OT: Saving Private Ryan

[Sarge]

ORIGINAL: m10bob

IMHO, Turner's movie "GETTYSBURG" rates as one of the best......

As for the guyss' in SPR "fighting the whole German army"...Well...They WERE RANGERS !!!

And Airborne

[Drex]

He also wrote Strategy, a good thesis on the indirect approach.

[Terminus]

ORIGINAL: ChezDaJez

One of the best Cold War movies I ever saw was "The Bedford Incident" with Sidney Poitier, Richard Widmark, Wally Cox and James MacArthur. The last scene in the movie is supeerb. MacArthur is the overeager, inept junior Weapons Officer, Widmark as the skipper and Poitier as a news correspondent. They are on a US destroyer chasing a Soviet diesel submarine near Greenland and Widmark wants to force him to surface. Unfortunately they end up ramming it with a glancing blow and Poitier is in Widmark's face demanding to know what Widmark will do if the Soviet sub fires a torpedo because of the ramming. Widmark replies, "If he fires one. I'll fire one!" MacArthur yells, "Fire one!" and launches an ASROC. Pretty soon a loud explosion is heard from the sub and everyone on the bridge is taken aback. Its dead silence until Cox, the sonarman, reports high speed screws inbound. The movie ends with a mushroom cloud. A few factual errors but still a very tense, well written drama.

Chez

Oh yeah, that's an awsome film. I remember watching it on TV when I was about 8 years old. It scared the crap out of me.

[ChezDaJez]

Oh yeah, that's an awsome film. I remember watching it on TV when I was about 8 years old. It scared the crap out of me.

The incident depicted in the movie is one of the reasons why the US and Soviets signed the "Incident at Sea" agreement in the 70's to reduce the possibility of something like that happening. Of course, neither side paid too much attention to it and we still harassed each other.

Chez

[Apollo11]

Hi all,

ORIGINAL: m10bob

IMHO, Turner's movie "GETTYSBURG" rates as one of the best......

Also let us not forget the prequel to that move (made 10 years after) "The Gods and Generals"!

I am now eagerly waiting for sequel (i.e. 3rd move in that series) that would deal with end of Civil War...


Leo "Apollo11"

[Apollo11]

Hi all,

Back to original post... IMHO "Saving Private Ryan" was OK war movie with outstanding intro scene (first 20 minutes).


My other favorites are:

"The Thin Red Line" (I know many of you guys don't like it but war scenes in it are superb - you must admit!)

"Aces High" (WWI war move about harsh reality of aerial combat in 1917)


Leo "Apollo11"

[Yamato hugger]

ORIGINAL: Sarge

ORIGINAL: m10bob

IMHO, Turner's movie "GETTYSBURG" rates as one of the best......

As for the guyss' in SPR "fighting the whole German army"...Well...They WERE RANGERS !!!

And Airborne

Actually, no. Rangers in WWII werent airborne qualified.

[Yamato hugger]

ORIGINAL: Apollo11
"Aces High" (WWI war move about harsh reality of aerial combat in 1917)

Blue Max was another great WW I aerial movie.

[m10bob]

ORIGINAL: Yamato hugger

ORIGINAL: Sarge

ORIGINAL: m10bob

IMHO, Turner's movie "GETTYSBURG" rates as one of the best......

As for the guyss' in SPR "fighting the whole German army"...Well...They WERE RANGERS !!!

And Airborne

Actually, no. Rangers in WWII werent airborne qualified.

CORRECTAMUNDO YOU ARE SIR !!!!!!!!
The Rangers in that movie were with the 5th Rangers...(Legs)..[:D]

[steveh11Matrix]

Forgive my probably failing memory, but didn't Tom Hank's Rangers join up with Airborne elements in that town?

Steve.

[m10bob]

yep..........

[m10bob]

Ryan was airborne...........

[Terminus]

I forget, was he 101st?

[Speedysteve]

506th of 101st I believe. Was it E company?

[Yamato hugger]

No, Easy company was Band of Brothers. Ryan was in Baker or Charlie company (Im old, I forget).

[Speedysteve]

Could be right there. BoB would certainly obscure things in my mind andi'm youngish [;)]. Was certainly 506th Rgt, 101st though.

[anarchyintheuk]

Sorry to comment so late on this thread but i was away for the weekend. I liked SPR; however, it seems to be pretty heavily critcized. How does Spielberg show sympathy/justification for a war crime? He sure doesn't glorify the two soldiers shooting prisoners that Hanks' character sees at the beginning of the film. I don't think Spielberg tries to justify Opham whacking the guy that he previously helped save. IMO the scene is about how his exposure to combat has turned a guy that wouldn't think of hurting anyone and has an idealistic and clear view of what is right and what is wrong (and is probably more dangerous to the allies w/ a gun than the germans), into a killer with no remorse. In other words war is, well . . . bad. I don't think Spielberg was making a statement on Christianity by only having Jackson praying to kill people.

I liked the final battle scene best, showed pretty well the good and bad points of armor in built up areas. Someone said that they found it unrealistic or didn't like it because it had a 20-1 kill ratio of attackers to defenders. Only 3 defenders survived what looked like a battle between 20-25 rangers and paratroopers against about a platoon of probably recce or pz grenadiers w/ 4-6 afvs. It didn't seem too lopsided to me. Wish they had shown a Jug instead of a Mustang in the air attack scene, however.

On other war movies:

Didn't like Gods and Generals and Gettysburg much. Couldn't get past the fake beard fest. Berenger looked like he had a badger staplegunned to his face.

Will not discuss PH

Hated Kelley's Heroes, Born on the 4th of July, Enemy at the Gates, Sink the Bismarck, Midway

Liked Platoon, Longest Day, Great Escape, Patton, A Bridge too Far

Loved TRL, Das Boot, Seven Samurai, 12 O'clock High, Paths of Glory, All Quiet on the Western Front (both versions), Cross of Iron, Siege of Firebase Gloria (the acting is awful but R. Lee saves the day), a movie i saw in Italy about the Folgore division, i think, but have no idea what the name is, Tora Tora Tora and, of course, Hot Shot

[Yamato hugger]

How can you hate Kellys Heros? There are so many quoteable lines in that movie [:D]

("I dont need you. 50 feet of bridge I can pick up almost anywhere. Schmuck")

As for Saving Private Ryan, perhaps there wasnt really a message there. Maybe it was a case of "this is war, these things happen". Everyone under fire at some point in their lives face a moral dilemma and right or wrong it often haunts them the rest of their lives. This is why combat vets dont like to "tell war stories". Because it shows their weakness. Their moral remorse.

[Speedysteve]

A further thing I meant to mention re: SPR is regarding the battle scenes. I remember on Christmas Day 5 years ago I showed the film to one set of my grand parents. They were awe struk at the realism/brutality of the actual combat that was shown. Especially in the first 30 mins.

They still prefer films like 12 O'Clock High but they actually appreciated that here was a war film showing the blood and guts element.

Steven

[TAIL GUNNER]

I liked the final battle scene best, showed pretty well the good and bad points of armor in built up areas. Someone said that they found it unrealistic or didn't like it because it had a 20-1 kill ratio of attackers to defenders. Only 3 defenders survived what looked like a battle between 20-25 rangers and paratroopers against about a platoon of probably recce or pz grenadiers w/ 4-6 afvs. It didn't seem too lopsided to me. Wish they had shown a Jug instead of a Mustang in the air attack scene, however.

Three things bugged me about that final battle...

1. The advancing Germans would've taken out likely spotting sites long before they entered the town with their tanks (i.e. the tower where the sniper was hiding)

2. The German tanks advanced through the town well before their supporting infantry....

3. Not once did I see the German tanks MGs fire

Oh, and 4. "It's a P-51, sir. A tankbuster!"[8|]