User Comments for Saving Private Ryan

Hans (10 out of 10 )
One of the best movies ever made!!!!!!!

theoneofblood (1 out of 10 )
It's hilarious how cliche'd and pathetic this early version is. It's a mircale Spielberg was able to salvage anything decent out of it at all. For God's sake, cigar-chomping Cap'n Miller talking about SARGE. Jesus.

Limey (7 out of 10 )
I think Shaving Ryan’s Privates is a hideously distasteful way to remember the courageous dead of the Normandy Landings. The filmmaker should be thoroughly ashamed of himself and I for one am appalled. What’s more, I’m quite certain there wasn’t anywhere near as much thrusting and groaning during the Allied assault.

KT (3 out of 10 )
I didn't like this early script at all compared to the movie... it was weird in a blah kind of way if that makes any sense to anyone but me.

iris (6 out of 10 )
I don't think I could really understand this movie, I just think some people is wasting their times to do something, maybe cause i don't know so much about the World War two. But I know that so many guys especially these men who joined the army before love this script very much.

bob (10 out of 10 )
This movie showed how eerie war is.

Jordy (10 out of 10 )
Saving Private Ryan is (in my opinion) the greatest movie ever filmed! I also think that this movie has the greatest scene ever made, the one scene where Hanks breaks down in tears. It feels like Captain Miller was holding back all his emotions to be a good role model for his soldiers but then he finally lets it all out... brilliant.

jesse (9 out of 10 )
First of all it took them 8 hours to secure omaha beach, not 20 minutes. I almost walked out right there, then this insulting storyline takes it a step further by having us believe a whole company would be tasked with saving one man at the risk of all the others. How stupid this movie treats the audience is awe inspiring. For action junkies this film is is brilliant on that level, the scenes of carnage will thrill you to tears. Tom "give me an oscar for this crying scene" Hanks is his ususal lame self. In one of the better scenes an infantry soldier cowers on the steps while his fellow soldier is stabbed mercilessly by an ss soldier, very compelling. In an ending so fitting Hanks is shot by a nazi he allowed to go free earlier in the film, now that's irony Alanis. Visually stunning movie with a storyline that will insult you, unless you're a dumbass american who believes in jumping on grenades. This movie was entertaining, with action seqences that can't be beat. When you're done watching it you can run outside and light off some firecrackers.

Luke (10 out of 10 )
Okay, first off, I enjoy movies. I am going to school as a cinema & photography major. I just wanted establish some credibility before I seem to be someone rambling on like a person with bad taste for movies. This is to Jesse. Okay, 1) They cannot portray eight hours in one film, it's too long to sit through. In all films they cut thing short enough so it gets the point across. People know it wouldn't have taken only twenty minutes, they just portrayed certain parts of D-Day and if you were a smart movie-goer you'd realize this and know that. More time elapsed, but we only saw enough to bring the point across and give us the realism of that day. Second of all, if you pay attention to the movie you'd realize that they didn't send an entire company to go after one man. Capt. Miller chose a select few FROM his company to go on the mission. An entire company is over 100 soldiers. When I went to basic training our company only had three platoons (when they usually have four) and we still had almost 200 soldiers. Capt. Miller only chose certain people based on what he needed. Notice that the "squad" of soldiers on the mission is made up of a sniper, a gunner, some riflemen and even a translator because as the Capt. says earlier in the movie, his translator was killed. And that remark on the end is pretty offensive, "Unless you're a dumbass American who believes in jumping on grenades.". Did you think before you wrote this stuff. I'm in the Army and I would jump on a grenade in a second if my comrades were at risk. You don't do it to be a hero, you do it to save others. It's a sense of comradery and family, you rely on others to watch your back in war and they rely on you. It's a team. If it came down to me jumping on a grenade to save my comrades, I would do it, no questions asked. I hope this sinks in and I hope you think before you post next time. You can't go posting things that are entirely untrue, or that you didn't take the time to think about, or post about things that don't even need thinking (like realizing they arent going to make D-Day eight hours, and having the common sense to know this and understand that the movie depicts certain areas and represents that more time has elapsed). I just hope you aren't ignorant enough to laugh at my post.

Limey (5 out of 10 )
Actually Luke, I beg to differ. Obviously eight hours of combat cannot be portrayed in real time. But by the use of editing and fading light, you can easily create the impression of eight hours’ duration. Also, if you did try and smother a grenade, would you do it with your butt to minimise the risk of instant death, or with some other part to minimise the destruction to your arse?

Mike (9 out of 10 )
Do you honestly believe that you would have enough time to think rationally when a grenade is at your feet? I honor those who, in only a couple of seconds, know that running away will not save them from the blast, but blocking it could save their comrades.

frank (10 out of 10 )
Whoever gives this a bad rating sucks.

Erika (10 out of 10 )
This movie I must say was one of the best movies ever made. Whoever gives this a bad rating has problems, but that's just my opinion. I could honestly watch it every day.

Dan (10 out of 10 )
Ok this goes up to Jesse a few people above me. How ignorant are you? I may not be in the military and I may only be in high school but I know about comradery. My dad was in desert storm, my grandfathers on d-day, one of them on Omaha beach. I have read numerous books and recently did an 8 page report on the role of comrades in warfare. Comrades mean everything. I would easily take a bullet for any given one of my friends I have now, or a grenade as you so ignorantly put it in your bunch of bullshit. This just being me, I would thoroughly enjoy shoving a grenade down your throat and see what you think of it. And if they tried to portray 8 hours of normandy combat, it would most likely exceed the average attention span. Compared to most movies based on war, this focuses less on glamorizing gory violence and actually has a reasonable, heartfelt plot. I would like to see you lose 3 brothers and still have the guts to fight in the same war that took them from you. Saving Private Ryan had an intriguing plotline, excellent portrayal of the horror of war and it shows how good things can be pulled out of it, no matter how small. If it were me, and I was given the choice to go find a fellow soldier through swarms of enemies, who has fought as hard as anyone and lost so much and who deserves to go home more than anyone there, or just sit on my ass and wait to see if I get off with an easy mission, I would find the soldier and bring him home. You, in my opinion Jesse, are an ass. An ignorant, unfeeling, selfish ass.

Akor (5 out of 10 )
Why only 5 points rating this movie!? The picture is good, great special effects and so on. But the plot itself is awful! This story is for the audience that know nothing about WW2. And I'm not speaking about the great idea to send a captain and few soldiers to save the lost paratrooper somewhere behind the enemy lines. I'm good in history and I know something about this war. Also I'm russian. This film is pathetic and give a feeling that America was the country that win this war and other countries just take part in the conflict. But the truth is that without D-day landing this beach would be taken from behind, by soviet tanks, a one year later. And who oppose americans in France? "Divisions without soldiers, batteries without shells, armor platoons without tanks" - the words of german general who was in charge for defence. Because France was the place where heavily beaten german divisions rest after battles on eastern front. I live in St.-Petersburg, ex Leningrad. Here in the suburbs is the place called "Nevsky Point". In a few month of the defence of Leningrad total casualities of soviet soldiers were 300000 man, only on this place! Eight corpses on one square meter of the ground! But german armor devisions were stopped. Total American casualties in WW2 were nearly 300000 man.

John Doe (10 out of 10 )
What are you people writing about? I think Luke, Akor and Dan are the only people on the web page who knows what they're talking about. Luke knows movies, Dan knows the army, Akor knows his history and I know Jessie and a lot of the other people on this page have no clue what they're talking about. Like Dan I have family members who fought world conflicts. But the only difference between me and Dan is I'm Canadian (like that doesn't matter). So I'm really ticked at what some of this people are writing. This goes out to Limey. If you knew you were going to die, would you rather go out as a hero (saving others, doing the greater good) or be a pussy (look out for yourself, not caring out others). The point of jumping on a grenade so to save others and not to blow off your arse. Anyway I love this movie. I don't care what others say about it.

Peter (10 out of 10 )
Any rating under 10 stars is a lie. This is by far one of the best war movies, no, it is one of the best movies ever. Akor maybe you think we are all just ignorant americans. But there is no way Russia would have defeated Germany on the northern front. You can claim that the U.S. didn't do shit on the western front, but then answer me this: Why is and has the U.S. been the strongest military force? Russia lost 2,000,000 men. That doesn't make them better at fighting, it makes them better at dying. I don't really give a shit about what you say anyways, this movie is by far one of the greatest movies ever and it truly shows the heroicness of the american soldiers in world war 2. Akor is nothing more than an anti-american easterner. That's fine though because I have never heard anything good about Russia.

william (10 out of 10 )
This is by far the best movie ever. It shows what war really was like instead of trying to friendly it up. I think the actors did a great job of really capturing the roles. Any rating below a 10 is wrong.

Tom Hanks (5 out of 10 )
Why did they not give me an oscar for this kamakazi crying scene? I know I know, it's the only way I can possibly snag an oscar without having to play gay, retarded or crippled. In my next film I'm gonna play a gay, retarded, crippled dying of aids Russian guy stranded on an island who is dyslexic, agoraphobic and who can speak 17 different languages. It will be directed by Spielburg and be called "Crazy as Hell will allow". It will be set against the backdrop of the vietnam war and feature a mermaid who torments me by coming to the island and beating on me with lake trout. I swear I'm gonna get my third oscar and be the god damn king again!

Shawn (9 out of 10 )
Geez, what a horrible 1st script. It's a miricle Spielberg pulled a decent movie out of that horrible ass script. It wouldn't work if Miller was as aggressive as he was planned to be. And walk into the distance? It was way more effective having him die and what not. I have one question about the movie. When they are landing the beach is so full of men like D-Day (june 6/1944) was, why when it showed the machine guns emplacments view was it so empty? Like 1 or 2 men? Yea it's historically on the empty side and what not. Sure it could use a bit more realism but damn he made the movie work from what he had. You've got to give some credit for that.

Lord Ocelot (10 out of 10 )
I loved this movie, it's not like all the other war movies that make out like war is a pretty thing. Steven Spielberg makes this movie just like it would be on the battlefield. Does anyone know the sniper's prayer that they say in the movie?

Jesse (6 out of 10 )
Speaking of grenades, a friend of mine who belongs to an acting troupe wrote a brilliant play about a man who jumps on a grenade to save others at sacrifice to himself. That's all fine and dandy I said, but how about you go to the supermarket when it's real crowded and throw a fake grenade down. Yell out, "GRENADE, SOMEONE GET ON IT". I told her she would see nothing but grown men running down old ladies to get away. Now the point of this is that I researched this, seems they have tested soldiers on this with fake grenades, you know, to see who really would do it. Turns out that in 95% of the tests no soldier would jump on it. Now I'm not going to try and take away the actual sacrifice made by the american contingent on Omaha beach, and I'm not going to make fun of any soldier who was actually there in real life. There is a difference between real life and a movie, even this film, which takes a historical event and bends it over and jams this story up its ass. I don't like the film because it's written and directed by Speilburg, a very juvenile minded filmmaker, much like his friend Lucas who sticks to making pulp for the kids. I take no film about ww2 that claims to be realistic and then tells me a completely unreal story. This event would never take place at any war, no command would devise a mission to save a man at the cost of 10. That's not how you fight a war. I take offense that Speilburg would do this story as it's just not plausible. Once that is your premise for starting, you cannot have a good movie. Now in the film there were some elements that were great, the scenes of carnage would fix your action jones for sure. I find those who take this seriously as a tribute to the sacrifice made by those who were there, well you're easily satisfied and that's good for you. As for any who were there in that mess, have no quarrel with you. This film is what I am bashing, if you want to turn me into a soldier basher you can do that. It's your right to shove your head fully in your ass and lock it in as well. This script was juvenile and self serving. And that is what gets you places in american cinema. When I was about 6 years old me and my friend used to play GI joe and come up with scenarios about rescue missions just like this. We were juvenile, we didn't understand the reality of war either, just like Stephen speilburg. Just like most of you who bashed my earlier post. Grow up. Come back when you washed the placenta off your face. 6 for action and the scene where the guy shot Hanks, beautiful.

Don Smith (10 out of 10 )
Soldier Sniper's Prayer by Buck Conrad: Dear Lord, I address thee with respect and fear, for I am a soldier sniper and ask but three things be granted to me in these times of horror and death wrought by man’s inhumanity to man, called war. First, dear Lord, I ask that I may be silent and unseen in my quest to perform my duty with perseverance, loyalty, honor and courage. Second, may I shoot straight and kill my much respected enemy quickly, with one shot so that he does not suffer and writhe in pain. Lastly dear Lord, I ask that you grant me the ability to be cunning and smart in my quest to be victorious over my enemy and adapt to whatever he may put before me by using the assets you have placed on this earth and the abilities instilled within me as a trained soldier sniper. I pray you will forgive me for filling the halls of your heavenly house with souls, for I am a true believer in Jesus the Christ, your son, his resurrection and his promise of forgiveness and life everlasting. Amen.

Jordan (9 out of 10 )
I don't think anyone here really knows how to appreciate this movie. For example, if you're saying it sucks and all that shit, then why did this film get 5 oscars? The storyline is not pathetic, what makes this film different is that Spielberg is callous in how he portrays soldiers being kiled. I bet you that as many americans die in the movie as germans do, for me this movie is absolutely amazing, give it respect.

Limey (7 out of 10 )
Oscars are not an accurate measure of movie greatness Jordan - merely a popularity contest!

Dravin (10 out of 10 )
To be honest, this is one of the best war movie ever made. If you have been in war, you'll know what they mean or trying to say in this movie. I mostly like the drama part in the end, because even as a rough guy I did cry it out. So I rate this movie a full 10!

Alan (6 out of 10 )
This film starts impressively, but soon tails off. The Omaha beach landings sequence has to be one of the most intense and harrowing depictions of combat ever put on screen. From the moment the boats hit the beach you get a palpable sense that the air is full of red hot metal. As the troops struggle disorientated in the surf, it's clear how Spielberg has been influenced by the few surviving images of the actual event taken on the day by war photographer Robert Capa. Spielberg films them with the same grainy unpolished authenticity of Capa's photos, capturing the soldiers in a frantic blur of activity as they struggle onto the beach. Yet after about twenty minutes of riveting cinema, the film suddenly morphs into what for all intents and purposes is a standard wartime buddy movie. One with the highly dubious premise that it might be worth risking eight guys lives for the sake of sending Matt Damon home in one piece. Sure the combat sequences throughout are a good deal more visceral and realistic than most movies manage, but the script just is not worthy of the quality of filmaking that has been lavished upon it. As the film rolled on, I found myself playing the "Who's next to die?" game, where you just know that when a young soldier starts reminiscing dewey eyed about his mother, he's sure to be a goner in the next scene. Overall it's an impressive film in parts, but should really have been a lot better.

Jesse (1 out of 10 )
Not a bloody one of you was in ww2 but yet you're all qualified to tow a line on this film huh. Let's see, we got the tough guy who cries, we got the guy who if the film wins oscars that means it's good, we have the sniper prayer guy who is cool but ultimately that sniper will burn in hell for the murders he commited in the war (yes yes God ordains war even though it says thou shalt not kill). We got the star of the film Tom Hanks here who admits to his girlish tears and fake ass scene. I hope in some super ultimate edition of this movie they add in the extra scenes of Hanks crying, like 30 takes of booo hoooo boooo hoooo, I for one would buy the dvd and just to hear Spielberg tell him "ok Tommy, get me my damn oscar!". We got the classic brainless yank who thinks they were the only ones invading France that day. It should be noted that most of the world had engaged Hitler long before the USA got in there. We got a russian cry baby whose people were not represented to full capacity in this film. We got a guy who not only does not believe that an 8 hour battle could not be depicted on film and he thinks he could dive on a grenade. Not only that but to establish his credibility he is a film student so that makes him think he knows more then anyone about film. Gee guys, I don't know what to say, let's all go behind enemy lines to save one guy and listen to the cool pan flute score as the captain cries like a bastard for an oscar. The final word in this film is mine and mine alone, my grandpa and his brother were in France during the invasion, they helped secure sword and juno quickly and without too many losses. Let's put it like this so you can dig it, my guys were sitting up there having tea with the pretty french girls while you guys "floundered" in the channel. Every other beach head that day was taken by compentent men and in good time, the yanks sat down there on Omaha for 8 hours getting hammered. Bottom line, Speilberg is a juvenile filmmaker who took liberties. He did not have to no matter what mr cinema says, most people ate it up because that's what yanks do, they suspend reality at all costs and take credit more often for things they did not do, losses become wins etc. This film gets a 1 out of ten for good costumes and atmosphere, pat on the back to Spielberg for the carnage scenes, very cool the way those guys were blowing up and flying in the air, it made some tough guys weep. And thats the end of it. Move it out!

Joey (9 out of 10 )
This is a great movie. I have talked with men who were in Vietnam and have said that this movie explains the best in real life battle. In no way is Spielberg showing disrespect to the soldiers of WW2 but is showing respect. Anyway I believe that this movie deserved those Oscars. And if you want to see a depressing war movie that shows how horrible war is then go rent Platoon. But if want you want to see an excellent film this will not disappoint you.

Sean (10 out of 10 )
I love this film. When I finished reading the screenplay I had to buy the movie. It was funny the was Stephen shot this film it is almost as if you where watching a pirate copy of the film when actually you are watching the real thing. My 2 favorite scenes in this film are when they're all fighting on the beach and at the end where they're all fighting in the town. I am not the best judge but I think this is the best war and the best Stephen Spielberg film ever.

Cap Miller (10 out of 10 )
The movie was really great. The saving Ryan mission was somehow stupid but it's over shadowed by the other things happening during the movie.

O' Malley (10 out of 10 )
Jesse, you are probably some loser who lives in his parent's basement and has nothing better to do than slander great movies. Oh and to everyone else, this movie does help to put the combat into a new light, as many of the soldiers die without any special attention. Just the way things are.

Dan (10 out of 10 )
Here's to you Jessie, and akor, even though akor has a valid point. The beachheads aside from Omaha were not taken significantly quicker than the rest, the only reason Omaha was a BIT behind was because it was the most heavily defended of all the German lines. And by no means did Spielberg under represent the other countries, due to the fact that the other countries had nothing to do with the storyline. I said it before and I'll say it again, though a command may not really send men on a mission like this, it is just a movie. The point of the movie is to show camaraderie in war, and it excellently did that. Now, I think that that statistic made about 95% of soldiers not jumping on grenades is not accurate. First of all, you are in your barracks, on goddamn you. S. Soil, and someone throws a grenade in. Either you know its a fake, 95%, you rotate turns jumping to pass the test cause you know its fake every time, 3%, or they think its real and jump on it, only to be made a fool of, 2%. as for akor, the reason Russia was underrepresented in spr was because it took place on the other goddamn side of Europe for Pete's sake. And that whole thing about the Germans in France being completely unarmed and all, not true. For example, the town of ste. Mere eglise, carentan, bastogne, the ardennes, st. Lo, the battle of the bulge. Talk to a veteran who fought in any of those battles and ask them if the Germans were unprepared and completely underarmed yet still held us back and they will probably, though they may b very old, be filled with enough outrage at such an accusation that they will kick your ass. We, the Americans, fought just as hard and against just as determined an enemy as any other country in the goddamn war. And I hate to have to play this card but jackasses like Jesse are making me. Without America, all you in Europe would be speaking German and saluting red flags with swastikas on them. The Russians would not have pushed all the way to Berlin because without America behind operation overlord the Germans would not have had to split their troops onto 2 fronts, and that's not even going into the allied invasion of north Africa, Sicily, then the Italian peninsula. I'm sorry, but all you who think America has been over-represented are military ignoramuses who don't know flanking from recon.

Francine (10 out of 10 )
I cried at the end when Tom Hanks died. I absolutely love him.

Zen (10 out of 10 )
Jesse, I'm impressed with your so called "insight" as to the failure to this movie. Let's see you make a better movie. I've been in a war (Gulf War 1) and I did get to go see this movie with a first wave survivor at Normandy. To this day I will never forget the image of this frail old man actually crying at this movie. As we left he said to me "Now you know what it was like for us" no more words said at all that night. I took him home and as he turned to say bye I snapped him a salute and said thanks. I got a smile and a salute back. He died 3 years later. I miss that old man.

Ghost Sniper (9 out of 10 )
I will always remember Pvt Jackson, in my opinion who is the god of all snipers. He killed a German Sniper. The bullet went right through his scope. That was unbelievable, god gave him the eye to scope out his enemy, and his finger to take the shot and take him down. Plus the killing frenzy he went on when he was on the tower for his last stand. I will always remember him. Plus this was based on a true event.

Chandler (8 out of 10 )
I have read most of the reviews on this page, and agree with many of points on both sides. While this movie may not be a perfectly accurate representation of the battle for Omaha Beach, it does give a gut-wrenchingly realistic vision of the horror of war. The effects are magnificent, and the editing strong. The ensuing story, while perhaps a little cliched or improbable, does give a good perception of the bond of loyalty and brotherhood between these men. The acting is good, and I feel that each character, though a stereotype, represents many people. This even more contributes to the feeling of almost intimacy that you develop with the characters. My only qualms regarding this film are concerning the very beginning and the very end which I found a little melodramatic perhaps. This probably isn't the best film ever made, maybe it's not even in the top 50, but it is a wonderful insight into the hell of war, and the bonds that form between people when put together, regardless of background.

Dan (10 out of 10 )
Ghost Sniper, I hate to burst your bubble, none of this was true. It wasn't even loosely based on a true unintentional rescue.

Dave (10 out of 10 )
Lots of comments about the depth of realism in this movie. Can't comment on that - I wasn't there. However, as a presentation of a small fraction of the carnage in that place at that time, it was worse than I imagined it and worse than any newsreel I have seen of Omaha Beach on D-Day. I don't think the movie was an attempt to present an accurate rendition of what it was like, I think its purpose, and that of the whole of the film, was to deliver a message to the generations since then who have not known total war. The message is "look what these people did for you, and never forget". They apply to any soldier anywhere, Russian, American, Canadian, Brit or whatever. The bookend scenes with an older Ryan show that the film is directed at those non-combatants who benefit from people being willing to fight and die for them, and Captain Miller's final words to Ryan, actually to all of us, just confirm this.

lauren garside (10 out of 10 )
Amazin, I cried in almost every scene! Fantastic. All you up there should get a life. This film is great and the characters played brill.

Nick (10 out of 10 )
I think the invasion of Normandy (Omaha Beach) was one of the most spectacular scenes in the movie, like when Jackson snipes those guys out on sea wall.

Borat (9 out of 10 )
I come froma Khazacstan, I watch this cool moviefilm. Is Nice! This man dies, and then the German is happy. I very sad. Then I throw fish at wife, I like. Great Success!

Adam (7 out of 10 )
Great film- it may not be the most true-to-historical fact or whatever, but I think some of the moaning people in here should realise that this is a HOLLYWOOD MOVIE, and although the story of Private Ryan is loosely based on a true story, (Sullivan Brothers) it is not a docu-film, historical fact has been replaced thanks to Spielberg in favor of using devices of realism to document the horrors of combat and provoke the viewer to think. The film is relentless in drama and watching this for the first time offers a lot of unease, especially in the fictitious fights towards the end of the film. Yes, the Omaha Beach landings that take place in the film are heavily condensed on a timescale and only lasts for a fraction of how long they actually went on for, but even in that small time-frame, Spielberg has dealt a glimpse of the utter brutality and horror that young men my age, if not younger, were faced with on that day and probably prior to the beach landings and up until the end of the war. This early script, is absolutely terrible however, it's like Rambo Does World War 2 or something crazy, thank god this film is what it is today.

bob (10 out of 10 )
I'd like to make just one comment to the guy named "jesse" up near the top (the first of his many comments) who ripped on the historical accuracy: 1) he complains that it took 8 hours to secure omaha beach, and that the film portrays the beach being secure in 20 minutes. This is true, but the film portrays the men of the 2nd ranger battalion, who landed at Omaha well after the 1st wave had landed, so the portrayal of time is much more accurate than he assumes. 2) He says that the central idea of the movie (sending a squad after a soldier in the 101st who lost all three of his brothers) is bogus. In fact, this is based on a real event. The soldier, who was in the 101st airborne, was named Fritz Niland, and lost all three of his brothers (although it turned out later that one of his brothers had actually only been captured by the Japanese, and was still alive, but that's irrelevant) and the army sent a squad after Niland, and the squad did take heavy casualties and eventually find and return Niland. Otherwise, this is just a really good movie. I'd like to give it two thumbs up.

John (9 out of 10 )
Yeah, Jesse you obstinate prick, research something before you make any ignorant comments. I'd like to make several HISTORICAL points about WWII during summer 1944. Akor, you are right. Russia was winning by then. The Soviet Army was inside Poland by then, nyet? They might have suffered a lot more casualties, but they would have won eventually. And yes, America did come late. But let's get to the actual Operation Overlord campaign (not D-Day, ask any guy in the military, he'll explain d-day, h-hour, m-minute). Some Allied units had to train for more than two years before June of 1944. And the Germans also tried to bolster their defenses. Field Marshal Alfred Rommel was given command of the 'Atlantic Wall'. Rommel described the Atlantic Wall upon his arrival as a "'figment of Hitler's Wolkenkucksheim (cloud-cuckoo-land)' and that 'the enemy, through his agents, knows more about it then we do.'" Unfortunately for Rommel, he had no idea where the allies would strike, and so had to protect much more land than he had the capabilities to. Another problem for the Germans was the soldiers that guarded the West Coast of France. Most of the soldiers were of Ost battalions, units compromised of about 50% captured Russians and Poles that were conscripted into duty. They had no great love for Nazi Germany. But they still had the Panzer-Lehr, a tank unit that was stationed at Pas-de-Calais, but could only move at Hitler's urging. The 352nd Army division was visiting the area at the time of the invasion, and they guarded Omaha Beach, where the most allied casualties would take place. The 6th Parachute Regiment was also present, and the held several small towns longer than the Allied forces expected. There were five beaches: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Utah Beach was going to be attacked by the United States VII Corps, and the U.S. V Corps would take Omaha. The British XXX Corps would take Gold, and both Juno and Sword would be handled by the British I Corps. The Canadian Infantry Division would land at Juno, and the British 3rd Infantry Division would land at Sword. Of all the beaches Omaha would give the most trouble. Where the other beaches were defended by the Ost Battalion, Omaha was garrisoned by the 352nd, soldiers who had already experienced battle and were fiercely loyal to the Führer. Add the fact that the currents threw off the ability of the landing craft to actually go where they were supposed to and you have a slaughter house. Many of the 3000 casualties suffered at Omaha came from the first few hours of fighting. Officers and experienced NCOs nearly all died, leaving a force without leaders. "During this time, Lieutenant Wise of F Company was directing his team, a bullet hit him in the forehead. He continued to instruct his men until he sat down and held his head in the palm of his hand before falling over dead." (Warner Hamlett, Sergeant). Units were decimated, and men were so shell shocked when they reached cover that they were unable to fight. "Here I was on Omaha Beach. Instead of being a fierce, well-trained, fighting infantryman, I was an exhausted almost helpless unarmed survivor of a shipwreck." (Robert Walker, S3). The slaughter on Omaha grew so bad that the Allied HQ shifted the remaining assault forces that were going to go to Omaha to Utah. Eventually after being pinned down for several hours the American units on Omaha managed to group together in small bands and breakthrough the German defenses in several small areas, spreading confusion through the German positions. With help from other forces coming in behind the German position from other successful landings the Americans finally managed to capture Omaha beach. The fighting lasted from 0630 to the early evening. With the capture of Omaha, the Allies had a successful beachhead at Normandy. Stiff fighting prevented the Allies from completing their objectives when they were supposed to. Except for the Canadian unit. They met up with paratrooper units by nightfall like they were supposed to. Going to the movie, yeah Spielberg made mistakes as everyone is inclined to. It was the 'D-Day' scene that I think was the best. And in terms of showing the passage of time through, that's kinda hard when that entire day was cloudy. Maybe they should've shown a guy looking at his watch and commenting on the time, I dunno. I think the film did well enough on its own. Sending a small unit of men to rescue the LAST SURVIVING SON of a family IS realistic, especially when taking into consideration that they were Rangers and therefore elite troops. Plus, at that point, there were no 'behind enemy lines'. There WERE no lines, only pockets of Wermacht (German infantry), Panzer (tank), and Schutstaffel (SS) resistance. I don't think anybody can really comment on whether or not they'd jump on a grenade. Jesse, another idiotic comment from you. Tossing a fake grenade in a grocery store would cause panic because they are CIVILIANS! But in a combat situation, most soldiers have the idea that they are a part of the whole. Sacrifice himself so that his unit can go on and live. I'd like to think that he (or she, now) would try to pick up the grenade and try and through it instead of simply jumping on it, but I don' know about that. Oh, and something about snipers. They aren't murderers unless they turn their rifle on an unarmed civilian. If they take out enemy soldiers, then it isn't murder. Saying that it is would be the same as calling all soldiers and fighting personnel murderers. Choose your words more carefully, you stupid fool!

dave (10 out of 10 )
Sick movie. I'm not picking sides or anything but I think if you jumped on a grenade (which is a true act of bravery) the people / soldiers around you would still be damaged.

Sym (10 out of 10 )
You know what makes this whole multi-contributor diatribe of insult-slinging, quasi-history lesson giving, to-and-fro a little sad? It isn't whether the people think the films sucks or not- 'cause every film has that debate. And it isn't the tidbits of history- at least people are trying to inform others. It's the fact that nowhere in any of these comments is an appreciation for what ALL allied forces in the world represented in WW2, whether American, British, Russian, Australian, French, and whoever else: UNITY for peace. They were all on the same side, fighting for future generations to be free from evil, and none of them gave a shit what country did what, or who was better at their job- they just fought bravely for us to sit here, and be free enough to disrespect their sacrifice by forgetting why they ALL won in the first place. They banded together, and forgot the stupid, petty, rubbish that free people take for granted every day in the free world they ALL preserved.

Jim (3 out of 10 )
The script is pretty bad. There isn't a single cliche that they forgot to use. Some of the lines aren't even in the "dialog" format. "Lemme tell you about Sarge". LAME! The movie was good, though.

Matt (10 out of 10 )
Good movie, and John his name wasn't Alfred it was Erwin, on this fight going on everyone can say shit and take sides but really none of us were there that day on the beach and I don't care if you have a grandfather who was you yourself still werent there and I think that means you have no right to talk.

Dany (10 out of 10 )
Speaking of the grenade sacrifice. That idea was actually taken from a Vietnam movie from 1978 called "The Boys in Company C". A young soldier jumps on grenade and saves a group of Vietnamese children standing just feet away before it exploded. This was also are. Lee Ermy's(Full Metal Jacket) first movie.

Nelson (7 out of 10 )
Dude. It's a movie. If you're so picky and fussy about the historical facts, why don't you go watch a documentry, Jesse? You have to accept that people nowadays like to watch action movies without thinking much (due to stress at work, stress at home, whatever you name it). They paid their money for the bloodthirsty action, and they got what they wanted. So stop complaining about how bad the movie is. Setting aside the 'facts' of the movie, the contents were pretty well done. But I don't think Hanks was suitable for this movie- he's better off in the romantic/comedy business rather than action.

Claudia (10 out of 10 )
First that all Dave, I would certainly love to watch you react in no more than 3 seconds with a grenade that's going to explode not only killing your sorry ass but also taking the lives of those who you love. When it comes down to those few second in which you realize you are as good as dead it takes a good pair of (as we say in Spanish, COJONES) to define yourself as a human been and do what's human, SAVE OTHERS. The main problem with society is that we, the young and wild, have absolutely lost all sense of bravery, principles, and moral. We act on the fact that heroism is obsolete, and what matters is money and ourselves. There's no more acting on principles, or for that matter, acting on THE RIGHT PRINCIPLES. We see all those acts of bravery as silliness, but truth be told, none of us (or at least not most of us) has never been not even close to a situation like that. We live our sick lives seating our lame asses in front of a tv, clubbing, going out, taking drugs, sex like rabbits, and making fun of the ones that wear a uniform no matter how wrong their reasons are. Take for example soldiers in Iraq, I'm Cuban and I despise the us gov politics, but now thanks to abu grahib the wild and young all over the world see American soldiers as this stupid skinhead fascist, and they are not. Isolated acts do not define a whole army, or in any case, don't define the character of the men that join the army. While the behavior of soldiers in abu grahib and other places is disgusting and unjustifiable, we have to believe that there are still some nice young men who joined the army for all the right reasons in spite of how wrong and sick is the us gov politics. I really am very concerned about the complete absence of any sign of moral values in our youth, love of our country, principles. We seem to think that it is so so cool to ignore bravery, heroism, and favor heroine instead, it's like the ultimate to criticize gov no matter what, not trusting in any kind of politics, and for that matter, disregarding the will of a few over the world to change things and make it work. Those among us who decide to stand up and try from their position to make a tiny change are called romantics and stupid. But guess what? I don't GIVE A SHIT. I'm still believing my father and grandfather are heroes for what they did for my country, cuba, and I still would take a bullet any given second not only from my friends but for what I believe in, and it's not being stupid, it's believing that somethings are worth dying for. As someone once said, "I'm a citizen of the world" and by that I mean, I love my country but also love the world. And Saving Private Ryan is a great movie, is not about silly heroism, nor good guys against bad guys, I think is the perfect portrait of what world war two was, and a very deep look at what values and principles can do for humanity. Thanks for listening, and those of you who still think the movie sucks and insist in criticizing what is not less that a work of art, so sorry for you, someday I hope you can see the damn light that's shining in front of your strongly shut eyes.

R Miles (9 out of 10 )
What an awful script, was he remunerated for it? Not only for the narrative but the actual construct of the script. Characters in bold type, then not in bold type. Scenes incorrectly identified, characters begin speech in lower case, the list of errors is unyielding. I believe the finally offering is indicative of the genius that is Mr Spielberg. Not only was he able to craft a very good script with the remarkable inclusion of many, many scenes and characters which make this film one of the best films made about war. The rating I give is for the film and not the script. Is there not some way that it can be removed so that readers are not influenced in any way by its appearance in this file.

Living in Voyeursland (5 out of 10 )
This early version is a bit too simple and even funny. The shooting script seems a lot better.