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re: Saving Private Ryan
Posted on 7/27/26 at 12:58 pm to red sox fan 13
Posted on 7/27/26 at 12:58 pm to red sox fan 13
quote:
Miller was kind of a dick when he tells Ryan to earn this. Ryan basically has to live the rest of his life with the knowledge that 6 guys died to save him, when he didn't even want to be saved in the first place. That probably weighs heavily on a person.
You mean about as heavily as the families of all the dudes who died saving him (not to mention the men themselves)?
I thought Miller was actually being noble.
Posted on 7/27/26 at 12:59 pm to JiminyCricket
quote:
I hated Upham for a long time but as I got older, I understood the depth of the character more. Upham never hid what he was, he was a desk jockey and told Miller as much the very first time they met
Upham isn't a character. At least not one as a single individual. He is there solely as a personification of lost innocence.
Upham represents every scared, innocent American boy who tries to see the best in others (like the German POW), can't bring himself to kill, until finally his innocence is thrown away and he kills the guy at the end. Upham is just Spielberg's vehicle for this.
This post was edited on 7/28/26 at 6:21 pm
Posted on 7/27/26 at 1:17 pm to ClientNumber9
quote:
Upham isn't a character. At least not one as a single individual. He is there solely as a personification of lost innocence.
Upham represents every scared, innocent American boy who tries to see the best in others (like the German POW), can't bring himself to kill, until finally is innocence his thrown away and he kills the guy at the end. Upham is just Spielberg's vehicle for this.
I think Upham is also a beacon for the Dunning Kruger effect. So many people are extremely quick to criticize people or characters that crack under pressure in battle and we understand why, people are turned off by cowardice and we honor valor. Even seasoned people who have seen combat before have been documented, however, to have had moments of breaking and cracking during intense fighting. It's easy for people to hate Upham for getting fish killed but it sort of goes to show the ignorance most of us have to have ever dealt with the stress of being in a foreign town that's being overrun by men sent to kill you and all of your friends with no hope of back-up to rescue you.
The truth is, that was an absolutely horrific scenario and Upham shouldn't have been within 100 miles of it.
This post was edited on 7/27/26 at 1:19 pm
Posted on 7/27/26 at 2:18 pm to TheTideMustRoll
Because he spoke French, also. They were travelling through French towns to the town of Nueville (or something like that).
Posted on 7/27/26 at 2:32 pm to TSS4LSU
I love the movie, so did my uncle who made 4 amphibious landings in N Arica and Europe.
BUT—in the opening, the camera zooms in on Old Ryan’s eye as he flashes back to the D Day landing.
But Ryan wasn’t there so he couldn't have seen any of that. He parachuted in the night before.
BUT—in the opening, the camera zooms in on Old Ryan’s eye as he flashes back to the D Day landing.
But Ryan wasn’t there so he couldn't have seen any of that. He parachuted in the night before.
Posted on 7/27/26 at 5:12 pm to cypresstiger
It wasn't really the flashback. The movie doesn't play out from anyone's memory. It was just a trick to make the ending more impactful, and it worked.
Posted on 7/27/26 at 11:11 pm to nealnan8
So did every squad of American GIs in Normandy need someone who spoke French and/or German? Obviously the answer is no. There was no need to talk to either Germans or locals to achieve their mission of finding Ryan. The only group they needed to interact with was American servicemen.
This post was edited on 7/27/26 at 11:15 pm
Posted on 7/28/26 at 1:41 am to parrotdr
quote:
You mean about as heavily as the families of all the dudes who died saving him (not to mention the men themselves)?
I thought Miller was actually being noble.
Ryan didn't ask for any of that and made sure to point that out to Miller and his squad when they tried to convince him to leave the bridge.
Posted on 7/28/26 at 5:49 am to nealnan8
quote:
Because he spoke French, also. They were travelling through French towns to the town of Nueville (or something like that).
He did explain the lyrics to that French singer right before the final battle.
He could also read multiple languages which is probably more important that speaking it.
This post was edited on 7/28/26 at 5:54 am
Posted on 7/28/26 at 9:15 am to cypresstiger
quote:
BUT—in the opening, the camera zooms in on Old Ryan’s eye as he flashes back to the D Day landing.
But Ryan wasn’t there so he couldn't have seen any of that. He parachuted in the night before.
My first time watching the movie, I thought the old man was Tom Hanks character. There's a close up of the old man's face, then a cut to the beach obstacles, then straight to Tom Hanks.
Posted on 7/28/26 at 2:38 pm to boxcarbarney
quote:
My first time watching the movie, I thought the old man was Tom Hanks character. There's a close up of the old man's face, then a cut to the beach obstacles, then straight to Tom Hanks.
That was Spielberg's trick to make the audience think that's who it was. It was well-done IMO.
quote:
I hated Upham for a long time but as I got older, I understood the depth of the character more. Upham never hid what he was, he was a desk jockey and told Miller as much the very first time they met. He was not remotely a person who needed to be in the middle of an excursion like the one to find Ryan and was a liability from the get-go. Did he completely fold under pressure, yes he did. Did he ever pretend that he wasn't exactly what he was? No, you knew what you were getting with Upham. There had to have been at least one other person somewhere on that beach that could interpret and had seen combat but Miller settled on Upham. Miller basically selected a known liability to take on an extremely dangerous trek across Nazi occupied Europe.
I actually think I agree with this. And it's funny because I was flipping through the channels a few days ago and stopped on SPR for a few minutes, and it was the very scene you reference when he chooses Upham to come with them. And he not only doesn't want to go, but clearly isn't cut out for actual combat. Doesn't he specifically tell Hanks that he's never fired his rifle, and Hanks asks him if he fired it during boot camp, and he said yes and Hanks said then grab your gear and let's go?
But for the first time it sort of struck me that based on that introduction of Upham, him letting Mellish die and not intervening is EXACTLY what someone of his caliber would have done (or not done). It's not even a matter of "nobody knows what they would do until they are in that moment" sort of thing IMO...it's more of a confirmation of his self doubt and insecurity.
That doesn't make it less infuriating though.
Posted on 7/28/26 at 2:59 pm to LSUBoo
quote:
Life Is Beautiful is better than both.
100% agree. In the top 10 of all time for me.
Posted on 7/28/26 at 9:32 pm to RollTide1987
quote:
The crazy thing about that year is that all five films nominated for Best Picture were period pieces. That had only happened once before (1962) and hasn't happened since.
Great fact and observation...
Posted on 8/1/26 at 10:35 am to RollTide1987
quote:
You mean about as heavily as the families of all the dudes who died saving him (not to mention the men themselves)?
I thought Miller was actually being noble.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ryan didn't ask for any of that and made sure to point that out to Miller and his squad when they tried to convince him to leave the bridge.
Good point, but it's war, and there are orders. Miller could have taken him away before the fighting started, but Miller chose to stay and defend the bridge. Thus, noble. Ryan needs to earn that sacrifice.
Posted on 8/1/26 at 11:21 am to TSS4LSU
Wow, here’s a fresh topic that hasn’t been discussed a million times in the last 25 years let alone this week
Why does this matter to you? The fact SPR did not win the Best Picture Oscar clearly does not affect your enjoyment of it nor did it impact SPR’s relevance over time. So what difference does it make? As you noted it’s frequently replayed.
I would it’s really good movie. Have you seen it? Most people that trash it probably haven’t seen it or made up their mind over a silly award show
As for the Oscars : Spielberg did win best director and Janusz Kaminski won the well deserved best cinematography,
Why does this matter to you? The fact SPR did not win the Best Picture Oscar clearly does not affect your enjoyment of it nor did it impact SPR’s relevance over time. So what difference does it make? As you noted it’s frequently replayed.
quote:
Who here honestly stops and watches SIL if you even see it on any channel?
I would it’s really good movie. Have you seen it? Most people that trash it probably haven’t seen it or made up their mind over a silly award show
As for the Oscars : Spielberg did win best director and Janusz Kaminski won the well deserved best cinematography,
This post was edited on 8/1/26 at 11:33 am
Posted on 8/1/26 at 12:35 pm to TSS4LSU
Some bad casting choices to include Ted Danson, Vin Diesel, and Paul Giamatti. Not a fan of Matt Damon either and his monologue about him and his brothers screwing the ugly girl in the barn was horrible. Other than that great movie. Tom Sizemore and Barry Pepper were the two best.
Posted on 8/1/26 at 12:39 pm to TSS4LSU
I love the movie, but it irritates the shite out of me that they had the medic with them when they charged the machine gun nest.
Posted on 8/1/26 at 1:26 pm to parrotdr
quote:
Ryan needs to earn that sacrifice.
I don't think he does at all.
Ryan volunteered for a mission to keep the Germans from crossing the river and slamming into the flank of the 29th Infantry Division as it made the right turn toward Cherbourg. His task was vastly more important to the Allied war effort than what Miller and his squad were sent there to do. Had he failed in that task it's not just him and that small platoon of 101st Airborne soldiers who are dead, it's potentially thousands of unsuspecting Americans as well.
Their sacrifice was earned with the knowledge that their actions in Romelle may have saved untold amounts of lives.
This post was edited on 8/1/26 at 1:27 pm
Posted on 8/1/26 at 6:46 pm to ClientNumber9
quote:
Upham isn't a character. At least not one as a single individual. He is there solely as a personification of lost innocence.
Upham represents every scared, innocent American boy who tries to see the best in others (like the German POW), can't bring himself to kill, until finally his innocence is thrown away and he kills the guy at the end. Upham is just Spielberg's vehicle for this.
I've also read that Upham represents the United States - pulled reluctantly into war after millions(?) have already sacrificed their lives, losing it's innocence as a nation. Letting the Jew die, stabbed in the heart by a German, is the U.S. not intervening early enough to stop the Holocaust.
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