Hello, all! We’ll be sticking with a few standards in the World War II portion of this “series,” beginning with a film that, despite starting with a meticulous degree of attention to historical accuracy, decides to abandon a slavish devotion to accuracy in favor of an emphasis on action by the third act. Given the wealth of information that could have guided the script in the last act as much as it clearly did the first, it’s a bit surprising that the movie does so. Regardless, it’s the film that got D-Day right [so right, in fact, that psychological help lines were established for veterans in case the on-screen depiction of what they went through was enough to make those old traumas resurface]. As you’ve no doubt guessed, today’s film is SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. The trailer for the film is embedded below:
Obviously, this film is not a documentary [and if it’s a documentary about World War II that you want, please check out The World at War; as good as Ken Burns’s The War was, The World at War is still the best of the bunch], so it isn’t bound by the conventions of that particular genre… but man, it hits the right notes. While some objected to the somewhat artificial “Spielberg treatment” the film had with the way it was bookended, the film manages to be emotionally compelling… and then some.
I recall having seen the poster for the film in theaters and being intrigued, the lone soldier silhouetted against the sky whilst walking across some portion or other of European soil. Later, of course, I saw the film, and I remember quite vividly still the absolute silence in the theater as the film depicted the landings on “Bloody Omaha,” from the stunned silence when the MG-34 rounds tore into the troops below the surface to the last part of the scene wherein the camera panned across the beaches to focus on the “Ryan” name patch. I remember a few sniffles, my own included, when the Ryans’ mother received that terrible visit that so many Gold Star families would get during the war. The whole movie became more than a movie, instead being an experience, one that was so compelling that ABC would later present it – uncut, no less – in primetime. Although THE LONGEST DAY and THE BIG RED ONE attempted to portray the D-Day landings as well as they could, the version in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN sets the bar. As an aside, the veterans of that war with whom I’ve spoken said that, as good a job as the film did in its unflinching depiction of the D-Day landings, it still wasn’t close to how awful it was. Oh, and they’ve also mentioned how “Hollywood” the film got after that scene. Perhaps that’s what happens when you’ve got someone who wasn’t there as the historical advisor, and tho’ Stephen Ambrose probably has forgotten more about the D-Day landings than most of us will ever know, there’s a difference between the feel of this film post-Omaha Beach landing scene and yesterday’s pick.
It’s doubtful that any reading this aren’t familiar with the story that drives the plot of this film. If you’ve seen [or are familiar with] THE FIGHTING SULLIVANS, it’s a similar conceit: all but one of a group of brothers are killed in action, so the last surviving son of the Ryans is to be rescued at any cost. This brings up an interesting moral question that is answered to different degrees at various points in the movie, and that is: what is the value of a person? In my opinion, that question isn’t really answered fully until the final bookend scene, and while the answer does err on the side of being a bit clumsy, it is at least an answer. Philosophical quandaries notwithstanding, the cast does a solid job despite being a tad stereotypical, from the Scripture-spewing sniper [probably Barry Pepper’s most memorable role, and definitely inspired by SERGEANT YORK] from the hills to the streetwise, loudmouth guy from the Bronx. It could have ended up as caricature, but the performances are good enough within the context of the story to serve it rather than detract from it. Naturally, the one performance that carries the whole film is that of Captain Miller [portrayed by Tom Hanks], the man in charge of this handpicked half platoon of Rangers [perhaps an indirect reference to THE DIRTY DOZEN] who… inexplicably talk as loudly as possible whilst wandering around in territory the enemy still controls. It’s a minor quibble, I suppose, but it does at least hint that the emphasis on realism is more likely to be found before that point in the film than after. Besides, even if the film lurches toward action over realism in the third act, it’s still very well done.
Anyway, the movie is an incredible scene followed by a solid war film, and it’s one ripped from the footnotes of history [the story mirrors the real-life experiences of the Niland brothers, if you’re interested]. There are probably very few people who haven’t seen it, but in case you’re reading this, please do give it a watch. Then, if you can, head to Bedford, Virginia to see the National D-Day Memorial and learn about the “Bedford Boys.” Both are experiences you’re likely not soon to forget. Enjoy!
Other films recommended:
[Day 1 - KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (Director's Cut); Day 2 - GLADIATOR; Day 3 - TROY; Day 4 - SPARTACUS; Day 5 - BRAVEHEART; Day 6 - MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD; Day 7 - GLORY; Day 8 - GODS AND GENERALS; Day 9 - GONE WITH THE WIND; Day 10 - CAPITAINE CONAN; Day 11 - ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT; Day 12 - GALLIPOLI; Day 13 - PATHS OF GLORY; Day 14 - SERGEANT YORK; Day 15 - DAS BOOT]
Obviously, this film is not a documentary [and if it’s a documentary about World War II that you want, please check out The World at War; as good as Ken Burns’s The War was, The World at War is still the best of the bunch], so it isn’t bound by the conventions of that particular genre… but man, it hits the right notes. While some objected to the somewhat artificial “Spielberg treatment” the film had with the way it was bookended, the film manages to be emotionally compelling… and then some.
I recall having seen the poster for the film in theaters and being intrigued, the lone soldier silhouetted against the sky whilst walking across some portion or other of European soil. Later, of course, I saw the film, and I remember quite vividly still the absolute silence in the theater as the film depicted the landings on “Bloody Omaha,” from the stunned silence when the MG-34 rounds tore into the troops below the surface to the last part of the scene wherein the camera panned across the beaches to focus on the “Ryan” name patch. I remember a few sniffles, my own included, when the Ryans’ mother received that terrible visit that so many Gold Star families would get during the war. The whole movie became more than a movie, instead being an experience, one that was so compelling that ABC would later present it – uncut, no less – in primetime. Although THE LONGEST DAY and THE BIG RED ONE attempted to portray the D-Day landings as well as they could, the version in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN sets the bar. As an aside, the veterans of that war with whom I’ve spoken said that, as good a job as the film did in its unflinching depiction of the D-Day landings, it still wasn’t close to how awful it was. Oh, and they’ve also mentioned how “Hollywood” the film got after that scene. Perhaps that’s what happens when you’ve got someone who wasn’t there as the historical advisor, and tho’ Stephen Ambrose probably has forgotten more about the D-Day landings than most of us will ever know, there’s a difference between the feel of this film post-Omaha Beach landing scene and yesterday’s pick.
It’s doubtful that any reading this aren’t familiar with the story that drives the plot of this film. If you’ve seen [or are familiar with] THE FIGHTING SULLIVANS, it’s a similar conceit: all but one of a group of brothers are killed in action, so the last surviving son of the Ryans is to be rescued at any cost. This brings up an interesting moral question that is answered to different degrees at various points in the movie, and that is: what is the value of a person? In my opinion, that question isn’t really answered fully until the final bookend scene, and while the answer does err on the side of being a bit clumsy, it is at least an answer. Philosophical quandaries notwithstanding, the cast does a solid job despite being a tad stereotypical, from the Scripture-spewing sniper [probably Barry Pepper’s most memorable role, and definitely inspired by SERGEANT YORK] from the hills to the streetwise, loudmouth guy from the Bronx. It could have ended up as caricature, but the performances are good enough within the context of the story to serve it rather than detract from it. Naturally, the one performance that carries the whole film is that of Captain Miller [portrayed by Tom Hanks], the man in charge of this handpicked half platoon of Rangers [perhaps an indirect reference to THE DIRTY DOZEN] who… inexplicably talk as loudly as possible whilst wandering around in territory the enemy still controls. It’s a minor quibble, I suppose, but it does at least hint that the emphasis on realism is more likely to be found before that point in the film than after. Besides, even if the film lurches toward action over realism in the third act, it’s still very well done.
Anyway, the movie is an incredible scene followed by a solid war film, and it’s one ripped from the footnotes of history [the story mirrors the real-life experiences of the Niland brothers, if you’re interested]. There are probably very few people who haven’t seen it, but in case you’re reading this, please do give it a watch. Then, if you can, head to Bedford, Virginia to see the National D-Day Memorial and learn about the “Bedford Boys.” Both are experiences you’re likely not soon to forget. Enjoy!
Other films recommended:
[Day 1 - KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (Director's Cut); Day 2 - GLADIATOR; Day 3 - TROY; Day 4 - SPARTACUS; Day 5 - BRAVEHEART; Day 6 - MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD; Day 7 - GLORY; Day 8 - GODS AND GENERALS; Day 9 - GONE WITH THE WIND; Day 10 - CAPITAINE CONAN; Day 11 - ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT; Day 12 - GALLIPOLI; Day 13 - PATHS OF GLORY; Day 14 - SERGEANT YORK; Day 15 - DAS BOOT]
