I finished watching The Longest Day and I don't have much to add. It comes across as several different movies, depending on whether you are watching American, English, or German points of view. That is because it was directed by four different men. The Americans come across as gung-ho, the British droll (one amusing scene has a young Sean Connery bitching about a bagpipe player), and the Germans intelligent, but frustrated by their own military beraucracy and a leader who's a wingnut (Der Fuhrer, of course).

This movie is the fourth that I have seen with at least portions of the invasion of Normandy portrayed. The others include Band of Brothers, the Big Red One, and Saving Private Ryan. I don't really have a point; just it is a fascinating point in time where the Allies start re-taking Europe.

Speaking of Lee Marvin (honest, I was) The Dirty Dozen is a fictional story that takes place just before D=Day. Turner Classic Movies just showed it. No commercials! Kewl!

He trains a dozen soldiers who had committed all kinds of crimes to go on an impossible mission. Who will survive? Pay attention to who committed what crime and you can pretty much guess. It wasn't as good as I remembered it.

One movie that was as good as I remembered it was The Great Escape, though it's a lot more downbeat than I remembered. Great cast, including Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, and James Coburn. One gripe about Coburn. He played an aussie and had a terrible accent. Other than that, it's a gripping three hours.

After all that testosterone it was a blessing to switch to estrogen-drenched british soap opera. I got through part one through three of The Forsyte Saga II. Soames has mellowed a little bit; I love the scenes he has with his daughter because he finally displays some real affection. It's maybe because Fleur honestly loves her father. There was a scene where they danced together where all of a sudden his hunched, stogy old self became graceful. And maybe he was a little, itsy bitsy happy.

I'm dreading part 4. It can't end well; it just can't.

Someone better cast Damian Lewis in a silly, girly-girl romantic comedy as the lead. I have a feeling however he's going to get stuck playing creeps due to certain prejudices.