Saving Private Ryan Essay

Starship Troopers is a classic novel written in 1959 by retired Navy Lieutenant Robert Heinlein. At the time that it was published Starship Troopers was controversial yet won the Hugo Award in the 1960’s for being one of the best science fiction novels. One of the controversies surrounding the book is the main character’s history teacher’s view on violence and how violence “has settled more issues in history than has any other factor.” The book had such a cult following that there has been a film adaptation. It is a work of literature that has stood the test of time and is being read in our schools today. This may not seem shocking for such a classic book, but being science fiction it is a true accomplishment.

Gen.   John J. Pershing   , a veteran of the Spanish-American War, commanded the AEF. The U.S. was far from prepared to send an army to the European front

The mission to save Private Ryan, the names of the soldiers, and the names of smaller battles were fictional. The final battle of the movie at “Romelle” did not happen, and Romelle is actually a German Field Commander during World War II. There was no Captain John Miller of the 2nd Rangers either. The mission to find the fictitious character, Private Ryan, never happened but Private Ryan was modeled after a soldier named Frederick “Fritz” Niland from the 101st Airborne Division. Niland was one of four brothers and his other three brothers were killed in the war. His mom received the death notifications all at once, and Niland was sent home to the U.S. There was no record of a rescue mission for Fritz Niland.

all which I think was a big mistake by the director. I did not feel

in war and they probably know that 5 or 10 soldiers are going to get

For a long time, when anyone thought of a war movie, they immediately thought of Darryl F. Zanuck’s, The Longest Day. Cornelius Ryan, who was the author of the book by the same name, and happened to be a D-day veteran himself, wrote the movie. The book meticulously recreates the events preceding and during the invasion. It is filled with detailed descriptions of multiple occurrences during the invasion. It explains everything from mass attacks on beaches and towns to humorous anecdotes. The book wasn’t exactly a story involving characters, and neither was the film. The Longest Day is more a story of tragedy, glory, and courage surrounding one very important day. And even though mainly American and

The longest day could have easily been an English propaganda film, as it gave a very un-realistic view on the D-day landings, glorifying the British, and making the Nazis look incapable of winning the war. In contrast Saving Private Ryan was an attempt to make sense of history, which was as realistic as it could be. Also the creation of a heroic figure gave the audience a character to

I read the section about the battles that took place during WWII. It brought to my minds that in real life. There are more important things during a war than finding a private Ryan. War is a huge event and the little things like finding a person to keep the family name going is too small to include in war history. This is what separates the movies from the real life. Another difference is they don't show the actual planning it takes to start an attack or the inelegance that is needed to set up the perfect defense barrier to prevent the advancement of the enemy soldiers. A real battle can last days, weeks, months, or years, compared to movie war that lasts not even a day and has one guy or one platoon take on the entire other side. The casualties of real war is tremendous, rather than movies where you see almost the same characters in the whole movie accomplishing some of the most intense tasks with only one or two dying. Also, in movie war you don't see the other side's horror. You think all the opponents are bad horrible people that deserve to die, when they are just soldiers doing their job and the only reason we are fighting them is because of a bad leader or government. So in the movies every enemy deserves to die and should be shown no mercy, but the actual thing about that is that the enemy is just like any other soldier. And furthermore when the good guys lose a battle in a

This movie in some ways is very similar to Full Metal Jacket. Both films emphasize the experience of boot camp and the anticipation of battle. Unlike Full Metal Jacket, Hacksaw Ridge does a much better job at letting the viewer have a strong relationship with the characters. It also has many similarities to the film Saving Private Ryan. Hacksaw Ridge, takes place in the pacific theater while Private Ryan, takes place in the European theater. Both of the film's main characters are faced with extreme tasks that put their life and their fellow comrades lives at risk. Saving Private Ryan, and Full Metal Jacket, are both really good movies, although I could not see myself enjoying them if I watched them more than once. Hacksaw Ridge, has so much detail and so much is going on that it would be just as good the second time you watched it as it was the first time.

There is one scene where the three flag raisers entered a crowded stadium before a football game which typified how an image of war can be so different to the reality of war. The flash photography, the cheering, the roar of the crowd all went to John Bradley’s head and he had flash backs of the fighting on Iwo Jima and the genuine heroes that he had left behind. This scene contrasts what the reality of war, were all the men are dug in and fighting for there life, and the images of war. Ira Hayes says “I know it’s a good thing, raising the money and that, ‘cause we need it. But, I can’t take them calling me a hero. All I did was try not to get shot. Some of the things I saw done, things I did, they weren’t things to be proud of, you know?” Clint Eastwood shows continuously, through his characters physiology shows how one single photo can be so different what really makes up the battle of Iwo Jima. The aim was to get war bonds; the minds of the three main characters through Clint Eastwood’s directing showed a strong insight to how the reality of a war and an image of war can be so contrasting.

In 1998, Spielberg came out with Saving Private Ryan, which captured war in gory and shocking detail as his soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy. This again shows his willingness to deal with larger, more serious issues.

     According to the author Tim O’Brien, people tend to readily accept the ‘facts’ presented of what happened during a war. People do not consider the existence of fallacies regarding the actual stories of what happens in wars, few consider that the ‘facts’ of an incident often change through people’s words. The film ‘Saving the Private Ryan’ by Steven Spielberg features both facts and seemingness part of the war story. Since it is so difficult to fully describe a war using human language, Spielberg ended up revising his stories to make sense out of it. Spielberg included parts that did not occur or exclude parts that did occur in order to make their stories seem more credible. According

It is clear that above all else, Private Ryan is intended to create an awareness of the sacrifice of the soldiers that gave their lives during World War II. In doing that, Steven Spielberg very successfully in brings out intense

Mark Bowden is a teacher, columnist for Atlantic Monthly, playwright, and a writer. His book Black Hawk Down A Story of Modern War a world wide bestseller that spent more than a year in the New York Times bestseller list and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Bowden also worked on the script for Black Hawk Down, a film version of the book, directed by Ridley Scott. Bowden is also the writer of the bestseller Killing Pablo The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw in 2001, which tells the story of the hunt for Colombian drug lord billionaire Pablo Escobar. He is the author of Doctor Dealer published in 1987, Bringing the Heat made in1994, Our Finest Day made in 2002, and also Finders Keepers

The “Patriot” takes place in South Carolina in 1776 during the Revolutionary War. It is a story about a widowed father of seven, named Benjamin Martin. Benjamin was involved in the French and Indian War before marrying and starting a family. He is reluctant to join the conflict as he remembers too well his own experience in the earlier French and Indian War. After his wife passed away he does everything to keep his family together and away from war. He is a patriot who wants no part in a war with Britain.