Yamamura) and his predecessor, Zengo Yoshida (Junya Usami), discuss America's embargo that starves Japan of raw materials. While both agree that a war with the United States would be a complete disaster, army hotheads and politicians push through an alliance with Germany and start planning for war. With the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, Yamamoto orders the planning of a preventive strike, believing Japan's only hope is to annihilate the American Pacific fleet at the outset of hostilities.
When planning the attack, the Japanese commanders modify their torpedoes to dive to only 35 ft, negating Pearl Harbor’s shallow waters, which the Americans feel is a natural defense against torpedoes. In a major intelligence victory, American intelligence in Washington manages to break the Japanese Purple Code, allowing the United States to intercept secret Japanese radio transmissions.
Japanese commanders call on the famous Air Staff Officer Minoru Genda (Tatsuya Mihashi) to mastermind the attack. Genda's Japanese Naval Academy classmate, Mitsuo Fuchida (Takahiro Tamura), is chosen to be the leader of the attack.[4] At Pearl Harbor, although hampered by a late-arriving critical intelligence report about the attack fleet, Admiral Kimmel (Martin Balsam) and General Short (Jason Robards) do their best to enhance defenses. Short orders his aircraft to be concentrated in the middle of their airfields to prevent sabotage, though leaving them vulnerable to an air raid.
Diplomatic tensions increase between the U.S. and Japan as the Japanese ambassador continues negotiations to avoid war. Army General Tojo (Asao Uchida) is adamantly opposed to any last minute attempts at peace. The Japanese commence a series of 14 radio messages from Tokyo to the Japanese embassy in Washington that will conclude with the declaration of war. The final message will be received precisely at 1:00 pm on December 7, after which the Japanese embassy is to destroy the code machines, an ominous point. Attempts to convey this message to American commanders fail because it is Sunday and they have the day off. Finally, Chief of Naval Operations Harold R. Stark (Edward Andrews) is informed of the increased threat, but decides not to inform Hawaii until after calling the President, although it is not clear if he takes any action at all.
Finally, at 11:30 am, Colonel Bratton (E. G. Marshall) convinces the Army Chief of Staff, General George Marshall (Keith Andes), that a greater threat exists, and Marshall orders that Pearl Harbor be notified of an impending attack. An American destroyer, USS Ward (DD-139), spots a Japanese midget submarine trying to slip through the defensive net and enter Pearl Harbor, sinks it, and notifies the base. Although the receiving officer, Lieutenant Kaminsky (Neville Brand), takes the report of an attempted foreign incursion seriously, Captain John Earle (Richard Anderson) at Pearl Harbor demands confirmation before calling an alert. Admiral Kimmel later learns of this negligence and is furious he was not told of this foreign action immediately. Meanwhile, the two privates posted at the remote radar spot the incoming Japanese aircraft and inform the Hickham Field Information Center, but the Army Air Forces Lieutenant in charge, Kermit Tyler (Jerry Cox), dismisses the report, thinking it is a group of American B-17 bombers coming from the mainland.
The Japanese intend to break off negotiations at 1:00 pm, 30 minutes before the attack. However, the typist for the Japanese ambassador is slow, and cannot decode the 14th message fast enough. A final attempt to warn Pearl Harbor is stymied by poor atmospherics and bungling when the telegram is not marked urgent; it will be received by Pearl Harbor after the attack. The incoming Japanese fighter pilots don't even receive any anti-aircraft fire as they approach the base. As a result, the squadron leader radios in the code phrase marking that complete surprise for the attack has been achieved: "Tora! Tora! Tora!"
Once the attack is launched, the Americans are not even aware that they are under an organized attack until the first bomb detonates, and their resulting hasty response is desperate and only partially effective. The aircraft security precautions prove a disastrous mistake that allows the Japanese aerial forces to destroy the U.S. aircraft on the ground with ease, thereby crippling an effective aerial counter-attack: all the aircraft on the runways at the major airfields were destroyed either as they took off or while they were still parked. Two American fighter pilots (portrayals of Second Lieutenants Ken Taylor and George Welch) race to remote Haleiwa and manage to take off to engage the enemy, as the Japanese have not hit the smaller airfields.
The catastrophic damage to the naval base is widespread, with sailors fighting as long as they can and then abandoning sinking ships and jumping into the water with burning oil on the surface. At the end of the attacks, with the Pearl Harbor base in flames, its frustrated commanders finally get the Pentagon's telegram warning them of impending danger. The Secretary of State, Cordell Hull (George Macready), is stunned at learning of this brazen attack and urgently requests confirmation of it before receiving the Japanese ambassador, who is waiting just outside his office. In Washington, the distraught Japanese ambassador (Shōgo Shimada), helpless to explain the late ultimatum and the unprovoked sneak attack, is bluntly rebuffed by Hull.
The Japanese fleet commander, Admiral Chuichi Nagumo (Eijiro Tono), refuses to launch the third wave of carrier aircraft out of fear of exposing his six carriers to increased risk of detection and destruction from the still-absent U.S. carriers. At his home base, Admiral Yamamoto laments the fact that the Americans did not receive the declaration of war until after the attack had started, noting that nothing would infuriate the Americans more. He says: "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."[N 1]
Cast[edit]
The film was deliberately cast with actors who were not true box-office stars, in order to place the emphasis on the story rather than the actors who were in it. The original cast list had included many Japanese amateurs.[6] Cast in credits order:[7]
Martin Balsam as Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet
So Yamamura as Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander-in-Chief, Combined Fleet
Joseph Cotten as Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson
Tatsuya Mihashi as Commander Minoru Genda, Air Staff, 1st Air Fleet
E. G. Marshall as Colonel Rufus S. Bratton, Chief, Far Eastern Section, Military Intelligence Division, War Department
James Whitmore as Vice Admiral William F. Halsey, Commander, Aircraft Battle Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet
Takahiro Tamura as Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, Commander, Air Group, Akagi
Eijiro Tono as Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, Commander-in-Chief, 1st Air Fleet
Jason Robards as Lieutenant General Walter C. Short, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Army Forces Hawaii
Wesley Addy as Lieutenant Commander Alwin D. Kramer, Cryptographer, OP-20-G
Shogo Shimada as Admiral Kichisaburo Nomura, Japanese Ambassador to the United States
Frank Aletter as Lieutenant Commander Francis J. Thomas, Command Duty Officer, USS Nevada
Koreya Senda as Prime Minister Prince Fumimaro Konoe
Leon Ames as Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox
Junya Usami as Admiral Zengo Yoshida, Minister of the Navy
Richard Anderson as Captain John B. Earle, Chief of Staff, 14th Naval District
Kazuo Kitamura as Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka
Keith Andes as General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army
Susumu Fujita as Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, Commander, Second Carrier Division
Edward Andrews as Admiral Harold R. Stark, Chief of Naval Operations
Bontaro Miyake as Admiral Koshiro Oikawa, Minister of the Navy
Neville Brand as Lieutenant Harold Kaminski, Duty Officer, 14th Naval District
Ichiro Ryuzaki as Rear Admiral Ryunosuke Kusaka, Chief of Staff, 1st Air Fleet
Leora Dana as Mrs. Kramer
Asao Uchida as Rikugun Taishō (General) Hideki Tojo, Minister of War
George Macready as Secretary of State Cordell Hull
Norman Alden as Major Truman H. Landon, Commanding Officer, 38th Reconnaissance Squadron
Kazuko Ichikawa as Geisha in Kagoshima
Walter Brooke as Captain Theodore S. Wilkinson, Director of Naval Intelligence
Hank Jones as Davey, civilian student pilot
Rick Cooper as Second Lieutenant George Welch, pilot, 47th Pursuit Squadron
Karl Lukas as Captain Harold C. Train, Chief of Staff, Battle Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet
June Dayton as Ray Cave, secretary, OP-20-G
Ron Masak as Lieutenant Lawrence E. Ruff, Communications Officer, USS Nevada
Jeff Donnell as Cornelia Clark Fort, civilian flying instructor
Shunichi Nakamura as Captain Kameto "Gandhi" Kurishima, Senior Staff Officer, Combined Fleet
Richard Erdman as Colonel Edward F. French, Chief, War Department Signal Center
Hiroshi Nihonyanagi as Rear Admiral Chuichi Hara, Commander, 5th Carrier Division
Jerry Fogel as Lieutenant Commander William W. Outerbridge, Commanding Officer, USS Ward
Carl Reindel as Second Lieutenant Kenneth M. Taylor, pilot, 47th Pursuit Squadron
Elven Havard as Mess Attendant 3rd Class Doris Miller, USS West Virginia
Edmon Ryan as Rear Admiral Patrick N. L. Bellinger, Commander, Patrol Wing Two
Toshio Hosokawa as Lieutenant Commander Shigeharu Murata, Commander, 1st Torpedo Attack Unit, Akagi
Hisao Toake as Saburo Kurusu, Japanese Special Envoy to the United States
Toru Abe as Rear Admiral Takijiro Inishi, Chief of Staff, 11th Air Fleet (uncredited)
Hiroshi Akutagawa as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal Marquis Koichi Kido (uncredited)
Kiyoshi Atsumi as Japanese Cook #1 (uncredited)
Harold Conway as Counselor Eugene Dooman, U.S. Embassy in Tokyo (uncredited)
Dick Cook as Lieutenant Commander Logan C. Ramsey, Chief of Staff, Patrol Wing Two (uncredited)
Jerry Cox as First Lieutenant Kermit A. Tyler, Executive Officer, 78th Pursuit Squadron and Officer in Charge, Pearl Harbor Intercept Center (uncredited)
Mike Daneen as First Secretary Edward S. Crocker, U.S. Embassy in Tokyo (uncredited)
Francis De Sales as Lieutenant Commander Arthur H. McCollum, Head, Far East Asia Section, Office of Naval Intelligence (uncredited)
Dave Donnelly as Major Gordon A. Blake, Operations Officer, Hickam Field (uncredited)
Bill Edwards as Colonel Kendall J. Fielder, G-2 Intelligence Officer, U.S. Army Forces Hawaii (uncredited)
Dick Fair as Lieutenant Colonel Carroll A. Powell, Chief Signal Officer, U.S. Army Forces Hawaii (uncredited)
Charles Gilbert as Lieutenant Colonel William H. Murphy, Air Warning Development Officer, U.S. Army Forces Hawaii (uncredited)
Hisashi Igawa as Lieutenant Mitsuo Matsuzaki, pilot, 1st Torpedo Attack Unit, Akagi (uncredited)
Robert Karnes as Major John H. Dillon, Knox's aide (uncredited)
Randall Duk Kim as Tadao, Japanese messenger boy (uncredited)
Berry Kroeger as General (uncredited)
Akira Kume as First Secretary Katsuzo Okumura, Japanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. (uncredited)
Dan Leegant as George Street, RCA Honolulu District Manager (uncredited)
Ken Lynch as Rear Admiral John H. Newton, Commander, Cruisers, Scouting Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Commander, Task Force 12 (uncredited)
Mitch Mitchell as Colonel Walter C. Phillips, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Forces Hawaii (uncredited)
Walter Reed as Vice Admiral William S. Pye, Commander, Battle Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (uncredited)
Robert Shayne as Commander William H. Buracker, Operations Officer, Aircraft Battle Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (uncredited)
Edward Sheehan as Brigadier General Howard C. Davidson, Commander, 14th Pursuit Wing (uncredited)
Tommy Splittgerber as Ed Klein, RCA telegraph operator (uncredited)
G. D. Spradlin as Commander Maurice E. Curts, Communications Officer, U.S. Pacific Fleet (uncredited)
Larry Thor as Major General Frederick L. Martin, Commander, Hawaiian Air Force (uncredited)
George Tobias as Captain on Flight Line at Hickam Field (uncredited)
Harlan Warde as Brigadier General Leonard T. Gerow, Chief, War Plans Division, War Department (uncredited)
Meredith Weatherby as Joseph C. Grew, U.S. Ambassador to Japan (uncredited)
David Westberg as Ensign Edgar M. Fair, USS California (uncredited)
Bruce Wilson as Private Joseph L. Lockard, radar operator, Opana Point (uncredited)
Bill Zuckert as Admiral James O. Richardson, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet (uncredited)
Production[edit]



 The North American T-6 Texan stood in for the A6M Zero as there were no airworthy types at that time. Only Zeros from the carrier Akagi were depicted, identifiable by the single red band on the rear fuselage.


 A number of P-40 mockups were blown up during filming. This example, which was spared destruction, is currently on display at Wheeler Army Airfield, with markings identical to those of 2nd Lt George Welch.[8]
Veteran 20th Century Fox executive Darryl F. Zanuck, who had earlier produced The Longest Day (1962), wanted to create an epic that depicted what "really happened on December 7, 1941", with a "revisionist's approach". He believed that the commanders in Hawaii, General Short and Admiral Kimmel, though scapegoated for decades, provided adequate defensive measures for the apparent threats, including relocation of the fighter aircraft at Pearl Harbor to the middle of the base, in response to fears of sabotage from local Japanese. Despite a breakthrough in intelligence, they had received limited warning of the increasing risk of aerial attack.[1] Recognizing that a balanced and objective recounting was necessary, Zanuck developed an American-Japanese co-production, allowing for "a point of view from both nations."[9] He was helped out by his son, Richard D. Zanuck, who was chief executive at Fox during this time.
Production on Tora! Tora! Tora! took three years to plan and prepare for the eight months of principal photography.[9] The film was created in two separate productions, one based in the United States, directed by Richard Fleischer, and one based in Japan.[10] The Japanese side was initially to be directed by Akira Kurosawa, who worked on script development and pre-production for two years. But after two weeks of shooting, he was replaced by Toshio Masuda and Kinji Fukasaku, who directed the Japanese sections.[10][11]
Richard Fleischer said of renowned director Akira Kurosawa's role in the project:

Well, I always thought that even though Kurosawa was a genius at film making and indeed he was, I sincerely believe that he was miscast for this film, this was not his type of film to make, he never made anything like it and it just wasn't his style. I felt he was not only uncomfortable directing this kind of movie but also he wasn't used to having somebody tell him how he should make his film. He always had complete autonomy, and nobody would dare make a suggestion to Kurosawa about the budget, or shooting schedule, or anything like that. And then here he was, with Darryl Zanuck on his deck and Richard Zanuck on him and Elmo Williams and the production managers, and it was all stuff that he never had run into before, because he was always untouchable. I think he was getting more and more nervous and more insecure about how he was going to work on this film. And of course, the press got a hold of a lot of this unrest on the set and they made a lot out of that in Japan, and it was more pressure on him, and he wasn't used to that kind of pressure.[12]
Larry Forrester and frequent Kurosawa collaborators Hideo Oguni and Ryuzo Kikushima wrote the screenplay, based on books written by Ladislas Farago and Gordon Prange of the University of Maryland, who served as a technical consultant. Numerous technical advisors on both sides, some of whom had participated in the battle and/or planning, were crucial in maintaining the accuracy of the film. Minoru Genda, the man who largely planned and led the attack on Pearl Harbor was an uncredited technical advisor for the film.[1]
Four cinematographers were involved in the main photography: Charles F. Wheeler, Sinsaku Himeda, Masamichi Satoh and Osami Furuya.[13] They were jointly nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. A number of well-known cameramen also worked on the second units without credit, including Thomas Del Ruth and Rexford Metz.[13] The second unit doing miniature photography was directed by Ray Kellogg, while the second unit doing plane sequences was directed by Robert Enrietto.
Noted composer Jerry Goldsmith composed the film score and Robert McCall painted several scenes for various posters of the film.[14]
The flying scenes were complex to shoot, and can be compared to the 1969 film Battle of Britain. The 2001 film Pearl Harbor would contain cut scenes from both films.
The carrier entering Pearl Harbor towards the end of the film was in fact the Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LPH-10), returning to port. The "Japanese" aircraft carrier was the anti-submarine carrier USS Yorktown (CVS-10). The Japanese A6M Zero fighters, and somewhat longer "Kate" torpedo bombers or "Val" dive bombers were heavily modified RCAF Harvard (T-6 Texan) and BT-13 Valiant pilot training aircraft. The large fleet of Japanese aircraft was created by Lynn Garrison, a well-known aerial action coordinator, who produced a number of conversions. Garrison and Jack Canary coordinated the actual engineering work at facilities in the Los Angeles area. These aircraft still make appearances at air shows.[15]
In preparation for filming, the USS Yorktown (CVS-10) was berthed at North Island in San Diego to load all the aircraft, maintenance, and film crew prior to sailing to Hawaii. The night before filming the "Japanese" take-off scenes she sailed to a spot a few miles west of San Diego and at dawn the film crew filmed the launches of all the aircraft. Since these "Japanese" aircraft were not actual carrier based aircraft they did not have arresting gear with which to land back on the carrier, and continued on to land at North Island Naval Air Station. The USS Yorktown (CVS-10) sailed back to North Island and re-loaded the aircraft. She then sailed to Hawaii and the aircraft were off-loaded and used to film the attack scenes in and around Pearl Harbor. Aircraft Specialties of Mesa, AZ performed maintenance on the aircraft while in Hawaii.[citation needed]
A Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress’s actual crash landing during filming, a result of a jammed landing gear, was filmed and used in the final cut. The film crew received word that one of the B-17's could not lower their starboard landing gear so they quickly set up to film the "single gear" landing. The aircraft stayed aloft to use up as much fuel as possible, which gave the film crew some time to prepare, prior to landing. After viewing the "single gear" landing footage they decided to include it in the movie. In the sequence depicting the crash, only the final crash was actual footage. For the scenes leading up to the crash they manually retracted the starboard landing gear on a functioning B-17 and filmed the scenes of its final approach. After touching down on one wheel the pilot simply applied power and took off again. In the movie, all the approach footage was of this aircraft, and then, right at the moment of touchdown, they switch to the actual crash footage. The difference in production values between the actual footage and the final approach footage is quite clear. The B-17 that actually landed with one gear up sustained only minor damage to the starboard wing and propellers and was repaired and returned to service. A total of five Boeing B-17s were obtained for filming. Other U.S. aircraft used are the Consolidated PBY Catalina and, especially, the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk (two flyable examples were used). Predominately, P-40 fighters are used to depict the U.S. defenders with a full-scale P-40 used as a template for fiberglass replicas (some with working engines and props) that were strafed and blown up during filming.[16] Fleischer also said a scene involving a P-40 model crashing into the middle of a line of P-40s was unintended, as it was supposed to crash at the end of the line. The stuntmen involved in the scene were actually running for their lives.[17]
Historical accuracy[edit]



USS Yorktown during the filming of Tora! Tora! Tora!, 1968.
Parts of the film showing the takeoff of the Japanese aircraft utilize an Essex-class aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown, which was commissioned in 1943 and modernized after the war to have an angled flightdeck.[18] The ship was leased by the film producers, who needed an aircraft carrier for the film; Yorktown was scheduled to be decommissioned shortly afterwards. It was used largely in the takeoff sequence of the Japanese attack aircraft. The sequence shows interchanging shots of models of the Japanese aircraft carriers and the Yorktown. It does not look like any of the Japanese carriers involved in the attack, due to its large bridge island and its angled landing deck. The Japanese carriers had small bridge islands, and angled flight decks were not invented until after the war.[19] In addition, during the scene in which Admiral Halsey is watching bombing practice an aircraft carrier with the hull number 14 is shown. Admiral Halsey was on the USS Enterprise, not the Essex-class carrier USS Ticonderoga, which would not be commissioned until 1944. This is understandable, however, as both the Enterprise and all six of the Japanese carriers from the attack had been scrapped and sunk, respectively. Enterprise was scrapped in 1959, and four of the six, including Akagi, were sunk not six months after the attack at the Battle of Midway.
In Tora! Tora! Tora!, an error involves the model of the Japanese carrier Akagi. In the film, Akagi's bridge island is positioned on the starboard side of the ship, which is typical on most aircraft carriers. However, the aircraft carrier Akagi was an exception; its bridge island was on the port side of the ship. Despite this, the bridge section appeared accurately as a mirrored version of Akagi's real port-side bridge.[20] Secondly, all the Japanese aircraft in the footage bear the markings of Akagi's aircraft (a single vertical red stripe following the red sun symbol of Japan), even though five other aircraft carriers participated, each having its own markings. In addition, the markings do not display the aircraft's identification numbers as was the case in the actual battle. The white surround on the roundel on the Japanese aircraft was only used from 1942 onwards. Prior to this the roundel was red only.[21]
The USS Ward was an old "4-piper" destroyer commissioned in 1918; the ship used in the movie, USS Savage, which portrays the Ward looked far different from the original destroyer.[22] In addition, in the movie she fired two shots from her #1 turret. In reality, the Ward fired the first shot from the #1 4" un-turreted gunmount and the second shot from the #3 wing mount.[23]
A stern section of the USS Nevada was built that was also used to portray the USS Arizona and other U.S. battleships. The lattice mast (or cage mast) section of the Tennessee-class/Maryland-class battleship was built beside the set of the USS Nevada stern section, but not built upon a set of a deck, but on the ground as the footage in the movie only showed the cage mast tower. The large scale model of the stern shows the two aft gun turrets with three gun barrels in each; in reality, Nevada had two heightened fore and aft turrets with two barrels each while the lower two turrets fore and aft had three barrels each. Another model of Nevada, used in the film to portray the whole ship, displays the turrets accurately. It should be noted that the reason for this anomaly is because the aft section model was used in the film to portray both USS Nevada and USS Arizona. The ships looked remarkably similar except that Arizona had four triple turrets and a slightly different stern section. Footage and photographs not used in the film show the cage mast as being built on the ground. The USS Nevada/USS Arizona stern section was shown exploding to represent the explosion that destroyed the Arizona.
The film has a Japanese Zero fighter being damaged over a naval base and then deliberately crashing into a naval base hangar. This is actually a composite of three incidents at Pearl Harbor attack: in the first wave, a Japanese Zero crashed into Fort Kamehameha's ordnance building; in the second wave, a Japanese Zero did deliberately crash into a hillside after U.S. Navy CPO John William Finn at Naval Air Station at Kāneʻohe Bay had shot and damaged the aircraft; also during the second wave, a Japanese aircraft that was damaged crashed into the seaplane tender USS Curtiss.[24]
During a number of shots of the attack squadrons traversing across Oahu, a small cross can be seen on one of the mountainsides. The cross was actually erected after the attack as a memorial to the victims of the attack.[25]
Reception[edit]
At the time of its initial movie release, Tora! Tora! Tora! was thought to be a box office flop in North America,[26] although its domestic box office of $29,548,291 led to its being ranked the ninth highest-grossing film of 1970.[27] It was a major hit in Japan and over the years, home media releases provided a larger overall profit.[28][29]



 The Commemorative Air Force's Gulf Coast Wing's Tora! Tora! Tora! team still fly the movie's aircraft simulating the attack at airshows.
Roger Ebert felt that Tora! Tora! Tora! was "one of the deadest, dullest blockbusters ever made" and suffered from not having "some characters to identify with." In addition, he criticized the film for poor acting and special effects in his 1970 review.[30] Vincent Canby, reviewer for The New York Times, was similarly unimpressed, noting the film was "nothing less than a $25-million irrelevancy."[31] Variety also found the film to be boring; however, the magazine praised the film's action sequences and production values.[32] James Berardinelli, however, said it was "rare for a feature film to attain the trifecta of entertaining, informing, and educating."[33] Charles Champlin in his review for the Los Angeles Times on September 23, 1970, considered the movie's chief virtues as a "spectacular", and the careful recreation of an historical event.[34]
Despite the initial negative reviews, the film was critically acclaimed for its vivid action scenes, and found favor with aviation and history aficionados.[35] However, even the team of Jack Hardwick and Ed Schnepf who have been involved in research on aviation films, had relegated Tora! Tora! Tora! to the "also-ran" status, due to its slow-moving plotline.[35] The film holds a 59% "Fresh" rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes,[36] based on 27 critical reviews. In 1994, a survey at the USS Arizona Memorial in Honolulu determined that for Americans the film was the most common source of popular knowledge about the Pearl Harbor attack. [37]
Several later films and TV series relating to World War II in the Pacific have used footage from Tora! Tora! Tora! due to the film's "almost perfect documentary accuracy". These productions include the films Midway (1976; in the Tora! Tora! Tora! DVD commentary, Fleischer is angry that Universal used the footage), Pearl (TV mini-series 1978), From Here to Eternity (TV mini-series 1979), The Final Countdown (1980), and Australia (2008) as well as the Magnum, P. I. television series episode titled "Lest We Forget" (first airdate February 12, 1981).[38]
Honors[edit]
Despite the initial negative reviews, Tora! Tora! Tora! was nominated for five Academy Awards winning one for its Visual Effects.
Winner Best Special Effects (L.B. Abbott, A.D. Flowers}[34]
Nominee Best Art Direction (Jack Martin Smith, Yoshirō Muraki, Richard Day, Taizô Kawashima, Walter M. Scott, Norman Rockett, Carl Biddiscombe)
Nominee Best Cinematography (Charles F. Wheeler, Osamu Furuya, Shinsaku Himeda, Masamichi Satoh)
Nominee Best Film Editing (James E. Newcom, Pembroke J. Herring, Shinya Inoue)
Nominee Best Sound (Murray Spivack, Herman Lewis).[39]
Popular culture[edit]
The name of the film has been borrowed – and parodied – for various media productions, including the "Torah Torah Torah" episodes of the television shows Magnum, P.I. and NYPD Blue, the band Tora! Tora! Torrance!, the Toyah Willcox live album Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!, the Depeche Mode song "Tora! Tora! Tora!" from their first album Speak & Spell, and the Tory! Tory! Tory! documentary on Thatcherism.
See also[edit]
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Isoroku Yamamoto's sleeping giant quote
Pearl Harbor (film)
List of historical drama films
List of historical drama films of Asia
References[edit]
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ The exact quote in context is believed to be fabricated but likely based on an interpretation of a later 1942 quote by Yamamoto: "A military man can scarcely pride himself on having 'smitten a sleeping enemy'; it is more a matter of shame, simply, for the one smitten. I would rather you made your appraisal after seeing what the enemy does, since it is certain that, angered and outraged, he will soon launch a determined counterattack."[5]
Citations[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c Parish 1990, p. 411.
2.Jump up ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p256
3.Jump up ^ "Box Office Information for Tora! Tora! Tora!" The Numbers. Retrieved: January 9, 2012.
4.Jump up ^ Shinsato and Urabe 2011, Chapters 19, 20.
5.Jump up ^ Agawa 2000, p. 38.
6.Jump up ^ Steffen, James. "Tora, Tora, Tora." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: February 12, 2012.
7.Jump up ^ "Tora, Tora, Tora (1970) Full credits." imdb. Retrieved: May 5, 2009.
8.Jump up ^ Loran Doane (12 Jun 2008), Historic P-40 aircraft returns to 'action' near Kawamura Gate, United States Army, retrieved 22 Mar 2013
9.^ Jump up to: a b Orriss 1984, pp. 194–195.
10.^ Jump up to: a b Galbraith 2002, p. 156.
11.Jump up ^ Friis, Christian. "Tora! Tora! Tora!, Twentieth Century Fox, 1970". Pearl Harbor in the Movies, what to see..., November 5, 2002. Retrieved: May 5, 2009.
12.Jump up ^ Galbraith, Stewart. "Stuart Galbraith IV interview of Richard Fleischer." Tora! Tora! Tora! DVD commentary. Los Angeles: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Inc., 2001, Time stamp: 26:17–27:47.
13.^ Jump up to: a b ASC Magazine, March 2012: DVD Playback - Tora! Tora! Tora! Retrieved 2013-01-19
14.Jump up ^ Hanson, David. "Artwork for ‘Tora! Tora! Tora!’". Dave’s Warbirds, July 16, 2008. Retrieved: May 5, 2009.
15.Jump up ^ "Tora! Tora! Tora!" Commemorative Air Force. Retrieved: February 12, 2012.
16.Jump up ^ Hathaway 1969, p. 52.
17.Jump up ^ O'Hara 1969, p. 23.
18.Jump up ^ "USS Yorktown ." patriotspoint.org. Retrieved: February 12, 2012.
19.Jump up ^ Hone, Thomas C., Norman Friedman and Mark D. Mandeles. Innovation in Carrier Aviation: Newport Paper 37. Newport, Rhode Island: Naval War College Press: 2011. ISBN 978-1-884733-85-7.
20.Jump up ^ Orriss 1984, p. 196.
21.Jump up ^ Robertson 1961, pp. 160–161.
22.Jump up ^ "Tora, Tora, Tora, Chapter 9." .usssavagededer386.org. Retrieved: May 18, 2013.
23.Jump up ^ Storch, Paul S. "Conservation Treatment of the USS Ward forward gun: Minnesota State Capital Mall." Minnesota Historical Society, July 2006. Retrieved: February 12, 2012.
24.Jump up ^ Carnes 1996, pp. 228–231.
25.Jump up ^ "Introduction to Central Oahu." hawaiiforvisitors.com. Retrieved: February 12, 2012.
26.Jump up ^ "Flop! Flop! Flop! (Box office receipts of war film 'Tora! Tora! Tora!')." Variety. Retrieved: February 12, 2012.
27.Jump up ^ "Tora! Tora! Tora! Domestic Box Office." The Numbers. Retrieved: February 12, 2012.
28.Jump up ^ Parish 1990, p. 412.
29.Jump up ^ "Tora! Tora! Tora!" dvdmoviecentral.com. Retrieved: February 12, 2012.
30.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger. "Tora! Tora! Tora! (review)" Chicago Sun-Times, October 12, 1970. Retrieved: April 1, 2008.
31.Jump up ^ Canby, Vincent. "Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)" The New York Times, September 24, 1970. Retrieved: August 27, 2011.
32.Jump up ^ Variety staff. "Excerpt from the 1970 Variety review." Variety, January 1, 1970. Retrieved: April 1, 2008.
33.Jump up ^ Berardinelli, James. "Tora, Tora, Tora." Movie Reviews. Retrieved: February 12, 2012.
34.^ Jump up to: a b Orriss 1984, p. 200.
35.^ Jump up to: a b Hardwick and Schnepf 1989, p. 62.
36.Jump up ^ "Movie Reviews for 'Tora! Tora! Tora!'." Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved: January 29, 2012.
37.Jump up ^ Binational Pearl Harbor. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
38.Jump up ^ Dolan 1985, p. 87.
39.Jump up ^ Canby, Vincent. "Tora! Tora! Tora!" The New York Times, September 24, 1970. Retrieved: March 11, 2009.
Bibliography[edit]
Agawa, Hiroyuki. The Reluctant Admiral: Yamamoto and the Imperial Navy. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2000. ISBN 4-7700-2539-4.
Dolan, Edward F. Jr. Hollywood Goes to War. London: Bison Books, 1985. ISBN 0-86124-229-7.
Galbraith, Stuart, IV. The Emperor and the Wolf: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune. New York: Faber & Faber, Inc., 2002. ISBN 0-571-19982-8.
Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies." The Making of the Great Aviation Films. General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989.
Hathaway, John. "Tora! Tora! Tora!" Flying Review, Vol. 25, No. 3, July 1969.
O'Hara, Bob. "Tora Tora Tora: A great historical flying film." Air Classics, Volume 6, No. 1, October 1969.
Carnes, Mark C. "Tora! Tora! Tora!" Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies. New York: Holt, 1996. ISBN 978-0-8050-3760-9.
Orriss, Bruce. When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II. Hawthorn, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984. ISBN 0-9613088-0-X.
Parish, James Robert. The Great Combat Pictures: Twentieth-Century Warfare on the Screen. Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press, 1990. ISBN 978-0-8108-2315-0.
Prange, Gordon. "Tora! Tora! Tora!" Reader's Digest, October, November, 1963.
Robertson, Bruce. Aircraft Camouflage and Markings, 1907-1954. London: Harleyford Publications, 1961. ISBN 978-0-8168-6355-6.
Shinsato, Douglas and Tadanori Urabe. For That One Day: The Memoirs of Mitsuo Fuchida, Commander of the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Kamuela, Hawaii: eXperience, inc., 2011. ISBN 978-0-9846745-0-3.
Thorsten, Marie and Geoffrey White. “Binational Pearl Harbor?: Tora! Tora! Tora! and the Fate of (Trans)national Memory.” The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, December 27, 2010.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Tora! Tora! Tora!
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tora! Tora! Tora!.
Tora! Tora! Tora! at the Internet Movie Database
Tora! Tora! Tora! at AllMovie
Tora! Tora! Tora! at Rotten Tomatoes
Prange, Gordon W.


[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Richard Fleischer




















































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Toshio Masuda













[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Kinji Fukasaku




























































 


Categories: 1970 films
American war films
Japanese war films
English-language films
Japanese-language films
World War II aviation films
Films directed by Kinji Fukasaku
Films directed by Richard Fleischer
Films set in 1941
Films set in Tokyo
Films set in Washington, D.C.
Films shot in Honolulu, Hawaii
Films based on actual events
Films that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award
Pearl Harbor films
Seafaring films based on actual events
World War II films based on actual events
War epic films
United States Navy in World War II films
20th Century Fox films
Toei Company films
Films about the United States Army Air Forces
Aviation films
Film scores by Jerry Goldsmith









Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Български
Català
Deutsch
Español
Euskara
Français
한국어
Bahasa Indonesia
Italiano
Nederlands
日本語
Polski
Português
Русский
Suomi
Svenska
Türkçe
Українська
粵語
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 25 September 2014 at 22:07.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tora!_Tora!_Tora!











The Longest Day (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

For other uses, see The Longest Day.

The Longest Day
Original movie poster for the film The Longest Day.jpg
original movie poster

Directed by
Ken Annakin (British & French exteriors)
Andrew Marton (American exteriors)
Bernhard Wicki (German episodes)

Produced by
Darryl F. Zanuck
Screenplay by
Cornelius Ryan
Romain Gary
James Jones
David Pursall
Jack Seddon

Based on
The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan
Starring
John Wayne
Henry Fonda
Robert Mitchum
Sean Connery
Eddie Albert
Curd Jürgens
Richard Todd
Richard Burton
Peter Lawford
Rod Steiger
Irina Demick
Gert Fröbe
Edmond O'Brien
Kenneth More

Music by
Maurice Jarre
Cinematography
Jean Bourgoin
Walter Wottitz

Edited by
Samuel E. Beetley
Production
 company
Darryl F. Zanuck Productions, Inc.

Distributed by
20th Century Fox
Release dates
September 25, 1962 (France, U.S.)
October 4, 1962 (Canada)
October 23, 1962 (Germany, Mexico, UK)

Running time
178 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
German
French

Budget
$7.75 million[1]
Box office
$50,100,000[2]
The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about D-Day, the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, during World War II. The film was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck, who paid the book's author Ryan US$175,000 for the film rights.[3] The screenplay was by Ryan, with additional material written by Romain Gary, James Jones, David Pursall and Jack Seddon. It was directed by Ken Annakin (British and French exteriors), Andrew Marton (American exteriors), and Bernhard Wicki (German scenes).
The Longest Day, which was made in black and white, features a large ensemble cast including John Wayne, Kenneth More, Richard Todd, Robert Mitchum, Richard Burton, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Red Buttons, Rod Steiger, Leo Genn, Peter Lawford, Gert Fröbe, Irina Demick, Bourvil, Curt Jürgens, Robert Wagner, Paul Anka and Arletty. Many of these actors played roles that were virtually cameo appearances and several cast members such as Fonda, Genn, More, Steiger and Todd saw action as servicemen during the war, with Todd actually being among the first British officers to land in Normandy in Operation Overlord and participated in the assault on Pegasus Bridge.
The film employed several Axis and Allied military consultants who had been actual participants on D-Day. Many had their roles re-enacted in the film. These included: Günther Blumentritt (a former German general), James M. Gavin (an American general), Frederick Morgan (Deputy Chief of Staff at SHAEF), John Howard (who led the airborne assault on the Pegasus Bridge), Lord Lovat (who commanded the 1st Special Service Brigade), Philippe Kieffer (who led his men in the assault on Ouistreham), Pierre Koenig (who commanded the Free French Forces in the invasion), Max Pemsel (a German general), Werner Pluskat (the major who was the first German officer to see the invasion fleet), Josef "Pips" Priller (the hot-headed pilot) and Lucie Rommel (widow of Erwin Rommel).


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast 2.1 American
2.2 British
2.3 French
2.4 German
3 Production 3.1 Filming
3.2 Casting
4 Release
5 Awards & nominations
6 References
7 External links

Plot[edit]
The Longest Day is filmed in the style of a docudrama. Beginning in the days leading up to D-Day, the film concentrates on events on both sides of the channel such as the Allies waiting for the break in the poor weather and the anticipation of the Axis forces defending northern France. The film pays particular attention to the decision by General Eisenhower, supreme commander of SHAEF, to go after reviewing the initial bad weather reports as well as the divisions within the German High Command on where an invasion might happen or what response to it should be.
Numerous scenes document the early hours of 6 June when Allied airborne troops were sent in to take key locations. The French resistance is also shown reacting to the news that an invasion has started. The Longest Day chronicles most of the important events surrounding D-Day. From the British glider missions to secure Pegasus Bridge, the counterattacks launched by American paratroopers scattered around Sainte-Mère-Église, the infiltration and sabotage work conducted by the French resistance and SOE agents, and the response by the Wehrmacht to the invasion and the uncertainty to whether it was a feint in preparation for crossings at the Pas de Calais (see Operation Fortitude).
Set piece scenes include the parachute drop into Sainte-Mère-Église, the advance inshore from the Normandy beaches, the US Ranger Assault Group's assault on the Pointe du Hoc, the attack on Ouistreham by Free French Forces and the strafing of the beaches by two lone Luftwaffe pilots.
The film concludes with a montage showing various Allied units consolidating their beachheads before the advance inland begins to liberate France.
Cast[edit]
American[edit]

Actor
Role
Eddie Albert Colonel Thompson, 29th Infantry Division
Paul Anka US Army Ranger
Richard Beymer Private Arthur 'Dutch' Schultz, 82nd Airborne Division
Red Buttons John Steele, 82nd Airborne Division
Mark Damon Private Harris
Ray Danton Captain Frank
Fred Dur US Army Ranger Major
Fabian Forte US Army Ranger
Mel Ferrer Major General Robert Haines
Henry Fonda Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., Deputy Commander 4th Infantry Div.
Steve Forrest Captain Harding, 82nd Airborne Division
Henry Grace General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander
Peter Helm Young GI
Jeffrey Hunter Sergeant (later Lt.) John H. Fuller
Alexander Knox Lieutenant General Walter Bedell Smith, SHAEF Chief of Staff
Dewey Martin Private Wilder (role cut from released version)
Roddy McDowall Private Morris, 4th Infantry Division
John Meillon Admiral Alan G. Kirk, Senior US Naval Commander
Sal Mineo Private Martini
Robert Mitchum Brigadier General Norman Cota, Asst. Commander 29th Infantry Div.
Edmond O'Brien Major General Raymond O. Barton, Commander 4th Infantry Div.
Ron Randell Joe Williams
Robert Ryan Brigadier General James M. Gavin, Asst. Commander 82nd Airborne Div.
Tommy Sands US Army Ranger
George Segal US Army Ranger
Rod Steiger Destroyer Commander
Nicholas Stuart Lieutenant General Omar N. Bradley, Commander US First Army
Tom Tryon Lieutenant Wilson, 82nd Airborne Division
Robert Wagner US Army Ranger
John Wayne Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort, Commander 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Reg.
Stuart Whitman Lieutenant Sheen, 82nd Airborne Division
British[edit]

Actor
Role
Patrick Barr Group Captain J.M. Stagg
Richard Burton Flying Officer David Campbell
Bryan Coleman Ronald Callen
Sean Connery Private Flanagan
Leslie de Laspee Private Bill Millin, No. 4 Commando (Piper on Beach)
Frank Finlay Private Coke, 2nd Oxford & Bucks L.I.
Harry Fowler Paratrooper, 6th Airborne Division
Bernard Fox Private Hutchinson, 3rd Infantry Division
Leo Genn Brigadier Edwin P. Parker Jr.
Harold Goodwin Private, 2nd Oxford & Bucks L.I.
John Gregson Padre, 6th Airborne Division
Jack Hedley RAF Briefing Officer
Donald Houston RAF pilot at flight base
Simon Lack Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Commander Allied Air Forces
Peter Lawford Brigadier Lord Lovat, Commander 1st Special Service Brigade
Howard Marion-Crawford Glider Doctor
Michael Medwin Private Watney, 3rd Infantry Division
Kenneth More Capt. Colin Maud Royal Navy beach master
Louis Mounier Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander
Leslie Phillips Royal Air Force officer
Trevor Reid General Sir Bernard Montgomery, Commander Allied Ground Forces
John Robinson Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, Commander Allied Naval Forces
Norman Rossington Private Clough
Richard Todd Major John Howard, OC D Company, 2nd Oxford & Bucks L.I.
Richard Wattis British Paratrooper officer, 6th Airborne Division
French[edit]

Actor
Role
Arletty Madame Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault Father Louis Roulland
André Bourvil Mayor of Colleville
Pauline Carton Maid
Gil Delamare Naval Commando (also was the leading stunt director of the film)
Irina Demick Janine Boitard (French Resistance)
Bernard Fresson Navy Commando
Fernand Ledoux Louis
Christian Marquand Capitaine de Frégate Philippe Kieffer
 Commander French Navy commandos
Madeleine Renaud Mother Superior
Georges Rivière Sergeant Guy de Montlaur
Jean Servais Contre-amiral Jaujard
Georges Wilson Alexandre Renaud
German[edit]

Actor
Role
Hans Christian Blech Major Werner Pluskat, 352nd Infantry Division
Wolfgang Büttner Generalleutnant Dr. Hans Speidel, chief of staff, Army Group B
Robert Freitag Meyer's aide
Gert Fröbe Unteroffizier "Kaffeekanne" ("coffee pot")
Paul Hartmann Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt, commander OB West
Werner Hinz Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel, commander Army Group B
Karl John Generalleutnant Wolfgang Häger
Curt Jürgens General der Infanterie Günther Blumentritt, chief of staff, OB West
Til Kiwe Hauptmann Helmuth Lang, Rommel's aide
Wolfgang Lukschy Generaloberst Alfred Jodl, chief of staff, OKW
Kurt Meisel Ernst Düring
Richard Münch General der Artillerie Erich Marcks, commander LXXXIV Army Corps
Hartmut Reck Bernhard Bergsdorf
Heinz Reincke Oberst Josef Priller, commander JG 26
Ernst Schröder Generaloberst Hans von Salmuth, commander 15th Army
Heinz Spitzner Helmuth Meyer
Wolfgang Preiss Generalmajor Max Pemsel chief of intelligence, 7th Army
Peter van Eyck Oberstleutnant Ocker, Pluskat's Commanding Officer
Vicco "Loriot" von Bülow Luftwaffe Chief's aide
Production[edit]
Filming[edit]
The film was shot at several French locations including the Île de Ré, Saleccia beach in Saint-Florent, Haute-Corse, Port-en-Bessin-Huppain filling in for Ouistreham, Les Studios de Boulogne in Boulogne-Billancourt and the actual locations of Pegasus Bridge near Bénouville, Calvados, Sainte-Mère-Église and Pointe du Hoc.[4]
During the filming of the landings at Omaha Beach, the extras appearing as American soldiers did not want to jump off the landing craft into the water because they thought it would be too cold. Robert Mitchum, who played General Norman Cota, became disgusted with their trepidation. He jumped in first, at which point the extras followed his example.
The Rupert paradummies used in the film were far more elaborate and lifelike than those actually used for the decoy parachute drop (Operation Titanic), which were actually just canvas or burlap sacks filled with sand. In the real operation, six Special Air Service soldiers jumped with the dummies and played recordings of loud battle noises to distract the Germans.
At $10,000,000, this film was the most expensive black-and-white film made until 1993, when Schindler's List was released.[3]
In the scenes where the paratroopers land, the background noise of frogs croaking "ribbit ribbit" was wrong for northern French frog species and showed that the film probably used an American recording of background night noises.
Colin Maud loaned Kenneth More the shillelagh he carried ashore in the actual invasion, while Richard Todd wore the actual D-Day helmet worn by Major John Howard.
In the film, 3 Free French Special Air Service paratroopers jumped into France before British and American airborne landings. This is accurate. 36 Free French SAS (4 sticks) jumped into Brittany (Plumelec and Duault) on June 5 (11 h 30). The first Allied soldier killed in action was Lieutenant Den Brotheridge of the 2nd Ox & Bucks Light Infantry as he crossed Pegasus Bridge at 0h 22m on 6 June.
The United States Sixth Fleet extensively supported the filming and made available many amphibious landing ships and craft for scenes filmed in Corsica, though many of the ships were of (then) modern vintage. The USS Springfield (CL-66), and USS Little Rock (CL-92), both World War II light cruisers (though extensively reconfigured into guided missile cruisers) were used in the shore bombardment scenes, though it was easy to tell they did not resemble their wartime configuration.
Gerd Oswald was the uncredited director of the parachute drop scenes into Sainte-Mère-Église. Darryl F. Zanuck said he did some uncredited pick-ups, the American and British interiors.[5]
Elmo Williams was credited as associate producer and coordinator of battle episodes. He later produced another historical WWII film Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) for Zanuck. Similar to The Longest Day, it used a docudrama style, though it was in color. It focused on the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Casting[edit]



John Wayne in The Longest DayCharlton Heston actively sought the role of Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin H. Vandervoort but the last-minute decision of John Wayne to take the role prevented Heston's participation. At 55, Wayne was 28 years older than Vandervoort at the time of action (and 10 years older in real life). While everyone else accepted $25,000 as payment, John Wayne insisted on $250,000 to punish producer Zanuck for referring to him as "poor John Wayne" regarding Wayne's problems with his lavish movie The Alamo.[6]
Sergeant Kaffeekanne's name is German for "coffee pot", which he always carries.
It is a common misconception that Bill Millin, the piper who accompanies Lord Lovat to Normandy with his bagpipes, played himself in the film. He was actually portrayed by Pipe Major Leslie de Laspee, the official piper to the Queen Mother in 1961.[7][8]
In Sainte-Mère-Église, Private John Steele from the 82nd Airborne (played by Red Buttons) has been memorialised by the local population with a dummy hanging from a parachute from the church tower on which he accidentally landed.
Richard Todd, who played Major John Howard, leader of the British Airborne assault on the Pegasus Bridge, took part in the real bridge assault on D-Day. Todd was offered the chance to play himself but took the part of Major John Howard instead. In the film, shortly after the British have captured the Orne bridge (later renamed Horsa Bridge), one of the soldiers tells Todd, playing Howard, that all they have to do now is sit tight and await the arrival of the 7th Parachute Battalion, to which Todd's character replies dismissively: "the Paras are always late". This was a private joke, Todd had been the adjutant of the 7th Parachute Battalion on D-Day.
Joseph Lowe landed on Omaha Beach and scaled the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc on D-Day. He repeated the climb for the cameras 17 years later as a serving member of the 505th Airborne Battle Group who provided US Army film extras.
Former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower was considered for the role of himself in the film, and he indicated his willingness. However, it was decided that makeup artists couldn't make him appear young enough to play his World War II self. The role of General Eisenhower went to Henry Grace, a set decorator with no acting experience, but who had been in the film industry since the mid-1930s. He was a dead ringer for the younger Eisenhower, though his voice differed.
The film marked the last film appearance of Sean Connery before he was cast in the role of James Bond. Gert Fröbe (Sergeant Kaffeekanne) and Curd Jürgens (General Günther Blumentritt) would later go on to play Bond villains Auric Goldfinger (Goldfinger (1964)) and Karl Stromberg (The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)) respectively. Connery would later play Major General Roy Urquhart in the 1977 film A Bridge too Far which was also based on a book by Cornelius Ryan. (Likewise Wolfgang Preiss played Major General Max Pemsel in The Longest Day and Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt in A Bridge too Far.)
Mel Ferrer was originally signed to play the role of General James M. Gavin but withdrew from the role due to a scheduling conflict.[9]
According to the 2001 documentary Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood, Richard Burton and Roddy McDowall were so bored having not been used for several weeks while filming in Rome, they phoned Zanuck begging to do "anything" on his film. They flew themselves to the location and each did a day's filming for their cameo-performances for free.
Release[edit]
The film premièred in France on 25 September 1962, followed by the United States on 4 October and 23 October for the United Kingdom.
There were special release showing of the film in several United States cities. Participants in D-Day were invited to see the film with their fellow soldiers—in Cleveland, Ohio, this took place at the Hippodrome Theater.[citation needed]
Unique for British and American produced World War II films of the time, all French and German characters speak in their own languages with subtitles in English. Another version, which was shot simultaneously, has all the actors speaking their lines in English (this version was used for the film's trailer as all the Germans deliver their lines in English). However this version saw limited use during the initial release. It was used more extensively during a late 1960s re-release of the film.
The English-only version has been featured as an extra on older single disc DVD releases.
Awards & nominations[edit]
Academy Awards for Best Art Direction (1962): Ted Haworth, Léon Barsacq, Vincent Korda and Gabriel Béchir (nominated)[10]
Academy Awards for Best Cinematography (1962): Jean Bourgoin and Walter Wottitz (won)[10]
Academy Awards for Best Editing (1962): Samuel E. Beetley (nominated)[10]
Academy Awards for Best Picture (1962): (nominated)[10]
Academy Awards for Best Special Effects (1962): Robert MacDonald and Jacques Maumont (won)[10]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p253
2.Jump up ^ Box Office Information for The Longest Day. The Numbers. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
3.^ Jump up to: a b "Operation Overblown". – TIME. – October 19, 1962. – Retrieved: June 23, 2008
4.Jump up ^ Editors of La Presse de la Manche Notre Jour Plus Long 2012
5.Jump up ^ http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=23731
6.Jump up ^ Wills, Garry (1997). John Wayne's America: The Politics of Celebrity. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-684-80823-9.
7.Jump up ^ "Piper Bill Millin". The Pegasus Archive. Retrieved November 1, 2007.
8.Jump up ^ "D-Day Piper – Bill Millin". The Miniatures Page. August 3, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2007.
9.Jump up ^ Notre jour le plus long La Presse de la Manche 2012
10.^ Jump up to: a b c d e "The Longest Day (1962) Awards". Turner Classic Movies, A Time Warner Company. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Longest Day (film).
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: The Longest Day (film)
The Longest Day at the Internet Movie Database
The Longest Day at the TCM Movie Database
The Longest Day at AllMovie
The Longest Day at the American Film Institute Catalog
The Longest Day at Box Office Mojo
The Longest Headache


[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Works based around Operation Overlord






































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Ken Annakin















































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Filmography of Andrew Marton

































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Bernhard Wicki













[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Cornelius Ryan














 


Categories: 1962 films
20th Century Fox films
Films about the French Resistance
Films directed by Andrew Marton
Films directed by Bernhard Wicki
Films directed by Ken Annakin
Films set in 1944
Films shot in Haute-Corse
Black-and-white films
Films that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award
Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award
Operation Overlord films
War epic films
World War II films based on actual events
World War II films
Films set on beaches









Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
العربية
Català
Čeština
Dansk
Deutsch
Eesti
Español
Français
한국어
Italiano
עברית
Latina
Magyar
Nederlands
日本語
Norsk bokmål
Polski
Português
Русский
Српски / srpski
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
Türkçe
Tiếng Việt
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 5 October 2014 at 01:18.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Longest_Day_(film)











The Longest Day (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

For other uses, see The Longest Day.

The Longest Day
Original movie poster for the film The Longest Day.jpg
original movie poster

Directed by
Ken Annakin (British & French exteriors)
Andrew Marton (American exteriors)
Bernhard Wicki (German episodes)

Produced by
Darryl F. Zanuck
Screenplay by
Cornelius Ryan
Romain Gary
James Jones
David Pursall
Jack Seddon

Based on
The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan
Starring
John Wayne
Henry Fonda
Robert Mitchum
Sean Connery
Eddie Albert
Curd Jürgens
Richard Todd
Richard Burton
Peter Lawford
Rod Steiger
Irina Demick
Gert Fröbe
Edmond O'Brien
Kenneth More

Music by
Maurice Jarre
Cinematography
Jean Bourgoin
Walter Wottitz

Edited by
Samuel E. Beetley
Production
 company
Darryl F. Zanuck Productions, Inc.

Distributed by
20th Century Fox
Release dates
September 25, 1962 (France, U.S.)
October 4, 1962 (Canada)
October 23, 1962 (Germany, Mexico, UK)

Running time
178 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
German
French

Budget
$7.75 million[1]
Box office
$50,100,000[2]
The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about D-Day, the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, during World War II. The film was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck, who paid the book's author Ryan US$175,000 for the film rights.[3] The screenplay was by Ryan, with additional material written by Romain Gary, James Jones, David Pursall and Jack Seddon. It was directed by Ken Annakin (British and French exteriors), Andrew Marton (American exteriors), and Bernhard Wicki (German scenes).
The Longest Day, which was made in black and white, features a large ensemble cast including John Wayne, Kenneth More, Richard Todd, Robert Mitchum, Richard Burton, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Red Buttons, Rod Steiger, Leo Genn, Peter Lawford, Gert Fröbe, Irina Demick, Bourvil, Curt Jürgens, Robert Wagner, Paul Anka and Arletty. Many of these actors played roles that were virtually cameo appearances and several cast members such as Fonda, Genn, More, Steiger and Todd saw action as servicemen during the war, with Todd actually being among the first British officers to land in Normandy in Operation Overlord and participated in the assault on Pegasus Bridge.
The film employed several Axis and Allied military consultants who had been actual participants on D-Day. Many had their roles re-enacted in the film. These included: Günther Blumentritt (a former German general), James M. Gavin (an American general), Frederick Morgan (Deputy Chief of Staff at SHAEF), John Howard (who led the airborne assault on the Pegasus Bridge), Lord Lovat (who commanded the 1st Special Service Brigade), Philippe Kieffer (who led his men in the assault on Ouistreham), Pierre Koenig (who commanded the Free French Forces in the invasion), Max Pemsel (a German general), Werner Pluskat (the major who was the first German officer to see the invasion fleet), Josef "Pips" Priller (the hot-headed pilot) and Lucie Rommel (widow of Erwin Rommel).


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast 2.1 American
2.2 British
2.3 French
2.4 German
3 Production 3.1 Filming
3.2 Casting
4 Release
5 Awards & nominations
6 References
7 External links

Plot[edit]
The Longest Day is filmed in the style of a docudrama. Beginning in the days leading up to D-Day, the film concentrates on events on both sides of the channel such as the Allies waiting for the break in the poor weather and the anticipation of the Axis forces defending northern France. The film pays particular attention to the decision by General Eisenhower, supreme commander of SHAEF, to go after reviewing the initial bad weather reports as well as the divisions within the German High Command on where an invasion might happen or what response to it should be.
Numerous scenes document the early hours of 6 June when Allied airborne troops were sent in to take key locations. The French resistance is also shown reacting to the news that an invasion has started. The Longest Day chronicles most of the important events surrounding D-Day. From the British glider missions to secure Pegasus Bridge, the counterattacks launched by American paratroopers scattered around Sainte-Mère-Église, the infiltration and sabotage work conducted by the French resistance and SOE agents, and the response by the Wehrmacht to the invasion and the uncertainty to whether it was a feint in preparation for crossings at the Pas de Calais (see Operation Fortitude).
Set piece scenes include the parachute drop into Sainte-Mère-Église, the advance inshore from the Normandy beaches, the US Ranger Assault Group's assault on the Pointe du Hoc, the attack on Ouistreham by Free French Forces and the strafing of the beaches by two lone Luftwaffe pilots.
The film concludes with a montage showing various Allied units consolidating their beachheads before the advance inland begins to liberate France.
Cast[edit]
American[edit]

Actor
Role
Eddie Albert Colonel Thompson, 29th Infantry Division
Paul Anka US Army Ranger
Richard Beymer Private Arthur 'Dutch' Schultz, 82nd Airborne Division
Red Buttons John Steele, 82nd Airborne Division
Mark Damon Private Harris
Ray Danton Captain Frank
Fred Dur US Army Ranger Major
Fabian Forte US Army Ranger
Mel Ferrer Major General Robert Haines
Henry Fonda Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., Deputy Commander 4th Infantry Div.
Steve Forrest Captain Harding, 82nd Airborne Division
Henry Grace General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander
Peter Helm Young GI
Jeffrey Hunter Sergeant (later Lt.) John H. Fuller
Alexander Knox Lieutenant General Walter Bedell Smith, SHAEF Chief of Staff
Dewey Martin Private Wilder (role cut from released version)
Roddy McDowall Private Morris, 4th Infantry Division
John Meillon Admiral Alan G. Kirk, Senior US Naval Commander
Sal Mineo Private Martini
Robert Mitchum Brigadier General Norman Cota, Asst. Commander 29th Infantry Div.
Edmond O'Brien Major General Raymond O. Barton, Commander 4th Infantry Div.
Ron Randell Joe Williams
Robert Ryan Brigadier General James M. Gavin, Asst. Commander 82nd Airborne Div.
Tommy Sands US Army Ranger
George Segal US Army Ranger
Rod Steiger Destroyer Commander
Nicholas Stuart Lieutenant General Omar N. Bradley, Commander US First Army
Tom Tryon Lieutenant Wilson, 82nd Airborne Division
Robert Wagner US Army Ranger
John Wayne Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort, Commander 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Reg.
Stuart Whitman Lieutenant Sheen, 82nd Airborne Division
British[edit]

Actor
Role
Patrick Barr Group Captain J.M. Stagg
Richard Burton Flying Officer David Campbell
Bryan Coleman Ronald Callen
Sean Connery Private Flanagan
Leslie de Laspee Private Bill Millin, No. 4 Commando (Piper on Beach)
Frank Finlay Private Coke, 2nd Oxford & Bucks L.I.
Harry Fowler Paratrooper, 6th Airborne Division
Bernard Fox Private Hutchinson, 3rd Infantry Division
Leo Genn Brigadier Edwin P. Parker Jr.
Harold Goodwin Private, 2nd Oxford & Bucks L.I.
John Gregson Padre, 6th Airborne Division
Jack Hedley RAF Briefing Officer
Donald Houston RAF pilot at flight base
Simon Lack Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Commander Allied Air Forces
Peter Lawford Brigadier Lord Lovat, Commander 1st Special Service Brigade
Howard Marion-Crawford Glider Doctor
Michael Medwin Private Watney, 3rd Infantry Division
Kenneth More Capt. Colin Maud Royal Navy beach master
Louis Mounier Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander
Leslie Phillips Royal Air Force officer
Trevor Reid General Sir Bernard Montgomery, Commander Allied Ground Forces
John Robinson Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, Commander Allied Naval Forces
Norman Rossington Private Clough
Richard Todd Major John Howard, OC D Company, 2nd Oxford & Bucks L.I.
Richard Wattis British Paratrooper officer, 6th Airborne Division
French[edit]

Actor
Role
Arletty Madame Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault Father Louis Roulland
André Bourvil Mayor of Colleville
Pauline Carton Maid
Gil Delamare Naval Commando (also was the leading stunt director of the film)
Irina Demick Janine Boitard (French Resistance)
Bernard Fresson Navy Commando
Fernand Ledoux Louis
Christian Marquand Capitaine de Frégate Philippe Kieffer
 Commander French Navy commandos
Madeleine Renaud Mother Superior
Georges Rivière Sergeant Guy de Montlaur
Jean Servais Contre-amiral Jaujard
Georges Wilson Alexandre Renaud
German[edit]

Actor
Role
Hans Christian Blech Major Werner Pluskat, 352nd Infantry Division
Wolfgang Büttner Generalleutnant Dr. Hans Speidel, chief of staff, Army Group B
Robert Freitag Meyer's aide
Gert Fröbe Unteroffizier "Kaffeekanne" ("coffee pot")
Paul Hartmann Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt, commander OB West
Werner Hinz Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel, commander Army Group B
Karl John Generalleutnant Wolfgang Häger
Curt Jürgens General der Infanterie Günther Blumentritt, chief of staff, OB West
Til Kiwe Hauptmann Helmuth Lang, Rommel's aide
Wolfgang Lukschy Generaloberst Alfred Jodl, chief of staff, OKW
Kurt Meisel Ernst Düring
Richard Münch General der Artillerie Erich Marcks, commander LXXXIV Army Corps
Hartmut Reck Bernhard Bergsdorf
Heinz Reincke Oberst Josef Priller, commander JG 26
Ernst Schröder Generaloberst Hans von Salmuth, commander 15th Army
Heinz Spitzner Helmuth Meyer
Wolfgang Preiss Generalmajor Max Pemsel chief of intelligence, 7th Army
Peter van Eyck Oberstleutnant Ocker, Pluskat's Commanding Officer
Vicco "Loriot" von Bülow Luftwaffe Chief's aide
Production[edit]
Filming[edit]
The film was shot at several French locations including the Île de Ré, Saleccia beach in Saint-Florent, Haute-Corse, Port-en-Bessin-Huppain filling in for Ouistreham, Les Studios de Boulogne in Boulogne-Billancourt and the actual locations of Pegasus Bridge near Bénouville, Calvados, Sainte-Mère-Église and Pointe du Hoc.[4]
During the filming of the landings at Omaha Beach, the extras appearing as American soldiers did not want to jump off the landing craft into the water because they thought it would be too cold. Robert Mitchum, who played General Norman Cota, became disgusted with their trepidation. He jumped in first, at which point the extras followed his example.
The Rupert paradummies used in the film were far more elaborate and lifelike than those actually used for the decoy parachute drop (Operation Titanic), which were actually just canvas or burlap sacks filled with sand. In the real operation, six Special Air Service soldiers jumped with the dummies and played recordings of loud battle noises to distract the Germans.
At $10,000,000, this film was the most expensive black-and-white film made until 1993, when Schindler's List was released.[3]
In the scenes where the paratroopers land, the background noise of frogs croaking "ribbit ribbit" was wrong for northern French frog species and showed that the film probably used an American recording of background night noises.
Colin Maud loaned Kenneth More the shillelagh he carried ashore in the actual invasion, while Richard Todd wore the actual D-Day helmet worn by Major John Howard.
In the film, 3 Free French Special Air Service paratroopers jumped into France before British and American airborne landings. This is accurate. 36 Free French SAS (4 sticks) jumped into Brittany (Plumelec and Duault) on June 5 (11 h 30). The first Allied soldier killed in action was Lieutenant Den Brotheridge of the 2nd Ox & Bucks Light Infantry as he crossed Pegasus Bridge at 0h 22m on 6 June.
The United States Sixth Fleet extensively supported the filming and made available many amphibious landing ships and craft for scenes filmed in Corsica, though many of the ships were of (then) modern vintage. The USS Springfield (CL-66), and USS Little Rock (CL-92), both World War II light cruisers (though extensively reconfigured into guided missile cruisers) were used in the shore bombardment scenes, though it was easy to tell they did not resemble their wartime configuration.
Gerd Oswald was the uncredited director of the parachute drop scenes into Sainte-Mère-Église. Darryl F. Zanuck said he did some uncredited pick-ups, the American and British interiors.[5]
Elmo Williams was credited as associate producer and coordinator of battle episodes. He later produced another historical WWII film Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) for Zanuck. Similar to The Longest Day, it used a docudrama style, though it was in color. It focused on the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Casting[edit]



John Wayne in The Longest DayCharlton Heston actively sought the role of Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin H. Vandervoort but the last-minute decision of John Wayne to take the role prevented Heston's participation. At 55, Wayne was 28 years older than Vandervoort at the time of action (and 10 years older in real life). While everyone else accepted $25,000 as payment, John Wayne insisted on $250,000 to punish producer Zanuck for referring to him as "poor John Wayne" regarding Wayne's problems with his lavish movie The Alamo.[6]
Sergeant Kaffeekanne's name is German for "coffee pot", which he always carries.
It is a common misconception that Bill Millin, the piper who accompanies Lord Lovat to Normandy with his bagpipes, played himself in the film. He was actually portrayed by Pipe Major Leslie de Laspee, the official piper to the Queen Mother in 1961.[7][8]
In Sainte-Mère-Église, Private John Steele from the 82nd Airborne (played by Red Buttons) has been memorialised by the local population with a dummy hanging from a parachute from the church tower on which he accidentally landed.
Richard Todd, who played Major John Howard, leader of the British Airborne assault on the Pegasus Bridge, took part in the real bridge assault on D-Day. Todd was offered the chance to play himself but took the part of Major John Howard instead. In the film, shortly after the British have captured the Orne bridge (later renamed Horsa Bridge), one of the soldiers tells Todd, playing Howard, that all they have to do now is sit tight and await the arrival of the 7th Parachute Battalion, to which Todd's character replies dismissively: "the Paras are always late". This was a private joke, Todd had been the adjutant of the 7th Parachute Battalion on D-Day.
Joseph Lowe landed on Omaha Beach and scaled the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc on D-Day. He repeated the climb for the cameras 17 years later as a serving member of the 505th Airborne Battle Group who provided US Army film extras.
Former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower was considered for the role of himself in the film, and he indicated his willingness. However, it was decided that makeup artists couldn't make him appear young enough to play his World War II self. The role of General Eisenhower went to Henry Grace, a set decorator with no acting experience, but who had been in the film industry since the mid-1930s. He was a dead ringer for the younger Eisenhower, though his voice differed.
The film marked the last film appearance of Sean Connery before he was cast in the role of James Bond. Gert Fröbe (Sergeant Kaffeekanne) and Curd Jürgens (General Günther Blumentritt) would later go on to play Bond villains Auric Goldfinger (Goldfinger (1964)) and Karl Stromberg (The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)) respectively. Connery would later play Major General Roy Urquhart in the 1977 film A Bridge too Far which was also based on a book by Cornelius Ryan. (Likewise Wolfgang Preiss played Major General Max Pemsel in The Longest Day and Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt in A Bridge too Far.)
Mel Ferrer was originally signed to play the role of General James M. Gavin but withdrew from the role due to a scheduling conflict.[9]
According to the 2001 documentary Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood, Richard Burton and Roddy McDowall were so bored having not been used for several weeks while filming in Rome, they phoned Zanuck begging to do "anything" on his film. They flew themselves to the location and each did a day's filming for their cameo-performances for free.
Release[edit]
The film premièred in France on 25 September 1962, followed by the United States on 4 October and 23 October for the United Kingdom.
There were special release showing of the film in several United States cities. Participants in D-Day were invited to see the film with their fellow soldiers—in Cleveland, Ohio, this took place at the Hippodrome Theater.[citation needed]
Unique for British and American produced World War II films of the time, all French and German characters speak in their own languages with subtitles in English. Another version, which was shot simultaneously, has all the actors speaking their lines in English (this version was used for the film's trailer as all the Germans deliver their lines in English). However this version saw limited use during the initial release. It was used more extensively during a late 1960s re-release of the film.
The English-only version has been featured as an extra on older single disc DVD releases.
Awards & nominations[edit]
Academy Awards for Best Art Direction (1962): Ted Haworth, Léon Barsacq, Vincent Korda and Gabriel Béchir (nominated)[10]
Academy Awards for Best Cinematography (1962): Jean Bourgoin and Walter Wottitz (won)[10]
Academy Awards for Best Editing (1962): Samuel E. Beetley (nominated)[10]
Academy Awards for Best Picture (1962): (nominated)[10]
Academy Awards for Best Special Effects (1962): Robert MacDonald and Jacques Maumont (won)[10]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p253
2.Jump up ^ Box Office Information for The Longest Day. The Numbers. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
3.^ Jump up to: a b "Operation Overblown". – TIME. – October 19, 1962. – Retrieved: June 23, 2008
4.Jump up ^ Editors of La Presse de la Manche Notre Jour Plus Long 2012
5.Jump up ^ http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=23731
6.Jump up ^ Wills, Garry (1997). John Wayne's America: The Politics of Celebrity. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-684-80823-9.
7.Jump up ^ "Piper Bill Millin". The Pegasus Archive. Retrieved November 1, 2007.
8.Jump up ^ "D-Day Piper – Bill Millin". The Miniatures Page. August 3, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2007.
9.Jump up ^ Notre jour le plus long La Presse de la Manche 2012
10.^ Jump up to: a b c d e "The Longest Day (1962) Awards". Turner Classic Movies, A Time Warner Company. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Longest Day (film).
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: The Longest Day (film)
The Longest Day at the Internet Movie Database
The Longest Day at the TCM Movie Database
The Longest Day at AllMovie
The Longest Day at the American Film Institute Catalog
The Longest Day at Box Office Mojo
The Longest Headache


[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Works based around Operation Overlord






































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Ken Annakin















































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Filmography of Andrew Marton

































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Bernhard Wicki













[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Cornelius Ryan














 


Categories: 1962 films
20th Century Fox films
Films about the French Resistance
Films directed by Andrew Marton
Films directed by Bernhard Wicki
Films directed by Ken Annakin
Films set in 1944
Films shot in Haute-Corse
Black-and-white films
Films that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award
Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award
Operation Overlord films
War epic films
World War II films based on actual events
World War II films
Films set on beaches









Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
العربية
Català
Čeština
Dansk
Deutsch
Eesti
Español
Français
한국어
Italiano
עברית
Latina
Magyar
Nederlands
日本語
Norsk bokmål
Polski
Português
Русский
Српски / srpski
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
Türkçe
Tiếng Việt
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 5 October 2014 at 01:18.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Longest_Day_(film)









The Longest Day (book)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search



 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2010)
The Longest Day

Author
Cornelius Ryan
Language
English
Subject
Normandy landings
Genre
World War II history

Publication date
 1959
The Longest Day is a book by Cornelius Ryan published in 1959, telling the story of D-Day, the first day of the World War II invasion of Normandy. It includes details of Operation Deadstick, the coup de main operation by gliderborne troops to capture both Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge before the main assault on the Normandy beaches. It sold tens of millions of copies in eighteen different languages.[1]
The book is not a dry military history, but rather a story about people, and reads at times like a novel. It is based on interviews with a cross-section of participants, including U.S., Canadian, British, French and German officers and civilians.
The book begins and ends in the village of La Roche-Guyon. The book refers to the village as being the most occupied village in occupied France and states that for each of the 543 inhabitants of La Roche-Guyon there were more than 3 German soldiers in the village and surrounding area. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel commander-in-chief of Army Group B had his headquarters in the castle of the village which was the seat of the Duc de La Rochefoucauld.
Ryan's book is divided into three parts: the first part is titled The Wait, the second part is named The Night and the third part is named The Day. The book includes a section on the casualties of D-Day and also lists the contributors including their service details on the day of the invasion and their occupations at the time the book was first published.
Researchers spent almost three years locating survivors of D-Day and over 3000 interviews were undertaken in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France and Germany. 383 accounts of D Day were used in the text of the book.
Senior Allied officers who assisted the author included General Maxwell D. Taylor, Lieutenant General James M. Gavin, Lieutenant General Sir Frederick E. Morgan and General Sir Richard Nelson Gale. German officers who assisted with the book included Generaloberst Franz Halder, Hauptmann Hellmuth Lang and General der Infanterie Günther Blumentritt. The author also used Allied and German post action reports, War diaries, histories and official records.
On 6 June 1965, the author published an article "More of The Longest Day" on Reader's Digest as a supplement.[2]
Cornelius Ryan dedicated his book for all the men of D Day.
The book takes its name from a comment made by Erwin Rommel to his aide Hauptmann Helmuth Lang on 22 April 1944: "...the first 24 hours of the invasion will be decisive...the fate of Germany depends on the outcome...for the Allies, as well as Germany, it will be the longest day."
The Longest Day is also the name of a 1962 film based on the book, featuring many star actors.
References and notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Michael Shapiro (May–June 2010). "The Reporter Who Time Forgot". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
2.Jump up ^ "Cornelius Ryan Collection of World War II Papers". Manuscript Collection. Retrieved 2013-12-23.


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Cornelius Ryan


World War II trilogy
The Longest Day (film adaptation) ·
 The Last Battle ·
 A Bridge Too Far (film adaptation)
 

Other
Cornelius Ryan Award
 

 


Categories: History books about World War II
1959 books
Works about Operation Overlord






Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
한국어
Bahasa Indonesia
Italiano
Русский
Suomi
Svenska
Edit links
This page was last modified on 22 April 2014 at 22:13.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Longest_Day_(book)















The Longest Day (book)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search



 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2010)
The Longest Day

Author
Cornelius Ryan
Language
English
Subject
Normandy landings
Genre
World War II history

Publication date
 1959
The Longest Day is a book by Cornelius Ryan published in 1959, telling the story of D-Day, the first day of the World War II invasion of Normandy. It includes details of Operation Deadstick, the coup de main operation by gliderborne troops to capture both Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge before the main assault on the Normandy beaches. It sold tens of millions of copies in eighteen different languages.[1]
The book is not a dry military history, but rather a story about people, and reads at times like a novel. It is based on interviews with a cross-section of participants, including U.S., Canadian, British, French and German officers and civilians.
The book begins and ends in the village of La Roche-Guyon. The book refers to the village as being the most occupied village in occupied France and states that for each of the 543 inhabitants of La Roche-Guyon there were more than 3 German soldiers in the village and surrounding area. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel commander-in-chief of Army Group B had his headquarters in the castle of the village which was the seat of the Duc de La Rochefoucauld.
Ryan's book is divided into three parts: the first part is titled The Wait, the second part is named The Night and the third part is named The Day. The book includes a section on the casualties of D-Day and also lists the contributors including their service details on the day of the invasion and their occupations at the time the book was first published.
Researchers spent almost three years locating survivors of D-Day and over 3000 interviews were undertaken in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France and Germany. 383 accounts of D Day were used in the text of the book.
Senior Allied officers who assisted the author included General Maxwell D. Taylor, Lieutenant General James M. Gavin, Lieutenant General Sir Frederick E. Morgan and General Sir Richard Nelson Gale. German officers who assisted with the book included Generaloberst Franz Halder, Hauptmann Hellmuth Lang and General der Infanterie Günther Blumentritt. The author also used Allied and German post action reports, War diaries, histories and official records.
On 6 June 1965, the author published an article "More of The Longest Day" on Reader's Digest as a supplement.[2]
Cornelius Ryan dedicated his book for all the men of D Day.
The book takes its name from a comment made by Erwin Rommel to his aide Hauptmann Helmuth Lang on 22 April 1944: "...the first 24 hours of the invasion will be decisive...the fate of Germany depends on the outcome...for the Allies, as well as Germany, it will be the longest day."
The Longest Day is also the name of a 1962 film based on the book, featuring many star actors.
References and notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Michael Shapiro (May–June 2010). "The Reporter Who Time Forgot". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
2.Jump up ^ "Cornelius Ryan Collection of World War II Papers". Manuscript Collection. Retrieved 2013-12-23.


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Cornelius Ryan


World War II trilogy
The Longest Day (film adaptation) ·
 The Last Battle ·
 A Bridge Too Far (film adaptation)
 

Other
Cornelius Ryan Award
 

 


Categories: History books about World War II
1959 books
Works about Operation Overlord






Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
한국어
Bahasa Indonesia
Italiano
Русский
Suomi
Svenska
Edit links
This page was last modified on 22 April 2014 at 22:13.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Longest_Day_(book)