The Long Day's Dying

Plot synopsis:
Three British paratroopers are cut off from their unit and are lost behind enemy lines. Sheltering in a deserted farmhouse, they are awaiting the return of their Sergeant who has ventured out in an attempt to locate their unit. The three soldiers are Tom, a world-weary cynical veteran, John, a middle-class educated thinker who despises war and Cliff, an eager soldier who loves his work. All three are highly trained professional killers who, regardless of their own personal thoughts, do not hesitate to perform their duties.
Two German soldiers approach the farmhouse and the paratroopers dispatch them both. The second of the enemy attackers is stalked by the paratroopers who virtually toy with their victim before John kills him, finishing the man off up close, although the experience renders him sick. As the three men eat a meal, they are surprised and captured by a third German named Helmut, a paratrooper like themselves. The British soon turn the tables and capture Helmut but the latter, who speaks English, manages to manipulate his captors into keeping him alive. The group leave the house in search of their Sergeant whom they eventually find dead in the woods, his throat cut. The men continue on, trying to find their way back to Allied lines. They come across a farmhouse, where a trio of Germans are sheltering. The paratroopers cautiously approach and shoot them, only to find that the Germans are already dead.
After spending the night in the house, the group continues their walk back to the British lines, only to run into a German patrol. In the ensuing battle, all of the Germans are killed but Cliff is fatally wounded. John and Tom reach the frontline, taking their prisoner Helmut with them but nearby British troops mistake them all to be German and open fire, mortally wounding Tom. Both injured themselves, John and Helmut take cover in a muddy ditch. There, John decides to kill Helmut with a small skewer he has always carried with him. Delirious with exhaustion and trauma, John staggers into the open, yelling that he is a pacifist before the British troops open fire again, shooting him dead.

Tags: cult

Review:
Strange war film - definitely an acquired taste.
Personally I found it disappointing....
but it has admirers..
In his third film, director Peter Collinson gives us this very unusual antiwar offering.
A lost film that is very rarely screened nowadays, and completely unavailable on video or DVD, The Long Day's Dying is one of those movies that divides the majority of viewers into two camps - there are those who hail it as a cult classic and a film of tremendous power, and there are those who find it irritating and unappealing in the extreme.
One of the most experimental things Collinson has done in this film is to use very little spoken dialogue; instead most of the talk is provided by voice-overs telling us what is going through a character's mind at a given moment.
So, for example, when David Hemmings is creeping up behind a German soldier but cannot bring himself to cold-bloodedly shoot the man in the back, his thoughts are heard in voice-over as he thinks: "You're dead and you don't even know it.
Now turn around.
TURN AROUND!"Three British paratroopers find themselves stranded in a deserted building somewhere in the European countryside during WWII.
We learn that they were instructed to hide in the building and keep watch for advancing Germans, with a promise from their sergeant that he would return for them later to take them back to the rest of their unit.
The trio consists of pacifist John (David Hemmings), violent Cliff (Tony Beckley) and the quiet but clear-thinking Tom (Tom Bell).
However, several hours have gone by since the sergeant was supposed to relieve them, and the three are now beginning to grow anxious.
Their plight worsens when a three-man German patrol happens by.
The British paratroopers kill two of the Germans but the third - Helmut (Alan Dobie) - is only injured and becomes their prisoner.
Now that their location is compromised the trio decide that their safest bet is to find their unit by themselves, so they set off with their prisoner on a trek through the countryside in search of their allies....The Long Day's Dying is full of quiet understatement, with many moments where the camera lingers long on the faces of the protagonists.
Even a small grin, a frown, or a hard swallow is very deliberate and is meant to be significant.
The actors do a good job at getting across these subtle, almost imperceptible emotions.
The story itself is rather dull, with little taking place over the 95 minute running time.
One assumes that the film is some kind of allegory, with the handful of characters used as a microcosm - a small-scale representation, if you like - of the wider picture that was the Second World War. The violence is infrequent, but when they come the scenes of death and injury are very gory and show with grim realism the terrible things that weapons and booby traps can do to the human body.
I found The Long Day's Dying a bit disappointing, as I couldn't get past the allegorical pretensions and the relentlessly unorthodox approach.
But I certainly wouldn't pan it in the way that most professional critics have (Variety, Halliwell, Maltin, et al all hated this film).
It's an unusual and very different sort of war film that some viewers - (admittedly, I'm not one of them) - will find interesting, powerful and thought-provoking..
Interesting rarely seen film that should have received a wider audience..
This is an unusual war film, about three british Paratroopers behind german lines in WW2.
It is a long time since I have seen it, but it remains quite vivid as it wavered between an ultra realistic portrayal of the action and a strange telepathic connection between the characters.
It has never been released on video, which is a pity, as it should have some recognition amongst cult film fans..
A lesson on screenwriting..
The reason why I say this is because I wrote the screenplay and knew very little about it being made until I was asked to see the film.
I wrote it for some producers who sold it on without telling me.
Because Alan Dobie was a friend of mine, I got to hear about it.
I had only written a first draft so I was understandably worried when I heard that it was on the floor.
I asked Peter Collinson, through my agent, whether he might like me to do another draft.
I also asked if I could I see my original script because I had lost it.
I was told, too late.
So I did the only thing I could do under the circumstances and took my name off.
I had no idea what they might have done to my screenplay.
Then I was invited to see the finished film.
I was so impressed that I very quickly asked to have my name put back on.
It's a beautifully made piece, from a hurriedly written first draft, I expected to be asked to do much more work on it; perhaps if I had it wouldn't be so good.
I would love to see my original script again if anybody knows where it is?
I would also love to see the film again, I only saw it once in a little viewing theatre in Soho..
The Forgotten Film?.
I saw the long day's dying when it first came out at the cinema, I thought the film gave a good soldiers point of view, it gave a realistic account, of men at war.
The storyline moves at a nice pace, showing a group of men behind enemy lines, and trying to return back to their own lines with an enemy prisoner.
The characters are well developed, and believable.David Hemmings is a good actor and plays the leading role with conviction, as does Alan Dobie (as German Helmut) I was surprised, that i have been unable to find this film on VHS or DVD, and I feel it has become the forgotten film, which is sad , as it is superior to many other war films I have seen..
One of the few good movies depicting war...
This is not a movie you watch for entertainment, at least most people I know would not.It's portraits the cruelty to both body and mind that happen in a war pretty well, the characters seem plausible, especially because you "read their minds", something more often found in books and rarely in movies, however done very well in this piece.
I would place it next to "All quiet on the western front" and "Die Brücke" in terms of leaving a lasting impression.I wish I could screen it at school, along with the other two movies - however finding a copy of it showed to be pretty hard - which is a shame..
An ex-soldier who relates to his experiences and why..
I saw this film prior to joining the British Army.
I went through my basic training, at first difficult and then as I progressed much easier.
My time was spent during the height of the troubles in NI and the cold war.
There was times when I questioned myself on what I had gotten myself into, not for long, as the training would always take over and you would always react instinctively.
The voice over used to display what the soldiers are thinking is spot on, though I would have added breathing and heart rate as this seems to pound in your ear drums in given situations.
Some years later I was in Canada for a family get together.
An Aunty of mine who lives in the USA and is a lecturer at the Columbus Uni Ohio had done a paper on the effects of the British Army in NI.
She spent some time out there researching.
Although an ex pat she was very anti-British.
She made a bee line for me and condemned me for being a British soldier.
My only answer was see the film 'A long day's dying'.
It's the closest a civilian will get to realise why a soldier does what he does.
The answer is right at the end..
Superb suspense film, unique 'thought' dialogue.
Superb film with no actual spoken dialogue which enhances the level of suspense.
The whole approach gives a completely different twist to a war film.Well worth watching again if only it could be found.
I saw it perhaps 20 or so years ago.
- Fantastic!.
A good movie for those that know war.
Not sure one can call this an anti-war film, it shows war at an elite level.
These are elite troops that know what they are doing and take great pride in it.
Even when they are pacifist, they still enjoy the skill level and defeating their foes, even if it does go against being a pacifist.
The movies is slow and rather uneventful and in many ways is rather tame as war movies go-more so by todays standards, no body parts flying off as in modern movies.
It is brutal in other ways though as you see killing at a personal level.
This is more of a thinking man's movie.
Once you start to watch you don't want to miss anything.
The thoughts of the men in the movie and their interactions, is what the movie is about- not the combat itself or a big exciting storyline.
This maybe called a war triller.If you are into the skill of war, if you are into reading or seeing programs about the SAS and so on, YOU WANT TO WATCH THIS MOVIE!!!!!Comparable movies are The Hill (1965) with Sean Connery, 49th Parallel (1941) with an all star cast, The Naked and the Dead (1958) with Cliff Robertson.
All are unusual in their way and show war at a personal level.
Enjoy!.
possibly one of the best films i have ever seen.
I have seen this film only the one time about 25 years ago, and to this day I have always told people it is probably the best film I have ever seen.
Considering there was no verbal dialogue and only thought dialogue i found the film to be enthralling and I even found myself holding my breath so as not to make any sound.
I would highly recomend this film, I wish it was available on DVD..
Extremely suspenseful realistic war movie !.
Surprise, it was released on Historia (French counterpart of the History Channel) Of course it was dubbed in French, but it did not lose any of its suspense, almost claustrophobic atmosphere.
The paratroopers were third-dimensional in character and even the German prisoner seemed believable !
Not the all good for our side and all bad for the enemy kind of script !
Excellent !
Would compete well with today's movies like Pearl Harbour, etc.
!. Read the book.
I first read the book, when I was a young teenager, then saw the film late one night.
About a year ago I checked it out on IMDb and discovered no copies available.
I then hit the web and found a site that offers War Films, soooo glad that I did, ordered a copy and sat back and was able to confirm why I wanted to see it again.In my opinion to really enjoy the film I suggest you read get a copy of the book and then watch the film.
The book is no longer in print but I did track a copy down via E-bay, the Author Alan White was a commando/paratrooper during the 2nd world war taking part in disparate clandestine operations and this was his first book.
It is written by someone who knows and this fact I believe gives the book and film authenticity.
I have not given the film a ten only because of the nature of the ending of the film, not as good as the book.
There are a couple of plot lines that differ from the book also, which is strange as the book is not about the large scale nature of war but about the individual in war.
The film illustrates this exceptionally well.
I have the copy of the book to let my son read and then the film to let him watch, in that order.If you can track it down the book and the film then it is definitely worth it and I only wish that it was more readily available for more to read and see, one of my all best war films, ever!.
Grim.
Needs to be on DVD.
It's hard for me to assign the "fair" number of stars to this film, but I settled on 8 because of its high production values and what was, in 1968, an innovative approach to the war film.
Remember too that I haven't seen it since 1969.
But it did make a strong impression.The Long Day's Dying must be one of the most vivid antiwar films ever made.
It achieves this simply by portraying in extremely realistic terms the actions of a handful of soldiers in Northwestern Europe in 1944-45.
No film before this one showed war at the infantry squad level with so much brutal detail, and all in a coldly dispassionate way that lets the actions speak for themselves.
There is no preaching, no sentimentality, no comic relief, no complicated scenarios.Unfortunately, there's no subtlety either.
Partly because of their situation - trying to stay alive - the characters come across as flat, familiar cliché's.
As "entertainment," the film doesn't make it, though it was clearly not intended to "entertain." It was intended to slug you over the head with the misery and horror of World War II and modern war in general.
This was twenty years before Platoon and thirty before Saving Private Ryan, both of which are far more "watchable" films.
Here the flat and generally disagreeable characters, the lack of an actual plot, and the realistically unpleasant images (including what may be the first on-screen vomit in theatrical history) make the film hard to sit through, though it is only 95 minutes.So, 10 stars for production and realism, 4 stars for the feeling you'll have when it's over, a bonus star for having its heart in the right place.
Average: 8.Like Carl Foreman's underrated "The Victors," an equally downbeat but more interesting and thought-provoking film, The Long Day's Dying seems not to be on DVD.
Both films have been on cable a number of times..
This is an excellent movie about war's own morality.
This is an excellent movie about war's own morality.
This movie depicts the fact that war has its own morality.
This movie depicts the fact that war has its own morality.
It shows how enemy soldiers, when removed from the context of war, simply become human beings sharing common goals of survival.
It shows how enemy soldiers, when removed from the context of war, simply become human beings sharing common goals of survival.
However, when they are placed back into war, they become deadly enemies again.
However, when they are placed back into war, they become deadly enemies again.
These two scenarios(sharing common goals, and then attempting to kill each other), while diametrically opposed, morally speaking, are actually both moral in their own context.
These two scenarios(sharing common goals, and then attempting to kill each other), while diametrically opposed, morally speaking, are actually both moral in their own context.
I feel that this is an excellent anti-war movie which attempts to show that war is a disease of humanity.
I feel that this is an excellent anti-war movie which attempts to show that war is a disease of humanity.
When it occurs, it needs to be eliminated with the minimum effect on surrounding tissue(humanity) as soon as possible while trying to assure that it does not return.
When it occurs, it needs to be eliminated with the minimum effect on surrounding tissue(humanity) as soon as possible while trying to assure that it does not return.