Saving private ryan-possibily the best ww2 film ever made?

Only?

 

Smithson;
And Sergei Bondakchuk's "War and Peace" gets my vote as the best war movie of all time.
YouTube - "War & Peace" - Part 3 - 1812 - Borodino
What does this have to do with WWII? Well the memories of the Great Patriotic War were pretty fresh in people's minds and large numbers of the cast were veterans. Russians have a keenly felt sense of history and the War on Napoleon had a huge influence on the War on Hitler.
JeffinMNUSA

 

Of course the fact that it portrayed an American unit on Omaha Beach would have precluded Brits or Canadians. Though I agree many American War movies show everything from a US point of view.

 

omg yes its omaha beach. i get that.
but what about the rest of the movie, you dont see any british considering this roaming 7 are going all over the place seeing americans everywhere but no british.

see plenty of american paras but no brit paras. so where are they in this movie?
and wouldnt the americans have a british and canadian liason? with there big shots in the blown out bunker?(just after the beach scene when miller is given the assignment)



also to be a stick in the mud, wasnt that scene from the utah beach? omaha was rangers landing and climbing cliffs, and omaha recieved the worst casualties correct? utah beach recived less casualties.

and what about the pictures from americans landing on utah beach (in the landing craft) wow the whizzing machine gun bullets and bunkers are so visible in that picture and men are lying everywhere with disfigured bodies and americans are hiding behind czech hedgehogs while the machine guns are raking the beaches and killing 9/10 men.

 

There were no British soldiers on Omaha....

 

To add to Jeffs post, those Rangers I believe, were commanded by Lt.Col. William O'Darby (Darby's Rangers) NOTE: I said: "I believe" because im not absolutely sure if Col Darby was at that point or not? I remember reading something about him but was many years ago unfortunately.

 

Hi Jeff, thanks for the correction ;-)) It's been too many years-probably about 20?? or more? since I last read anything about him. One factual thing I can say about Lt. Col. Darby-is that Darbys Rangers has been released on DvD (FINALLY) and i've placed my order from TCM for a copy ;-))

Speaking of Darby, it sure was a darn shame that he didn't survive the war.

 

well i stand corrected it is omaha beach, i just always remembered that film to be from utah beach, now that ive seen it again i understand. guys i just read some of the most racist mean comments on finland on utube
YouTube - Saving Private Ryan Omaha beach
check it out, i would respond if i was signed up.

 

What do people think about the comparison between The Longest Day and Saving Private Ryan?
Personally, I think that while the opening sequence of SPR is in a class by itself, TLD is far better as a portrayal of the events of the day and although forty-odd years old still stands up very well.
Overall, SPR is a fairly standard "adventure" war film.

 

I do not think the film "Saving Private Ryan" rates anywhere near the best war film that was ever made. As others have already pointed out, the movie had its good parts, but there were too many sloppy mistakes. If Hollywood can spend that kind of budget making a film, why can't they do a bit more research? I have my own list of SPR nit-picks, that I won't bother to go into.

I will say this: SPR was a revolutionary film in that it was the first to use the new cinematic techniques of the hand-held camera and sound effects work, that brought the viewer right into the chaos of combat. The realism factor was boosted ten-fold. This would be repeated in Band of Brothers, and I believe changed the way war movies will be made forever. I remember talking with my father's platoon leader (rest his soul), who eventually became a company commander. He went to see SPR with his grandson. After the movie ended, his grandson asked: "Was being in the war as bad as that, grandpa? Grandpa simply replied: "worse!"

Greg C.

 

There was one Higgins boat with a platoon of men from Company A, 116th Infantry. It is said that that particular boat was the only boat to land at the exact spot at Vierville Draw that it was supposed to, while all other were carried off course by wind, tide and currents. As the ramp dropped, machine gun rounds peppered the interior of the craft. Of the thirty some odd men, only three made it to the shingle, and two of those were wounded. All others were dead. In his D-Day book, Stephan Ambrose describes this boat very well (considering I have a love/hate relationship with Ambrose). Since Ambrose was a historical advisor on SPR, I always wondered if the Tom Hanks beach landing scene was modeled more on the one boat of Company A, 116th Infantry, than a Ranger boat. Any thoughts?

Greg C.

 

Fritz Niland, The real Private Ryan..
Niland brothers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Major General Reverend Francis L. Sampson, U.S.A.
(February 29, 1912, Cherokee, Iowa-January 28, 1996, Sioux Falls, South Dakota). Roman Catholic Priest and U.S. Army Chief of Chaplains, 1967-1971. Ordained Priest, June 1, 1941. Chaplain, 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army, 1943-1945. Major General and Chief of Chaplains, U.S. Army, July, 1967-1971. Author. The movie "Saving Private Ryan" is loosely based on his exploits in locating Fritz Niland in Normandy shortly after the D-Day invasion. Known as the "Parachute Padre" and "Father Sam." Parachuted into Normandy on June 6, 1944. Captured during the Battle of the Buldge and served time in a Prisoner-of-War camp, December 19, 1944-April 28, 1945. Received Distinguished Service Cross.

robert.. http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgu...&ndsp=18&tbs=isch:1&ei=2_30S-SyJc2K_AbmqZHKCg

preston.. http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgu...&ndsp=18&tbs=isch:1&ei=Uv70S8a9E9Oe_AbPhZS3Cg



fritz on the left...

 

I like The War by Ken Burns. I know it's not a movie per se, but it is well produced and well directed. Regarding Private Ryan, I did like the movie, keeping in mind that it is a fictional account of a rescue mission.

 

Well said, Biak. I agree. The movie still grabs me after seeing it several times. Unfortunately, I can't say it's the greatest. SPR is good.
That is what almost everybody here will agree. Not the best but definitely in the top 100.

 

I saw Saving Private Ryan with my mom when I was 17. I still remember seeing an old man cry. He was in the Pacific Theater, but he still felt the emotions. I too cried like a baby. To me, it's hard not to say it's the best WW2 movie ever made, but another movie that deserves a nod, and it's been mentioned before is Downfall. That movie is as good as WW2 movies get IMO.