Should there be a modern remake of The Longest Day?

I love the classic 1961 film. Hollywood has redone many movies of the past, some well, some not so. But I think done right, a more realistic, grittier remake of the film based on the Cornelius Ryan book would be fantastic. The original is a product of it's time. Highly sanitized compared to modern war films. If I had a choice, this would be the first classic film that I would do a modern version of. And I would try to do it like the original---get great actors and actresses from the US, the UK, Germany, Canada, France and other nations involved. If done right, it would be amazing.

 

How are you going to replace:
John Wayne - Richard Burton - Kenneth Moore - Henry Fonda - Robert Mitchum and Sean bloody Connery!??
With Brad Pitt?

 

I am sure Hollywood could find some fine actresses to fill the various rolls.

 

You are correct,all the good actors left are either too old or have done good war films before ie,Ed Harris,Hanks etc etc.
Some films such as the longest day never make good remakes for the generations that enjoyed the originals,no matter how much cgi is used.

 

It was done, ever seen. "Saving Prvate Ryan" was the remake of the Longest Day but with 1990s Hollywood interpreting the US public mode interested in D Day as an American rather than Allied endeavor.

 

A Bridge Too Far is another great film, also based on a Cornelius Ryan book, that is international in scope and true (as true as a film can be) to the events.

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A rather mixed problem here. A modern remake could only guarantee better effects or more realistic gore and as Pearl Harbor has ably demonstrated such things can not overcome bad casting, story telling and direction. I have never seen the former as being better than the latter. There are so many possible ideas out there that could be told with modern movie tools and add much rather than spending on rehashing a already classic film.

 

I would leave The Longest Day alone. The only classic war movie that I think could possibly be done over with better effect would be Battle of Britain. Actually, I'd take the original, replace the air combat scenes using up to date special effects but keep the rest of the original movie.

 

There are so many great story lines out there. Dieppe, Bomber Command, Escort commander Walker, USS England, Salvo Bay, Falaise, Tarawa, Leyte Gulf, Squalus/Sailfish/Sculpin saga, Java Sea, Greece/Crete and any number of stories from the Eastern Front.

 

I say we push for a remake of "The Great Escape". We can have Brad/Formerjughead star as Hilts the "Cooler King". He was born for the role.

 

I like it. We need a cast list. Obviously Otto would be Der Kommandant.... but who gets to play Karl-Otto Alberty's role?

 

No there are others, starting with All's Quiet on the Western Front.

It is very much harder for film makers outside Hollywood to make a WW2 action film. The Battle of Britain was a British film but lost money until video sales pushed it into the black.It is very much harder to interest in Hollywood in a movie with non american heros. Len Deighton said that David Puttenham took his book Bomber to Hollywood. They didn't like the RAF subject nor the tragic ending. They made the movie but with an american subject and upbeat ending and called it "Memphis Belle". At least that is better than U577.

 

Eh...I would like to see filmmakers go down a different avenue. Overlord has been oversaturated in Hollywood. I would like to see, and perhaps that trend is beginning, more biographical accounts similar to The Darkest Hour."

 

To be fair we have had "Darkest Hour" and "Churchill" with a similar theme, and for historic balance "Downfall"

 

One would think that the British film industry should be making this into a film...Rather than complaining about the American film industry not wanting to do it. Besides, Bob Wigley has been trying to make the film since 2009-10, but has found few, if any backers. But, the film score

 

Your right. Each one was an excellent film. I would like to see more of the the major personas in the conflict.