Hi guys! Thank you for your comments and I have managed to read most of them and I want to clear one thing up! When I say that ''War was unecessary'', I OBVIOUSLY meant this for Hitler. So many gave their lives to stop him from taking over and we can never repay this debt. In this way I mean gosh how unecessary was this YET NECESSARY! I mean you have also told me that this is fictional and this can easily be someone's story which hurts more! War just makes me angry and sad all at the same time :/ Hope that clears up and thank you for your recommendations!! I shall keep them in my list

Spielberg's message? We all need to earn this, what they did for us.

Spielberg is a noted pacifist, and people wondered why he depicted the landing of Normandy as... graphically... as he did. He stated that he believed any realistic war movie is actually an anti-war movie.

11:35 it is not french it's Cezch. They are saying "Please don't shoot me, I am not German, I am Czech, I didn't kill anyone, I am Czech!" 37:07 it's a completely improvised history from Matt Damon

Tom Hanks' and Stephen Spielberg's two mini-series "The Pacific" and "Band of Brothers". Both are based on true events and real life Heroes. When watching be sure to watch videos with the historical facts included. Also watch the interviews with the actual Heroes and their families for each series. The Pacific is "Profile of the Pacific" and for Band of Brothers is "Together We Stand Alone". There are other historically based movies on WWII. "Hacksaw Ridge" is based on the life of the Conscientious Objector Desmond Doss who was the second Conscientious Objector awarded the Medal of Honor. The first Conscientious Objector to receive the Medal of Honor was Alvin York and the movie about him is "Sergeant York". Where Desmond Doss refused to actually use a weapon, Alvin York used his rifle to save lives. Two other good movies are based on the Battle of Iwo Jima, one from the perspective of the Japanese the other from the perspective of the Americans. They are Letters from Iwo Jima, and Flags of Our Fathers. There are two good movies about how America was brought into WWII and how America turned the tide of war against the Japanese. "Tora! Tora! Tora!" is about the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor, which caused America to be drawn into WWII. "The Battle of Midway" is about the Japanese attack on Midway Island, which wound up being the turning point for WWII in the Pacific.

11:30 “Please don’t shoot me! I am not German, I am Czech, I didn’t kill anyone! I am Czech!" This is the translation of what those soldiers were saying. The Germans forcefully occupied many countries and would forcefully recruit those country's citizens to fight in their army. This is just one small detail that makes this movie so good and yet so heartbreaking. At this point in 1944, the Germans were being pushed back and they were kind of just throwing people at problems.

That was a beautiful, thoughtful reaction thank you. My Father fought with the Canadian army tank division in World War 2 in Germany and growing up I never heard him once discuss anything to do with the war. He would quietly watch Remembrance Day ceremonies every year but that was it. Must have been atrocious. This movie is a great historical piece that should always be shown to future generations so the greatest generation's sacrifice will never be forgotten. It seems these days the lessons learned then are beginning to fade.

Band of Brothers is an absolute MUST watch! A Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg production.

That scene with Mrs. Ryan and the priest, every single time I watch it. 😢

My grandfather served at Iwo Jima and Guadacanal. My ex-wife's grandad was a POW in North Africa. I have spent thousands of hours of my life reading WWII articles, interviews, etc. There is no way we could ever thank those soldiers enough for their sacrifice. And we grandkids will never let these younger generations forget them either.

As the (old) Ryan first entered the cemetary, there is a man wearing an American Legion hat seeming to be a guide to the area.. that man was the real soldier this film is based upon. In actuality, the brother listed as KIA in New Guinea actually survived his wounds and returned home as well.

While this is loosely based on a real story, at the same time it's fictional. The real story was about Sgt Frederick (Fritz) Niland of the 101st Airborne. He had 3 brothers in the war two killed and one missing. A Priest lead a small team to retrieve him, later his brother Edward was found in a Japanese POW camp. For a truly remarkable true story you should check out Hacksaw Ridge 😊

The first 15 minutes of this movie shows the horrors of war, the inhumanity humans are capable of, the sheer terror they must have felt, in the most accurate way imaginable. And still people wage war....

I am a combat veteran ( Vietnam ) You can not possibly know the good you have just done. thank you for this and God bless you

This movie starts and ends in a military cemetery. This particular cemetery (in this movie) is in Normandy, France, on the cliffs near the landing beaches for the D-Day invasion. It contains 9,800+ graves for American soldiers from the invasion beaches and fights for the cliffs. Sadly, there are two more cemeteries there, just as big. In total, approximately 30,000 allied soldiers died that day. In America, we just had Memorial Day for our soldiers that didn't make it back home......NEVER forget what they did for us. Remember their, "So costly sacrifice laid upon the altar of freedom."

I've been to both the graveyards in Normandy and Cambridge England. I was shocked how easy I was brought to tears at both.

34:56 No they always have a leader. In any military organization the soldier with the highest rank is always in charge. For example, when Hanks character (a Captain) died then the Sergeant would have took over. But the Sergeant was already deceased so the highest ranking enlisted man would take over. Oddly enough I think that was Upham since he was a Corporal.

If you want to go down this rabbit hole then Band of Brothers is where to go next. Ryan was part of the 101st and, Band of Brothers tells a mostly accurate account of the men of Easy company's experience from their training until the end of the war.

Before it premiered Stephen Spielberg gave a private showing to all the veterans from the war wiho helped him with the story etc. Just after tge landing scene a few got up to leave as Brough back way too much for them. Speilberg paused the movie to run and comfort them. One said it was that real he could taste and smell it all over again. They were back on that beach. When they look around today they must wonder why the hell they did any of it.

More US soldiers died on that single beach landing than the entire 20 year occupation of Afghanistan. WWII Veterans had to leave the theater because the opening scene was triggering their PTSD. One veteran was asked what he thought about that scene and he said the actual landing was worse.

The finest acting in the film, when Mother Ryan collapsed on the porch when she saw the priest. Not a word of dialogue.

This is one of my favorite war films. It's so well done and so gripping in scope. I've seen it over a half dozen times and I'll watch it a dozen more if I can

That was an expensive beach. Those men were in their early 20's. Astonishing bravery.

Of course, there is the beach landing in its intensity. But the most difficult moment of the film was the slow stabbing. When he's trying to reason with him, like a human. It just displays the complete senselessness of Wars to begin with.

You asked to let you know what to watch next. If you haven't seen The Green Mile or Forrest Gump (both Tom Hanks movies), Jojo Rabbit, Only The Brave, or 12 Strong are all GREAT movies. Please check them out if you haven't seen them.

You realise the German soldier they let go is the same guy that shot the captain. That's why he knew Uphams name And that is why Upham Shot him.

My favorite moments in this film are the little ones that hit harder than any of the explicit footage (e.g. The Bixby Letter, Wade in the tower, etc.). Ryan telling Miller that he'll stand with the only brothers he has left and won't desert them to save his own ass is probably the top one for me. When the others realize that Ryan is a stand-up guy and not the coward they've imagined, it's very satisfying.

Spielberg put them all through a 10 day brutal boot camp but purposely didn't make Matt Damon do it so that the rest of the crew would resent him for it and it came through in the acting. Brutal!

The medic Wade knew he was hit in the liver and would bleed out in minutes, he also knew the morphine would kill him 😢

Just discovered this amazing channel searching for Lucifer reactions. Love your taste in shows and movies!

It wouldn't be an SPR reaction without “Is that Vin Diesel?” Lol

Your reactions to this film was solid Gold Ma’am, thank you for sharing, enjoyed it very much 😊👍🙏✌️🇺🇸

11:30 He says "Don't shoot, I didn't kill anyone. I am Czech."

You might be interested to know, between WWI and WWII, India had approximately 1.5 million troops serve.

A lot of people say about not hitting that one target. But remember when he talked about one life saves hundreds or thousands? This was a radio or radar site. By taking this site out saved literally hundreds or thousands. At this time radio or radar sites were very high value targets.

One of the rules of war is that you don't shoot the medics w the red cross on their helmet or uniform. Kind of illustrates how crazy war is when they make 'rules' for getting sent somewhere overseas and killing other people you never met. This movie shakes me up every time. Nice vid!

Earn this! FYI: Best nonfiction WW2 portrayal of recent decades is the miniseries “Band Of Brothers,” followed by its accompanying HBO documentary “We Stand Alone Together.” Band of Brothers was produced by Hanks and Spielberg. Good true story war movies: Hacksaw Ridge; We Were Soldiers; Glory; American Sniper; Lone Survivor. (WW2; Vietnam; US Civil War; Iraq; Afghanistan - respectively).

So...I'm from the US state of Iowa, and there was a family here called the Sullivans. Five of the sons joined the US Navy on the promise that they'd get to serve together. Then their ship was torpedoed and they all died. The story in Saving Private Ryan was loosely based on that. It's not "real" but it's "historically accurate," if that makes sense. If you're more interested in it, there's a great song Mrs. Sullivan by Caroline's Spine.

Your dad was right ... consider before you get PTSD from watching too many war movies. The medics and chaplains are among the bravest.

I think that when people are mean, it's a reflection of the meanness dumped on them. If you respond with meanness, it's just a self perpetuating cruel circle. On the other hand, good is also a self perpetuating circle. If we can perpetuate the good, we have more fun and happiness. Have happiness today! Thank you for watching this movie of unhappy times, where in the real war 80 million plus died.

10:06 the very definition of nervous laughter :p

Over 10,000 allied forces were either killed injured or were missing that day these brave young men fight for the freedom you enjoy today there is a message here hopefully you learn it

My dad was born in 1930. The summer he passed away it was clear it was coming. I live in Ireland and he lived in Kansas and we spoke a lot by phone. At one point I noted that as a Gen X American I hadn't lived through as much as he had. That he was 11 when World War 2 came to America and I asked what it was like. He told me about his dad who had served as a dentist in World War 1. One evening after listening to the radio and the clearly coming next war he went out to the back porch. My dad found him sitting on a stoop, crying. He knew what was coming and mourned it. A month or so later, my dad died in August. Just short of his 71st birthday in 2001. History has a way of showing up and testing each of us. Here now in 2023 there's another, as you rightfully say, unnecessary war in Europe. Do we stand against another small man with terrible dreams again or do we wilt? I hope the former. I have a mother of a Ukrainian soldier staying with me for the duration of the war. The scene where Mrs. Ryan is about to learn the fate of three of her sons has always got me. But now that i might see it in real life, it tears at me more. Another evil man is seeking to fulfill his little dreams with war. The rest of us are called on in various ways to oppose that. I wish more people could learn through film how horrible war is and never consider starting them. Sadly we're not there yet.

I love watching your perspective on this. Makes watching your reactions so enjoyable!

Cpl. Upham does make a lot of people cry . . . but for the wrong reason :(

I have seen this movie at least 30+ times. It never gets old. FYI: the German soldier that was let go and the one at the end (edit: the one that killed Mellish) are not the same man. Two different actors that just happen to have a lot of similarities. I did a lot of digging on this 👍

Also, the little riflescope upham was looking through, behind the cow, is a Weaver fixed power, 2x or 4x. U can find millions of these ww2 and Vietnam used, surplus, for pretty cheap, and they are still excellent scopes!

The opening scene Ryan goes to the grave of his brother, at the end he's at the grave of Capt. Miller's grave. His family is directly behind him at the first grave site, at the end, his family remains at a respectful distance, except for his wife who has no idea who Miller is. Ryan went home and never told anyone about that day in Ramell. The opening scene Ryan goes to the grave of his brother, at the end he's at the grave of Capt. Miller's grave. His family is directly behind him at the first grave site, at the end, his family remains at a respectful distance, except for his wife who has no idea who Miller is. Ryan went home and never told anyone about that day in Ramell. Spielberg researched small details, for instance, Pvt Jackson's right thumb has a black mark on it. That's actually a bruise that many U. S. riflemen had caused from getting their thumb caught in the loading mechanism from not locking the bolt back properly when loading/reloading the M1 Garand rifle. It was called "Garand thumb". The Hitler Youth Knife is more literary liberty than fact. That knife is a hiking knife given to members of the Hitler Youth Corps, which was much like the Boy Scouts in training while being indoctrinated with the ideology of National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi). The only other group they were issued to were members of the SA. This knife was never part of a soldier of the Wehrmacht. As for the reaction of Carparzo and Mellish, it is highly unlikely an average G.I. would have known what that knife was and its symbolism. The matter of Mellish crying is also not likely as the Allies didn't find out about the fate of Jews in Europe until the first concentration camp was liberated April 4, 1945. The war in Europe ended May 7, 1945. So, following the real timeline, Mellish dies before the Allies knew anything about concentration and death camps. But, after-all, it is Hollywood. Saving Private Ryan is not based on the Sullivan brothers. Fritz Niland became the basis for Private Ryan. He was dropped behind enemy lines on D-Day and spent five days in the French countryside, eventually earning a Bronze star in combat for taking a French. Robert Rodat first came up with the plot in 1994 when he saw a monument in a cemetery in Tonawanda, New York. The monument was to the Niland Brothers - 4 young American men who fought in the Second World War. When three of the Nilands were reported killed, the surviving brother - Fritz - was sent home. This inspired Rodat to write his movie. The average age of a U. S. troops armed forces personnel during WW II was 26 years old. Selective Service draft age range was 18 years of age to 45 years. The average age in Vietnam War was 22, not 19 as any think. There are 26 military cemeteries across Normandy, but the most famous and visited site is the poignant Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer. The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France is located in Colleville-sur-Mer, on the site of the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944 as the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. The cemetery site, at the north end of its half mile access road, covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of 9,387 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. In real life with the Nilands, it actually turned out later that another of the brothers was alive - he’d been held captive in a Burmese POW camp. Attempts to point out the "discrepancies" between the stories of Fritz Niland and James Ryan are often misguided, as Ryan is only based on Niland, and is not meant to be (or claimed to be) a completely accurate representation of him. The differences in the two stories seem to stem in part from the fact that the true story of Sergeant Niland and his brothers is often reported inaccurately. The character of Private James Ryan is a mixture of fact and fiction, with some of the fictional elements coming from the erroneous stories about the Niland brothers. The German credited as "Steamboat Willie" who was released by Capt. Miller is not the German who engaged and killed Pvt Stanley "Fish Mellish during hand-to-hand combat. "Steamboat Willie" was in the Heer (Army) of the Wehrmacht and the other was in the Waffen SS which was a paramilitary organization and not part of the Wehrmacht. Originally, the SS uniform differed from the Wehrmacht uniform-whereas the regular army wore field grey, the SS wore black, head to toe (although later the SS did adopt field grey and often wore camouflage pattern uniform. American troops were brown and they didn't wear jackboots. The lightning bolt SS insignia can be seen on the right collar lapel of the German as he passes Upham and reaches the bottom of the staircase. During the Battle at Ramelle, Upham became shell shocked and was unable to save a .30 cal team from a German soldier because he was too frozen with fear to do anything about it. He carried all the .30 caliber ammo at the battle of Ramelle, but was unable to do his job because he was always either pinned down or too afraid to move. He signified the loss of innocence in war and thought that soldiers could be civil, but he later succumbed to the evils of war and made up for his cowardice when he shot Steamboat Willie for killing Miller even after the latter had shown Willie mercy earlier. Not only did Upham represent the loss of innocence of war but he also symbolized the "Every-man". His illusion of neutrality faded when he finally had to pick and side and kill Steamboat Willie, his character revelation being how he finally understood the horrors of war. It became clear that Upham had turned into a hardened and true soldier because of the whole experience. Upham's rank was Tech 5 Corporal (E-5), that meant he was technician in a specialty area. His was maps and translator, he was not a combat infantryman and was never trained for front-line duty. Gunnery Sergent Hartman explained it this way in the movie Full Metal Jacket: "It is your killer instinct which must be harnessed if you expect to survive in combat. Your rifle is only a tool. It is a hard heart that kills. If your killer instincts are not clean and strong you will hesitate at the moment of truth. You will not kill. "The way the next of kin was notified of their loved one was killed in action during WW II was by Western Union telegram delivered by a bicycle riding messenger. If you were being notified of multiple deaths as was the case in this film, notification was done in-person by a military officer, usually from the same branch of service as the deceased when possible. That's why the mother upon seeing the officer exit the car momentarily froze knowing that meant at least 2 of her boys were either KIA or MIA, as the priest exits the car, she staggers and completely collapsed. Unfortunately, you didn't include that in your video presentation. That is one of the most important scenes in the movie. The mother speaks no lines in the movie, yet her breakdown brought a flood of tears form movie goers in theaters across the nation. Another important scene is it is clear from the few lines Ryan's wife speaks that she has never heard the name of Capt. John Miller, this means John has never spoken to her about what happened that day in Ramelle. What many missed is listening to Ryan speaking at the Miller's grave of how he thought about what those 8 men did for him every day was not guilt, but commitment. There are units assigned to recover, bury and mark graves. Usually these were temporary battlefield cemeteries. As hostilities moved farther away, a more permanent site would be selected, at the family's request, whenever possible, the remains would be returned to the United States. At the Normandy Cemetery Visitors Center, you'll find the following inscription: IF EVER PROOF WERE NEEDED THAT WE FOUGHT FOR A CAUSE AND NOT FOR CONQUEST, IT COULD BE FOUND IN THESE CEMETERIES. HERE WAS OUR ONLY CONQUEST: ALL WE ASKED … WAS ENOUGH … SOIL IN WHICH TO BURY OUR GALLANT DEAD.General Mark W. ClarkChairman, American Battle Monuments Commission, 1969-1984

Fun Fact The two men near the beginning were saying "Prosím, nestřílejte mě, nejsem Němec, jsem Čech, nikoho jsem nezabil, jsem Čech!" which means "Please don't shoot me, I am not German, I am Czech, I didn't kill anyone, I am Czech!". They weren't French or German but Czech who were forced to fight for the Germans when they invaded their country.

Here, in the USA, FAMILIES THAT HAVE LOST LOVED ONES, LIKE CHILDREN IN WAR, ARE CALLED "GOLD STAR" Families!

FUBAR: Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition. SNAFU: Situation Normal, All Fouled Up.

How can a medic help? Start the breathing Stop the bleeding Protect the Wound Treat for shock

Thank you SO MUCH for reacting to and sharing your thoughts about this movie. As traumatic and difficult watching it can be, it's important for us all to remember the hardships endured and sacrifices made on our behalf. We ALL need to remember -- and earn -- what others have done for us. 🤗😁

When I 1st saw this movie in the theater back in 1998 it was a helluva rollercoaster ride. You would climb one 300 ft hill and then plummet to the bottom, then the train would slow down for a little bit before coming up to another 300 ft drop. It does this about 4 times throughout the movie. The opening scene and the final scene might be 400 ft drops. Intense AF. Instantly one of my favorite movies of all time.

Watched this countless times. Amazing film. Realized today that I really watched this movie when it first released as a 8-9 year old boy 😂😂😂😂 i really believe it influenced my sense of patriotism and my early propensity to decide to serve my country and join the military.

This should be shown in schools to show what the greatest generation did for us and our freedom

The platoon sergeant is Tom Sizemore. Excellent in Point Break and Heat!

I was a Navy Corpsman, I served 10 years, 8 with Marines. I saw this on a Tuesday afternoon. There were 12 of us. Myself, and 11 others, all veterans. At the end of the movies, the house lights went up. All of us had teary eyes. One old man stated the following- "As far as war movies go, that was the most accurate depiction I've ever seen . As for the ACTUAL D-Day, it didn't come close" His hat said it all- D-Day Survivor, Purple Heart. I have always deferred to his expert advice. As bad as you think it was as shown in the movie, it was much, much worse.

you made it through the first 15 which is incredible. Loved watching your honest reactions. The 2 germans shot while surrendering were saying "Please don't shoot me! I am not German, I am Czech, I didn't kill anyone! I am Czech!" This makes it so much more depressing.

There’s good news and bad news. Let’s start with the bad news… the actual Normandy beach was waaay deeper than what was shown. Also, 88s were sighted to criss cross the beach landscape perpendicularly. They killed a lot more than could be shown. Somewhat good news? That MG-44 machine gun would never be firing off that many rounds in one, singular burst… unless you wanted to melt the barrel. You could get away with a thousand round burst (I’ve read) but your barrel is toast. I think the standard German practice was shoot a belt, switch the barrel. You’d have three so you could cool them off between switchings. Overall? It was worse than they could possibly show. It was a bloodbath. God save those men!

What?! I could have swear I watched your reaction for this movie!? 😆 I'm watching too much reaction channel, I'm getting confused! Looking forward to your reaction, hope the edit is top notch for this movie, so many good and heartfelt scenes!

You have now unknowlingly committed yourself to watching Band of Brothers...Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg were just beginning with this. There are a thousand things that can be said or I could correct about this...I will let it speak for itself. I am here for the first time and subscribed. They did such a great job trolling us into thinking Ryan was actually Captain Miller in the beginning. Veterans actually walked out of theaters because of the reality...

the two guys surrendering and getting shot at the beginning, one of them said "já jsem nikoho nezabil, já jsem čech" which means "i didn't kill anyone, i am czech"

Thanks for watching this with us old veterans. Now you can see why we get so mad when the children waste the blood we shed for them for fast money

There were veterans who saw this movie, and most of them cried and or relived some of the scars from this movie....

Yes it's historically accurate. I saw the 92 year old veteran last year that was there in Normandy....he was one that let the door down when they arrived on the beach . He said it was accurate and couldn't stop crying.

I've seen about 30 different reactions to this movie and you are the only one who mentioned the letter

The two guys who surrendered but got shot said “We are Czech. They recruited us against our will. We didn’t pull a trigger even once. Please dont shoot us.” Or something akin to this.

One of the BEST reactions I have seen on here. Thank you!

Steven Spielberg is the best of the best. His movies have captured our awe since Jaws and he will always be a legend!

Actually most consider WWII to be the last necessary war that the west fought. This war saved lives. By the time the US entered the war tens of millions of people had died just from subjugation and forced starvation. If the Nazis had not been stopped the plan was for hundreds of more millions to die or be enslaved, or both.

I’ve seen this movie countless times and numerous reactions. The bit you didn’t show in the ending scene always breaks me…the part where he’s in the cemetery and says to his wife, “Tell me I’ve led a good life. Tell me I’m a good man.” It hits close to home. Really enjoy your reactions because of your authenticity. I appreciate that you don’t feel then need to jabber on endlessly like some reactors.

This was Vin Diesel‘s first major Hollywood role in a major Hollywood film

What lovely compasionate warm human being you are. Thank you for your reactikn.

This is the most accurate Beach land ever made show what it was like

Black hawk down is a must. Most modern battle.

Another underrated WWII Spielberg classic - Empire of The Sun. Starring a very very young Christian Bale.

One of the best war movies of all time. You want more war movies? React to Black Hawk Down, 12 strong, 1917, Dunkirk, Battle: Los Angeles, Inglorious bastards, Fury, Lone Survivor, Red Tails, Full Metal Jacket, 13 Hours the secret soldiers of Benghazi (Michael Bay did great with this). Nothing can ever beat a good war movie.

Things I've learned about this movie: Bullets dont go that far in water. Not enough to kill. The speed at which the German MG-42s are shooting would melt their barrels. Those who lose an arm or leg are real amputees. The 2 soldiers who were surrendering were conscripted Czechs. The Germans in the last battle were extras from the Irish Army Reserves. Sniper Jackson is quoting Psalm 144:1-2 from the Bible. And, yes, I saw this movie when I was 10. ;)

You should watch Schindler’s List. I apologize in advance because it will probably be one the hardest movies you’ll ever see but everyone _needs_ to watch it once. It’s another Spielberg

Greatest War Movie Indeed, Nuff' Said. Anyway, great and emotional reaction, especially on that ending scene 😢😢😢

You're more 'Genuine' than most other reactors. With others, you can sense they're trying to "act" (If you watch others reaction videos, you know what I mean). Just keep being real, yourself.

Great reaction to an epic film. Gets me every time. We should all “earn it” every day. Bc of the ones who fought and died to protect our freedoms. 😊❤

Imo the best Spielberg movie by far! It is a Masterpiece from start to finish!

Matt Damon was in Good Will Hunting before this. The guy with the blown up ear was excellent in, Once we were Soldiers.

The plot is fictional, but the emotions and PTSD feelings were so great that actual soldiers were reduced to tears or had to leave the theater.

His father was a soldier in WW2, also!

Even though this was so hard and real to watch, I enjoyed watching your reactions to this movie.

15:22 I think you must learn more of the conflict of WWII. War is rarely desired, but is often necessary. In this instance, the Aliied Powers were taking back the lands in France that the Germans had taken away.

Another Spielberg WWII must watch is Schindler's List. Definitely have a box of tissues ready.

8:00 I have PTSD from my years of trauma nursing… I CANNOT imagine what this did to those medics

The following is just for the movie introduction, the landing, as the rest of the movie is pure fiction. 5:06 It is not historically accurate. It is very loosely based on key events of the second world war. Contrary to the mainstream belief, this movie gets a lot more wrong than it gets right. That doesn't take a away its quality, it is hell of a good movie. It is just not close to be as accurate as we are often led to believe. 5:28 Germans were already loosing the war by the time the US involved themselves. A reminder that around 80% of german forces were lost on the russian front. D-Day was in June 1944 and the war officially ended around mid 1945, can't remember the exact date. 5:38 This is unlikely to have happened. The beaches were VERY wide, the distance between the sea and the first german fortifications was substantial which made the Allied embarcations out of reach of the german machine guns and rifles. The embarcations would have been targeted by artillery and tanks though. Also this movie kind of invert when the Allied registered the heaviest casualties. In the movie, it is when they get off of the boats, but when they reach the first line of fortification it seems to become easier. In real life, it was the opposite. The landing was the easiest part, and when they reached the first line of german fortifications, that's when Allied bodies started to piled up quickly. 5:44 For example, in real life, german soldiers couldn't see any distinct details of the uniform, ethnicity, equipment and anything else from the landing Allied forces, that's how far away the sea was from german first line of fortifications. Also the Allied landed during low tide, which made the distance even greater than it would have been normally. 5:58 Bullets do not travel in water. This scene is impossible, even from the most powerful rifle in the world, the bullet would lose all its lethality within the first centimeters into the water. 6:13 These "Czech hedgehogs" are positioned in the wrong way. This mistake allows the Allied landing forces to hid behind them for cover, but in real life, in their appropriate position, they do not offer the same level of cover. When the Allied forces landed, they had only one way to go, one thing to do and it was to reach the first german line of fortification and take it. For most Allied on the beach that day, their only cover was the bodies of their fallen brothers. 6:24 You often hear that vets from WW2 who saw this movie in theater had PTSD triggered, and most of the time people think it is because the depiction of D-Day was so realistic, but that's not true. What got to the vets, what triggered their PTSD, are scenes like this one. These are very realistic. Soldiers being blown up, crying for their mothers, exposed artery pissing blood, having a brother alive beside you one second and the next he gets headshot, etc. These are the elements of the movie that triggered the PTSD of the WW2 vets. There's a lot of immersion breaking elements in the movie that would have left them either indifferent or annoyed, like how many "extras" didn't act according to basic training to seek cover, how to move and giving suppressing fire, etc. The landing was hell, but it wasn't as chaotic as depicted in the movie. Everyone knew their mission, no one needed to have their hands hold or to asked what they were supposed to do. They all knew it and were briefed for days, weeks and months before D-Day. 7:10 They can't and they didn't. War is brutal and people die and that's a reality that civilians often are not comfortable with or can't understand. But soldiers do, especially vets that survived through battles. Medics didn't attend to wounded unless the wounded were taken somewhere safe. Otherwise, the wounded died from their injury. The priority is always the mission, then it is your own life, then it is your brothers. If you have to chose between the mission or a brother, you are expected to answer the call of duty first. You didn't see medic during D-Day attend to injured soldiers on the beach, in the open like shown in this movie. Medic were first soldiers, then medic. Their mission that day was the same as everyone else : take the beach. They would have started to attend to injured soldiers only when some areas started to be secured. Or if the injured were dragged to somewhere minimally safe to give cover to a medic to attend to them, but on the beach that was just impossible. 11:27 Their hands up in the air. 😅 But more seriously, it's just war instinct. And as you can see, the Allied forces didn't let down their guard, they kept their weapons on them all the time and they rushed to reach them to not allow them time to change their mind. 11:32 These are Czech conscripts (not french 😆) that the Nazi regime forced into their ranks. As said earlier, Germany was already losing badly, so they had to mass-conscript from the countries they invaded. These conscripts, if I remember correctly, were saying to the Allied soldiers that they weren't germans, that they didn't kill anyone, but they were murdered nonetheless. And that's a fact often not talked about, but the Allied forces did commit atrocious war crimes. A lot. War is a ugly business and it brings the best and the worst in humans.

That day was the day of normandy invasion of france that helped end world war two, it was considered one of the bloodiest battles of world war two

A simple story in an epic war. Spielberg is a master storyteller. It must be easier for us to root for the good guys, when the baddies are literal.monsters, like in Lord of the Rings. This is much more difficult to suss out the morality in the aftermath... Thanks for enduring this with us.😢

I also wanted to add something else in my other comment, about the Tom Hanks' movies, another movie called "Road to perdition", it's not very well known, but it's wonderfull. 👌🏼

The soldiers who tried to surrender weren't speaking French, they were speaking Czech, and were explaining that they weren't Germans and hadn't killed any of the Americans. Clearly they were drafted by the Germans, surrendered to the Americans at first opportunity, and got shot for their trouble.

My dad enlisted at 17 & got to Germany just as the war ended. A little earlier & he may not have come back. I cannot imagine the thirst for evil that consumed Hitler. I don't know what happened to him that lead him in that direction.

1. Many WWII vets left the theaters because the D-Day battle scenes were so realistic. 2. The German Captain Miller was talked into letting go is the same one that killed him. Upham finally put him down. 3. The story Ryan tells Miller about the last time he saw his brothers was made up by Matt Damon. He was told to say something interesting, so he did, and it was kept in the movie. 4. There really was a USS Sullivans(DD- 68) dedicated to the brothers lost on one ship. That's why all brother soldiers/sailors from one family can't be assigned to the same command. 5. I did 24 years in the US Navy. My favorite character is Private Jackson/sniper and my second favorite is Sargent Horvath. RIP Tom Sizemore😇 6. Sizemore also played Boxman in "Flight of the Intruder", a movie I'm in briefly.

When I saw this in the theatre the year it was released, I was 8 months pregnant and my hormones were raging. The D Day scene went on so long I almost walked out. It's so emotionally draining. .

Two million Allied soldiers took part in Operation Overlord, the "D-Day" invasion. National contingents had their own beaches to assault. At some, there were very few casualties, largely because the Germans were fooled by the misinformation campaign that made them believe the invasion would take place at the obvious place, the narrowest point of the English Channel at Calais. So many beaches were essentially undefended. And there was an intensive 24 air bombardment prior to the invasion, and in some places it destroyed the defenses. But in part of it, cloud cover prevented effective bombing. And at those points, losses among the invaders ran to 96%. But within a month, Normandy was won, and within a year Germany was defeated. Technically, the operation was a failure. Nothing went as planned. Success was retrieved by individual and unit acts of courage and imagination. Earlier attempts to take French Atlantic ports had failed disasterously. Invasions of Italy had succeeded, but the fighting had stalled in the rugged mountains. And Stalin had been promised a western front to take pressure off his armies in Russia. Delay would simply have made it harder to accomplish. It is interesting to note famous people who were in the landings. J.D. Salinger. Medgar Evers. Yogi Berra. David Niven (in Navy support, who later starred in "The Longest Day"). James "Scotty" Doohan who right middle finger was shot away, and actor Charles Durning. And Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of the old president, who at 56 badgered his way into the first wave where he became the only general officer to wade ashore in the first wave, and, as the only surviving high officer at his position, kept things going, stumping around the beach with his cane, under fire. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, presented shortly after his death. In the first 15 minutes, Dog Green saw 120 casualties. In areas like Dog Green, where the Germans were untouched, machine guns were sited to have interlocking fields of fire. It was actually much farther to the base of the heights than it appears in the film. The beaches were mined with "S" antipersonnel mines, "bouncing Betties" that jumped up and exploded at waist level, and Teller antitank mines. There were no safe corridors. They did indeed use Bangalore torpedoes to approach the heights. Behind them, many engineers died when enemy fire set off the explosives they were placing. The destroyed radio reflects the fact that most radios were lost, making it impossible to coordinate. Two companies of 2nd Rangers lost half their strength on the beach. There are no accurate casualty figures, but around 6,000 men were killed, wounded or missing. The landing craft was mostly wooden. The ramp was armor steel. There was selective armor in the rest. It carried 36 soldiers. They could make 6 knots loaded, about twice the speed of an steady walk. Troops were walking ashore because they were too heavily loaded to run. There was much study over whether to land above or below the steel tank defenses. But the decision came down to giving the landing craft the advantage of an incoming tide. Tides in Normandy rise roughly six feet, depending on which day.