At least the 1st 30 minutes of saving private ryan
- Thread starter jeff2001
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There was a quote from War and Remembrance used in Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors about the American Destroyers charging the Japanese battle fleet that I will try to paraphrase here. I have lent out my copy of the book so can't be exact. Showing how Americans fight when we are not at an advantage is lesson that all schoolchildren should learn and give all of our enemies pause. I am sorry, I really didn't do that justice. I would highly recommend reading the book about that battle
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My brother's father-in-law hit the beach on D-Day. He walked out of Saving Private Ryan the first time they took him to see it. He left the theatre just a minute or two after Tom Hanks hit the beach. He said that the film was as close as you could get to the real thing and that the only thing missing was the smell of gunpowder and burning flesh.
I had the same reaction. Even now, I cannot watch the beach storming scenes in 'Ryan'. Too painful. I feel the same way about Civil War reenactments in motion pics/tv, particularly Shiloh, Antietam* and Gettysburg - made worse by the realization that several ancestors went down in those battles. War is Hell!
*31,000 died in less than 1-2 hours at Antietam - 'Bloody Lane'! Dear, Lord!
The South didn't lose its War for Independence; we just ran out of ammo and cannon fodder.
I was in Petaluma, California living on a Coast Guard base when the movie came out. My wife asked if it was appropriate for kids. I said the neighbor's five year old was going. We took our 5 and 7 year old to the base theater. A few minutes into it, the guy gets shot, in one fail swoop my wife grabs my 5 and 7 year olds hand, gives me a kiss, and says "I'll see you back at the house".
On a serious note, when I came back from Desert Storm, I had Vets shaking my hand and thanking me for my service. I told every Vet that shook my hand it was an honor to shake THEIR hand. What I did was nothing compared to the wars they went through. Parades were done for us. Viet Nam Vets watched their friends die, and came home to a country that turned their backs on them.
On a serious note, when I came back from Desert Storm, I had Vets shaking my hand and thanking me for my service. I told every Vet that shook my hand it was an honor to shake THEIR hand. What I did was nothing compared to the wars they went through. Parades were done for us. Viet Nam Vets watched their friends die, and came home to a country that turned their backs on them.
I was a young kid watching the Vietnam Vets return home and saw them treated like crap by the liberal youth in this country. It made me sick then and I'm still sick about it.
Guys, I think you'll agree when I say "Saving Private Ryan" was a nice little flick, but it isn't nearly as good as "Shakespear in Love" which was the film depicting an imaginary love affair involving Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) and playwright William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) while he was writing Romeo and Juliet. Now, THAT is a great movie, right?? Perhaps if Spielberg had Shakespeare standing at the top of the cliffs, and the Allied Forces were led by Qwyneth Paltrow who then conquered Normandy bare handed with just her tears. Then, maybe, just maybe, "Saving Private Ryan" would've been worthy enough for Best Picture. But alas...
Seriously, that moment in 1998, while watching the Oscars, was when I stopped caring about Hollywood, it's awards, or the actors. Private Ryan not being Best Picture opened my eyes to how politicized the entertainment business is. When they couldn't see clearly enough to do what was right due to their personal opinions, then I understood how dangerous those opinions/beliefs were.
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