SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
PART 1: THE BATTLE OF NORMANDY
The Battle of Normandy was key for the allies success in France. The Allies landed on the Normandy beaches on June 6th, 1944 and had major issues moving off the boats, moving into the mainland of Normandy and then onward to Paris. The Allies initially had the element of surprise because of D-Day however once the landings had occurred, that changed as the Germans then knew what their plan was, to push inland and not to be in Pays de Calais. The deception of D-Day originally worked very well, however, post June 6th the Germans knew
PRIMARY SOURCE 1 exactly where to place their forces. Normandy was full of difficulties for the Americans. Deployed were 150,000 ground troops jammed onto hundreds …show more content…
This portrayal was very similar to the actual event and got many things right however there were also some downsides.
THINGS THE MOVIE GOT RIGHT
During the real battle, the plan was for the Ranger companies (first wave) to take over Pointe-du-Hoc to retrieve the higher ground. The soldiers stormed Omaha beach where the horrors of war began. The movie really emphases this and Steven Spielberg does a great job of portraying the general feelings of the soldiers, unlike most brave-hearted war depictions. “one of the most harrowing combat sequences ever filmed and it’s the most overwhelming and agonising half-hour I have ever spent in a theatre.” says film critic Rex Reed. In Roger Ebert’s review of the movie he wrote about how Spielberg stated that he wanted to honour those who fought by showing the real horrors of combat not a stylised Hollywood version of bravery. Spielberg did not storyboard the camera shots resulting in the camera being in the middle of everything, helping put the viewer in the soldiers shoes. He added elements such as shaking hands and seasick vomiting. This to him wasn’t to signify weakness, it signified humanity which is evident throughout the movie especially in the initial boat scene and when Mellish started to cry after seeing the Hitler youth knife. The movie depicts the landing scene correctly, firstly by displaying the date of June 6th, 1944, and by having all the blood across the sand and shore. The boats that were used were also correct being the LCVPs just, like the ones used on D-Day. Smaller details were accurate as well. One being the uniform, especially the 101st Airborne uniform and patch. On a darker note, fatally wounded soldiers on the battlefield in, real life would also frequently scream out in agony and even try to re-stuff their organs back into their bodies, just like the
PART 1: THE BATTLE OF NORMANDY
The Battle of Normandy was key for the allies success in France. The Allies landed on the Normandy beaches on June 6th, 1944 and had major issues moving off the boats, moving into the mainland of Normandy and then onward to Paris. The Allies initially had the element of surprise because of D-Day however once the landings had occurred, that changed as the Germans then knew what their plan was, to push inland and not to be in Pays de Calais. The deception of D-Day originally worked very well, however, post June 6th the Germans knew
PRIMARY SOURCE 1 exactly where to place their forces. Normandy was full of difficulties for the Americans. Deployed were 150,000 ground troops jammed onto hundreds …show more content…
This portrayal was very similar to the actual event and got many things right however there were also some downsides.
THINGS THE MOVIE GOT RIGHT
During the real battle, the plan was for the Ranger companies (first wave) to take over Pointe-du-Hoc to retrieve the higher ground. The soldiers stormed Omaha beach where the horrors of war began. The movie really emphases this and Steven Spielberg does a great job of portraying the general feelings of the soldiers, unlike most brave-hearted war depictions. “one of the most harrowing combat sequences ever filmed and it’s the most overwhelming and agonising half-hour I have ever spent in a theatre.” says film critic Rex Reed. In Roger Ebert’s review of the movie he wrote about how Spielberg stated that he wanted to honour those who fought by showing the real horrors of combat not a stylised Hollywood version of bravery. Spielberg did not storyboard the camera shots resulting in the camera being in the middle of everything, helping put the viewer in the soldiers shoes. He added elements such as shaking hands and seasick vomiting. This to him wasn’t to signify weakness, it signified humanity which is evident throughout the movie especially in the initial boat scene and when Mellish started to cry after seeing the Hitler youth knife. The movie depicts the landing scene correctly, firstly by displaying the date of June 6th, 1944, and by having all the blood across the sand and shore. The boats that were used were also correct being the LCVPs just, like the ones used on D-Day. Smaller details were accurate as well. One being the uniform, especially the 101st Airborne uniform and patch. On a darker note, fatally wounded soldiers on the battlefield in, real life would also frequently scream out in agony and even try to re-stuff their organs back into their bodies, just like the