What is the message of Saving Private Ryan?

Saving Private Ryan is a provocative film for many reasons. It makes us think about the human dimension of war—how ordinary men endure the horrors of combat, fight effectively in small units, and survive on increasingly lethal battlefields.
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What message does Saving Private Ryan convey?

Private Ryan is not anti-war; rather, it is a bloody memorial to the veterans of the crusade against Hitler. The director's message is this: War is a horrible, wasteful thing. See what horrors these men endured to destroy the Nazis.
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What is the moral of Saving Private Ryan?

Saving Private Ryan confronts us with a conflict between the morality of warfare and the morality of decency. Spielberg shows us clearly the point of each, and its hold on us. He does not resolve the conflict; nor does he try to reconcile the two moralities.
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What is the main point of Saving Private Ryan?

Saving Private Ryan, American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat, set in 1944 during World War II in France. The film follows a group of American soldiers dispatched to locate Pvt. James Ryan so he can return home after his three brothers have been killed in battle.
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What is the lesson behind Saving Private Ryan?

No matter the situation--war or peace, authentic leadership and a clear sense of purpose are the key ingredients making the difference. Capt. John Miller (Tom Hanks) was faced with the almost impossible mission to lead a squad of soldiers to find and bring Pvt. Ryan back home.
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Saving Private Ryan: What did the german soldier say to Upham?

Why was Upham such a coward?

Upham is a coward in Saving Private Ryan because he is emotionally unfit for battle. All the signs in the movie point toward this fact, so as frustrating as his inaction ultimately is, expecting an act of heroism from him is to completely misunderstand his character.
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What is so good about Saving Private Ryan?

But the action sequences in Saving Private Ryan are extraordinary: utterly believable, horrifyingly graphic in their depiction of death and injury, but somehow matter of fact, so that the worst atrocities are glimpsed out of the corner of one's eye, and the choreography never shows.
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What is unrealistic about Saving Private Ryan?

What are the mistakes in Saving Private Ryan? Here's a few. Tom Hanks seems to land on Omaha beach is in the first wave and pushes inland in about 25 minutes. This is nothing like real life, pushing inland wasn't until the third wave and took hours.
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What did Captain Miller whisper to Private Ryan?

Summary. Captain Miller's dying words to Private Ryan, "Earn it," convey the importance of honoring the sacrifice made by Miller and his squad to save Ryan's life. Miller's final words symbolize the deep bond and brotherhood formed among the members of his squad, highlighting their collective sacrifice.
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What does Upham symbolize in Saving Private Ryan?

Character symbolism

Not only did Upham represent the loss of innocence of war but he also symbolised the "Everyman"; the moment when he almost picks up the souvenir German helmet symbolises how he could have fought on either side, he was a neutral soldier.
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Why does his hand shake Private Ryan?

His shaky hands can immediately be identified as a symptom of intense anxiety, caused by the anticipation of warfare, intensified by previous memories of fighting. It is clear that Captain Miller has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet he must launch himself into battle regardless.
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What does Ryan ask his wife to tell him at the end of Saving Private Ryan?

The final scene has the seventy-five year old Ryan kneeling in front of the grave of his beloved rescuer. Ryan, with tear-filled eyes, stands and turns to his wife and say's “Tell me I'm a Good Man”. Saving Private Ryan: Final Scene.
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What is the saddest part in Saving Private Ryan?

Wade's death is the most brutal scene in "Saving Private Ryan" because of how the young man goes out — not with a bang, but with a tearful cry to his mother.
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What did WWII vets think of Saving Private Ryan?

As reported in 1998, some British veterans were unhappy with Saving Private Ryan. One Royal Navy cox was “disappointed”. Another Royal Navy vet, who had led the wave of landing crafts to Omaha, was miffed with the quality of Spielberg's research. “I can't see how he can possibly justify winning an Oscar,” said the vet.
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Who was the old man at the end of Saving Private Ryan?

Harrison Richard Young (March 13, 1930 – July 3, 2005) was an American character actor. He is known for playing the elderly Ryan in Saving Private Ryan. Port Huron, Michigan, U.S.
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Why didn't Upham save Mellish?

For example, Willy, the German soldier Upham shows mercy to, doesn't reciprocate that mercy, and ends up killing both Mellish and Miller. Having seen his worldview destroyed, Upham presumes there is no other course of action available to him and stops participating as a result.
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Can Christians watch Saving Private Ryan?

As for respecting faith and God, Ryan wobbles on both sides of the fence. It shows soldiers praying sincerely, but depicts one sniper as mentally unbalanced (he prays each time he kills a man). As family-night entertainment, Ryan is a casualty.
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How old was Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan?

Tom Hanks was 42 and Matt Damon was 28. I was thinking Matt Damon would actually be a great person to play Capt Miller but he's already 10 years older than Tom Hanks was in the same role.
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What does the German say as he kills Mellish?

du wirst sehen, es ist gleich vorbei.” An English translation: “Give up…you have no chance…let us finish this…it will be easier for you, much easier…you'll see, it will be over immediately.” In Saving Private Ryan, why did Private Mellish cry when he saw the Hitler Youth knife?
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Why did the SS soldier let Norman live?

The soldier is a child who doesn't see the need for senseless violence or any reason to execute an unarmed man. All the fighting and death isn't personal to Norman, nor the SS soldier who spots him, hence why they offer more second chances than most. It is not their war and, as a result, Norman's life is spared.
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Why did the soldier let Upham live?

After Saving Private Ryan's infamously harrowing knife scene where the man kills Wellish (Adam Goldberg), as he's leaving the building, he spares Upham, seemingly taking pity on him because he's crying and crumpled in shock and fear on the stairs.
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What was Tom Hanks' last line in Saving Private Ryan?

What does Tom Hanks say at the end of Saving Private Ryan? “Earn this.” Basically compelling Private Ryan to love a life worthy of all the sacrifices made to get him home to his family.
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Is there anything bad in Saving Private Ryan?

Yes, this is a very violent movie, with very realistic depictions of violence and war. At times this movie is truly horrific, Spielberg refuses to cut away or turn the camera to spare you having to witness the pain and trauma these soldiers endured.
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What killed Wade in Saving Private Ryan?

While trying to get closer, he was fatally wounded by a machine gun nest after Captain Miller orders them to neutralise it. He had been shot three times in the chest by an MG-42. Wade's comrades try in vain to save his life. His friends tried to clear the blood and stem the bleeding but to no avail.
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Who reads the letter at the end of Saving Private Ryan?

Marshall Reads the Lincoln Letter.
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