Product: The Great Fox War Movies (Patton - Special Edition / The Longest Day / Tora! Tora! Tora! - Special Edition) (1962)
Rating: 5.0
Absolutely Great Book
This book is on the making of the three great 20th. Century Fox World War II Epics: "The Longest Day," "Patton" and "Tora Tora Tora." This book is authored by the creators and publishers of the great "Cinema Retro" magazine, a magazine devoted to the films of the 1960s and '70s. I am not reviewing the DVDs which I already owned prior to purchasing the book."The Longest Day" is my all-time favorite film other than the James Bond films. For years I have thirsted for a book on the making of this classic film. And while only of a third of this book is devoted to that film, that is enough. This book is devoted to the making of the films with numerous color and black and white photos, other photos of lobby cards and posters from around the world, and pictures of various memorabilia from each film. My favorite part is the section on scenes that were cut out. For instance, there is a scene of a bloody Rod Steiger in "The Longest Day." Yet he only appears in one brief scene in the film. I have always wondered why only one scene? This answers the question. There is also a scene of Roddy McDowall fighting with another G.I. on the ship taking him to Utah Beach. This is not in the film either. There are sections devoted to deleted scenes in "Patton" and "Tora Tora Tora" as well. The writers also include their own brief review of each film and the events that occured upon the film's release. I particularly loved a picture of an ad for the reserved-seat showing of "The Longest Day" on Broadway in New York. A reserved orchestra seat for an evening performance was $3.00!! (I remember when my parents took me on a trip to Manhattan and playing in a row on reserved seat were "Lawrence of Arabia," the Brando "Mutiny on the Bounty" and "The Longest Day." Can you imagine three epics of this caliber playing today? By the way, the unfortunate release of "Lawrence of Arabia" the same year is probably the reason "The Longest Day" didn't receive the Best Picture Oscar of 1962.)The book also has biographical segments on actors like George C. Scott and Karl Malden in "Patton." You will also learn in detail what Darryl F. Zanuck had to do to get the great John Wayne to appear in "The Longest Day."I absolutely loved this book. I'm only surprised I didn't read it sooner. Highly recommended.