But I thought all of the DD Tanks did not make it to shore for D-Day?
Not true, at least 5 tanks made it out of the 30 something. Because all the other tanks came out of the boats to far away from shore and most drowned, those in the tanks bailed floated to surface from life jackets, only to be killed by machine gun fire.
I saw a show on the discovery channel on the DD tanks ,they went down with the unmanned sub and found most of the tanks ,It was pretty sad to see that most of the men went down with the tanks
With the part where they take the MG spot. wouldn’t have been smart to go around it and attack from the rear? 8)
The first time I saw Saving Private Ryan I thought it was great. But then after I saw it a couple more times I guess it just didn’t have what it takes to hold me in. I loved the sniper, by far my favorite character…
Jackson
Speilberg used real amputies for the scene where soliders had limbs missing. And not to mention The main characters, all had to live in harsh conditions, ate real rations, and trained for the movie. And to learn the hand signals, in the part where they are in the war torn town, and the two soldiers are in the church tower.
Superb film! 10/10!!
Yeah its a ok movie, esp the battle in the bombed out french town, ultra realistic in parts although The germans when advancing in crouched position behind the half track wouldnt normally do that i dont think. They would keep their distance and go in in a V formation.
I hate the fact than Sgt Hovarth spends the opening shots looking at the camera, and when the landing craft doors go down the guy that gets shot in the head, closes his eyes, and then suddenly opens them again!
And again when the 30 mil cannon is blowing them to bits as they chuck nades into the tiger its all to apparent they are dummies on the tank.
I could go on…
Its a good film BUT could of been much better IMO
It’s an alright movie, but it has it’s fair share or corny lines among other faults.
WikiP has a pretty good list of “Historical inaccuracies” and “Criticism”, but overall it’s a pretty good fictional war movie.
Yeah m8 a few faults but none the less a great film, especially the first time u watch it.
Isnt speilberg making one about okinawa in the pacific called Flags of our Fathers?
something like that anyway
Yeah I’ll agree that it’s a good movie. Sorry for more complaining about the historic accuracy of the movie, but Cpt Miller’s company was from the 2nd Ranger Battalion. Funny thing is the 2nd Rangers never landed on Omaha. That was the 5th Rangers.
I like SPR and have disc. I also agree with most of you regarding little imperfections.
Mid last year I read an article praising Speilberg’s team for historical authenticity of uniforms, weapons etc.
All this could not be achieved without re-enactors.
I don’t agree wit authenticity claim in several points, but they are minor details, like German awards, boots etc. All this can be treated as whinging.
But one point not. Before D-Day US, British and Canadian quartermasters issued to troops several millions of condoms.
On barrel of any small bore weapon in LSTs was a condom. I may risk saying that every Sten, Bren, Thompson, Garand and BAR landing on the beaches had a condom on its barrel!
Magazines for SMGs in condoms, magazines for Colts 1911 in condoms.
Wallets, lighters, personal photos - all packed into condoms.
Spielberg did not dare to show how troops really looked.
If makers of “Thin Red Line” did not hesitated showing US infantry looking for gold teeth, than where is the border of authenticity?
What do you think about it?
Lancer44
Remember its a movie not a documentary. Yea there are some things they had to wing. I watched the movie the 2nd time in the theather with my sister(nurse) and see commented that doesnt even look like real blood. I think some people are missing the point. Point of the movie is to show some of the hardships these people had to go thru. Of course with a plot twist of Pvt Ryan. They did a pretty good job at being as accurate as possible but sometimes they miss things. Omaha beach was the worst coz the American launched the DD tanks way to far out. I think 2 made it ashore. So what they crammed into 20 min in the movie was more like 8-10 hours. So again its a movie and a good movie for those that dont know alot about ww2.
I don’t see the point in putting condoms on the barrel of your weapon? To keep out water and dirt?
Hi Outerheaven,
Yes, to protect barrel from water and dirt. This method is commonly used also today - Iraq, Afghanistan.
The beaty of it is that to shoot you don’t need to take condom off. Just shoot without any problems - first shot will blow it off.
Cheers,
Lancer44
only in the pictures can make a mistake like these.
Yea saving private ryan was a good movie at least when you watch it the first few times. lots of mistakes is what let the movie down in the end i think. you dont notice them at first but then when you notice them every time you watch it you cant help but look for them so that takes it away from the picture and movie itself.
I saw the movie at the theatre and the battle sounds were horrific, forcing a few of the audience to leave. Okay a few inaccuracies, but that’s common with most war movies.
The only thing that really struck me as strange was the complete lack of airpower until the last battle scenes. Allied air power infested the battle area and I just found it strange these guys wandering around the countryside without spotting one aircraft.
Other than that a great movie.
Regards to all
Digger
I think another D-Day related inaccuracy is that the film portrays the soldiers on the beach as solely overcoming the obstacles and German defenses with no help. This may well have been true on some sectors. But at least three destroyers of the U.S. and Royal Navies nearly grounded themselves after moving as close to shore as possible. They provided direct fire support by pumping shells into the bunkers, often marked and targeted by G.I.'s smoke grenades. This is what ultimatley broke the German defense chain of interlocking fire, and allowed the American Army to advance on Omaha.