The fallacy of propaganda
To create heroes out of men.
If the truth doesn't fit
"Earn this" for them.

Will publish an interesting tidbit piece on this film's relationship to LINCOLN, both literally and spiritually Update: which you can now read here, but some stray thoughts:

1) The reason Omaha works so well is not just of the filmmaking craft, but how it actually presents almost all of the major characters (except for Davies/Damon). It really builds all of their…

I've never liked war films. I can't really put my finger on why, I'll contently watch dozens of war documentaries but when it comes to films I just can't do it. I think for the most part they feel kind of exploitive.

I've been meaning to watch the classics though. I've had this sitting around for almost 4 years and today was the day I decided to watch it.

I guess I should never have doubted Spielberg to make a…

I don't like Steven Spielberg films on the whole. I especially don't care for his war movies, War Horse was terrible. So I've put off watching Saving Private Ryan, however there are only so many times you can be told it's a "classic" before you yield.

Right from the first scene I was hooked. The whole film is a breathtaking cinematic achieve, from the incredibly brutal Ohama Beach scene to the quieter character focused moments.

Easily my favorite thing about…

Steven Spielberg brought his wealth of experience to a new genre with this his first war film. A film so visceral in it's depiction of battle that it brought actual veterans of D-Day to tears at it's premiere.
Opening on the Normandy beaches,this follows a group of U.S. Rangers as they are given the task of finding a lone paratrooper in a war-zone. The paratrooper in question is the infamous Private Ryan, who after the deaths of his three brothers…

Another hard to watch film from Spielberg.

The opening scene in the cemetery is overwhelmingly moving and that's just the first 5 minutes.

We are immediately thrown into the D Day invasion and for a lack of a better word...it's intense. Has there ever been any battle sequence more realistic than this? How they found the courage to continue to move up the beach I'll never know. The level of bravery any soldier throughout history has...it humbles you quickly.

The…

This movie was great. Steven Speilberg does it again. I am a Speilberg fan, he is my favorite director. Alot of his movies are in my top 10 Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, E.T. What can I say about this movie, it's the perfect war movie. From start to finish it feels like I am there even though was born about 50 years later. It really felt that I was there. When they are getting shot and…

eyebrow-raising premise, cookie-cutter plot progression, fake-looking set pieces, script all over the place, familiar actors left and right (though of course some were not as well known at the time). not a very immersive film.

i didn't like that the highly praised opening was shot largely from a first-person perspective. it was a distraction from the substance that was actually on screen. proof of how unnecessary it was is the final battle scene, which is far and away the best…

A remarkable achievement from Steven Spielberg. He walks a fine line in trying to depict war as the terrible thing it is, while at the same time not ignoring the fact that violence onscreen is inherently cinematic and exciting. It's to Spielberg's credit that he succeeds, perhaps beyond any other modern war movie.

Unfortunately, the script is not quite up to par with Spielberg's filmmaking prowess. The screenplay supposedly went through 11 drafts and a bit of doctoring - somewhere…