The Longest Day Analysis

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Though the narrative of the film is important, the accuracy of the equipment being used to portray American forces is just as crucial. By having authentic equipment, it allows the audience to have a far more realistic visual of how the military looked. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle would note that in Sands of Iwo Jima two hundred craftsman built the Tarawa and Iwo Jima sets, following exactly the official Marine photographs and maps. When recreating D-Day in the film The Longest Day they used the U.S. Sixth Fleet’s amphibious maneuvers at Saleccia Beach, which would be fortified along a two-mile stretch that would resemble Omaha Beach. A reinforced Marine Corps battalion with camouflaged net helmets and World War II-type leggings. A flotilla of …show more content…

In Sands of Iwo Jima, it would take realism a step higher by incorporating actual 101st Airborne soldiers in with the actors during a two-week training sequence, which included daily wearing of infantry uniform, close order drills, weapons firing, grenade throwing, bayonet training, firing positions, combat movement, and scouting. Such training would have an influence and be incorporated into films, such as, Platoon. In The Longest Day they had to recreate Nazi uniforms since they had been destroyed after the war. Though Zanuck focused on being as accurate as possible, he forgot to put division patches on the beach assault soldiers, which is noticeable in the film. In The Green Berets the actors wore authentic gear that a Green Beret unit would wear, as well as, the weapons being used. In Platoon, small equipment mistakes can be seen throughout the film. From the lack of muzzle fire when the weapon was shot, to gear like nylon Y-shaped suspenders, cold steel knives, and Colt 653 model handguns which all weren’t available to men during this time period. As for Full Metal Jacket the Marines carried illumination grenades, not fragmentation. In addition, the Marines used Colt 604 model handguns in the film, when only the Air Force was issued them. Lastly, Private Joker’s hair in the second half of the film is extremely long, which would never have been tolerated by Marine

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