My grandfather practically raised me, and was the best man I ever knew. He would attend WW2 conventions yearly, and I would accompany him. As a child, I never understood why he would cry during the playing of Taps. I remember him turning the TV down when gunshots and explosions would occur onscreen. I saw Private Ryan in the theater, and wept for what he had to go through, and am eternally grateful to Spielberg for answering the questions that I had of that horrible, but necessary, time. We and our allies defeated true evil. My grandfather was a liberator at Buchenwald concentration camp, and saw for himself the twisted agenda of the Nazi regime. RIP Claiborne T. Holloway. I will always remember...
I hope you can find peace and joy in his memory. We don't always get to choose the path we take, but as long as your grandfather has you to keep his memory alive, then he filled a greater purpose. I never served. My dad did, my brother did and my uncle did. I never ask them what it was like because I know that's something deep for them. But I always tell them that I try to understand by just being as supportive as I can and being an ear should they just need someone to listen to them. I saw a bumper sticker once that I liked. It said, "I wasn't there, but I care". That pretty much sums up how I feel. Peace and perseverance.
Those women typing letters were not making things up... they were transcribing letters written by the officers, sergeants, etc. If someone died under your command, you were expected to write a letter to the soldier's family telling them what happened. The letters were often scrawled in pencil on dirty pieces of notebook paper, and sometimes even had blood on them. The Department of the Army would have them typed up on proper letterhead and sent to the family.
I lost an uncle (who I never got to meet, obv.) in WW2. He died of his wounds in a South African military hospital. All the parents got was 2 line telegram through the mail. Coldbooded/factual with just name, DOD. I don’t think the British put in as much effort and respect as the Americans did, it seems…..
@@richardpoynton4026 - Yup... in America, it's typically done as was shown here. A couple military officers, usually with a chaplain, priest, minister, etc, will show up to personally deliver the news to the family of the deceased soldier. And the Department of Defense tries to provide as much information as they can, telling what happened and where. For the families that live on military bases, there are support groups made up of the wives of soldiers, and they will also show up to help the wife and/or family of the deceased. To be honest, I'm not sure which is better. Personally, I'd rather absorb that news in private or with close family, than to have a bunch of strangers show up at my door expecting to come in my home and 'console' me.
The terms are universal and come out of the Geneva Convention. That way, any country signed up to the Convention can report their missing, dead, wounded and prisoners, both allied and enemy, and it is understandable by all.
@@jimmysmith5418 Thanks for being our allie and standing with us on the battlefield. God bless all veterans today. We thank you for your service . That's for you as well, Australia, and you, Canada, Thank you for your service -
Right before I went to Air Force Basic Training, I invited a coworker and good friend of mine to go see it when it came out in 1998. Mr. Paul Hyland was a WWII veteran and took part in the beach landings at Omaha with the 35th Infantry Division. I asked him if it was really like that and he replied "No. Not enough bodies." I'll never forget that. We kept in touch for the next several years even when I was deployed overseas. He was even able to come to my 1st reenlistment and he wore his WWII Class A uniform. It was pretty cool. He passed away in 2005 at the age of 81 and I miss him to this day and, as a retired combat veteran myself now, this movie means a lot more to me than it did back then.
imagine smelling the dead bodies and carrying 160 pound weight with walking slow because of motars and mines yet u could get shot and thinking this is my last step
I watched this movie in the theaters twice in 1998. My grandfather, a WWII vet, asked me if I thought he should go see it. By that time, there were already news stories about how PTSD hotlines were being overwhelmed by veterans who had seen the film. I remembered the tears in his eyes when he watched the movie "Memphis Belle." So, I had to tell him I really didn't think he should see it. I don't think he ever did.
I recall being speechless for a while after leaving the theater seeing this movie. Just lost in thinking of what I just saw, and the range of emotions that I felt then, and honestly still feel watching it all these years later. This movie took the visuals to a new level. War movies are not for everyone, I understand that, but damn this is a masterpiece in my eyes.
Realistic war movies (especially movies set in WW2 like SPR) are important for everyone to watch. Because even though this film's plot is fictional, what it depicts is very real and people need to acknowledge the men who laid down their lives and the sacrifices that were made
@@jacobdenise1648 a little but Carlos Halfcock (I believe) a Vietnam sniper, actually made such a shot on a Mercenary enemy combatant, one he trained no less.
That's a misread: not guilt. He wasn't - and wouldn't have been - required to be guilty. What he needed to hear was that he had fulfilled a duty and moral obligation to live _in worthiness_ of the sacrifice... - that's, what he was asked to satisfy: not, to live his life in guilt. That's a very different kind of burden, that none of them would have placed on him - they were brothers.
@@lewis7515 Lone Survivor is a really good film about the one soldier who was not killed in a battle. The sense of guilt is real. The dead do not want the living to feel guilt, but it is a human thing non the less.
Upham was a young man put in an extraordinary situation. At the beginning of the movie you saw a lot of soldiers completely broken in the beach, unable to react, unable to defend themselves and others, probably next in line to die, but you judged Upham because you bonded with the rest of the characters and it hurt he was the one broken and unable to defend others when they needed him. Upham... was just another young guy like the ones at the beginning. You reaction is completely understandable, I will never criticize that, but wanted to make sure someone points that out because I think Upham is a character that reflects war in a way we dont usually want to think about it. The original movie didnt have subtitles in any language, in this DVD release they respected that by making the subtitles in german when needed. That was completely on purpose because you are in a war, you are not supposed to understand anything if you dont know the language. Someone will probably write about it in the comments, but look for 'Czech soldier saving private ryan' in Google to see what Im talking about.
So many folks seem to think getting into action is easy. Christ, no one knows how they'll handle it til they're in the middle of it. Some are able to function, others break. And even the toughest guys have a breaking point. it ain't a damn game, there's no reloads in life. And it's exactly how you said, displayals of breaking/freezing soldiers have always been rare, especially prior to this movie. Having someone like Upham with zero combat experience was important. And we see Ryan screaming and crying in the end too, not fighting.
Band of Brothers is another Tom Hanks (as producer) presentation of WWII soldiers' experiences. It is based on facts and some of the original soldiers are interviewed before each episode. Quite moving.
Thank you for your first personal reaction to this film. Two years after this great film came out, my grandfather passed away from cancer in 2000. He enlisted in 1942 (age 20-21) & served in the 5th Ranger Battalion that trained in Tennesee. Eventually shipped out to Britain in late 1943/early 1944 in preparation for Operation Overlord. Trained in Special Cliff Operations in the Highlands of Scotland in early 1944 alongside his fellow Rangers (plus other Allied/UK Special forces) before D-Day. On June 6th, 1944, he subsequently climbed the cliffs of Point du Hoc. He had to carry his BAR into battle in rough terrain under heavy fire, search & eventually destroy the German Howitzers that greatly saved thousands of his fellow countrymen on the beaches. As history goes, the Rangers had to traverse miles of the French countryside for the repositioned guns after hours of naval & air bombardment prior to the invasion forced the Germans back from Point du Hoc. My grandfather was one man out of 75 men (out of 225 Rangers, 67% of the unit were wounded or killed) who was able to reach the top of Point du Hoc & keep on fighting beyond the Longest Day. Played a part of Operation Cobra in the breakout out of Normandy. Into the battle of Saint-Lo in July 1944, he got wounded when a piece of mortar shrapnel hit his leg (from his calf to above his ankle) & took him out of action. The 29th Infantry Battalion alongside another American division with small groups of Army Rangers (intermix of the remaining 2nd & 5th Ranger Battalions) took massive losses from German artillery destroying the town. My grandfather would have met his end at Saint-Lo, but thankfully he had a guardian angel over him. Over the years, I was told by my father & my aunt that after he got wounded, my grandfather was saved by a Sherman Tank Crew from the 747th Independent tank division that came to support the 29th Infantry division to take ruins of Saint-Lo & were attempting to gather all the wounded GIs during the course of the battle. It's still very unclear how many were saved on that day alongside my grandfather, but as a result of them saving lives, the Sherman Tank Commander was the only casualty while gathering up the wounded men under heavy fire. Due to their courageous actions, my grandfather lived, was able to go home to raise a family, & eventually serve as a police officer (SGT) for nearly 25 years until he retired in 1978. He got the Bronze Star for his heroic actions on D-Day & 2 Purple Hearts in the Fall of 1944. In both civilian life & his long days in law enforcement, he had to take small amounts of morphine (inside a capsule attached to a sliver neck chain around his neck) every day due to the wounds he received in the war until his last days on this earth. A reminder of the sacrifices he made in the defense of America, her people & the liberation of Europe. My grandfather's mother was a German immigrant & orphan who came to America in the 1890s when her homeland (early German Empire) was facing some social destabilization. My grandfather had no ill will against the majority of the German troops he fought against in the Liberation of France. He always respected the Germans (the Wehrmacht/cousins) for their military leadership, combat efficiency & historical discipline. He absolutely hated the Nazi idealogy, who only represented Hitler & a few thousand people in the SS divisions that committed the Holocaust. Like everyone else who first watched the movie, I began to truly understand & greatly appreciate the sacrifices my grandfather & the millions of soldiers made in WWII. That includes the common German Soldier (non-SS/Nazi) who fought not for Hitler, but for their family & their country. This film will always be one of my favorite films about WWII despite some of its flaws. I always got emotional at the end of the film when Miller tells Ryan that "Earn this" & it cuts to Ryan asking his wife if he was a good man. My grandfather never ever saw Saving Private Ryan in the last years of his life (did like the movie The Longest Day), but like most veterans, he would have attempted to avoid seeing the horrors of war again. I am immensely grateful to have known him before his passing & I am proud to be his grandson. This is a story I like to share with those who have first watched this film,, Band of Brothers, or any content related to the summer of 1944. If I had to create a title to describe his WWII story it would be called... "Liberation at the Gates"
The cemetery that you see is above the beaches in Normandy, France where the landings occurred. There are 33,000 Allied servicemen buried there. The French citizens take excellent care of it in respect for what those soldiers sacrificed for them.
no they didnt get better in modern times, its kinda the same protection helmet wise. and they did protect against a direct bullet hit, but its kinda random , meaning it depends a lot on the distance on the shot and the angle of impact.
The way modern helmets are designed, they won’t _stop_ a bullet, but instead they ‘channel’ the bullet around the helmet and out the back, There are several different layers of Kevlar at different weave densities. A 5.56mm or a 7.62mm round will penetrate the first few layers but won’t fully penetrate the middle layers. The bullet is still travelling really quickly so the higher density layers ‘guide’ the bullet around the curve of the helmet letting it fly out the back through the lower density layers missing the head inside it completely.
at the start of WW1, most soldiers wore fabric caps. the amount of casualties from artillery bombardment, especially airburst shells were staggering. introducing metal helmets severely reduced head injuries
it is very easy to judge, and very hard to understand why Upham behaved like he did when that german soldier killed Mellish. Being (almost literally) frozen in fear is a real thing that happened to a lot of people in fights.
I believe you’re exactly correct. People tend to judge Upham as a coward, but he also ran out under fire to go get the ammo to begin with. And he came back, with the Germans all over the place. It’s been said that in combat, sometimes people can be extraordinarily brave at one moment, and frozen with fear the next. And probably most often, somewhere in between.
Trixy, when this first came out, I watched it with my girl friend. She was in tears when the shells hit some of the landing craft at the beginning, and was over come by the end of the beach scene. This movie changed her opinion of everything related to the service. I explained to her that most of the men there were drafted and had no choice in things happening around them. It was just the way things have always been for guys. She never again complained about a hair out of place or nail polish being messed up or clothing that doesn't fit seamless. She would always look at me and say she knew why I have no patience for war or any bully perpetrating war. When I explained these scenes were close to reality, but reality can get far worse; she got emotional. I can only say that she finally understood why guys who went to war came back different, saying most of those guys were only 18 to 20 years old. We both have great respect for all military people from any branch of service. I can honestly say this movie changed her for the better.
In Upham's defense, he was not a combat soldier. He was thrust into a situation for which he was not prepared. Nobody knows (including myself) how they would react in a combat situation until they are in it.
My grandfather was a WW2 veteran in Russia. As a German though. He told me stories you would not believe, if not told by a man who was actually there. 50:47 American Soldier: "Hands in the air. Drop the weapons." (he says it multiple times) The German to his comrades:"I know this soldier. I know this man" American soldier:"Shut the fuck up!" German:"Upham." (this is not a German word, I think it is the name of the American soldier) after he shot the one guy, he told the others "Leave!" Greetings :)
Upham is the name of the soldier/writer/translator with the rifle. The German was trying to let Upham know that he knew him from earlier. He was the German soldier who was blindfolded and able to leave, to turn himself in to other American forces. If only someone had killed him then and there, Captain Miller and others would still be alive.
Even if you remove all of the innate human flaws that cause war such as greed, hatred & fear, as long as there is a limited supply of resources and/or unequal access to them... there will be war. This is a consequence of your instinct for self-preservation, which is nature, but nature that is not limited to humans. We just happen to be uniquely capable of acting on it.
As a former soldier I can tell you it isn't the junior soldiers who cause wars. Most of them are young men who would never harm an innocent person under normal conditions. The megalomaniacs who all too often rise in government are the fundamental problem, IMHO. War is obscene, especially when innocent lives are destroyed.
Today we have another lunatic seizing power, unconcerned with how many countless deaths it will cause. More than one million already from Covid-19. His family came from Germany. The family name used to be Drumpf. And just like Hitler, this one has duped many to his side.
Absolutely! Not only was it a great movie but it was also incredibly realistic when it comes to the history behind Easy Company and the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Col. Dick Winters was a real life hero.
As a Marine Veteran I want to say ‘Thank you’ for watching this movie. I wish more young people would. It really demonstrates the loyalty, courage, and cost that many have paid to protect whatever it is that’s important to you and me. There is a saying in the military: ‘the individual takes the oath but the family also serves’ I served and fought because I love this country and it’s wonderful people. Our country is in a bad place right now but we’ll get through it…together. Semper Fi!
9:39 If you were wondering what those soldiers were saying, here is the answer: They said "Prosím, nestřílejte na mě, nejsem Němec, jsem Čech, nikoho jsem nezabil!" How English would be "Please don't shoot me, I'm not German, I'm Czech I didn't kill anyone! "
They were Czech conscripts (conscription is a forced military enlistment) sent to fight on the front, and were purposefully missing shots because they did not want to fight. It's sad, but also the Allies were under orders to take no prisoners for the first 3 days after the invasion. Just a terrible situation on both sides :/
@@shanejur its true...Omaha was actually made up of a shoddy german regiment supported by captured and conscripted men from Ukraine, Poland, and Czechoslovakia...most had never even fired at an animal let alone a person...and the german regiment was one of the worst in the whermacht, as Hitler never believed the invasion to come from Normandy, and so manned it with minimal troops and literally no armor or air support...if hitler had put more troops and armor in place at Normandy, its possible that couldve been a catastrophic loss to the expeditionary forces
I was amazed at how realistic this movie was when I first saw it. I served in the Vietnam war and four of my high school friends died there. They were in other units, but my darkest memory was talking to a kid next to me, also 18 years old and as we were talking all of a sudden, I was covered with blood, bone fragments, and brain tissue. An enemy bullet killed him, and I never even got to know his name. I was so stunned as we never heard any gunfire. He died instantly and then all kinds of bullets were flying around on both sides. The suddenness of death was what struck me the most. It easily could have been me instead. Thar war was so unpopular back in the US that when I got home I was called all kinds of names and spit on many times. I think that was the rare one where the people of our country were so against our military being there. My dad and mom's family sent a total of 9 men to WWII and they all were unscathed and my dad was in Korea too. He commanded a combat engineering compay in both wars. I so admired my family for doing their part that I joined when I was 17 years old. And our war in Vietnam solved nothing at all.
I think the problem with the Vietnam - American war is, despite whatever you wanted to call it, it was an invasion. In accordance with the 1954 Geneva Conference, Vietnam was supposed to be unified by July 1956 after the French colonial regime were to withdraw from Vietnam completely, if the US did not support Ngo Dinh Diem to establish an American-friendly establishment in the South. The war was a political move in opposition of China and the USSR in a larger chess game of the Cold War, nothing more. There was nothing that justifies you guys being there at all.
I just watched this reaction, and it was the first reaction by you that I've ever watched. I just wanted to let you know that your intelligence, depth of understanding, and empathy for others (though not, perhaps, for Upham) really came through. Not many people your age would see as much as you saw in this movie or understand as much as you understood. I look forward to watching your other reactions.
It does me good to see a young person like yourself watch this and have the emotions that you showed. It's good to see what these men and women have done and it gives you such a great respect.
The biggest problem is that for things to be resolved peacefully the people in power have to _want_ to work with others, and more often than not many leaders seem to be overly prideful and in worse cases selfish.
I have to say: You held it together for the first 15 minutes a lot better than I expected you to. There were seasoned veterans of every war from WWII to Afghanistan who had to leave the theatre because the shit got too real for them. And Omaha Beach was lesser fortified than Calais, directly across the English Channel, because the beaches chosen were a closely-guarded secret until the night before.
Afghanistan / Iraq / Syria USA soldiers: Murderes and invaders who killed and tortured innocent people following orders by their genocides presidents Bush, Clinton and Obama
Patton gave a speech shortly before the invasion, further along the British coast closer to Berlin. This brief public appearance as staged to convince the Germans that he was obviously working on his invasion plans for beaches closer to Germany, and so Hitler refused to send more of his battle tanks, especially the Tiger tanks, further along the French coast. He held a lot of armor back, and still it was a massacre to land where we did. But it had to be done to stop some lunatic and his co-conspirators from turning the world into a slave society. A shame they gave their lives so another so-called Republican lunatic with no more integrity or morals than Hitler could do the same to America today.
Definitely one the most accurate war movies. This particular storyline didn't actually happen, but it highlights how horrible war can be, but how men can prevail through the worst times.
The film draws inspiration from the story of an actual soldier named Fritz Niland and a U.S. war department directive called the sole-survivor directive "Special Separation Policies for Survivorship" that was put in place after all 5 Sullivan brothers died in the war.
@@the-hard-problem It was actually based on the Borgstrom and Sullivan families, but there were several cases of large amounts of brothers or cousins being killed back-to back-to back-back+. After the Nihlands they started differing some kids based on family service and forbade brothers from serving in the same outfits/theatres/ships.
From some war historians the film is most accurate in the first 20 minutes. The whole mission thing coming to be is a wee bit stretched but that’s ok. The film had a narrative to tell its it did it quite wonderfully. Check out history buffs channel for more info.
I remember seeing this in theater. It was the most powerful cinematic experience ever. The entire audience was just completely silent the whole movie, except for some people crying.
That "Earn this" to Ryan, not was for him, was for all of us. All the people that now has the chance to live in a free world thanks to the sacrifices of American, British, Russian, Polish, French (and a big etc.) soldiers that made the ultimate sacrifice in the battlefield.
Indians.... The largest volunteer army that helped Britain even tho the brits were a**holes. Also 3 million Indians died due to british induced famine. They died of starvation so that the allied soldiers and people in the liberated countries don't have to.
He does look a bit like him, but it's not him. I always thought they should have picked someone that looked more different. I've seen a lot of reactors making the same mistake.
one thing with Upham that you need to know is that soldiers like Ryan, Miller and the rest were being trained for many months prior to the landings. People like Upham were never intended to be in that role and they would rarely see combat as they would be more in the rear area designed to be helping with the general staff. These units if attacked by an enemy breakthrough in the front lines usually retreated and in most cases this turned into panic causing a rout of the rear areas.
I understand the frustration with Opham, but fear can paralyze. NOBODY can criticize unless you've been in that position. The horror they saw on a daily basis. More than 70 million lives were lost in WWII throughout the world. Devastating.
I like you decided to watch this. Younger generations like mine and yours have no memory and precisely because war is such an absurd, this movie is so important. It's not the typical hero movie, shows the reality of war as many people don't want us to know. Hugs Blue
Back in 1999, my family took a tour around Europe on the way to a wedding in Germany. On the way we visited the beaches of Normandy, the museums, and the same cemetery you see in the movie. The emotions were palpable even though we didn't know anybody who died there. It was hard to speak and to this day, the cemetery scene still gets me because many of the graves have the words 'Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to god' , like the tomb of the unknown soldier at Arlington, Virginia. And, in military fashion, are perfectly lined up, vertically, horizontally, and at a 45deg. angle. The ruins of the gun emplacements are equally eerie, making it a wonder anyone survived at all.
A lot of reactors confuse the soldier that stabbed Mellish (your favorite) with the soldier that they released earlier in the film, but they were not the same man. The soldier that stabbed Mellish looked different and wore a different uniform (he had an SS uniform), but the soldier that they released was a regular German army soldier, and he WAS the same guy at the end who Upham recognized just before he shot Tom Hanks, and then when the German remembered Upham and said his name, Upham shot him.
"Solar panels " 🤣🤣🤣 You crack me up Trixy. We were taught to pull pin, release handle and count one thousand one,one thousand two, one thousand three then toss the grenade. So good call on that girl. Trixy it's not human nature that's the big lie. Your commentary at the end was priceless.
With respect, please don't ever say that the soldiers died pointlessly. I understand where your heart is. I believe the vast majority of people are against war. I believe that most people are good and will agree that every avenue should be taken to resolve conflicts and disagreements peacefully without violence and death. However, as long as there are people like Hitler walking this world and decide to exercise tyranny, oppression and murder of innocents then there have to be people who are willing to stand against evil and fight to protect the good that they believe in for the sake of their loved ones. Like you said, it is beyond tragic that the cost for freedom and ridding the world of evil is so high but it was paid and will continue to be paid. What we should do now is honor the sacrifice by being grateful for everything we have and to live our lives as best we can by striving to be the best version of ourselves. If we do that, I believe we can be an overwhelming force for good and we can further help to reduce the occurrence of wars.
Una pregunta Capitán America ¿Crees que un loco es tirano y todos los demás como los alemanes simplemente le tienen miedo y por eso obedecen, o lo seguían porque querían?; crees que los estadounidenses querían ir a Europa a pelear o que eran obligados a ir?, crees que después de la guerra cantaron e hicieron el simbolo de la paz o que quedaron traumados y muchos se suicidaron?; No hay bien o mal; lo que para una persona es bien; para otra es mal y viceversa; ¿está bien matar para que un loco no mate?; ¿matar vos para que otro no mate?. Que hay de los ataques a suelo alemán?; eso era liberación o ataque ofensivo?. :)
I know this is a reaction from 2 years ago, but this just popped up on and thought why not. Your reaction and facial expressions were so honest and real as were mine many, many years ago as a Marine. Thank you love...
Less crying than I expected but there were definitely some moments where you looked really sad. It gets us all at some point or another, particularly at the end. I think what makes this particularly sad is that even if the story isn't necessarily true there's still lots of people who went through events like these. As for Upham, I've seen so many reactions that I can't blame any of them, I can totally understand why people would be upset at him for not going up the stairs and helping but I feel like many of us would be equally scared to kill someone even in a war context, and you can't forget that before going on this mission he was a translator that had never even been in combat.
what people are witnessing is the stark reality of a soldier whos' sole duties was read maps and translate language. he was never really prepared for combat like the mainstay of troops. And at some point, it overwhelms their senses to the point of them freezing up or with some people completely going mad. notice how he had difficulty just trying to make his feet work trying to climb those stairs.
Hello beautiful souls, as a Vet to all the Men and Women who served in the Military Living Or Died.. I would like to tell you all I love you and thanks for your Contribution and God Bless You all for being my Hero
Don't be too hard on Upham. I don't much like the character, but he is the eyes and ears of the audience. He was never trained for combat, and he is caught up in some pretty intense action that tests elite soldiers like Rangers and Airborne troops. No one knows how they react in intense situations until they're actually in them. So Upham's actions and reactions are very believable.
I served in the military for 21 years and deployed to the Middle East numerous times. The combat scenes don’t really bother me, it’s the ending that gets me every time. After losing friends and fellow soldiers, you hope that you live a life that honors their sacrifices. Society would also be better off if they had that mentality of honoring those that sacrificed everything so that others could live a life of freedom and opportunity, and living in a way that reflected those sacrifices.
Trixy Blue... I have watched so many reactions to this movie that I forgot how many, I like your candid reaction. You fought the tears but your emotions were genuine. So many of my parents generation died in WWII. My Dad knew many that died on D Day. They were in two classes ahead of him in high school. He played Football with them. I only saw my Dad cry 3 times in the 63 years I knew him and watching this at the theater was one of them. I get teary eyed watching this movie each time, you are alone in your reaction I like your honesty and candidness
21:38 Helmets are good for incidental hits, like ricochets or the odd bit of rock which might come flying through the air. They're not intended to stop direct bullet strikes. 30:00 Sulfa drugs were the first antibiotics to be mass-produced, and the ones issued to soldiers in WW2 came in powder form. In wars prior to this, there were no antibiotics, so in some of those battles, as many soldiers died from infected battlefield wounds, after the battle was over, than actual soldiers who were killed during the battle itself. 38:30 Yes, that is a dangerous place to be. High points, like tower belfries and the top floors of buildings, are some of the first things taken out by tanks and artillery, because they are excellent sniping and observation posts. 47:09 Yes, Captain Miller had good aim. He taught baseball, after all. Wonderful reaction, watching a depiction of war that, for all its imagery, sound and effects, is still only a shadow of what the real thing is like. (A veteran who was at Omaha beach was once asked how accurate the opening sequence was. He replied: "Not enough bodies.") Yeah, war sucks, and acknowledge you for staying and watching all the way through.
Helmets are not just for the "odd" bit of rock but mostly for anything coming flying from close by artillery hits, so lots of rock and shrapnel. A 'funny' story from WW1 was that when the old hardened leather 'Pickelhaube' of the Germans was replaced with the steel helmet soldiers took the new helmet as a bad omen at first for some degree because numbers of wounded coming to the field hospitals with headwounds skyrocketet. Of course that meant it worked, those were all those who before would just have died instantly.
I am from the USA. A good friend of mine did 6 comeback tours. r4 Afghanistan and 2 in Iraq. He told me about he and another soldier in his platoon had daughter's born on the same day. 3 days after both received the news of their children his friend was killed in action. My friend told me often, when he looks at his daughter he is so thankful and grateful to watch her grow up. Because his friend never met his daughter.
As upsetting as Upham's character actions are, they are there to show a different aspect of how people react to war in combat. Not everyone is as capable all the time. And it is interesting you don't see the same criticism of Ryan's character when towards the end of the fight he's just got his arms around his legs and is screaming. Suggest "The Fallen of World War II" Most don't know truely how huge of a cost WWII was. "An animated data-driven documentary about war and peace, The Fallen of World War II looks at the human cost of the second World War and sizes up the numbers to other wars in history, including trends in recent conflicts."
Upham's Character who did not come to Mellish's ( Who was Jewish) Aid when he knew he was being killed was a commentary about the U . S. not coming to the aid of the Jewish people being killed and persecuted by the Nazis's . The U.S. did not enter the war against Germany until a week after Pearl Harbor 1941 two years after Germany had started the war and persecution of the Jewish people. And just like Upham the U. S. let Jews that they knew were going to be killed , die .
@@NATIVESUNSETS65 Nobody back then cared and really even today still nobody cares. A new genocide about every decade since they started saying "never again." If we really were to compare you'd have to take Rwandan over German efficiency anyday. It's that simple. If Japan never attacked then we never would have had a reason to enter the war and would have left it as a European problem.
@@NATIVESUNSETS65 I think not a commentary. Te depth of the German killing of Jews was covered up in a number of sources. And starting a war to save the Jews was a severe change in the historical future of America. You don;t start a world war until you absolutely have to. And we did not do it to save America. America was fairly safe. We did it to save Europe. Beyond that The new York Times was pushing to protect Hitler. Time Magazine even made Hitler Man of the Year in one issue.
I've watched your reaction before, but I missed how beautiful your human nature is. Your feeling for human nature, human life is absolutely beautiful. You are a great human being! I'm in awe of you. You are a much better person than myself. Thank you for this reaction.
The scene where the mother goes to get the news she already knows what is, and has to sit down cuz her legs won’t hold her up anymore … get’s me every time. 🥺
Upham shouts "Die Waffen niederlegen!" and "Hande hoch!" which means "you stop fighting" and "hands up". a good phrase to know in many languages: "Hands up" - English "Hande hoch" - German "Haute les mains" - French "Manos arriba" - Spanish
My grandfather was considered too young and was denied joining the British military before the wars end. Before his passing, he got a chuckle, but a melancholy one from a meme I showed him, once which when he settled, commented it made him sad because it was TRUE and he himself had seen the change 1944 - 18 year olds storm the beaches, some of them even VOLUNTEERING to charge into almost certain death, in order to help stop the spread of evil 2019 - 18 year olds need a safe space because WORDS “might” hurt their feelings Oh what a difference three generations/75 years can make Rip grandpa, and a heartfelt salute to those who fought and died for free world that we had/have
Ryan metaphorically represents that society that survive the second world war and that should have honored all those soldiers who sacrifice their lives to achieve it by making the world a better place.
The line Cpt Miller says "Earn this" is said vicariously, not only within the meta of the narrative but also to us. After taking us through a moment of hell of earth that this was we too should try to answer to that statement as well. Let's all earn it. Earn what was done for us by the fallen by living to make this world a better place. Earn this.
Love your reactions Blue. You are so honest with your emotions, the tears, the smiles, the laughter, and puffy lips are all so real. Thanks for sharing. I miss the ears though.
My Father-in-law fought in WW2. My Dad was a lifer Marine. He was a three war Veteran. WW2, Korea and Vietnam. My Brother was a Marine. Vietnam fell a year before I was old enough. I took the Law Enforcement route. As an Officer!
I'd say there's a valid justification to go to war. Like say... when one of the most brutal regimes imaginable that has no regard for human life whatsoever decides to start attacking it's neighbors. Stopping that kind of thing sounds extremely justified to me.
I think she meant that all countries should avoid war. Then there isn’t this back and forth justification of “revenge” and “self defense” and “retribution” and “freedom”. Every soldier that ever died thinks he was fighting on the right side of a war.
@@firstlast9916 yes but if one country decides to use the last diplomatic option available to them, war, then other countries can only choose to surrender, or fight back. I’m sure the Czechs would have rather fought Germany than surrendered to it.
@@CharlesMCFC yeah but that’s the Czechs justification for fighting a fight that Germany justified because of the sanctions that Europe imposed on Germany after WW1. I’m sure WW1 had a bunch of justifications too. It’s just endless back and forth nonsense. No different than two 4 year olds justifying kicking and punching each other in a playground. “Well he slapped me before I kicked him”. “But She called me stupid”. “Well he called me ugly”. And on and on it goes until somebody is seriously hurt. The only person that benefits from a war are politicians. Everybody else involved is a loser. Especially the dead soldiers.
@@firstlast9916 and your point is? The minute any one country or individual employs force, the only way out is force. Wagging your finger at the problem will never solve it. Look at Austria and Czechoslovakia. Didn’t save Poland, France or the USSR to bend over and give them to the meanie man to prevent an escalation to war. Only made him bolder.
@@CharlesMCFC my point is everybody is wrong. Self defense is the act of an idiot that didn’t think of leaving. WW1 caused WW2. What you say about invasions in WW2 can be traced back to WW1 invasions. Stop preparing for war. The worst saying in history is “in times of peace, prepare for war”. That saying has killed billions of people. But nobody ever stops saying it. Whoever says that is a blind soldier of hate. This is what we should go by as a species: “There is no greater illusion than fear, no greater wrong than preparing to defend yourself, no greater misfortune than having an enemy. Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe.” - Lao Tsu
@Trixey Blue - I saw this movie in the theater when it came out. When the movie was over, nobody got up for at least a minute and they entire audience walked out in complete silence. It was the only time I remember, nobody talking after a movie.
btw at 7:14 the reason the soldier took off his helmet is because when it is damaged if u keep it on still u would be guaranteed to die as it would shatter the helmet and the parts of ur helmet will go inside ur head and the bullet will be stronger because it moved through metal so it made it hotter which if it shoots even 1 inch inside ur head could dissolve some of ur major stuff like brain etc. But in this modern day a helmet can get shot about 3 times before u take it out
The letter that General C. Marshall reads is one from our beloved President Lincoln of the Civil War era. It's called "The Bixby Letter." There is some controversy about it. Just before that - when the Captain brings the 3 letters to the Colonel I.W. Bryce (3rd office) he talks about 'The Sullivan Brothers" - Only son's of Thomas and Alleta Sullivan. They all served on the same war boat, and all where killed; effectively wiping out that part of the family tree.
46:20 No, that’s not the dude they let go earlier. He has a slight resemblance to him, but he’s not the same soldier. The German who shot Captain Miller at 50:04 is the one they let go earlier.
I was going to post the same, but came to make sure someone else beat me to it. I saw this in the theater/cinema and I thought the same for the longest time until I bought the DVD.
No, the soldier who shoots CPT Miller is the same one who stabbed Mellish. But he’s not the same one they let go earlier. Different uniforms, different actors.
The Sullivan Brothers were from Waterloo, IA. All five were serving on the light cruiser USS Juneau during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942. After suffering severe damage from a torpedo from a Japanese destroyer, the Juneau pulled out of the battle and began the long trip to a nearby island for repairs. Juneau and two other damaged ships were spotted by Japanese submarine I-26 at around 11:00 am on November 13, 1942. Shortly afterward the sub fired a salvo of torpedoes, one which struck the already badly damaged ship. The blast broke the vessel in half, sinking in 20 seconds and taking 587 men with her. Roughly 100 sailors survived the sinking and for 8 days remained stranded in the ocean until rescue aircraft arrived. It is believed that at least two or three of the Sullivan Brothers were in the water but died from the elements overtime. By the time rescue arrived, only 10 men survived.
@@realburglazofficial2613 The USS Indianapolis which carried the nuclear bomb materials across the Pacific. There were two men guarding the crate(s). One actual guard and one fake guard, the scientist, who was to handle the assembly of the warhead. The lone cruiser was considered to draw less attention from spy planes. Not a big enough target to send out a fleet against it. The mission was so secret however, that when it was sun by a Japanese submarine it was unnoticed for days, and many were eaten by sharks, or died from the exposure. A really sad event.
The reason Wade said to give more morphine when Upham said “tell us how to fix you” is because Wade knew there’s no way to explain to them everything that needs to be done and for them to know how to do it. The morphine not only is a pain killer but it also drops the blood pressure. Too much morphine will drop it low enough to become lethal. Wade chose the easier, quicker and relatively less painful death. Not only was it easier on him… it was also easier on the men… Something Captain Miller realized.
"one to see Heaven, two to go there" was the saying about morphine use in the war. It was more about how he knew there was no way he could be saved, they had him roll him up on his side to see where the bullet came out, and it was a liver shot, which he knew was fatal out in the field.
It's brave to watch this movie on a video for people to see. I saw it in theaters when I was 15 and was blown over by it and didn't speak for two days. Powerful movie.
Helmets in WW2 were not bulletproof, they were more like hard hats, meant to protect soldiers from shrapnel and debris from explosions. The guy on the beach whose helmet deflected a bullet was extremely lucky, as the soldier next to him said, it hit at an extreme angle :P
Not so much "more" for debris. It offers protection in a general sense to all sorts of things that want to tap your skull to see what's inside. It offers some protection against bullets too. If a round hits straight into the helmet then there is a good chance you're a gonner. If the round hit at an angle the helmet can divert the bullet enough to save your life.
One reason combat arms soldiers are treated roughly in training is to impart not just the mental and physical toughness they will need in combat but also a "warrior spirit". A service member trained to serve in a service specialty, such as an interpreter and map maker, would not get such training. This movie does a good job injecting such a character with Upham. That isn't to say there is anything wrong with differential training. All jobs are important in the military but they call for different abilities. In the US Army all enlisted personnel go through Basic Combat Training first, so they get a taste of it, but the great majority of service members are not combat arms soldiers rather they work in service and support specialties. BTW, this contrast is highlighted in another very well done war movie, "Fury" staring Brad Pitt as a tank commander, with his crew, in WWII.
Notwithstanding the artistic aspect of corporal Upham at the end, he really should have been positioned at the Alamo, and been the last one to blow up the bridge since he couldn't overcome his apprehension in combat. Just my two cents. : D
That'd have been the prescient move but they were never to know that he'd have such a paralysing breakdown mid-combat. In hindsight, he should totally have been the guy at the back again with the detonator, like he was during the machinegun nest attack.
@@Musabre maybe, or maybe he'd shit his pants and detonate the bridge with everyone still on the other side lol I wouldnt trust him to be holding to key to the only door I have to escape.
I respect Miller's leadership a bit too much if you're the guy for the job - do it. That's why he had Mike as back up. Miller was going to blow the bridge. His job, he's gonna do it.
I am a Soldier. Now you see why they call them the greatest generation. 415,000 Americans gave their lives so that you might live free. I myself have chosen a Soldiers life to protect our way of life. Crying is never a sign of weakness as it shows you have a heart. Thank you for watching this movie. Yours's truly, Master Sergeant Robert L. Scott. January 27th 1915 / December 24th 1944 Bastogne Belgium. Looking forward to seeing you when you get here.
That is tens of millions of human lives from birth to combat age. Fed, trained in language and many subjects, housed, medically cared for, decades of paperwork, and gone in a day. The cost is beyond measure. Stalin by historical estimates murdered at least 20 million Russians who opposed his insanity. And we have to start all over again with 70 million more.
If you guys are ever in the U.S. be sure to stop by "The Museum of Tolerance" in Los Angeles, CA and then "The National WWII Museum" in New Orleans, LA. Some of the best museums I've ever visited that will make you cry. Some of the most unique experiences you'll ever have.
The General who remembered the "Lincoln Letter" was George Marshall, Chief of Staff to the US Army. He was a close advisor to the President and responsible for the management of the whole army. He also was responsible for the "Marshall Plan" to rebuild Europe and Asia after the War (including both Germany and Japan) It is a main reason why our two adversaries during the War were able to develop into two of the strongest economies and trusted allies of the US.
Blue, don't be quick to pass judgment on Upem. We all dream of being heroes until we are in the moment of truth and we are overcome with fear. In fact, paralyzed by it, and then we have to face the reality of our failure. During war Upem's failure was a matter of life and death. During our daily lives, we get to have a do-over. I hope to never fail at the moment as Upem did, but you never know.
The cost of freedom is high. To me, the moral is that the price was paid for ALL of us. And that we must live our lives in thanks to those who gave us our freedom, who laid down theirs. Live life like it’s a gift from them.
One of the bigger inaccuracies in the movie was that almost all of the actors were too old. A Ranger captain like John Miller would have been around 25-26 on average, not 40 like Tom Hanks was. The average soldier would have been much closer in age to Trixie Blue herself, although there was a wide range, wars are generally fought by the young.
During WWII I believe that the officers were older than they are today. Not 40 years old but maybe 30-33. The trend of younger officers started furing the Vitenam war. So many officers were dying so fast the company leaders started becoming younger and younger.
It’s true that there are a lot of younger officers and troops due to the sudden expansion of the military at that time but that doesn’t mean that there are no older officers and troops.
@@lethaldose2000 Before they began shooting Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg asked the film's histieical advisor, Stephen E. Ambrose (who wrote the book Band Of Brothers was based on) if there was anything, ANYTHING that should be changed to make the film more accurate. Ambrose responded with a "no" adding that there was nothing Spielverg wanted to hear. Spielberg was alarmed and demanded to know what Ambrose thought was inaccurate. After some hemming and hawwing Ambrose said "It's Hanks. We should get rid of him. He's too old. A ranger captain at Normandy would be in his late 20s, at most." Spielberg replied, “You’re a funny guy.”
In some situations, war is very necessary. But its okay to cry...it means you're human. There are more than a inaccuracies with the film, from the flashback in the beginning (Ryan was never at Normandy, he was airdropped behind the lines before the invasion and would have no idea what Miller or any of the other assault troops endured during the landings), the beach obstacles were facing the wrong way, P-51's were not used for "tankbusting" (the P-47's were), etc. The movie does a good job of showing the relationship the members of a company (in this case an understrength squad), and how they developed a brotherhood between them and saw Upham as an outsider who hadn't earned their respect. This is true of most men in combat no matter what war or conflict it is. They don't fight for their country, they fight for the man next to them in the hopes they can all go home to their families.
What is a helmet for?: A glancing bullet to the head will still do a lot of damage and daze you, maybe even knock you out or possibly kill you. The helmet prevents that, and can deflect indirect hits and protect you from shrapnel. Also hitting your head on stuff.
Yet another reaction that doesnt understand how people react to war. As frustrating as Uphams actions are, they are understandable because war affects everyone differently. War can shatter the strongest of men, break a soldiers faith, and make "weaker" men "tougher." The reality is many people would react the same way Upham did, especially with his lack of prior experience in combat. that's what should make melish's death so upsetting, not the fact that Upham didnt do anything, but because he was to afraid to do anything.
The opening scene Ryan goes to the grave of his brother, at the end he's at the grave of Capt. Miller's grave. His family is directly behind him at the first grave site, at the end, his family remains at a respectful distance, except for his wife who has no idea who Miller is. Ryan went home and never told anyone about that day in Ramell. The opening scene Ryan goes to the grave of his brother, at the end he's at the grave of Capt. Miller's grave. His family is directly behind him at the first grave site, at the end, his family remains at a respectful distance, except for his wife who has no idea who Miller is. Ryan went home and never told anyone about that day in Ramell. Spielberg researched small details, for instance, Pvt Jackson's right thumb has a black mark on it. That's actually a bruise that many U. S. riflemen had caused from getting their thumb caught in the loading mechanism from not locking the bolt back properly when loading/reloading the M1 Garand rifle. It was called "Garand thumb". The Hitler Youth Knife is more literary liberty than fact. That knife is a hiking knife given to members of the Hitler Youth Corps, which was much like the Boy Scouts in training while being indoctrinated with the ideology of National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi). The only other group they were issued to were members of the SA. This knife was never part of a soldier of the Wehrmacht. As for the reaction of Carparzo and Mellish, it is highly unlikely an average G.I. would have known what that knife was and its symbolism. The matter of Mellish crying is also not likely as the Allies didn't find out about the fate of Jews in Europe until the first concentration camp was liberated April 4, 1945. The war in Europe ended May 7, 1945. So, following the real timeline, Mellish dies before the Allies knew anything about concentration and death camps. But, after-all, it is Hollywood. Saving Private Ryan is not based on the Sullivan brothers. Fritz Niland became the basis for Private Ryan. He was dropped behind enemy lines on D-Day and spent five days in the French countryside, eventually earning a Bronze star in combat for taking a French. Robert Rodat first came up with the plot in 1994 when he saw a monument in a cemetery in Tonawanda, New York. The monument was to the Niland Brothers - 4 young American men who fought in the Second World War. When three of the Nilands were reported killed, the surviving brother - Fritz - was sent home. This inspired Rodat to write his movie. The average age of a U. S. troops armed forces personnel during WW II was 26 years old. Selective Service draft age range was 18 years of age to 45 years. The average age in Vietnam War was 22, not 19 as any think. There are 26 military cemeteries across Normandy, but the most famous and visited site is the poignant Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer. The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France is located in Colleville-sur-Mer, on the site of the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944 as the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. The cemetery site, at the north end of its half mile access road, covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of 9,387 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. In real life with the Nilands, it actually turned out later that another of the brothers was alive - he’d been held captive in a Burmese POW camp. Attempts to point out the "discrepancies" between the stories of Fritz Niland and James Ryan are often misguided, as Ryan is only based on Niland, and is not meant to be (or claimed to be) a completely accurate representation of him. The differences in the two stories seem to stem in part from the fact that the true story of Sergeant Niland and his brothers is often reported inaccurately. The character of Private James Ryan is a mixture of fact and fiction, with some of the fictional elements coming from the erroneous stories about the Niland brothers. The German credited as "Steamboat Willie" who was released by Capt. Miller is not the German who engaged and killed Pvt Stanley "Fish Mellish during hand-to-hand combat. "Steamboat Willie" was in the Heer (Army) of the Wehrmacht and the other was in the Waffen SS which was a paramilitary organization and not part of the Wehrmacht. Originally, the SS uniform differed from the Wehrmacht uniform-whereas the regular army wore field grey, the SS wore black, head to toe (although later the SS did adopt field grey and often wore camouflage pattern uniform. American troops were brown and they didn't wear jackboots. The lightning bolt SS insignia can be seen on the right collar lapel of the German as he passes Upham and reaches the bottom of the staircase. During the Battle at Ramelle, Upham became shell shocked and was unable to save a .30 cal team from a German soldier because he was too frozen with fear to do anything about it. He carried all the .30 caliber ammo at the battle of Ramelle, but was unable to do his job because he was always either pinned down or too afraid to move. He signified the loss of innocence in war and thought that soldiers could be civil, but he later succumbed to the evils of war and made up for his cowardice when he shot Steamboat Willie for killing Miller even after the latter had shown Willie mercy earlier. Not only did Upham represent the loss of innocence of war but he also symbolized the "Every-man". His illusion of neutrality faded when he finally had to pick and side and kill Steamboat Willie, his character revelation being how he finally understood the horrors of war. It became clear that Upham had turned into a hardened and true soldier because of the whole experience. Upham's rank was Tech 5 Corporal (E-5), that meant he was technician in a specialty area. His was maps and translator, he was not a combat infantryman and was never trained for front-line duty. Gunnery Sergent Hartman explained it this way in the movie Full Metal Jacket: "It is your killer instinct which must be harnessed if you expect to survive in combat. Your rifle is only a tool. It is a hard heart that kills. If your killer instincts are not clean and strong you will hesitate at the moment of truth. You will not kill. "The way the next of kin was notified of their loved one was killed in action during WW II was by Western Union telegram delivered by a bicycle riding messenger. If you were being notified of multiple deaths as was the case in this film, notification was done in-person by a military officer, usually from the same branch of service as the deceased when possible. That's why the mother upon seeing the officer exit the car momentarily froze knowing that meant at least 2 of her boys were either KIA or MIA, as the priest exits the car, she staggers and completely collapsed.The mother speaks no lines in the movie, yet her breakdown brought a flood of tears form movie goers in theaters across the nation. Another important scene is it is clear from the few lines Ryan's wife speaks that she has never heard the name of Capt. John Miller, this means John has never spoken to her about what happened that day in Ramelle. What many missed is listening to Ryan speaking at the Miller's grave of how he thought about what those 8 men did for him every day was not guilt, but commitment. There are units assigned to recover, bury and mark graves. Usually these were temporary battlefield cemeteries. As hostilities moved farther away, a more permanent site would be selected, at the family's request, whenever possible, the remains would be returned to the United States. At the Normandy Cemetery Visitors Center, you'll find the following inscription: IF EVER PROOF WERE NEEDED THAT WE FOUGHT FOR A CAUSE AND NOT FOR CONQUEST, IT COULD BE FOUND IN THESE CEMETERIES. HERE WAS OUR ONLY CONQUEST: ALL WE ASKED … WAS ENOUGH … SOIL IN WHICH TO BURY OUR GALLANT DEAD.General Mark W. ClarkChairman, American Battle Monuments Commission, 1969-1984
Should react to "Come And See" it was the inspiration for this (and schindler's list) and is considered by many to be the greatest war movie ever made and one of the most horrifying movies ever.
After ww1, America had no interest in another war but, Japan attack us. then, Germany declared war against us forcing us into the war. The last of the old Normandy invasion vets says this movie is about as close to what happened that day without actually being there.
@@paulreed3778 Well, WW2 was started by "strong man" politics, which is the end result of toxic masculinity. So I agree with Lextek that this movie shows how bad it really is and why we need to end it.
at 17:36 you asked if Captain Miller is commanding the other men too. Yes. He's a captain. The other man in charge is only a sergeant. Captains outrank sergeants. So he asked the sergeant what was happening in the town, then started giving orders so these men, all of them, including Captain Miller's squad, could retake the town.
Spielberg didn’t storyboard the beach sequence at the beginning of the movie, it’s one of the rare times he didn’t set the shots and frames up for an entire sequence at all as he wanted the audience to truly feel as if they WERE literally there with the soldiers and he felt that precise camera movements would’ve felt too rehearsed and choreographed which I personally completely agree with as it adds to the immersive realism
And the film was shot without music in the battles. And the loud battle was not toned down so you could hear the soldiers yell to each other. More realism.
The guy who kills Mellish with a knife is NOT the same person that kills Miller at the end (and is shot by Upham). The one who killed Mellish is SS and the one who killed Miller is Wehrmacht, you can see with the uniforms. Also in IMDB it is 2 different actors...definitely look similar though, I thought the same thing when I first watched it.
For those who are a bit lost at the beginning, some context: the early part of this film depicts a focused look at the massive invasion of Normandy, France, aka D-Day during World War II. I strongly recommend another film, The Longest Day (1962), as a companion to Private Ryan. It takes a wider look at what was going on during that longest of days.
My grandfather practically raised me, and was the best man I ever knew. He would attend WW2 conventions yearly, and I would accompany him. As a child, I never understood why he would cry during the playing of Taps. I remember him turning the TV down when gunshots and explosions would occur onscreen. I saw Private Ryan in the theater, and wept for what he had to go through, and am eternally grateful to Spielberg for answering the questions that I had of that horrible, but necessary, time. We and our allies defeated true evil. My grandfather was a liberator at Buchenwald concentration camp, and saw for himself the twisted agenda of the Nazi regime. RIP Claiborne T. Holloway. I will always remember...
Sorry for your loss man your grandpa sounds like a real one
God bless your grandfather
I hope you can find peace and joy in his memory. We don't always get to choose the path we take, but as long as your grandfather has you to keep his memory alive, then he filled a greater purpose.
I never served. My dad did, my brother did and my uncle did. I never ask them what it was like because I know that's something deep for them. But I always tell them that I try to understand by just being as supportive as I can and being an ear should they just need someone to listen to them.
I saw a bumper sticker once that I liked. It said, "I wasn't there, but I care". That pretty much sums up how I feel.
Peace and perseverance.
Total respect
Bless him. Thank you. From France.
Those women typing letters were not making things up... they were transcribing letters written by the officers, sergeants, etc. If someone died under your command, you were expected to write a letter to the soldier's family telling them what happened. The letters were often scrawled in pencil on dirty pieces of notebook paper, and sometimes even had blood on them. The Department of the Army would have them typed up on proper letterhead and sent to the family.
I lost an uncle (who I never got to meet, obv.) in WW2. He died of his wounds in a South African military hospital. All the parents got was 2 line telegram through the mail. Coldbooded/factual with just name, DOD. I don’t think the British put in as much effort and respect as the Americans did, it seems…..
@@richardpoynton4026 - Yup... in America, it's typically done as was shown here. A couple military officers, usually with a chaplain, priest, minister, etc, will show up to personally deliver the news to the family of the deceased soldier. And the Department of Defense tries to provide as much information as they can, telling what happened and where.
For the families that live on military bases, there are support groups made up of the wives of soldiers, and they will also show up to help the wife and/or family of the deceased.
To be honest, I'm not sure which is better. Personally, I'd rather absorb that news in private or with close family, than to have a bunch of strangers show up at my door expecting to come in my home and 'console' me.
An I complain about righting a report
@@Mr.Ekshin And with fuel rationing during the war, if a nice car pulls up to your house, it almost certainly isn't good news.
That explains when we see them typing we don’t hear their voice but the voices of their superior officer. That’s a nice added detail.
Blue: I really hope he doesnt die, hes my favorite
Viewers: ....
"I'm not going to cry-"
Yes, you will
"-at the beginning of this movie."
Oh, my bad. But, still, yes you will.
KIA: killed in action. WIA: wounded in action. MIA: missing in action.
YOU FORGOT... POW: PRISONER OF WAR.
NEVER FORGET.
The terms are universal and come out of the Geneva Convention. That way, any country signed up to the Convention can report their missing, dead, wounded and prisoners, both allied and enemy, and it is understandable by all.
@@jimmysmith5418
Thanks for being our allie and standing with us on the battlefield.
God bless all veterans today.
We thank you for your service .
That's for you as well, Australia, and you, Canada,
Thank you for your service -
TOGNIADN = the only good Nazi is a dead Nazi.
Non factor.
Right before I went to Air Force Basic Training, I invited a coworker and good friend of mine to go see it when it came out in 1998. Mr. Paul Hyland was a WWII veteran and took part in the beach landings at Omaha with the 35th Infantry Division. I asked him if it was really like that and he replied "No. Not enough bodies." I'll never forget that. We kept in touch for the next several years even when I was deployed overseas. He was even able to come to my 1st reenlistment and he wore his WWII Class A uniform. It was pretty cool. He passed away in 2005 at the age of 81 and I miss him to this day and, as a retired combat veteran myself now, this movie means a lot more to me than it did back then.
God bless you and all of our troops. Thank you for your service.
imagine smelling the dead bodies and carrying 160 pound weight with walking slow because of motars and mines yet u could get shot and thinking this is my last step
I saw this twice too in ‘98. I went into DEP in October, then shipped off to Lackland in March ‘99.
I watched this movie in the theaters twice in 1998. My grandfather, a WWII vet, asked me if I thought he should go see it. By that time, there were already news stories about how PTSD hotlines were being overwhelmed by veterans who had seen the film. I remembered the tears in his eyes when he watched the movie "Memphis Belle." So, I had to tell him I really didn't think he should see it. I don't think he ever did.
35th ID didn't get to France until July 5-7th and went into combat less than a week later.
I recall being speechless for a while after leaving the theater seeing this movie. Just lost in thinking of what I just saw, and the range of emotions that I felt then, and honestly still feel watching it all these years later. This movie took the visuals to a new level. War movies are not for everyone, I understand that, but damn this is a masterpiece in my eyes.
Realistic war movies (especially movies set in WW2 like SPR) are important for everyone to watch. Because even though this film's plot is fictional, what it depicts is very real and people need to acknowledge the men who laid down their lives and the sacrifices that were made
I agree 100%. Only scene that was a bit tacky in my eyes was when the German sniper was shot through the scope of his rifle.
@@jacobdenise1648 a little but Carlos Halfcock (I believe) a Vietnam sniper, actually made such a shot on a Mercenary enemy combatant, one he trained no less.
" Tell me I'm a good man "
That one hurts. Can just feel the decades of guilt for what they did. Needs to hear that he earned it.
That line breaks me every time I hear it. Instant weepy mess.
That's a misread: not guilt.
He wasn't - and wouldn't have been - required to be guilty.
What he needed to hear was that he had fulfilled a duty and moral obligation to live _in worthiness_ of the sacrifice... - that's, what he was asked to satisfy: not, to live his life in guilt.
That's a very different kind of burden, that none of them would have placed on him - they were brothers.
tears everytime
@@lewis7515 Lone Survivor is a really good film about the one soldier who was not killed in a battle. The sense of guilt is real. The dead do not want the living to feel guilt, but it is a human thing non the less.
Upham was a young man put in an extraordinary situation. At the beginning of the movie you saw a lot of soldiers completely broken in the beach, unable to react, unable to defend themselves and others, probably next in line to die, but you judged Upham because you bonded with the rest of the characters and it hurt he was the one broken and unable to defend others when they needed him. Upham... was just another young guy like the ones at the beginning.
You reaction is completely understandable, I will never criticize that, but wanted to make sure someone points that out because I think Upham is a character that reflects war in a way we dont usually want to think about it.
The original movie didnt have subtitles in any language, in this DVD release they respected that by making the subtitles in german when needed. That was completely on purpose because you are in a war, you are not supposed to understand anything if you dont know the language. Someone will probably write about it in the comments, but look for 'Czech soldier saving private ryan' in Google to see what Im talking about.
So many folks seem to think getting into action is easy. Christ, no one knows how they'll handle it til they're in the middle of it. Some are able to function, others break. And even the toughest guys have a breaking point. it ain't a damn game, there's no reloads in life.
And it's exactly how you said, displayals of breaking/freezing soldiers have always been rare, especially prior to this movie. Having someone like Upham with zero combat experience was important. And we see Ryan screaming and crying in the end too, not fighting.
Upham is supposed to represent the viewer, hance his inexperience, etc..
Band of Brothers is another Tom Hanks (as producer) presentation of WWII soldiers' experiences. It is based on facts and some of the original soldiers are interviewed before each episode. Quite moving.
BoB is an amazing series!
I love that series and watch the whole thing every Memorial and Veterans Day. The Pacific series is great too.
Its forced because saving private Ryan was fiction. Vets were angry!
This was a thought I had too - follow up with BoB and The Pacific.
Thank you for your first personal reaction to this film. Two years after this great film came out, my grandfather passed away from cancer in 2000. He enlisted in 1942 (age 20-21) & served in the 5th Ranger Battalion that trained in Tennesee. Eventually shipped out to Britain in late 1943/early 1944 in preparation for Operation Overlord. Trained in Special Cliff Operations in the Highlands of Scotland in early 1944 alongside his fellow Rangers (plus other Allied/UK Special forces) before D-Day.
On June 6th, 1944, he subsequently climbed the cliffs of Point du Hoc. He had to carry his BAR into battle in rough terrain under heavy fire, search & eventually destroy the German Howitzers that greatly saved thousands of his fellow countrymen on the beaches.
As history goes, the Rangers had to traverse miles of the French countryside for the repositioned guns after hours of naval & air bombardment prior to the invasion forced the Germans back from Point du Hoc. My grandfather was one man out of 75 men (out of 225 Rangers, 67% of the unit were wounded or killed) who was able to reach the top of Point du Hoc & keep on fighting beyond the Longest Day. Played a part of Operation Cobra in the breakout out of Normandy.
Into the battle of Saint-Lo in July 1944, he got wounded when a piece of mortar shrapnel hit his leg (from his calf to above his ankle) & took him out of action. The 29th Infantry Battalion alongside another American division with small groups of Army Rangers (intermix of the remaining 2nd & 5th Ranger Battalions) took massive losses from German artillery destroying the town. My grandfather would have met his end at Saint-Lo, but thankfully he had a guardian angel over him.
Over the years, I was told by my father & my aunt that after he got wounded, my grandfather was saved by a Sherman Tank Crew from the 747th Independent tank division that came to support the 29th Infantry division to take ruins of Saint-Lo & were attempting to gather all the wounded GIs during the course of the battle.
It's still very unclear how many were saved on that day alongside my grandfather, but as a result of them saving lives, the Sherman Tank Commander was the only casualty while gathering up the wounded men under heavy fire.
Due to their courageous actions, my grandfather lived, was able to go home to raise a family, & eventually serve as a police officer (SGT) for nearly 25 years until he retired in 1978. He got the Bronze Star for his heroic actions on D-Day & 2 Purple Hearts in the Fall of 1944.
In both civilian life & his long days in law enforcement, he had to take small amounts of morphine (inside a capsule attached to a sliver neck chain around his neck) every day due to the wounds he received in the war until his last days on this earth. A reminder of the sacrifices he made in the defense of America, her people & the liberation of Europe.
My grandfather's mother was a German immigrant & orphan who came to America in the 1890s when her homeland (early German Empire) was facing some social destabilization. My grandfather had no ill will against the majority of the German troops he fought against in the Liberation of France. He always respected the Germans (the Wehrmacht/cousins) for their military leadership, combat efficiency & historical discipline.
He absolutely hated the Nazi idealogy, who only represented Hitler & a few thousand people in the SS divisions that committed the Holocaust.
Like everyone else who first watched the movie, I began to truly understand & greatly appreciate the sacrifices my grandfather & the millions of soldiers made in WWII. That includes the common German Soldier (non-SS/Nazi) who fought not for Hitler, but for their family & their country.
This film will always be one of my favorite films about WWII despite some of its flaws. I always got emotional at the end of the film when Miller tells Ryan that "Earn this" & it cuts to Ryan asking his wife if he was a good man. My grandfather never ever saw Saving Private Ryan in the last years of his life (did like the movie The Longest Day), but like most veterans, he would have attempted to avoid seeing the horrors of war again.
I am immensely grateful to have known him before his passing & I am proud to be his grandson. This is a story I like to share with those who have first watched this film,, Band of Brothers, or any content related to the summer of 1944.
If I had to create a title to describe his WWII story it would be called...
"Liberation at the Gates"
Awesome story about your grandfather. 🇺🇸
The cemetery that you see is above the beaches in Normandy, France where the landings occurred. There are 33,000 Allied servicemen buried there. The French citizens take excellent care of it in respect for what those soldiers sacrificed for them.
“What are these helmets for?” In that era, to deflect fragments. They have a much greater protection factor nowadays. But nothing is certain.
no they didnt get better in modern times, its kinda the same protection helmet wise. and they did protect against a direct bullet hit, but its kinda random , meaning it depends a lot on the distance on the shot and the angle of impact.
and recochet, it happens
@@darthsaren6519 I’ve seen them stop a 7.62mm round at close range on more than one occasion. Kevlar is much better than the old steel pots.
The way modern helmets are designed, they won’t _stop_ a bullet, but instead they ‘channel’ the bullet around the helmet and out the back,
There are several different layers of Kevlar at different weave densities. A 5.56mm or a 7.62mm round will penetrate the first few layers but won’t fully penetrate the middle layers. The bullet is still travelling really quickly so the higher density layers ‘guide’ the bullet around the curve of the helmet letting it fly out the back through the lower density layers missing the head inside it completely.
at the start of WW1, most soldiers wore fabric caps. the amount of casualties from artillery bombardment, especially airburst shells were staggering. introducing metal helmets severely reduced head injuries
"Molotovs were always my favourite. I don't know why, I just like them."
Almost every reaction we learn something slightly disturbing about Blue :-)
it is very easy to judge, and very hard to understand why Upham behaved like he did when that german soldier killed Mellish. Being (almost literally) frozen in fear is a real thing that happened to a lot of people in fights.
I believe you’re exactly correct. People tend to judge Upham as a coward, but he also ran out under fire to go get the ammo to begin with. And he came back, with the Germans all over the place. It’s been said that in combat, sometimes people can be extraordinarily brave at one moment, and frozen with fear the next. And probably most often, somewhere in between.
It's good of you to say that. It's true. We all react to massive trauma differently. Often we don't know how we will react until it's happening.
‘I haven’t fired a gun since basic training.’
-Upham
He clearly wasn’t a combat soldier.
Trixy, when this first came out, I watched it with my girl friend. She was in tears when the shells hit some of the landing craft at the beginning, and was over come by the end of the beach scene. This movie changed her opinion of everything related to the service. I explained to her that most of the men there were drafted and had no choice in things happening around them. It was just the way things have always been for guys. She never again complained about a hair out of place or nail polish being messed up or clothing that doesn't fit seamless. She would always look at me and say she knew why I have no patience for war or any bully perpetrating war. When I explained these scenes were close to reality, but reality can get far worse; she got emotional. I can only say that she finally understood why guys who went to war came back different, saying most of those guys were only 18 to 20 years old. We both have great respect for all military people from any branch of service. I can honestly say this movie changed her for the better.
Sure
All of Miller's men were Rangers, Ryan's comrades were 101 Airborne----all volunteers who were extremely well selected and trained. No draftees
In Upham's defense, he was not a combat soldier. He was thrust into a situation for which he was not prepared. Nobody knows (including myself) how they would react in a combat situation until they are in it.
He was a typist, they were Rangers. So many people don't understand that.
My grandfather was a WW2 veteran in Russia. As a German though. He told me stories you would not believe, if not told by a man who was actually there.
50:47 American Soldier: "Hands in the air. Drop the weapons." (he says it multiple times) The German to his comrades:"I know this soldier. I know this man" American soldier:"Shut the fuck up!" German:"Upham." (this is not a German word, I think it is the name of the American soldier) after he shot the one guy, he told the others "Leave!"
Greetings :)
Upham is the name of the soldier/writer/translator with the rifle. The German was trying to let Upham know that he knew him from earlier. He was the German soldier who was blindfolded and able to leave, to turn himself in to other American forces. If only someone had killed him then and there, Captain Miller and others would still be alive.
@@AdmiralEisbaer How the Hell did he survive?
Das ist richtig!😊
Even if you remove all of the innate human flaws that cause war such as greed, hatred & fear, as long as there is a limited supply of resources and/or unequal access to them... there will be war. This is a consequence of your instinct for self-preservation, which is nature, but nature that is not limited to humans. We just happen to be uniquely capable of acting on it.
As a former soldier I can tell you it isn't the junior soldiers who cause wars. Most of them are young men who would never harm an innocent person under normal conditions. The megalomaniacs who all too often rise in government are the fundamental problem, IMHO. War is obscene, especially when innocent lives are destroyed.
Politicians start wars that they nor their children will have to fight. USN 1974-1978
Today we have another lunatic seizing power, unconcerned with how many countless deaths it will cause. More than one million already from Covid-19. His family came from Germany. The family name used to be Drumpf. And just like Hitler, this one has duped many to his side.
You should consider watching Band of Brothers its a true story and an amazing piece of cinema that is genuinely one of a kind
This, 100% this
I totally agree she should. Too bad she and most people cant find the movie The boy in striped pajamas. Its hard to find online for free
Absolutely! Not only was it a great movie but it was also incredibly realistic when it comes to the history behind Easy Company and the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
Col. Dick Winters was a real life hero.
The PACIFIC is better.. but this blue hair freak doesn't deserve to
As a Marine Veteran I want to say ‘Thank you’ for watching this movie. I wish more young people would. It really demonstrates the loyalty, courage, and cost that many have paid to protect whatever it is that’s important to you and me. There is a saying in the military: ‘the individual takes the oath but the family also serves’ I served and fought because I love this country and it’s wonderful people. Our country is in a bad place right now but we’ll get through it…together. Semper Fi!
Thank you for serving
What are your thoughts on what the democrats are doing to our military?
"A soldier does not fight because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him."
G. K. Chesterton
9:39 If you were wondering what those soldiers were saying, here is the answer: They said "Prosím, nestřílejte na mě, nejsem Němec, jsem Čech, nikoho jsem nezabil!" How English would be "Please don't shoot me, I'm not German, I'm Czech I didn't kill anyone! "
They were Czech conscripts (conscription is a forced military enlistment) sent to fight on the front, and were purposefully missing shots because they did not want to fight. It's sad, but also the Allies were under orders to take no prisoners for the first 3 days after the invasion. Just a terrible situation on both sides :/
@@lordmortarius538 Yea this was a very sad reality for many of the conscripts. Caught between 2 factions that wanted them dead.
Sure they didn't kill anyone.
@@shanejur its true...Omaha was actually made up of a shoddy german regiment supported by captured and conscripted men from Ukraine, Poland, and Czechoslovakia...most had never even fired at an animal let alone a person...and the german regiment was one of the worst in the whermacht, as Hitler never believed the invasion to come from Normandy, and so manned it with minimal troops and literally no armor or air support...if hitler had put more troops and armor in place at Normandy, its possible that couldve been a catastrophic loss to the expeditionary forces
@@meridianline4022 Give 'em MG ' forty-twos and they'll do pretty well
I was amazed at how realistic this movie was when I first saw it. I served in the Vietnam war and four of my high school friends died there. They were in other units, but my darkest memory was talking to a kid next to me, also 18 years old and as we were talking all of a sudden, I was covered with blood, bone fragments, and brain tissue. An enemy bullet killed him, and I never even got to know his name. I was so stunned as we never heard any gunfire. He died instantly and then all kinds of bullets were flying around on both sides. The suddenness of death was what struck me the most. It easily could have been me instead. Thar war was so unpopular back in the US that when I got home I was called all kinds of names and spit on many times. I think that was the rare one where the people of our country were so against our military being there. My dad and mom's family sent a total of 9 men to WWII and they all were unscathed and my dad was in Korea too. He commanded a combat engineering compay in both wars. I so admired my family for doing their part that I joined when I was 17 years old. And our war in Vietnam solved nothing at all.
I think the problem with the Vietnam - American war is, despite whatever you wanted to call it, it was an invasion. In accordance with the 1954 Geneva Conference, Vietnam was supposed to be unified by July 1956 after the French colonial regime were to withdraw from Vietnam completely, if the US did not support Ngo Dinh Diem to establish an American-friendly establishment in the South.
The war was a political move in opposition of China and the USSR in a larger chess game of the Cold War, nothing more. There was nothing that justifies you guys being there at all.
I just watched this reaction, and it was the first reaction by you that I've ever watched. I just wanted to let you know that your intelligence, depth of understanding, and empathy for others (though not, perhaps, for Upham) really came through. Not many people your age would see as much as you saw in this movie or understand as much as you understood. I look forward to watching your other reactions.
It does me good to see a young person like yourself watch this and have the emotions that you showed. It's good to see what these men and women have done and it gives you such a great respect.
"There are other ways to resolve political conflicts.. come on.."
Oh you sweet summer child...
sic vis pacem para bellum
@@tonyyul703 the motto used in the 9mm cartridge
The biggest problem is that for things to be resolved peacefully the people in power have to _want_ to work with others, and more often than not many leaders seem to be overly prideful and in worse cases selfish.
What a complete, ridulous statement!
There is only one thing for evil and that is absolute destruction.
I have to say: You held it together for the first 15 minutes a lot better than I expected you to. There were seasoned veterans of every war from WWII to Afghanistan who had to leave the theatre because the shit got too real for them.
And Omaha Beach was lesser fortified than Calais, directly across the English Channel, because the beaches chosen were a closely-guarded secret until the night before.
Didn't this movie come out in 1998 and we invaded Afghanistan in 2001.
@@ryeguy7941 Came to comment this.
@@ArgonNoble And also Calais was not an Allied objective during Operation Overlord.
Afghanistan / Iraq / Syria USA soldiers: Murderes and invaders who killed and tortured innocent people following orders by their genocides presidents Bush, Clinton and Obama
Patton gave a speech shortly before the invasion, further along the British coast closer to Berlin. This brief public appearance as staged to convince the Germans that he was obviously working on his invasion plans for beaches closer to Germany, and so Hitler refused to send more of his battle tanks, especially the Tiger tanks, further along the French coast. He held a lot of armor back, and still it was a massacre to land where we did. But it had to be done to stop some lunatic and his co-conspirators from turning the world into a slave society. A shame they gave their lives so another so-called Republican lunatic with no more integrity or morals than Hitler could do the same to America today.
Definitely one the most accurate war movies. This particular storyline didn't actually happen, but it highlights how horrible war can be, but how men can prevail through the worst times.
The film draws inspiration from the story of an actual soldier named Fritz Niland and a U.S. war department directive called the sole-survivor directive "Special Separation Policies for Survivorship" that was put in place after all 5 Sullivan brothers died in the war.
@@the-hard-problem It was actually based on the Borgstrom and Sullivan families, but there were several cases of large amounts of brothers or cousins being killed back-to back-to back-back+. After the Nihlands they started differing some kids based on family service and forbade brothers from serving in the same outfits/theatres/ships.
@@Zenon0K if i am not wrong it is still a thing to this day.
@@Kalashboy420 yes it is a amendment
From some war historians the film is most accurate in the first 20 minutes. The whole mission thing coming to be is a wee bit stretched but that’s ok. The film had a narrative to tell its it did it quite wonderfully. Check out history buffs channel for more info.
I remember seeing this in theater. It was the most powerful cinematic experience ever. The entire audience was just completely silent the whole movie, except for some people crying.
Same here. No one took a breath for twenty minutes and it took days to unclench my sphincter
I like what you said that the measure of a man is what he does when the odds are against him. I couldn't agree more
That "Earn this" to Ryan, not was for him, was for all of us. All the people that now has the chance to live in a free world thanks to the sacrifices of American, British, Russian, Polish, French (and a big etc.) soldiers that made the ultimate sacrifice in the battlefield.
Canadians...
Agreed. That is the most important message of this movie.
@@borninjordan7448 Canadians! ❤️
I'll be there this Friday, so our fallen Canadian brothers don't feel alone.
ua-cam.com/video/3lJe4r8BsJ0/v-deo.html
@@Snaakie83 Thanks.
Indians....
The largest volunteer army that helped Britain even tho the brits were a**holes. Also 3 million Indians died due to british induced famine. They died of starvation so that the allied soldiers and people in the liberated countries don't have to.
“Is that the same dude that they let go?” Good eyes. Many people miss that or only catch it near the end.
But it's not though. The guy that stabs Mellish is not the guy they let go
46:22 - nope, it's not the same guy they let go. the one they let go is the one who killed the captain at 50:04 and the Upham kills him at 51:04
He does look a bit like him, but it's not him. I always thought they should have picked someone that looked more different. I've seen a lot of reactors making the same mistake.
one thing with Upham that you need to know is that soldiers like Ryan, Miller and the rest were being trained for many months prior to the landings. People like Upham were never intended to be in that role and they would rarely see combat as they would be more in the rear area designed to be helping with the general staff. These units if attacked by an enemy breakthrough in the front lines usually retreated and in most cases this turned into panic causing a rout of the rear areas.
I understand the frustration with Opham, but fear can paralyze. NOBODY can criticize unless you've been in that position. The horror they saw on a daily basis. More than 70 million lives were lost in WWII throughout the world. Devastating.
I like you decided to watch this. Younger generations like mine and yours have no memory and precisely because war is such an absurd, this movie is so important. It's not the typical hero movie, shows the reality of war as many people don't want us to know. Hugs Blue
The fish are stunned or killed by explosions in the water.
Very true, post storm it's worth checking the beaches for lobsters etc
its a helluva thing to see combat for the first time. most of my memories are a blur.
It's always fun to watch someone when they learn the meaning of "FUBAR."
Back in 1999, my family took a tour around Europe on the way to a wedding in Germany. On the way we visited the beaches of Normandy, the museums, and the same cemetery you see in the movie. The emotions were palpable even though we didn't know anybody who died there. It was hard to speak and to this day, the cemetery scene still gets me because many of the graves have the words 'Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to god' , like the tomb of the unknown soldier at Arlington, Virginia. And, in military fashion, are perfectly lined up, vertically, horizontally, and at a 45deg. angle.
The ruins of the gun emplacements are equally eerie, making it a wonder anyone survived at all.
A lot of reactors confuse the soldier that stabbed Mellish (your favorite) with the soldier that they released earlier in the film, but they were not the same man. The soldier that stabbed Mellish looked different and wore a different uniform (he had an SS uniform), but the soldier that they released was a regular German army soldier, and he WAS the same guy at the end who Upham recognized just before he shot Tom Hanks, and then when the German remembered Upham and said his name, Upham shot him.
"Solar panels "
🤣🤣🤣
You crack me up Trixy.
We were taught to pull pin, release handle and count one thousand one,one thousand two, one thousand three then toss the grenade.
So good call on that girl.
Trixy it's not human nature that's the big lie.
Your commentary at the end was priceless.
@@jimmysmith5418 yeah I know. Trixy called them "Solar panels. "
It tickled me funny bone. 😁
With respect, please don't ever say that the soldiers died pointlessly.
I understand where your heart is. I believe the vast majority of people are against war. I believe that most people are good and will agree that every avenue should be taken to resolve conflicts and disagreements peacefully without violence and death. However, as long as there are people like Hitler walking this world and decide to exercise tyranny, oppression and murder of innocents then there have to be people who are willing to stand against evil and fight to protect the good that they believe in for the sake of their loved ones.
Like you said, it is beyond tragic that the cost for freedom and ridding the world of evil is so high but it was paid and will continue to be paid. What we should do now is honor the sacrifice by being grateful for everything we have and to live our lives as best we can by striving to be the best version of ourselves. If we do that, I believe we can be an overwhelming force for good and we can further help to reduce the occurrence of wars.
This girl just don't get it.
@@josephamoraz7990 it's ok not everyone will. Their hearts are in the right place. They just don't like seeing people having to kill each other
Una pregunta Capitán America
¿Crees que un loco es tirano y todos los demás como los alemanes simplemente le tienen miedo y por eso obedecen, o lo seguían porque querían?; crees que los estadounidenses querían ir a Europa a pelear o que eran obligados a ir?, crees que después de la guerra cantaron e hicieron el simbolo de la paz o que quedaron traumados y muchos se suicidaron?;
No hay bien o mal; lo que para una persona es bien; para otra es mal y viceversa; ¿está bien matar para que un loco no mate?; ¿matar vos para que otro no mate?. Que hay de los ataques a suelo alemán?; eso era liberación o ataque ofensivo?. :)
I know this is a reaction from 2 years ago, but this just popped up on and thought why not. Your reaction and facial expressions were so honest and real as were mine many, many years ago as a Marine. Thank you love...
Less crying than I expected but there were definitely some moments where you looked really sad. It gets us all at some point or another, particularly at the end. I think what makes this particularly sad is that even if the story isn't necessarily true there's still lots of people who went through events like these. As for Upham, I've seen so many reactions that I can't blame any of them, I can totally understand why people would be upset at him for not going up the stairs and helping but I feel like many of us would be equally scared to kill someone even in a war context, and you can't forget that before going on this mission he was a translator that had never even been in combat.
Agreed
what people are witnessing is the stark reality of a soldier whos' sole duties was read maps and translate language. he was never really prepared for combat like the mainstay of troops. And at some point, it overwhelms their senses to the point of them freezing up or with some people completely going mad. notice how he had difficulty just trying to make his feet work trying to climb those stairs.
One never knows how anyone will act in such circumstances.
Hello beautiful souls, as a Vet to all the Men and Women who served in the Military Living Or Died.. I would like to tell you all I love you and thanks for your Contribution and God Bless You all for being my Hero
The most accurate reproduction of D-day, sadly, RIP boys.
Don't be too hard on Upham. I don't much like the character, but he is the eyes and ears of the audience. He was never trained for combat, and he is caught up in some pretty intense action that tests elite soldiers like Rangers and Airborne troops. No one knows how they react in intense situations until they're actually in them. So Upham's actions and reactions are very believable.
I served in the military for 21 years and deployed to the Middle East numerous times. The combat scenes don’t really bother me, it’s the ending that gets me every time. After losing friends and fellow soldiers, you hope that you live a life that honors their sacrifices. Society would also be better off if they had that mentality of honoring those that sacrificed everything so that others could live a life of freedom and opportunity, and living in a way that reflected those sacrifices.
As opposed to being a draft dodger calling American soldiers "losers", I agree with you 100%
Trixy Blue... I have watched so many reactions to this movie that I forgot how many, I like your candid reaction. You fought the tears but your emotions were genuine.
So many of my parents generation died in WWII. My Dad knew many that died on D Day. They were in two classes ahead of him in high school. He played Football with them. I only saw my Dad cry 3 times in the 63 years I knew him and watching this at the theater was one of them. I get teary eyed watching this movie each time, you are alone in your reaction
I like your honesty and candidness
21:38 Helmets are good for incidental hits, like ricochets or the odd bit of rock which might come flying through the air. They're not intended to stop direct bullet strikes.
30:00 Sulfa drugs were the first antibiotics to be mass-produced, and the ones issued to soldiers in WW2 came in powder form. In wars prior to this, there were no antibiotics, so in some of those battles, as many soldiers died from infected battlefield wounds, after the battle was over, than actual soldiers who were killed during the battle itself.
38:30 Yes, that is a dangerous place to be. High points, like tower belfries and the top floors of buildings, are some of the first things taken out by tanks and artillery, because they are excellent sniping and observation posts.
47:09 Yes, Captain Miller had good aim. He taught baseball, after all.
Wonderful reaction, watching a depiction of war that, for all its imagery, sound and effects, is still only a shadow of what the real thing is like. (A veteran who was at Omaha beach was once asked how accurate the opening sequence was. He replied: "Not enough bodies.") Yeah, war sucks, and acknowledge you for staying and watching all the way through.
Helmets are not just for the "odd" bit of rock but mostly for anything coming flying from close by artillery hits, so lots of rock and shrapnel. A 'funny' story from WW1 was that when the old hardened leather 'Pickelhaube' of the Germans was replaced with the steel helmet soldiers took the new helmet as a bad omen at first for some degree because numbers of wounded coming to the field hospitals with headwounds skyrocketet. Of course that meant it worked, those were all those who before would just have died instantly.
I am from the USA. A good friend of mine did 6 comeback tours. r4 Afghanistan and 2 in Iraq. He told me about he and another soldier in his platoon had daughter's born on the same day. 3 days after both received the news of their children his friend was killed in action. My friend told me often, when he looks at his daughter he is so thankful and grateful to watch her grow up. Because his friend never met his daughter.
As upsetting as Upham's character actions are, they are there to show a different aspect of how people react to war in combat. Not everyone is as capable all the time. And it is interesting you don't see the same criticism of Ryan's character when towards the end of the fight he's just got his arms around his legs and is screaming.
Suggest "The Fallen of World War II" Most don't know truely how huge of a cost WWII was.
"An animated data-driven documentary about war and peace, The Fallen of World War II looks at the human cost of the second World War and sizes up the numbers to other wars in history, including trends in recent conflicts."
Upham's Character who did not come to Mellish's ( Who was Jewish) Aid when he knew he was being killed was a commentary about the U . S. not coming to the aid of the Jewish people being killed and persecuted by the Nazis's . The U.S. did not enter the war against Germany until a week after Pearl Harbor 1941 two years after Germany had started the war and persecution of the Jewish people. And just like Upham the U. S. let Jews that they knew were going to be killed , die .
@@NATIVESUNSETS65 Nobody back then cared and really even today still nobody cares. A new genocide about every decade since they started saying "never again." If we really were to compare you'd have to take Rwandan over German efficiency anyday. It's that simple. If Japan never attacked then we never would have had a reason to enter the war and would have left it as a European problem.
@@NATIVESUNSETS65 I think not a commentary. Te depth of the German killing of Jews was covered up in a number of sources. And starting a war to save the Jews was a severe change in the historical future of America. You don;t start a world war until you absolutely have to. And we did not do it to save America. America was fairly safe. We did it to save Europe. Beyond that The new York Times was pushing to protect Hitler. Time Magazine even made Hitler Man of the Year in one issue.
I've watched your reaction before, but I missed how beautiful your human nature is. Your feeling for human nature, human life is absolutely beautiful. You are a great human being! I'm in awe of you. You are a much better person than myself. Thank you for this reaction.
The scene where the mother goes to get the news she already knows what is, and has to sit down cuz her legs won’t hold her up anymore … get’s me every time. 🥺
She should have won an Oscar
Me too. As a parent of 3 boys, I can't even imagine...
Upham shouts "Die Waffen niederlegen!" and "Hande hoch!" which means "you stop fighting" and "hands up".
a good phrase to know in many languages:
"Hands up" - English
"Hande hoch" - German
"Haute les mains" - French
"Manos arriba" - Spanish
On a roll Trixy 😊
Please watch Schindler’s List next 😁
My grandfather was considered too young and was denied joining the British military before the wars end.
Before his passing, he got a chuckle, but a melancholy one from a meme I showed him, once which when he settled, commented it made him sad because it was TRUE and he himself had seen the change
1944 - 18 year olds storm the beaches, some of them even VOLUNTEERING to charge into almost certain death, in order to help stop the spread of evil
2019 - 18 year olds need a safe space because WORDS “might” hurt their feelings
Oh what a difference three generations/75 years can make
Rip grandpa, and a heartfelt salute to those who fought and died for free world that we had/have
Ryan metaphorically represents that society that survive the second world war and that should have honored all those soldiers who sacrifice their lives to achieve it by making the world a better place.
The line Cpt Miller says "Earn this" is said vicariously, not only within the meta of the narrative but also to us. After taking us through a moment of hell of earth that this was we too should try to answer to that statement as well. Let's all earn it. Earn what was done for us by the fallen by living to make this world a better place. Earn this.
Love your reactions Blue. You are so honest with your emotions, the tears, the smiles, the laughter, and puffy lips are all so real. Thanks for sharing. I miss the ears though.
My Father-in-law fought in WW2. My Dad was a lifer Marine. He was a three war Veteran. WW2, Korea and Vietnam. My Brother was a Marine. Vietnam fell a year before I was old enough. I took the Law Enforcement route. As an Officer!
I'd say there's a valid justification to go to war. Like say... when one of the most brutal regimes imaginable that has no regard for human life whatsoever decides to start attacking it's neighbors. Stopping that kind of thing sounds extremely justified to me.
I think she meant that all countries should avoid war. Then there isn’t this back and forth justification of “revenge” and “self defense” and “retribution” and “freedom”. Every soldier that ever died thinks he was fighting on the right side of a war.
@@firstlast9916 yes but if one country decides to use the last diplomatic option available to them, war, then other countries can only choose to surrender, or fight back. I’m sure the Czechs would have rather fought Germany than surrendered to it.
@@CharlesMCFC yeah but that’s the Czechs justification for fighting a fight that Germany justified because of the sanctions that Europe imposed on Germany after WW1. I’m sure WW1 had a bunch of justifications too. It’s just endless back and forth nonsense.
No different than two 4 year olds justifying kicking and punching each other in a playground. “Well he slapped me before I kicked him”. “But She called me stupid”. “Well he called me ugly”. And on and on it goes until somebody is seriously hurt. The only person that benefits from a war are politicians. Everybody else involved is a loser. Especially the dead soldiers.
@@firstlast9916 and your point is? The minute any one country or individual employs force, the only way out is force. Wagging your finger at the problem will never solve it. Look at Austria and Czechoslovakia. Didn’t save Poland, France or the USSR to bend over and give them to the meanie man to prevent an escalation to war. Only made him bolder.
@@CharlesMCFC my point is everybody is wrong. Self defense is the act of an idiot that didn’t think of leaving. WW1 caused WW2. What you say about invasions in WW2 can be traced back to WW1 invasions. Stop preparing for war. The worst saying in history is “in times of peace, prepare for war”. That saying has killed billions of people. But nobody ever stops saying it. Whoever says that is a blind soldier of hate.
This is what we should go by as a species:
“There is no greater illusion than fear, no greater wrong than preparing to defend yourself, no greater misfortune than having an enemy. Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe.” - Lao Tsu
@Trixey Blue - I saw this movie in the theater when it came out. When the movie was over, nobody got up for at least a minute and they entire audience walked out in complete silence. It was the only time I remember, nobody talking after a movie.
btw at 7:14 the reason the soldier took off his helmet is because when it is damaged if u keep it on still u would be guaranteed to die as it would shatter the helmet and the parts of ur helmet will go inside ur head and the bullet will be stronger because it moved through metal so it made it hotter which if it shoots even 1 inch inside ur head could dissolve some of ur major stuff like brain etc. But in this modern day a helmet can get shot about 3 times before u take it out
Just haven't got a clue really, have you?
He took off his helmet because he was in shock…
The letter that General C. Marshall reads is one from our beloved President Lincoln of the Civil War era. It's called "The Bixby Letter." There is some controversy about it. Just before that - when the Captain brings the 3 letters to the Colonel I.W. Bryce (3rd office) he talks about 'The Sullivan Brothers" - Only son's of Thomas and Alleta Sullivan. They all served on the same war boat, and all where killed; effectively wiping out that part of the family tree.
46:20 No, that’s not the dude they let go earlier. He has a slight resemblance to him, but he’s not the same soldier. The German who shot Captain Miller at 50:04 is the one they let go earlier.
I was going to post the same, but came to make sure someone else beat me to it. I saw this in the theater/cinema and I thought the same for the longest time until I bought the DVD.
No, the soldier who shoots CPT Miller is the same one who stabbed Mellish. But he’s not the same one they let go earlier. Different uniforms, different actors.
The Sullivan Brothers were from Waterloo, IA.
All five were serving on the light cruiser USS Juneau during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942.
After suffering severe damage from a torpedo from a Japanese destroyer, the Juneau pulled out of the battle and began the long trip to a nearby island for repairs. Juneau and two other damaged ships were spotted by Japanese submarine I-26 at around 11:00 am on November 13, 1942. Shortly afterward the sub fired a salvo of torpedoes, one which struck the already badly damaged ship. The blast broke the vessel in half, sinking in 20 seconds and taking 587 men with her.
Roughly 100 sailors survived the sinking and for 8 days remained stranded in the ocean until rescue aircraft arrived. It is believed that at least two or three of the Sullivan Brothers were in the water but died from the elements overtime. By the time rescue arrived, only 10 men survived.
Wasn’t that the sinking where the survivors attracted sharks and were just picked off by an entire school of great white sharks?
@@realburglazofficial2613 The USS Indianapolis which carried the nuclear bomb materials across the Pacific. There were two men guarding the crate(s). One actual guard and one fake guard, the scientist, who was to handle the assembly of the warhead. The lone cruiser was considered to draw less attention from spy planes. Not a big enough target to send out a fleet against it. The mission was so secret however, that when it was sun by a Japanese submarine it was unnoticed for days, and many were eaten by sharks, or died from the exposure. A really sad event.
The reason Wade said to give more morphine when Upham said “tell us how to fix you” is because Wade knew there’s no way to explain to them everything that needs to be done and for them to know how to do it. The morphine not only is a pain killer but it also drops the blood pressure. Too much morphine will drop it low enough to become lethal. Wade chose the easier, quicker and relatively less painful death. Not only was it easier on him… it was also easier on the men… Something Captain Miller realized.
"one to see Heaven, two to go there" was the saying about morphine use in the war. It was more about how he knew there was no way he could be saved, they had him roll him up on his side to see where the bullet came out, and it was a liver shot, which he knew was fatal out in the field.
Closes respiratory rate also, that's the main way it kills, it gives a gentle
goodnight for Irwin .
It's brave to watch this movie on a video for people to see. I saw it in theaters when I was 15 and was blown over by it and didn't speak for two days. Powerful movie.
I really hope we will never have this happen again. Americans wake up and pull together. Love and peace ✌️ 🕊️
Helmets in WW2 were not bulletproof, they were more like hard hats, meant to protect soldiers from shrapnel and debris from explosions. The guy on the beach whose helmet deflected a bullet was extremely lucky, as the soldier next to him said, it hit at an extreme angle :P
I imagine that helmets are more for protection against flying debris when you're close to an explosion...
Not so much "more" for debris. It offers protection in a general sense to all sorts of things that want to tap your skull to see what's inside. It offers some protection against bullets too. If a round hits straight into the helmet then there is a good chance you're a gonner. If the round hit at an angle the helmet can divert the bullet enough to save your life.
They wouldn't stop a direct hit but they would deflect a bullet better than your skull
One reason combat arms soldiers are treated roughly in training is to impart not just the mental and physical toughness they will need in combat but also a "warrior spirit". A service member trained to serve in a service specialty, such as an interpreter and map maker, would not get such training. This movie does a good job injecting such a character with Upham. That isn't to say there is anything wrong with differential training. All jobs are important in the military but they call for different abilities. In the US Army all enlisted personnel go through Basic Combat Training first, so they get a taste of it, but the great majority of service members are not combat arms soldiers rather they work in service and support specialties. BTW, this contrast is highlighted in another very well done war movie, "Fury" staring Brad Pitt as a tank commander, with his crew, in WWII.
Notwithstanding the artistic aspect of corporal Upham at the end, he really should have been positioned at the Alamo, and been the last one to blow up the bridge since he couldn't overcome his apprehension in combat. Just my two cents. : D
That'd have been the prescient move but they were never to know that he'd have such a paralysing breakdown mid-combat. In hindsight, he should totally have been the guy at the back again with the detonator, like he was during the machinegun nest attack.
@@Musabre maybe, or maybe he'd shit his pants and detonate the bridge with everyone still on the other side lol I wouldnt trust him to be holding to key to the only door I have to escape.
I respect Miller's leadership a bit too much if you're the guy for the job - do it. That's why he had Mike as back up. Miller was going to blow the bridge. His job, he's gonna do it.
@@one_eyed_pete2462 This.
I am a Soldier. Now you see why they call them the greatest generation. 415,000 Americans gave their lives so that you might live free. I myself have chosen a Soldiers life to protect our way of life. Crying is never a sign of weakness as it shows you have a heart. Thank you for watching this movie. Yours's truly, Master Sergeant Robert L. Scott. January 27th 1915 / December 24th 1944 Bastogne Belgium. Looking forward to seeing you when you get here.
It wasn't thousands. I wish it had been only thousands. The final death toll from that war from all causes on all sides was over 70 million dead.
Yeah, it's totally crazy amount. And still it takes the human population less than 1 year to replace that amount of people now.
That is tens of millions of human lives from birth to combat age. Fed, trained in language and many subjects, housed, medically cared for, decades of paperwork, and gone in a day. The cost is beyond measure. Stalin by historical estimates murdered at least 20 million Russians who opposed his insanity. And we have to start all over again with 70 million more.
If you guys are ever in the U.S. be sure to stop by "The Museum of Tolerance" in Los Angeles, CA and then "The National WWII Museum" in New Orleans, LA. Some of the best museums I've ever visited that will make you cry. Some of the most unique experiences you'll ever have.
You should watch Band of Brothers, a 10 part mini-series that tells the story of Easy Company, 101s Airborne , during WWII.
The General who remembered the "Lincoln Letter" was George Marshall, Chief of Staff to the US Army. He was a close advisor to the President and responsible for the management of the whole army. He also was responsible for the "Marshall Plan" to rebuild Europe and Asia after the War (including both Germany and Japan) It is a main reason why our two adversaries during the War were able to develop into two of the strongest economies and trusted allies of the US.
Blue, don't be quick to pass judgment on Upem. We all dream of being heroes until we are in the moment of truth and we are overcome with fear. In fact, paralyzed by it, and then we have to face the reality of our failure. During war Upem's failure was a matter of life and death. During our daily lives, we get to have a do-over. I hope to never fail at the moment as Upem did, but you never know.
"It's like finding a needle in a stack of... needles"
😂 love that quote
Tom also brought the guy who played the sniper to act with him in The Green Mile, so don't miss it!
The cost of freedom is high. To me, the moral is that the price was paid for ALL of us. And that we must live our lives in thanks to those who gave us our freedom, who laid down theirs. Live life like it’s a gift from them.
One of the bigger inaccuracies in the movie was that almost all of the actors were too old. A Ranger captain like John Miller would have been around 25-26 on average, not 40 like Tom Hanks was. The average soldier would have been much closer in age to Trixie Blue herself, although there was a wide range, wars are generally fought by the young.
During WWII I believe that the officers were older than they are today. Not 40 years old but maybe 30-33. The trend of younger officers started furing the Vitenam war. So many officers were dying so fast the company leaders started becoming younger and younger.
It’s true that there are a lot of younger officers and troops due to the sudden expansion of the military at that time but that doesn’t mean that there are no older officers and troops.
@@lethaldose2000 Before they began shooting Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg asked the film's histieical advisor, Stephen E. Ambrose (who wrote the book Band Of Brothers was based on) if there was anything, ANYTHING that should be changed to make the film more accurate. Ambrose responded with a "no" adding that there was nothing Spielverg wanted to hear. Spielberg was alarmed and demanded to know what Ambrose thought was inaccurate. After some hemming and hawwing Ambrose said "It's Hanks. We should get rid of him. He's too old. A ranger captain at Normandy would be in his late 20s, at most."
Spielberg replied, “You’re a funny guy.”
In some situations, war is very necessary. But its okay to cry...it means you're human. There are more than a inaccuracies with the film, from the flashback in the beginning (Ryan was never at Normandy, he was airdropped behind the lines before the invasion and would have no idea what Miller or any of the other assault troops endured during the landings), the beach obstacles were facing the wrong way, P-51's were not used for "tankbusting" (the P-47's were), etc. The movie does a good job of showing the relationship the members of a company (in this case an understrength squad), and how they developed a brotherhood between them and saw Upham as an outsider who hadn't earned their respect. This is true of most men in combat no matter what war or conflict it is. They don't fight for their country, they fight for the man next to them in the hopes they can all go home to their families.
You and Ellie have the best emotional "sad face". Magy has the best cry.
What is a helmet for?: A glancing bullet to the head will still do a lot of damage and daze you, maybe even knock you out or possibly kill you. The helmet prevents that, and can deflect indirect hits and protect you from shrapnel. Also hitting your head on stuff.
Hey Trixy, watch Hacksaw Ridge after this. That movie will blow your mind.
My grandfather lost his little brother in this war! God bless all that paid the ultimate price!
Yet another reaction that doesnt understand how people react to war. As frustrating as Uphams actions are, they are understandable because war affects everyone differently. War can shatter the strongest of men, break a soldiers faith, and make "weaker" men "tougher." The reality is many people would react the same way Upham did, especially with his lack of prior experience in combat. that's what should make melish's death so upsetting, not the fact that Upham didnt do anything, but because he was to afraid to do anything.
This Reactor isn't the brightest bulb
The opening scene Ryan goes to the grave of his brother, at the end he's at the grave of Capt. Miller's grave. His family is directly behind him at the first grave site, at the end, his family remains at a respectful distance, except for his wife who has no idea who Miller is. Ryan went home and never told anyone about that day in Ramell. The opening scene Ryan goes to the grave of his brother, at the end he's at the grave of Capt. Miller's grave. His family is directly behind him at the first grave site, at the end, his family remains at a respectful distance, except for his wife who has no idea who Miller is. Ryan went home and never told anyone about that day in Ramell.
Spielberg researched small details, for instance, Pvt Jackson's right thumb has a black mark on it. That's actually a bruise that many U. S. riflemen had caused from getting their thumb caught in the loading mechanism from not locking the bolt back properly when loading/reloading the M1 Garand rifle. It was called "Garand thumb".
The Hitler Youth Knife is more literary liberty than fact. That knife is a hiking knife given to members of the Hitler Youth Corps, which was much like the Boy Scouts in training while being indoctrinated with the ideology of National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi). The only other group they were issued to were members of the SA. This knife was never part of a soldier of the Wehrmacht. As for the reaction of Carparzo and Mellish, it is highly unlikely an average G.I. would have known what that knife was and its symbolism. The matter of Mellish crying is also not likely as the Allies didn't find out about the fate of Jews in Europe until the first concentration camp was liberated April 4, 1945. The war in Europe ended May 7, 1945. So, following the real timeline, Mellish dies before the Allies knew anything about concentration and death camps. But, after-all, it is Hollywood.
Saving Private Ryan is not based on the Sullivan brothers. Fritz Niland became the basis for Private Ryan. He was dropped behind enemy lines on D-Day and spent five days in the French countryside, eventually earning a Bronze star in combat for taking a French. Robert Rodat first came up with the plot in 1994 when he saw a monument in a cemetery in Tonawanda, New York. The monument was to the Niland Brothers - 4 young American men who fought in the Second World War. When three of the Nilands were reported killed, the surviving brother - Fritz - was sent home. This inspired Rodat to write his movie. The average age of a U. S. troops armed forces personnel during WW II was 26 years old. Selective Service draft age range was 18 years of age to 45 years. The average age in Vietnam War was 22, not 19 as any think.
There are 26 military cemeteries across Normandy, but the most famous and visited site is the poignant Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer. The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France is located in Colleville-sur-Mer, on the site of the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944 as the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. The cemetery site, at the north end of its half mile access road, covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of 9,387 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. In real life with the Nilands, it actually turned out later that another of the brothers was alive - he’d been held captive in a Burmese POW camp. Attempts to point out the "discrepancies" between the stories of Fritz Niland and James Ryan are often misguided, as Ryan is only based on Niland, and is not meant to be (or claimed to be) a completely accurate representation of him. The differences in the two stories seem to stem in part from the fact that the true story of Sergeant Niland and his brothers is often reported inaccurately. The character of Private James Ryan is a mixture of fact and fiction, with some of the fictional elements coming from the erroneous stories about the Niland brothers.
The German credited as "Steamboat Willie" who was released by Capt. Miller is not the German who engaged and killed Pvt Stanley "Fish Mellish during hand-to-hand combat. "Steamboat Willie" was in the Heer (Army) of the Wehrmacht and the other was in the Waffen SS which was a paramilitary organization and not part of the Wehrmacht. Originally, the SS uniform differed from the Wehrmacht uniform-whereas the regular army wore field grey, the SS wore black, head to toe (although later the SS did adopt field grey and often wore camouflage pattern uniform. American troops were brown and they didn't wear jackboots. The lightning bolt SS insignia can be seen on the right collar lapel of the German as he passes Upham and reaches the bottom of the staircase. During the Battle at Ramelle, Upham became shell shocked and was unable to save a .30 cal team from a German soldier because he was too frozen with fear to do anything about it. He carried all the .30 caliber ammo at the battle of Ramelle, but was unable to do his job because he was always either pinned down or too afraid to move. He signified the loss of innocence in war and thought that soldiers could be civil, but he later succumbed to the evils of war and made up for his cowardice when he shot Steamboat Willie for killing Miller even after the latter had shown Willie mercy earlier.
Not only did Upham represent the loss of innocence of war but he also symbolized the "Every-man". His illusion of neutrality faded when he finally had to pick and side and kill Steamboat Willie, his character revelation being how he finally understood the horrors of war. It became clear that Upham had turned into a hardened and true soldier because of the whole experience. Upham's rank was Tech 5 Corporal (E-5), that meant he was technician in a specialty area. His was maps and translator, he was not a combat infantryman and was never trained for front-line duty. Gunnery Sergent Hartman explained it this way in the movie Full Metal Jacket: "It is your killer instinct which must be harnessed if you expect to survive in combat. Your rifle is only a tool. It is a hard heart that kills. If your killer instincts are not clean and strong you will hesitate at the moment of truth. You will not kill.
"The way the next of kin was notified of their loved one was killed in action during WW II was by Western Union telegram delivered by a bicycle riding messenger. If you were being notified of multiple deaths as was the case in this film, notification was done in-person by a military officer, usually from the same branch of service as the deceased when possible. That's why the mother upon seeing the officer exit the car momentarily froze knowing that meant at least 2 of her boys were either KIA or MIA, as the priest exits the car, she staggers and completely collapsed.The mother speaks no lines in the movie, yet her breakdown brought a flood of tears form movie goers in theaters across the nation. Another important scene is it is clear from the few lines Ryan's wife speaks that she has never heard the name of Capt. John Miller, this means John has never spoken to her about what happened that day in Ramelle. What many missed is listening to Ryan speaking at the Miller's grave of how he thought about what those 8 men did for him every day was not guilt, but commitment.
There are units assigned to recover, bury and mark graves. Usually these were temporary battlefield cemeteries. As hostilities moved farther away, a more permanent site would be selected, at the family's request, whenever possible, the remains would be returned to the United States. At the Normandy Cemetery Visitors Center, you'll find the following inscription: IF EVER PROOF WERE NEEDED THAT WE FOUGHT FOR A CAUSE AND NOT FOR CONQUEST, IT COULD BE FOUND IN THESE CEMETERIES. HERE WAS OUR ONLY CONQUEST: ALL WE ASKED … WAS ENOUGH … SOIL IN WHICH TO BURY OUR GALLANT DEAD.General Mark W. ClarkChairman, American Battle Monuments Commission, 1969-1984
Should react to "Come And See" it was the inspiration for this (and schindler's list) and is considered by many to be the greatest war movie ever made and one of the most horrifying movies ever.
After ww1, America had no interest in another war but, Japan attack us. then, Germany declared war against us forcing us into the war. The last of the old Normandy invasion vets says this movie is about as close to what happened that day without actually being there.
Every "femin-nazi" who prattles on and on about "toxic masculinity" should have to watch this.
What does this have to do with toxic masculinity?
@@paulreed3778 Well, WW2 was started by "strong man" politics, which is the end result of toxic masculinity.
So I agree with Lextek that this movie shows how bad it really is and why we need to end it.
at 17:36 you asked if Captain Miller is commanding the other men too.
Yes.
He's a captain.
The other man in charge is only a sergeant.
Captains outrank sergeants.
So he asked the sergeant what was happening in the town, then started giving orders so these men, all of them, including Captain Miller's squad, could retake the town.
remember hearing stories of vets who saw this in the cinema, and has to leave because they smelt diesel as it was so real
Spielberg didn’t storyboard the beach sequence at the beginning of the movie, it’s one of the rare times he didn’t set the shots and frames up for an entire sequence at all as he wanted the audience to truly feel as if they WERE literally there with the soldiers and he felt that precise camera movements would’ve felt too rehearsed and choreographed which I personally completely agree with as it adds to the immersive realism
And the film was shot without music in the battles. And the loud battle was not toned down so you could hear the soldiers yell to each other. More realism.
The guy who kills Mellish with a knife is NOT the same person that kills Miller at the end (and is shot by Upham). The one who killed Mellish is SS and the one who killed Miller is Wehrmacht, you can see with the uniforms. Also in IMDB it is 2 different actors...definitely look similar though, I thought the same thing when I first watched it.
to me, that's a flaw in the movie. i can't imagine someone didn't point out how similar they looked...
For those who are a bit lost at the beginning, some context: the early part of this film depicts a focused look at the massive invasion of Normandy, France, aka D-Day during World War II. I strongly recommend another film, The Longest Day (1962), as a companion to Private Ryan. It takes a wider look at what was going on during that longest of days.