Summary:
In the Allied invasion of Normandy, two brothers are killed in battle. Earlier on, a third brother was killed. Their mother is supposed to receive notice of their deaths all on the same day. Captain John Miller and his squad are sent on a rescue mission to find Private James Ryan, the fourth brother, and bring him home. However, finding him is harder than it seems because nobody knows exactly where he is. On their journey to find him, some of the squad is killed. Eventually, they locate Ryan, but when they ask him to leave with them, he refuses. He says that he cannot leave his unit, who is assigned to hold a key bridge. He claims that he has not earned any right to leave that the rest of his unit hasn't, and he'll stick by them. Hesitantly, Miller and his squad agree to help Ryan's unit defend their position, and they successfully hold of a German counter-attack.Unfortunately, during this counter-attack, Miller as well as a lot of his squad are killed. Ryan, does, however, survive, and makes it home to his mother. The movie ends with a scene where Ryan is visiting a veteran graveyard to see Captain Miller's grave, and his life after making it home is flashed before the audience's eyes.
Historical Analysis
Upsides
Saving Private Ryan, directed by Steven Spielberg, is known to be one of the best World War II films ever created. The movie opens up in a battle at Normandy. This twenty-four minute battle scene is a perfect depiction of the actual D-Day/ The film really captures the brutality of the battle, and it may even be considered the best battle scene of all time. To make it even more believable, the aircraft are modeled just after the real ones used in World War II. Additionally, during the war, the government would offer relief to families who had already lost men in battle by sending who they have left alive, in this movie's case Private Ryan, back home to their families. This movie also did a pretty accurate portrayal of the horrors of war and the brutal conditions entwined in it. Soldiers were constantly losing fellow men withing their squads, and it was common for the fatally wounded soldiers to scream out in agony or even try to re-stuff their organs back into their bodies, like shown in this film.
Downsides
Despite all the aspects of war that Saving Private Ryan had gotten right, there were several errors.For example, throughout the squad's journey to find Private Ryan, they traveled mostly in the daylight. This never would have happened or even be allowed because of the dangers that would bring. Also, the soldiers were often shown wearing their helmets unbuckled which is irrational because soldiers knew that doing so is too hazardous. Additionally, in the film during the mission, the unit spoke a lot, too much. In reality, there never was all that much conversation. Similarly, the men seemed to have argued with their captain a lot, but that much back-talk would result in punishment if they really did do so.
Conclusion
The movie did focus primarily on the American war effort, but it is an American war film, so that must be expected. This historical inaccuracies can be forgiven because it is, after all, a fictional movie and is made for entertainment purposes. Like all movies, many details were dramatized to make it more interesting so it would make more money. Overall, Saving Private Ryan is ultimately a very accurate portrayal of World War II.
Saving Private Ryan, directed by Steven Spielberg, is known to be one of the best World War II films ever created. The movie opens up in a battle at Normandy. This twenty-four minute battle scene is a perfect depiction of the actual D-Day/ The film really captures the brutality of the battle, and it may even be considered the best battle scene of all time. To make it even more believable, the aircraft are modeled just after the real ones used in World War II. Additionally, during the war, the government would offer relief to families who had already lost men in battle by sending who they have left alive, in this movie's case Private Ryan, back home to their families. This movie also did a pretty accurate portrayal of the horrors of war and the brutal conditions entwined in it. Soldiers were constantly losing fellow men withing their squads, and it was common for the fatally wounded soldiers to scream out in agony or even try to re-stuff their organs back into their bodies, like shown in this film.
Downsides
Despite all the aspects of war that Saving Private Ryan had gotten right, there were several errors.For example, throughout the squad's journey to find Private Ryan, they traveled mostly in the daylight. This never would have happened or even be allowed because of the dangers that would bring. Also, the soldiers were often shown wearing their helmets unbuckled which is irrational because soldiers knew that doing so is too hazardous. Additionally, in the film during the mission, the unit spoke a lot, too much. In reality, there never was all that much conversation. Similarly, the men seemed to have argued with their captain a lot, but that much back-talk would result in punishment if they really did do so.
Conclusion
The movie did focus primarily on the American war effort, but it is an American war film, so that must be expected. This historical inaccuracies can be forgiven because it is, after all, a fictional movie and is made for entertainment purposes. Like all movies, many details were dramatized to make it more interesting so it would make more money. Overall, Saving Private Ryan is ultimately a very accurate portrayal of World War II.