Today is June 6, 2025, and is the 81st anniversary of the invasion of western Europe on the beaches of Normandy in France in World War II by the Allies in 1944. It is called “D-Day” as well as “The Longest Day,” which is the title of a movie from the 1960s about the invasion to begin the assault on the Nazis. Our “Greatest Generation” that is defined by WWII and that generation is fast disappearing as the 80th anniversary spells out.
The sacrifice of the troops in the invasion force, primarily U.S., British and Canadian units, cannot ever be told in full, even with the particularly accurate portrayal of the violence and death on the French beaches of Normandy in the immediate classic “Saving Private Ryan” released in 1998.
So, on this incredibly solemn anniversary, check out some films about D-Day as a way to honor those who served and especially those who died so that democracy would mostly be maintained in Europe.
THE BEST:
“Band of Brothers” (2001; rated TV-MA; starring Damian Lewis, Scott Grimes and Ron Livingston)
“The Longest Day” (1962; rated G; starring John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Richard Burton and Sean Connery) – click here for my review
“Saving Private Ryan” (1998; rated R; starring Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore and Barry Pepper) – click here for my review
GOOD TO GREAT:
“D-Day, the Sixth of June” (1956; this film is unrated, but consider it PG; starring Robert Taylor, Dana Wynter and Edmund O’Brien)
“The Dirty Dozen” (1967; rated NR; starring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine and John Cassevetes)
“Where Eagles Dare” (1968; rated M; starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure) – click here for my review
YOU’LL HAVE TO DECIDE:
“Ike – Countdown to D-Day” (2004; this is a TV movie; starring Tom Selleck and James Remar)
“The Red Ball Express” (1952; this film is unrated, but consider it PG; starring Jeff Chandler and Alex Nicol)
‘The Big Red One’
(1980; 113 minutes; rated R; directed by Samuel Fuller and starring Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill and Robert Carradine) – click here for my review
I included Eastwood in “Where Eagles Dare” because the heart of the Allied team’s mission is to rescue a U.S. general who was a key planner of the D-Day invasion (and it’s a great war film).
All-in-all, there’s quite a cinematic menu to choose from for today.
BTW … from an earlier blog post about D-Day:
“As a campaign, more U.S. soldiers died in the Normandy landings and subsequent battles to break out from the invasion area (29,204) than any other single campaign. It was 3,000 more fallen than from Meuse-Argonne offensive in World War I (26,277) or the Battle of the Bulge in WWII (19,276).”
From a Google search: “As of January 2025, it’s estimated that about 66,000 U.S. veterans of World War II are still alive, according to the National WWII Museum. This is a significant drop from the more than 119,000 veterans estimated to be alive in 2023.”
So and again … on this 81st anniversary of D-Day, remember those who fell; those wounded; and those who served and survived.
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