To those who have seen 'SAVING PRIVATE RYAN'???

Question

To those who have seen the film:

WHAT POINTS WOULD YOU INCLUDE AND WHAT SCENES WOULD YOU MENTION WHEN WRITING A FILM REVIEW ON IT???

thnx

Answer 1

you should include the fact that millions of people died fighting in the war before the americans decided to join in

Answer 2

The first 20 minutes are like a sale at Bloomingdales...the next 2 hours is Spielberg doing 'Full Metal Jacket' to the tune of Edward Scissorhands.

Answer 3

No one can doubt the power of this film's opening sequence. When Miller (Tom Hanks), slimed in blood and filth, stares blank eyed at the carnal slaughter around him , you cannot help but think 'That was what is was really like'. And you cannot help but reflect on the importance of this moment in modern history, and on the undiluted bravery of the men who were there. And yet....when the initial battle is over, Horvath (Tom Sizemore) scoops up a handful of dirt and pours it in to a tin marked 'France'. It's a moment of forced quirkiness, quite out of keeping with the frank reportage of what's gone before. It's a bit of business, used by the director as a punctuation mark, and it's the first sign that this is a film with fatal flaws.

Having survived Omaha Beach, Miller and his men are assigned to locate Ryan, whose whereabouts are unknown. Ryan's brothers have been killed in action and the US military brass cannot allow Ryan to be lost too. There's a historical precedent for this, although 'Saving Private Ryan' is a wholly fictionalised account. Given their mission, the soldiers debate it's worth - are they to throw their lives away in order to arbitrarily save someone else? Conflicts arise, there are uneasy stand offs, and reluctant truces. They find Ryan, and save him. Ryan lives to be a humble old man, but most of the soldiers who saved him do not live to be old men of any sort.

Spielberg's technique is frequently brilliant, but it's unvaried, so that the final battle is no different in tone from the first one, three hours of screen time previous. But the real flaws are in the script. Miller is an ordinary decent man, who will make difficult decisions when pushed. Horvath is the tough sergeant, Wade is the medic disgusted by the slaughter, Reiben is the insubordinate, Mellish is the comedian who doesn't know when to shut up, Upham is the tenderfoot who's never fired a weapon on his life, Jackson is an illiterate from the deep south who's also crack shot, Carparzo is a giant of a man. Miller could be played by Gregory Peck, Horvath by Ernest Borgnine. Reiben might be a young William Holden and so on.

The worst crime is the character of the German soldier who the men want to execute in revenge for the death of Wade. The German begs pitifully for his life, says in broken English that he loves America and hates Germany. Upham is a humanitarian, he can't stand to see a man killed in cold blood and he persuades Miller to let the German go free. Upham has never fired a weapon in his life, remember, and Miller is full of human decency. So at the end, what happens? The German returns, having thrown in his lot with another platoon of German soldiers. In what is portrayed as a supreme irony, the German kills Miller, and in turn, is killed by Upham, who finally finds his courage, or at least, his capacity to kill. The problem is that as soon as you set eyes on Upham, he's so weak and pathetic that it's a certainty his character will undergo a dramatic reversal. It doesn't matter that Tom Hanks as Miller, Jeremy Davies as Upham, and Barry Pepper as Jackson are superb. It doesn't matter that as vignettes, the deaths of Wade and Mellish are exceptional. Behind the throat clearing and the reverence, the clichés stretch from the flinty military hawk who gives the order that Ryan must be saved, to the final soft focus image of the older Ryan himself. In the end, 'Saving Private Ryan' is a more callow, less worldly film than 'Attack' or 'A Walk In The Sun' and the savagery of it's opening only serves to emphasise the fact.

Answer 4

I'd point out that some of the beach obstacles in the opening scenes are facing the wrong way. Then I'd put my anorak on and have a nice, soothing cup of cocoa.

Answer 5

I would include the opening scene on Normandy Beach; the scene the mother is told that her 3rd son is dead; and the ending scene in France.

Answer 6

effects of war on families, scene where mother is seen getting telegram
the price of a life, death scenes of soldiers looking for Ryan and end scene
opening battle scene

Answer 7

Definately the scene where they go to the house and the mother says she`s lost four sons now in the war and she has just one left out there. Then the major says,
" Sergeant - bring that boy home ! "
I love that bit !!

Answer 8

You should metion that its a great film.
I like the scene at the start when they are getting off the boats, and people are getting shot at, and only a few of them manage to get to the sand dunes.

Answer 9

that's an excellent movie:) you desire to to observe another video clips alongside with Tae Guk Gi: Brotherhood of conflict or seventy one Into the fireplace. they are the two Korean yet they are super magnificent video clips. On Youtube, they have English subs:)

Answer 10

I had to write a million (just kidding) word essay on the fist 10 mins