This is an excellent film that now serves as an excellent companion piece to Saving Private Ryan in terms of giving the strategic overview of the D-Day campaign.

True story: I met the real Major Howard (who captured Pegasus Bridge). By sheer coincidence, I was on a school trip to Normandy visiting major D-Day historic sites, and when we came to Pegasus Bridge, Major Howard was there. The teachers asked him to give us all a talk about his experiences, and he obliged. Such an extraordinary coincidence, and an amazing childhood memory (I was 13, and by that point had seen The Longest Day).