SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (first time watching + lots of tears)

[@schmeric]

Saving Private Ryan came out the summer when I was 16 and working as an usher at a theatre. For at least a month I would wait until the very end of the credits to clean (didn't need do that for any other movie) because there were always at least a few elderly men (most likely veterans) at every showing quietly weeping through the entire credits. I know I didn't fully appreciate their grief at the time but I'm so glad in retrospect that my younger self gave them that time uninterrupted.

[@sherrysink3177]

Well, that just made me cry.

[@abeclark524]

The veteran funeral for my grandfather who fought in WW2 was beautiful.

[@JeffMoran]

Well done, Eric. You "earned" it.

[@tbirdUCW6ReAJ]

Earn this. Earn it.

[@avataz]

I remember when this movie came out in theaters they had to give warnings about how graphic the storming the beach scene was

[@danholmesfilm]

Natalie: I'm watching Saving Private Ryan on my phone Spielberg: Digs a hole, jumps in, buries himself alive, ROLLS OVER IN HIS GRAVE

[@kwebb121765]

ROFLOL!

[@RHfilm]

Yeah I cringed. This movie deserves the best viewing experience.

[@marrenby]

🤣🤣🤣

[@Chris-ls5th]

When she said she was watching it on her phone I paused the video to find this comment to respond to. Just lol

[@resin807]

And no headphones either

[@lordhughmungus]

"Corporal you need to get wherever the fuck you need to get." Literally the most military phrase I've heard since I got out, I lold.

[@jamesthompson3099]

That was exactly my thought the moment she said it. She even got the tone of voice right! It was too perfect! 🤣

[@morethanjustforkicks]

I don't think he swore

[@jamesthompson3099]

@@morethanjustforkicks No, she did!

[@carladams5891]

All she was missing was the knife hand!!

[@Jorary209]

I was rolling for a good minute hearing that. The verbiage of the military is brushing off her lol

[@michaelolivares6790]

I saw this in the theater when it first came out. At the end of the movie, everyone got up, didn't say a word, and we all filed out quietly...it was kind of eerie.

[@Matuse]

I had the same experience with 12 Monkeys in the theater.

[@emosam07]

I remember reading reports of people absolutely sobbing during the opening scenes because of the realism.

[@AbbaZabbaOlyFrn]

I remember watching We Were Soliders when I was 15, im still a kid but I thought it was a powerful movie and that was the first time I witnessed grown men crying in a packed theater. A great war movie even for a kid but now I understand how triggering it must be for someone who lived through the real deal

[@charleshowie2074]

People usually run out of films screaming where you live..?

[@SStupendous]

@@charleshowie2074 Who leaves the theater as a crowd in COMPLETE silence?

[@DJGuatemala83]

The guy that volunteers to go LEFT is the sniper, not WADE, the guy who dies in that fight. Wade was the medic, and the guy with the closeup in the night church, talking about his Mom getting home from work and pretending to sleep. That is why it is so sad when a second before he dies, all he wants is his Mother.

[@eatsmylifeYT]

Soooo, following your logic, if he didn't call for his mother, it wouldn't be sad?

[@the98themperoroftheholybri33]

@Techno Pirate its said in the book "we were soldiers and young" that most dying men call for their mothers and their last words are usually to tell their girlfriend or wife that they love them

[@TedBrogan]

@@eatsmylifeYT I think it's safe to say it would be sad regardless. Ribisi's performance is incredible.

[@erikjohnson3859]

@@eatsmylifeYT What? Lol, you should google the word "semantics," because that was dumb af.

[@eatsmylifeYT]

@@erikjohnson3859 No thanks. I have a dictionary. Do you know what "sarcasm" means? And by the way, do you know that the word "gullible" is not in the dictionary?

[@Cambu17]

The opening 15 minutes of this movie was filmed so realistically, that many survivors of Omaha beach, veterans of that assault, had to leave the theater because it was too real for them.

[@onylra6265]

My Pop wasn't there - he's too busy at Monte Cassino at the time, but the production and presentation was too much for him. It was the sound of it - it triggered his PTSD, 50 years later.

[@jackoshadow]

Not just them. I didn't see a ton of stuff when I deployed as a medic, but enough people torn up that I can't watch this movie again. Just. Can't.

[@MrHogGamer]

Depends on what beach they were on. Some beaches were hardly defended. Omaha beach was one that was defended well.

[@amazingusername8925]

bollocks

[@Cambu17]

@@amazingusername8925 how so?

[@RotGolem]

"The one I know is gonna survive is Tom" Yeah, about that...

[@NatalieGoldReacts]

They really got me there...

[@scottpartner8001]

@@NatalieGoldReacts Hi natalie could you please react to a league of their own. It has tom hanks and it definitely a good movie to react to

[@GlassJAw413]

A league of their own is great. Another great Tom Hanks and Spielberg movie is Bridge of Spies.

[@woolsey1977brian]

tom hanks is the reason i havent watched mr. rogers yet. i dont think i would survive the feels..

[@lou6454]

@@NatalieGoldReacts You should watch Philadelphia with Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. It helped Hanks tie Spencer Tracys record of two best actor oscars in a row

[@sitbone3]

I’m 74. My father went in on D Day at Normandy. He was in 5 campaigns including the Battle of the Bulge. Before the war he never drank. After the war he was an alcoholic the rest of his life.

[@johncee853]

100% understandable.

[@DeltasArbiter]

War is hell

[@FerhatSalgin]

I am so sorry for you. Your father went through hell definately. I hope you are doing well..

[@faisalmemon285]

Saddest thing is the alcohol never helped.

[@henriksvensson126]

Your father still lives on through you, glad that his suffering is over.

[@CynicalGear]

The scene where Ryan is telling the story about his brothers was actually unscripted Matt Damon improvised that whole thing.

[@stevenschmidt3464]

He had the idea to tell the story because in Good Will Hunting, Robin Williams improved telling a story to Matt Damon character. Matt Damon was so impressed that he wanted to try something to see if he could do it too.

[@ikoandreas5085]

@Citizen Cat why?

[@MySkybreaker]

@Citizen Cat sounds super overly hateful. It was a good improv from damon.

[@mrmundy6]

@Citizen Cat And then Spielberg left it in the movie because it was so shitty? 😆

[@mrmundy6]

@Citizen Cat Right. I'm questioning your line of thinking that Spielberg thought it was bad acting, but still left it in his movie. You think Spielberg felt bad for Damon enough to leave a bad scene in his movie through all of the edits and cuts? It doesn't make sense lol.

[@dedcaesar2325]

“The only one I know who’s gonna survive is Tom...” “Oh, you sweet summer child.”

[@jannerantanen5121]

she meant the initial storming of the beach

[@fayeeg718]

@@jannerantanen5121 I’m pretty sure she thought that the old man at the beginning was hanks not private Ryan

[@mohammedashian8094]

@@fayeeg718 they definitely tricked everyone into thinking that the old man is Tom Hanks’s character because of the close up on his eyes

[@KevyNova]

When Captain Miller says his last words, “Earn this” to Private Ryan, he’s saying it to ALL OF US. We have to be the best people we can be so that those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom would not have died in vain.

[@Kronical69420]

Especially considering they were drafted and didnt have much choice in the matter.

[@matta5498]

@@Kronical69420 There was some draft in WW2 but most volunteered.

[@Gort-Marvin0Martian]

@@Kronical69420 I'm sure those 16 and 17 year olds that lied about their age and who volunteered would really appreciate your remark. You might want to be sure before you make exclamations.

[@KevyNova]

@@Kronical69420 some were drafted but most enlisted in WWII because everyone understood that it had to be won for the sake of the world. Vietnam, on the other hand....

[@NominePatris]

And yet, a friend of Nazis became president...

[@justinchristoph3725]

When I was in the Coast Guard back in the 1980s, I knew a Chief Petty Officer and a group of us were talking about war. There were quite a few Vietnam Veterans in the Coast Guard at the time who saw combat in one of the other services, then joined the Coast Guard because they couldn’t handle civilian life. He told us the story of his uncle. The Chief's father served in the Army in WWII and was badly wounded in New Guinea in 1944, which knocked him out of the war. His father’s younger brother, the Chief’s uncle, was also in the Army and he fought in Okinawa. His uncle was about 18 at the time had to flush out caves with a flamethrower. There were Okinawan civilians and children in many of the caves with the Japanese soldiers and he burned many of them to death. It wasn’t just one cave or one day. He did it several times a day for months. Sometimes, people ran out of the caves on fire. When the uncle came back from the war, he was very quiet and didn’t talk about the war. He also began drinking heavily. His brother only knew about what he did in the war when they both got really drunk one night and he said a little about what happened, but never went into more detail than was said here. Anyway, in the late 1950s, the Chief was a little boy then and he went to a house on Long Island, New York for a cookout with his family. His uncle was married with children by then and they went to the cookout together. Everything was going well, then someone used too much lighter fluid while cooking on the barbeque grill in the backyard. The flames went high and the meat was burning. The smell of burning meat and lighter fluid triggered the uncle and he had a psychotic break. He had been holding that trauma in for years and he completely lost it. He was screaming and no one understood what was going on with him except the Chief's father, who realized what was happening and told the other men there. All the men there were WWII veterans, many of whom had seen bad things themselves. They tackled him and held him down in the backyard. Two other men grabbed towels to pick up the barbeque grill and ran some distance to a nearby swimming pool, then threw the grill into it, meat and all. They had burns on their hands from it, but they didn’t stop. The men were speaking softly to the guy telling him it was alright. Some of the other women were freaking out and saying they needed to call the cops and their husbands were telling them to shut up and get the kids in the house. They held him while he screamed, wept, cried and vomited for literally hours. The cops were not called and eventually he passed out. Afterwards, he went to bed and didn’t leave it for a couple of weeks. His boss, who was also a WWII veteran, when told what happened, just told his wife for him to come back to work when he was ready, which he did. If anything else happened like that, the Chief didn’t know about it. The Uncle eventually died of cirrhosis of the liver in the mid 1970s.

[@VermilionGates]

Thank you for sharing and thank you for your service. I'm a young soldier currently in the army and I think many soldiers have a bad habit of complaining about petty bullshit on the day-to-day, shitty details etc. We take for granted the fact that this is the easiest time in history to serve, and that 80 years ago we would be the ones sent in the caves torching people. Your post reminded me to stay humble and not to get caught up on the mundane. Have a nice day.

[@Evghenios79]

Veterans understand each other more than anyone else can ever dream of. Both the US and the UK have got better at "decompressing" their veterans after a tour of duty, but such scars cannot be erased.

[@heze2819]

Recently I saw an interview with Tom Hanks where he said he grew up after WW2 and he could feel how this war affected every adult in his life and I really get that effect from this story seeing as almost everyone mentioned is a veteran. I can’t even imagine what it must feel like on a personal level let alone an entire generation of people all coping with the same traumas, thank you all for your service.

[@xjamesx7047]

Hope she checks out Band of Brothers after this. So glad she finally watched Saving Private Ryan. Great reaction as always.

[@TheMightyKent]

In my honest opinion, the best miniseries ever put to television.

[@Scott-on-the-Beach]

After Band of Brothers, the Pacific!

[@ZUGTFO]

@@TheMightyKent Agreed 100%

[@mattmcglasson7104]

Agreed!

[@swordmonkey6635]

@@Scott-on-the-Beach Yeah. Band of Brothers is easier for the more casual person to follow. The Pacific sort of requires that you know a little about Guadalcanal to fully appreciate the clusterf*ck that's happening. It doesn't hold your hand as much as Band of Brothers, plus a lot of people have at least a vague idea of where and what in European WW2. The Pacific Campaign was much more nuanced. Great mini-series, but more of a post graduate course. That's why it didn't resonate as much with people.

[@Seelebob]

Loved the fact she didn't notice Nathan Fillion till way after the fact.

[@josearroyo8008]

Gotta pull her brown coat card

[@armchairnixon]

Tbf she was watching on her phone, and warned us that she would not recognize some people.

[@josearroyo8008]

@@armchairnixon I did forget that excellent point. Shiny

[@kj7124]

WWII infantry uniform versus space pirate? Yea, I'll give N a break for not recognizing him. LOL

[@whynotfandy]

Or vin diesel?

[@ferrarogaming223]

The two Germans at the beginning of the movie surrendering during DDay weren’t actually Germans, they were Czech who were forced to fight for Germany and they were saying “we didn’t kill anyone, we are Czech, we didn’t kill anyone”

[@Raidoton]

Yeah the vast majority of people will never know that. Pretty crazy.

[@froggy187888]

War is hell

[@sullyway51]

Little known fact is they also captured several Koreans also. How they got there is a pretty incredible story in itself.

[@medicineman360]

A lot of the garrison troops at Omaha Beach were staffed by foreign troops. A lot of these were actually captured when the Germans invades their home countries, and they were given the "option" of being conscripted into the Wehrmacht.

[@faisalmemon285]

Stupid Spielberg doesn’t like putting captioning in his movies. I’ve seen it in many of his movies that when someone is speaking in a foreign language there is no captioning. Thank you for telling about this Czech thing. It’s twenty years later and I’m just finding out.

[@rowansimpson6558]

How Saving Private Ryan lost to Shakespeare in Love in the Best Picture category is beyond me. It’s a joke. Great reaction by the way. Very true and raw.

[@hjr_official]

Because the other one had the words "Shakespeare" and "love" in the title. Saving Private Ryan never had a chance. Oscar bait always wins.

[@michaelceraso1977]

yes TYpical HOLLYwood bull cr p, I got one even better- 1956 BEST PIC- AROUND the world in 80 days witha BALLOON as main subject over KING and I wth YUL Brinner, TEN Commandments, GIANT with R Hudson, LIZ Taylor and JAMES Dean

[@samanderson7745]

For those of us who know anything know that Saving Private Ryan won the Oscar that year, it's simply a typo that that other filth of a film was marked as having won.

[@RealRed05]

Because Harvey Weinstein pushed a massive, months long ad campaign for it to win.

[@jasonkiefer1894]

Yeah, this was the first, major big step in Hollywood going to s***. Ever since then so many movies are these weird insider type movie that audiences do like and don't watch. The Oscars become so backslapping, and then got super political ad nauseum when trump became president. I don't even watch the telecast anymore, don't even care who's nominated or who wins.

[@pledgegamer]

“FUBAR”: f$&ked up beyond all recognition.

[@eliberdinner4808]

Similar to SNAFU: Situation Normal, All F@#$*& Up.

[@jonathanross149]

She has never seen Tango and Cash.

[@Jay-ate-a-bug]

I am still waiting for 8Up to show up in a movie.

[@michaelramsey1299]

The r can also be Repair when used with machines

[@rinck17]

I checked the German English dictionary and no FUBAR.

[@snarflcat6187]

"He's using that man's radio...does he not have his own radio?" This is WWII, my sweet summer child. The smallest radio transmitter was 25 pounds and the size of a very large backpack. Only Radiomen had radios...and that's all they carried.

[@sitbone3]

No. A radio man’s T.O. Weapon was the 1911. Sometimes an M1 carbine.

[@jamesu1540]

They were large because they were all valves (vacuum tubes) and large batteries. No transistors there.

[@davidsumner7604]

Today there's an RTO and he's usually the only one who has a large radio. Radios and their battery and antenna are pretty bulky.

[@rollomaughfling380]

"Sweet summer child"? Gross, could you be any creepier?

[@itisthesusie1754]

@@rollomaughfling380 It's OK, it's a game of thrones quote suggesting someone who is a bit innocent of realities :D

[@MrTech226]

Some of WWII Vets walked out of the theaters when this scene is playing played out on June 6,1944. One of the vets stated it was like it, but only difference is that you can't smell death on the screens.

[@brettfromla4055]

That’s what my dad said about serving in combat. He also said that to make a war movie realistic, you would have to turn the volume up so loud, that it would hurt your ears.

[@salmonero6472]

@@brettfromla4055 yeah that makes sense. During combat training, shooting drills etc.. we would always use earplugs. I cannot even imagine literally hundreds of mortars, AA guns.. just blasting off all around you 😐

[@manuelmelendez3140]

As someone who deals with what the character Ryan is dealing with, survivors guilt is one of the worst combat wounds that any service member deals with daily. We try to carry the torch for those who have been lost in combat and hold their honor and hope that the life we live will be up to the standards that will bring honor to their sacrifice. F**ked Up Beyond All Recognition (FUBAR)

[@sulcman]

Thank you for your service.

[@IanCaine4728]

When I was a kid and first watched this, I remember being so pissed off when Upham freezes up. After being in the army, I just feel bad for him. You never know how you're going to react until you're in the moment.

[@PetraDarklander]

We would all like to imagine that we would be the hero to save the day. But that's not how it always turns out unfortunately.

[@libertatemadvocatus1797]

Upham wasn't even combat trained. He even says that he hasn't fired a rifle since basic training. Comparing Upham's combat performance against highly trained infantry with combat experience is like comparing a guy who literally just joined a gym against pro MMA fighters.

[@meteerbil2078]

Watching this movie on a cell phone should be against the law. It deserves a big screen.

[@deiwi]

This movie in particular!

[@BaconBeast11]

It’s a real shame

[@joramsim]

Regarding the 2 guys above me⬆️⬆️ Yea they both joined YT a week ago and it's their only comment Here:)

[@tiger1chu]

@@joramsim they're too legit to quit

[@dandc2011]

for real... she says she has to watch it on a phone meanwhile there's a 65" flat screen right behind her

[@KubbsWickedSoul]

Watching this movie for the first time on a phone screen is some kind of crime. :(

[@HankMeldrum]

To quote David Lynch, "Get real!"

[@travisspazz1624]

@@HankMeldrum 😁

[@donkfail1]

@@HankMeldrum Right! The *only* time I've ever heard Lynch use a profanity was when he talked about watching his movies on a phone. That "fucking" had more value than any other adjective I've heard.

[@LordGopu]

Next week on Natalie Gold's iPhone: Gravity

[@ralphficker167]

Natalie, for your benefit: FUBAR means "Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition." A little advice...your comments are very smart but you talked way too much, causing you to miss some important things. I also suggest that for an historic event like this you do just a little research, such as the fact that the opening scene was known as D-Day, and these guys landed on Omaha Beach, one of the bloodiest battles of the war. I only saw the KZbin version, and I don't mean to be hard on you. I hope instead that my criticism is constructive and helps a little in your future projects.

[@wearywanderer7018]

2 hours and 50 minutes of cinematic perfection. The filmmaking and production are god tier all around. Acting is amazing Dialogue is fantastic And boy it’s a rough ride

[@diegotavel5872]

Still hurts how they STOLE Spielberg the Oscar to Best Movie to give him to "Shakespeare in Love". Ridiculous.

[@zacsuth]

“I like him but I’m also afraid he’s gonna mess some stuff up.” ...well...

[@herbyragan7801]

The one to watch is “Schindler’s List”. Talk about having a cry. A heart wrenching true story that had me bawling, especially the ending.

[@gwinnellheald8592]

Yes. Schindler's list is absolutely phenomenal and heartbreaking

[@ronin7997]

As acclaimed and phenomenal as that movie is, it is by far the hardest film for me to rewatch. It's so dark and visceral its crushingly depressing throughout the majority of it run.

[@herbyragan7801]

@Rasmus I’m also Jewish, and it is a very difficult watch. But imo every Jew needs to watch this film, even if she doesn’t do a reaction it is an important film to watch.

[@chadfalardeau5396]

I could only watch it once

[@m_i_s_t_a_h__j_]

Liam Neeson was fantastic in that movie.

[@BullRoarer_]

"Give up, you have no chance. Let us end this. It's easier for you, way easier. You will see, it's over in a moment." SS soldier to Mellish if your interested.

[@Eraser18574]

This scene....I just cannot watch this scene anymore. The first time I saw this I felt really sick.

[@STABO-my7dj]

When it comes to a combat veteran having survivor's guilt, it's a double-edged sword that haunts you for life. One edge of that sword is that you feel guilty for surviving in the first place, you wish that you could trade places with your buddies (especially with the younger soldiers you were in charge of), and it's exceedingly painful the amount of guilt you feel when you see their families afterwards. The other edge gets you when you think "What would happen to my family if it had been me? How much pain would I have caused my parents, wife, kids? How can I look his parents in the eye knowing that I failed to bring their kid back home safe?

[@bartterp88]

"This one is going to make me cry" -Band of Brothers checks in*

[@cheddarandsourcream]

Just the theme song for that show makes me feel all sorts of emotions

[@Skege1000]

Enter Schindler's List

[@Masterfighterx]

@double endemnity I haven't seen anything similar, and even then it's good. Only let down for me is when the German tanks roll up and they're not actual German tanks.. Only very few of them are, just as in SPR.

[@ronweber1402]

@double endemnity You are an opinion of one it would seem. I have never heard anyone shit on BoB, until you, that is.

[@SSIronHeart]

@double endemnity your entitled to your wrong opinion...

[@merchillio]

0:25 “Was it worth it?” Extremely , yes. What a nice boi!

[@seanlittle2302]

Natalie please promise you will never watch a movie on your phone again. Of all the movies to do that with, it is legit heartbreaking that you saw Saving Private Ryan this way. You are one of my favorite reactors I love your content!!

[@CitizenPerkins]

Yep, I think she should have waited until she had a proper screening. If your room isn't showering you with ricochet sounds from the landing scene -- you're not watching this movie properly, IMO. Whereas I had the pleasure of watching this on a massive theater screen when it came out.

[@DavidBennet]

Heartbreaking lol. Little bit of a drama queen, aren't you?

[@seanlittle2302]

@@DavidBennet Oh for sure

[@DavidBennet]

@@seanlittle2302 At least you can admit lol. Might want to work on that though

[@CaptainYeet16]

Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg also helped in the production of the miniseries Band Of Brothers. It is only 10 episodes long and its about a company of the 101st airborne and their experiences in WW2. Its an absolute masterpiece and I really think you will like it!

[@rbloomquist69]

Definitely an absolute watch, also The Pacific!

[@maverick8697]

The company from Band Of Brothers is from 506 parachute infantry regiment. Same as Ryan.

[@ixaltedgaming7188]

I could not recommend Band of Brothers enough.

[@RDRussell2]

Agreed. Band of Brothers is a masterpiece! I have watched it every 3-4 years or so since it first came out. And yes, The Pacific is very worthy as well. Veteran's Day is coming up, and that's why I chose to watch this reaction. Band of Brothers & The Pacific do very well to honor our veterans, too, perhaps even more so.

[@rolandcooke]

The 20th anniversary official podcast series is excellent.

[@mycroft16]

The moments that feel overly sentimental are for a reason. Spielberg has a VERY short amount of time to get you to understand how close the men in a unit got. They told their lives to each other as they walked, or sat, or tried to sleep. The knew each other better than just about anyone. Old girlfriends, fears, everything. But the movie doesn't have a week or a month or years to get you to that point with the characters. He has minutes to create this for each character so he lays it on thick. It works because you very quickly care for each one of them. Very few war movies are as good as this one is at going from serene and peaceful, beautiful moments, to gut wrenching full horror of war in a single breath.

[@dturasky19]

ive NEVER heard that criticism before. Overly sentimental???

[@joelwillis2043]

@@dturasky19 It is a common critique of Spielberg.

[@mikehunt69981]

@@joelwillis2043 he's making movies, they are supposed to be sentimental. I don't think "overly-sentimental" is a term that accurately describes Spielberg's movies. I think he hits the perfect amount of sentimentality. I would characterize something like X Men: Dark Phoenix as overly-sentimental with the whole "My emotions make me strong" bullshit lol.

[@joelwillis2043]

@@mikehunt69981 Thanks for your opinion. I reject the hypothesis that movies need to be sentimental.

[@ajalvarez3111]

@@joelwillis2043 Thanks for your opinion, but who said movies “HAD” to be sentimental? It’s pretty clear Spielberg knows how to make movies that sell and that literally billions of people have enjoyed watching them. Of course people are allowed to be critical if they like, but that doesn’t make their opinions right...or interesting.

[@timetheous]

I saw this movie in an IMAX theater when it came out ... it left me an emotional wreck ... watching it on your phone just doesn't do it justice.

[@TimedRevolver]

It tore her up on a phone. When she does see it on a TV, she's going to be very not okay.

[@cesarnarro6013]

When this movie showed in theatre's many WWII veterans couldn't watch the opening scene and would walk out. So realistic it brought back painful memories

[@ericmitchell5350]

The sound engineering in six channel stereo and viewed in an imax theater is the only appropriate way to really appreciate this film

[@GRONDBERG]

I couldn’t think of a worse way to experience this film for the first time than watching it on a phone screen. At least some degree of its impact and resonance comes through.

[@Thorion1969]

Saving Private Ryan was one of the greatest films I ever saw, and one of the most intense theatrical experiences of my lifetime. I literally felt pushed back in my seat by a great weight until it was over. Steven Spielberg totally re-invented the look and feel of war movies with this one; all of them since have followed his example with the style created in this movie.

[@dud5606]

"Fun" fact, the two men who surrendered and got executed by the americans at the end of the first sequence were screaming: “Please don’t shoot me! I am not German, I am Czech, I didn’t kill anyone! I am Czech!"

[@brotherkhrayn3525]

Yep. They were drafted by the Germans and didn’t want to be there

[@CommissarSam]

I love this detail that a majority of people don't know about.

[@awesomefanger]

The Germans “conscripted” Eastern Europeans and put them on the Atlantic sea wall. They also conscripted Frenchmen and put them on the eastern front.

[@witchking8497]

Aye both sad and historically accurate...or use Russian (recruited out of POW/Death Camps), Belgian, etc, etc

[@Linerunner99]

It's an amazing detail that Spielberg put in that the vast majority of viewers wouldn't even understand but those that do get to reveal.

[@rx7dude2006]

I never for once thought those scenes were "overly sentimental".

[@Lightningrod75]

I had some issues with that as well. Definitely not my go to movie for a good cry.

[@MiguelStinson88]

Me neither... it's about an extreme life or death situation. Ofc you'd reevaluate a lot! Some people get emotional, some freeze up. I loved that movie watching it the first time.

[@dennispanko6311]

@@Lightningrod75 Depends on the scene, but old Ryan always gets me. "Tell me I've lived a good life. Tell me I'm a good man."

[@blacksheep_edge1412]

Yeah, but the ending when the old man begs his wife to tell him he's a good man breaks me. Every time. But maybe that's just because I'm a veteran, and an old sentimental fool.

[@Lightningrod75]

@@dennispanko6311 To clarify, it's the 'overly' I had a problem with, not the sentimental. This is a perfect movie to me and not overdone in any aspect.

[@GettinAuld]

I can't believe she watched this on her phone. This is one of the best movies of the 20th century. I love Nat but this film deserves better.

[@Johnny_Socko]

Yeah, as a subscriber I'd be fine with waiting an extra couple of days for the upload, if it means she doesn't have to watch an epic film on a 6-inch screen.

[@GettinAuld]

Yep. This would have been a good one to say "I'll wait till I get my setup working"

[@sandercohen3309]

Yeah, imagine not recognizing that Tom Hanks character got shot (and the fact that the got shot by Steamboat Willie)

[@danholmesfilm]

disaster -_-

[@judevenalian5008]

Yeah, I watched it twice in the theater and have watched it a half dozen more times since.

[@derpherbert3199]

Wow, feels like I had more pent up to say about this movie than I thought I had. Tl;dr: This shit hurts. So my perspective on this movie changed a few times over the years. From hating the gratuitous violence to admiring the authenticity to hating the cinematography&storytelling to loving it.. I was born in Germany in '93 and tried watching this movie for the first time when i was about 14-15 yrs old. By that time, I had studied WW2 history in school for about one and a half years, we had had school trips to 2 different concentration camp memorial sites, an uncountable number of holocaust museum visits and a fair share of tours with ppl who had witnessed the war first hand. Since my first language in school was French, we did an exchange program to France in grade 7 and one of our day trips was a tour where we were guided through one of the villages where the German army had carried out a so-called "vengeance-action" (kill as many civilians as possible) by the only remaining survivor. Essentially, the orders for retreating troops were to murder the entire village while using as little resources as possible. They rounded up 500 women and children in the town church, then blew the roof so it collapsed in on them. One woman managed to climb out of a church window but the screams of her newborn baby gave her away so they were both shot 5 seconds after escaping the church. All males over 14 yrs old were rounded up in a barn and then executed by a soldier on a machine gun who was eating sugar cubes up until seconds before opening fire, as the guide told us. The survivor escaped by hiding under his friend's corpse, he said he was lucky he'd been "only shot 4 times in non lethal places". There's a cemetery and a crypt next to the ruins of the town, in which the victims' remains of this atrocity are enshrined. It's just ash and unidentifiable bones of the victims. I know now, that my feelings of unutterable disgust for fascism and WW2 come from trauma. Knowing I was traumatized, I'm still not sure how to educate a teenager on what their great-grandparents did without traumatizing them (i.e. whitewashing the horrors), honestly. What I'm getting at is this: I was and possibly still am too emotionally invested in the story for my own good. It took a few years for me to feel sympathy with anyone on a battlefield, not just the "good guys". I know many Americans wonder if Germans feel pride for their ancestors.. I don't think I'll ever feel that way. My great grandfather died a hundred miles from Berlin as cannon fodder 2 weeks before the war was over at the age of 24, leaving behind a pregnant wife and an infant daughter who'd one day be my mother's mother. In my eyes his fate was sealed by not deserting when the war was young and I have to conclude he didn't act in anyone's interest but Hitler's by laying down his life at a point the war had already been lost for months, arguably years. I feel about him the same way I feel about most of the German soldiers depicted here: They MAY just be victims of their circumstances of being born in Germany under conscription. But enough ppl drank the nazi kool-aid to create the world they lived in back then, and that I will and cannot forgive, ever. BTW, my dad is English and his father worked on radio&radar installations in Tunisia and Egypt, northern Africa from the age of 19. Imagine my grandparents meeting each other for the first time o.O Yes, there used to be a language barrier which doesn't help reconciling the past at all. Many comments talk about the invisible weight they felt on their chest throughout the movie and even though I feel somewhat similarly, I can't describe that feeling from back then as vaguely as "weight". From the very beginning of the movie, it felt like a truckload of anvils on every square centimetre of my body, emotionally excruciating. Back then at age 14-15, I HAD to stop watching after the flame thrower scene and had wanted to stop many times before I eventually did. Yes, the gruesomeness of disemboweled soldiers bleeding out on the beach didn't help, neither did Spielberg's repeated "He wants to help... oops, he dead now" motive on the beach. I eventually watched it again some years later (under protest) bc I was convinced by my friends I had played enough Call of Duty to not be as emotionally scarred by the display of machine guns firing into packed landing boats. they were partly right, but that scene and the utter inhumanity of war still haunts me today. If you know anything about post war Germany and the unambiguous disdain and horror for the WWs and fascism I've been brought up in, you'd CERTAINLY expect there was no love lost for my compatriots. Or put another way: The look of nazi uniforms, bunkers on beaches, machine gun positions and concentration camps turns my stomach so violently, I used to have to be alone for a few minutes bc I had to reconcile my great grandfather's generations actions with the world I get to live in today. It feels a bit like mix of panic attack, unspeakable rage and imposter syndrome. I'm happy to say revisiting this isn't like fingers on a chalk board but it's not a walk in the park, either... Now that I'm older, I can see more clearly the horrors both sides had to endure and I wouldn't put that kind of suffering upon anyone except the upper echelons of the nazi party in some self serving sense of administering karma, like: "you created the horror, now die by it". So in the end, this movie helped me get over my feeling of helpless rage. Well done and much love to anyone making it through my TED talk

[@scotth3276]

omg Natalie, I can't believe Tyler let you watch this ON YOUR FREAKING PHONE. it's bad enough you watch movies for the first time on a laptop/desktop monitor, but this is unforgivable. i feel so terribly sad for you.

[@MiguelStinson88]

Does she even have good sound? Does she use headphones at least? Good sound is as important as a big screen imo.

[@scotth3276]

@@MiguelStinson88 Agreed about the audio being important, and Natalie wears ear buds. But watching this movie on a big screen using the TV speakers is more acceptable than watching it on her phone with surround sound. The lesser of the two evils.

[@MiguelStinson88]

@@scotth3276 I disagree on this one. I'd rather watch stuff on my phone (got a relatively big screen) and good audio than on my big tv with crappie audio. It wasn't always like that... but good audio got more important to me over time^^

[@MiguelStinson88]

I mean, I can have my phone waaay closer to me than she did. It can easily be bigger compared to distance than my tv.

[@saturninhabitant]

@@MiguelStinson88, not this movie.

[@JeffKelly03]

Fun fact: Matt Damon's monologue about his brothers was (reportedly) completely improvised on the spot.

[@junethanoschurchill6750]

I think it was confirmed!

[@pdex2165]

It was. As was Tom Hanks' reaction. :)

[@nurseshrek]

“Dear madam, I have been shown in the files of the War Department, a statement by the adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are to mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be, any word of mine that would attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved, and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have lain so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. Your very sincerely and respectfully, Abraham Lincoln.

[@sullyway51]

And lets not forget the 5 Sullivan brothers who served together on one ship that was sunk in the Atlantic during WWII.

[@gregorbegger9291]

Boy is alive. We’re going to send somebody to find him. And we’re going to get him the hell out of there.

[@nurseshrek]

@Heather Stephens I have no doubt that it was of no comfort at all. These words, however supportive and praising they may be, were written by a man who, despite being an obviously gifted leader, never fought in a battle a day in his life. I have no doubt he believed the words as he wrote them, but he had no personal reference as to the horrors of battle. Also, from a cold and practical perspective, if leaders didn’t convince young men that it was glorious to die in defense of their country, there would be no armies to defend those countries. There is no glory in war, only cold and bloody necessity.

[@nurseshrek]

@Heather Stephens I doubt she knew what assuage meant either, however it was a different time, and plain speaking and upfront conversation were not expected from the educated, especially the president.

[@mr.narwhal9034]

@@sullyway51 in the Pacific. It was the USS Atlanta. It sank during the battle of Guadalcanal.

[@jimclarke1380]

Lots of people miss the part at the beginning where they shoot the two guys surrendering at the beach in Normandy they aren't speaking German. They are actually speaking Czech and are saying. “Please don't shoot me! I am not German, I am Czech, I didn't kill anyone! I am Czech!"

[@DavidBennet]

I guarantee you missed that part when you first watched it. But good for you for being able to read IMDB trivia.

[@jimclarke1380]

@@DavidBennet your half right. I dong understand Czeck but my house mate is Czech so she told me what they said.

[@bw3240]

Looking at his wife, "Tell me I have led a good life." This moment rips me to my soul, every single time.

[@sullyway51]

Me too......... As many times as I have watched this, my throat gets tight and my eyes get blurry at the ending.

[@marinewillis1202]

As a Jarhead it breaks me up also. Tell me I am a good man. Heart wrenching

[@marinewillis1202]

That and when the mom falls down getting the news.

[@antarfodoh]

It'll be a bit of a journey, but I highly recommend Band Of Brothers. I'm over simplifying here to avoid spoilers, but after shooting this movie, Spielberg and Hanks took all they learned and shot a 10hr NON-fictional version following a group of soldiers through the whole war.

[@lukeskywalker6809]

Natalie, you NEVER EVER watch a movie like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN on a phone.

[@jamesprins9735]

Agreed, but also pls stop throwing lightsabers off islands.

[@zairman]

@@jamesprins9735 Luckily, it was still there on the edge. :P

[@lukeskywalker6809]

@@jamesprins9735 It wasn't me, but my evil step brother, Jake.

[@magicjuiceyt6650]

For what it’s a fucking movie and she watched it chill ouy

[@DP-eo5xd]

Chill out bruh she’s watching it how she wants. Go get a vaccine shot now

[@wakebacon8301]

That one shot in the Church where they were getting sleep was to show "Capt Miller" watching over his men, showing the fatherly concern that comes with Leadership. I love this movie, Steven Spielberg was put on earth to be a Story Teller.

[@Entrepid83]

Natalie: "They want to see you!"..."Your paws are dirty and wet." Dog: "I tried to warn you in my own doggy way."

[@theaterofsouls]

hahahaha

[@handlink75]

" I was having issues with my laptop so I decided to watch this movie (SAVING PRIVATE RYAN) on my PHONE..." ~facepalm~

[@abeclark524]

Natalie: "I like this guy", everyone else: "Well at least 1 person does"

[@MichaelScheele]

Exactly. He cost his squad mates their lives.

[@Tom_McMurtry]

He had ethics, but just not a battle sense. Got dragged into something he was unprepared to carry. i think of it more like it's another tragedy, but it's not on him.

[@ppunion]

When Natalie said that Tom was going to survive in the beginning of the movie, I had a "Oh honey..." moment.

[@justdoddy2123]

You got to watch the band of brothers mini series, its alot like this.

[@canadensiscastor]

BoB - "Why we fight" - omg - she'll die... I die every time I watch it and it's nowhere as close to home...

[@davididiart5934]

@@canadensiscastor I think I watch that once a year, and it's never lost the ability to utterly shatter my heart.

[@aikighost]

Its much more true to life. A classic TV show. Id also love to see Nats reaction to the episode "Why we fight".

[@strongereveryday8]

This

[@BullRoarer_]

Personally feel it’s better than SPR

[@ijustlivehere15]

one of the best movies of our lifetime.....and she watches it on her phone.

[@dirus3142]

Could be worse. She could watch First Man on her Iphone.

[@Orangeflava]

@@dirus3142 or galaxy

[@christopherramirez9051]

😂

[@merloaf0332]

@@Orangeflava or Moon

[@t.g.9782]

i remember in theaters it sounded like the tanks were comin right behind me ...🇺🇸☝🏼

[@inspectahdex]

Glad we got to watch this with you, but man is it a bummer to know you had to watch it for the first time on the smallest screen you had. The film is so grand in its scale it really deserves the biggest screen you can use

[@kalicom2937]

I saw it on first release in the cinema. I came out saying to myself "It can't be that bad. Surely it's not that bad. It's that bad, isn't it?. It CAN'T be that bad". Knowing it was worse. The beach scenes left a permanent mark on me. I think this movie should be mandatory viewing for all students at the age of 14 or 15. At the local cinema. On the biggest screen possible.

[@Ultimateutfan316]

Me and my Apple coworkers love your reactions, very authentic.Not sure if someone already posted this but around 15:24 when you thought it was the guy who went left, that person was the sniper Jackson, the person who died was their medic Wade

[@Vyan00]

The first "Private Ryan" they find, who turns out not to be the right Ryan, is played by Nathan Fillion the same actor who is Mal on Firefly.

[@DEFKNIGHT]

He also play the lead on Castle , currently off air and the lead on The Rookie currently a running series. A very good actor!

[@drewblack9054]

Nathan Fillion also played a small part in another terrific movie that came out just one year after "Saving Private Ryan". The title is "Blast from the Past" starring Brendan Frazier and Alicia Silverstone. Nathan's character is Cliff, who is Alicia's ex-boyfriend. I saw both films in the theater. 10 years later becoming a fan of "Castle" in it's early seasons, (I wasn't introduced to "Firefly" until 2016, even though that show preceded "Castle"}. I recognized Nathan in the small roles in both films, years later after one of the many rewatches, since I own both films.

[@PatrickBoyda]

Btw -- the first "Ryan" they find is Nathan Fillion

[@gzaq]

yeah, Captain Mal from Firefly :)

[@Riddler0603]

Dude, are you kidding me!? I watched this movie several times and I never noticed that this guy is Nathan Fillion 😮

[@bradmiller3367]

Shiny!

[@fritzkaraldo8452]

Castle!!!

[@soulsimplistic]

I was so surprised that she did not recognize him

[@Revenant-oq9ts]

What makes me cry: this lost in the Oscars.

[@aarons4376]

To Shakespeare in Love, of all things

[@tbirdUCW6ReAJ]

I know. Fucking Shakespeare in Love. Such bullshit.

[@dirus3142]

THe production value is some of the best you will see in a war movie. However the script was Hollywood melodrama crap. I do not think this was worth being best picture.

[@Revenant-oq9ts]

@@dirus3142 Alright, Shakespeare In Love, Saving Private Ryan, Thin Red Line, Life is Beautiful and Elizabeth... which one would you have picked? Cuz it definitely wasn't gonna be Shakespeare in Love.

[@timothybuchanan662]

In the beginning during the office scene you hear them mention " the Sullivan brothers" there were 5 all died on the same ship. They were from Waterloo Iowa.

[@butchyshoe]

Find the movie "The fighting Sullivans" old black & white movie. It's a heart braker !!!

[@TheBTG88]

Spielberg made this film as a love letter to his Dad, a WW2 vet who was still alive when he made the film. Hence, the sentimentality.

[@Tien1million]

I'm just going to ignore the fact that Natalie committed the sin of watching this beautiful movie on a phone.

[@roman0robert]

I'm....trying.....

[@ThePyroSquirrel1]

She watched this in a phone?

[@tristramcoffin926]

Watching Saving Private Ryan for the first time on a damn phone is a crime.

[@garykolb4550]

It didn’t come to me the first time I watched it, but I’m pretty sure Spielberg intended that Ryan stand in for all of us, who get to live safe, comfortable lives thanks to the sacrifices of the men who fought the war. We should feel gratitude. We should “earn this”.

[@styot]

Most war movies since have been heavily influenced by this one, but this was completely revolutionary when it came out.

[@sullyway51]

Especially Band of Brothers.

[@barisagalozu2287]

You need to watch "Come and See".

[@zaonth1414]

@@barisagalozu2287 oh man saw it a few months ago it's bloody brilliant

[@barisagalozu2287]

@@zaonth1414 that's a great horrific masterpiece.

[@TraynArt]

"I guess I'll watch this extremely cinematic film on my phone." Dude, there is a television right behind you.

[@libertatemadvocatus1797]

That might be a green screen.

[@Stumergeist]

And cant' make out any faces, gee I wonder why.

[@fenix6297]

There is a spoiler early in the movie that tells you the Old Man is Ryan. He's wearing a Screaming Eagles Pin of the 101st Airborne....Ryan is the only major character who was with that unit, the rest were all Rangers.

[@Buskieboy]

The last couple of minutes makes me cry my eyes out. When he asked his wife to tell him he was a good man, that he lead a good life. Wow. So powerful. Poor Ryan with that guilt around his heart for 70+ years!

[@Lady_Vengeance]

Did you really watch one of the most impactful, cinematic film experiences of all-time on your phone 😦🤦🏼‍♂️

[@gamingguzman]

I watch everything on my phone

[@USMCplzzz]

Gross

[@troublewithweebles]

If you hold your phone close enough to your face, it will take up the same amount of your field of view as movie screen.

[@USMCplzzz]

@@troublewithweebles if you hold your ear right next to a firework as it goes off, you hear the full experience of the firework 😂

[@ramspaypal6052]

@@USMCplzzz it's called perspective

[@migoche]

Watching this movie on a phone screen... while there is a huge TV behind her... I don't want to live in this world anymore :(

[@dogman6687]

You watched this cinematic masterpiece.... on your phone?!? 😫 Say it aint so

[@jaronimo1976]

Probably a chromecast..

[@SWOLEX_1]

@@jaronimo1976 nope, it was on her phone

[@pierreandre5678]

How do you want to watch it? Blu-ray? With a 4k TV? Personally I don't have the money for it, and I think I'm not alone.

[@dogman6687]

@@pierreandre5678dude she has a tv right behind her lol. Im not saying you need the buy the best tv to watch it. a phone screen is just so small you cant really take in and appreciate the cinematography as much

[@pierreandre5678]

@@dogman6687 I agree, a phone screen is small, but personally it's 1000 times better than my computer's screen LoL😂

[@rynepaschall5973]

Tom Sizemore as we all know struggled with drug addiction, especially during this film. Spielberg caught wind of it and told Sizemore “you got two options, 1. We drug test you everyday from here on out or 2. I will reshoot every scene with you in it with another actor”. He gave a career performance and stayed clean thru the rest of the shoot. It’s so sad he couldn’t stay clean afterwards

[@KevyNova]

“Was it worth it?” I’d give ANYTHING to get muddy pants from my dog again. 😢

[@rooneyrythm]

RIP

[@XanthosAcanthus]

I wasn't planning on crying today.

[@wfly81]

So sorry.

[@Quixotic1018]

Hard same

[@maddwitch]

Mine passed this last weekend. I was not ready for this comment.

[@drknight48]

As an Army Veteran, I have a bunch of war movies I like to rewatch, this is on the top of the list every year. I even met the actor who played the "old" Ryan when I was on Flag detail while I was apart of the ceremonies of the 60th anniversary of D-Day after coming back from Iraq.

[@tbirdUCW6ReAJ]

Sweet! He got to be in a few other movies I’ve seen too. Played that part beautifully.

[@TarnishUK]

A little trivia for those that didn't spot him is the "Wrong" Ryan is Nathan Fillion from Firefly & Castle. As I've got older and become a parent I find it harder to watch this film without getting emotional especially when Wade dies, Giovanni Ribisi got that perfect, "I wanna go home, I wanna go home". You must have got FUBAR by now?! :o)

[@ajclements4627]

I didn’t catch it until this review, I’ve seen this film a zillion times and never noticed it!

[@cpob2013]

I guess it was before he broke out

[@eddyasher4772]

FUBAR = Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition This movie honestly hits me super hard everytime.

[@jeffolsen6970]

It is so perfect how the movie shows Upham getting his first kill as a moment of triumph but in reality it is a moment of tragedy. Here is a man who has officially just lost everything he believes in. Perfectly crafted scene.

[@5353Jumper]

Likely the only shot he fires in the entire war. Killing a surrendering prisoner and his big regret is not doing it sooner. The man who's life he saved killed at least two of his friends so he kills him the second time and at that moment loses all his youth and formal moral compass.

[@Jitterzz]

Plus it’s unfortunate that the man didn’t jump in to save his comrade in action but felt the need to commit a war crime by killing surrendering prisoners. It would have been a better choice to have him take the guy out for shooting Tom Hanks during the fight.

[@RashaKahn]

@@5353Jumper no the guy who knifed the other soldier is not the same guy who they let go, that guy was the one who shot Hanks character. Either way Upham can still go screw himself, even today.

[@pdex2165]

Upham gets a lot of hate from most, me included, but I think Spielberg uses his character as a representative of the "civilian" perspective, the one who has never seen combat trying to apply civilized morality ("this isn't right!") to war, a situation where morality and applying those civilized principles are totally thrown out the window because those rules do not apply in war. And trying to apply them will often get you, or others, killed.

[@ItsMe-ib1xt]

@El Vato we do get it dude, him not being able to kill that guy meant his men got killed. But the whole point of the character is to try and apply a perspective where people believe that killing others is wrong which it obviously is, but in a war setting obv it goes out the window. Him reacting to being overwhelmed and scared in that situation isn’t unrealistic man, it’s wrong of you to judge this character’s representation of people in that moment because you don’t know how you’d react in that setting and scenario, when millions of others have and I guarantee that men who were in this war would be offended by your lack of empathy for who this character represents. But hey it’s the internet and people don’t really care about yours or my opinion so whatever I guess

[@rsolsjo]

A little tip about renting on KZbin: if you rent it on your phone and start playing it, you can then access it from your KZbin history on any device.

[@ACey96]

or on your purchase list on any device you do not need to start it

[@eddiemaxofandor4973]

Check out “Band of Brothers” series

[@codyrobert3829]

Facts

[@daxriley8195]

Can't recommend this series highly enough. It is one of the most exceptional pieces of drama ever made. Let me know before Nat watches it though, I wanna buy some shares in the company that makes her tissues!

[@Marginwalker1972]

One of the best series ever!

[@Klerik131]

Hi Ho silver!

[@y3ldarb2]

Yes!!

[@rclayton80]

This movie is a masterpiece of a film. The message the captain leaves with Ryan "earn this", is a message for all of us. A reminder to never forget what those boys did and to live a life worthy of their sacrifice.

[@donwild50]

As for the elder Ryan standing at the gravesite at the end and asking his wife if he was a good man...if those men did not save him, that whole family would not exist. The irony of war. The earlier scene where Hanks tells the men what his job was and how he felt further from his wife every time he killed...and where the Sergeant says "Maybe saving Private Ryan will be the only good thing we remember"...that's what you contemplate after the movie and realize how the whole thing meshed; every incident lead to this. BTW, the Saving Private Ryan scenario was based on an actual incident on D-Day when the Niland brothers experienced the same thing. Two of them dropped into Normandy with the 82nd and the 101st Airborne. The one brother who survived was really pulled out of combat and sent home after his brothers had died. It's mentioned in Steven Ambrose's book "Band of Brothers," that was the basis of Hanks' later miniseries by the same name.

[@toob1979]

I heard this was based very loosely on the story of the Sullivan brothers. Five brothers -- George, Frank, Joe, Matt and Al -- all served together aboard the _USS Juneau._ All five died when the _Juneau_ was sunk in early November 1942, leaving their sister, Genevieve, as the lone surviving sibling. Their story, along with the story of the Borgstrom brothers and the Nilands, led to the adoption of the Sole Survivor Policy.

[@maddwitch]

@@toob1979 According to The History Channel, it was based on Frederick Niland's story. The Sullivan brothers died before the Niland brothers and it was their deaths that prompted the Sole Survivor policy which lead to Niland being sent home. Although it turned out that one of his three brothers didn't die, his plane was shot down and he was held as a POW in Burma. He made it home before the end of the war.

[@VitoScaletta1951]

The dday scene is the most accurate portray of dday in any film. Veterans say everything about it was accurate besides the smell. Some veterans also couldn’t watch it in theaters because of PTSD. Great movie, rip to all of our hero’s.

[@W0NK042]

Other than the lack of people of colour, it is.

[@HumanPhilosopherPatriot]

@@W0NK042 White people were the majority back then. Isn't surprising. Also, other races were in their own units. Like the red tails and the unit full of Japanese Americans.

[@lasttemplar3836]

@@HumanPhilosopherPatriot Tuskegee Airmen, who in escorting bombers never lost a single one of their charges, and the 442 Combat Regiment

[@Native_Creation]

Absolutely, I remember hearing this when the movie came out, it was too much for them to relive. My grandfather used to tell me about the Pacific campaign, and the Pacific series is about as close as it gets.

[@beefjezos2713]

Since you’re interested in the Holocaust, maybe you’d appreciate this: at the beginning when they are storming the beach, they show two “germans” attempting to surrender before they’re shot by Americans anyway. I don’t remember their specific nationality, but it turns out they were in fact not speaking German but speaking their native language, basically saying “we are not German, we were captured and forced to fight” which was true, the nazis conscripted soldiers from the towns they invaded all over Europe and forced them to fight for Germany, which many would choose to do over being sent to a concentration camp. I figured you would be interested based on your reaction to the German soldier after the radar array fight.

[@libertatemadvocatus1797]

They were Czech.

[@mareks7129]

They were Czech and they told “We didnt kill anyone”

[@SolidAvenger1290]

Thank you for sharing your first-time reaction to watching this movie. Two years after this great film came out, my grandfather passed away from cancer in 2000. He enlisted in 1942 & served in the 5th Ranger Battalion that trained in Tennesee & eventually shipped out to Britain in late 1943/early 1944. Trained in the Highlands of Scotland in early 1944 alongside his fellow Rangers before D-Day. On June 6th, 1944, he subsequently climbed the cliffs of Point du Hoc. He had to carry his BAR into battle in rough terrain under heavy fire, search & eventually destroy the German Howitzers that greatly saved thousands of his fellow countrymen on the beaches. As history goes, the Rangers had to traverse miles of the French countryside for the repositioned guns after hours of naval & air bombardment prior to the invasion forced the Germans back from Point du Hoc. My grandfather was one man out of 75 men (out of 225 Rangers, 67% of the unit were wounded or killed) who was able to reach the top of Point du Hoc & keep on fighting beyond the Longest Day. Played a part of Operation Cobra in the breakout out of Normandy. Into the battle of Saint-Lo in July 1944, he got wounded when a piece of mortar shrapnel hit his leg (from his calf to above his ankle) & took him out of action. The 29th Infantry Battalion alongside another American division with small groups of Army Rangers took massive losses from German artillery destroying the town. My grandfather would have met his end at Saint-Lo, but thankfully he had a guardian angel over him. Over the years, I was told by my father & my aunt that after he got wounded, my grandfather was saved by a Sherman Tank Crew from the 747th Independent tank division that came to support the 29th Infantry division to take ruins of Saint-Lo & were attempting to gather all the wounded GIs during the course of the battle. It's still very unclear how many were saved on that day alongside my grandfather, but as a result of them saving lives, the Sherman Tank Commander was the only casualty while gathering up the wounded men under heavy fire. Due to their courageous actions, my grandfather lived, was able to go home to raise a family, & eventually serve as a police officer/sergeant for nearly 25 years until he retired in 1978. He got the Bronze Star for his heroic actions on D-Day & 2 Purple Hearts in the Fall of 1944. In both civilian life & his long days in law enforcement, he had to take small amounts of morphine (inside a capsule attached to a sliver neck chain around his neck) every day due to the wounds he received in the war until his last days on this earth. A reminder of the sacrifices he made in the defense of America, her people & the liberation of Europe. Like everyone else who first watched the movie, I began to truly understand & greatly appreciate the sacrifices my grandfather & the millions of soldiers made in WWII. That includes the common German Soldier (non-SS/Nazi) who fought not for Hitler, but for their family & their country. This film will always be one of my favorite films about WWII despite some of its flaws. I always got emotional at the end of the film when Miller tells Ryan that "Earn this" & it cuts to Ryan asking his wife if he was a good man. My grandfather never ever saw Saving Private Ryan in the last years of his life (did like the movie The Longest Day), but like most veterans, he would have attempted to avoid seeing the horrors of war again. I was immensely grateful to have known him before his passing & I am proud to be his grandson. His story is what I like to share with those who first watch & react to this movie on KZbin because we take our lives now for granted that the Greatest Generation including my grandfather made the ultimate sacrifice for us.

[@SolidAvenger1290]

@@YourInASoulTrap oh look an ungrateful little troll who wants nothing other than to utterly disrespect those who fought in WWII and look for fame. Bless your heart. Typical ignorance and bias, especially for those of this current new generation. My grandfather's story was genuinely common with millions of others who fought for their nation and their loved ones. The very idea you "don't give a shit" shows the kind of human that you are in regards to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. You basically insult everyone who wants to express their loved ones' stories during that chaotic era. Show some fracking respect for those who do share these kinds of WWII stories and the heroes who fought on both sides of the conflict. I don't seek popularity or tons of views, but to share the story of an American hero. But you are the one seeking attention either because you are jealous or simply got nothing better to do than troll others. You spit on the graves of every person who fought in that war. They were better human beings than you are and that's why they were called the Greatest Generation. I am laughing back at your incompetence and blind disregard of humanity, but I won't waste any more of my breath on you. Instead, I'll leave you with a string of a quote from A Few Good Men "We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline.....I would rather you just said thank you and went on your way.....I don't give a damn what you think...."" - Colonel Jessup

[@garretthenderson5738]

The first James Ryan was an insanely young Nathan Fillion... Mal from Firefly

[@TehPhysics]

Luv you Nat, but as soon you said you were watching this cinematic masterpiece on your phone. . . I'm out. No thumbs down or any of that, but you had a television right behind you. It's like going to a museum and looking at all the paintings through a keyhole. ah well, looking forward to the next reaction.

[@danholmesfilm]

I paused it and had to take a breather after I heard that. Literally thought she was joking at first. Eventually convinced myself to power through. I will not tolerate this again though geez.

[@Melancthon7332]

Yeah, it was a good reaction ultimately, but damn, it's legitimately horrible to think of watching movies like this on a phone. Part of me wants to downvote just on principle alone. What ultimately makes me sad is that so many people have so devalued the cinematic experience that even smart, appreciative people like Nat think things like this are okay.

[@danholmesfilm]

@@Melancthon7332 so sad, thinking of starting my own reaction channel just to show people the importance of it all lol

[@dakritic]

Totally agree. She should have waited another day.

[@douglasstrother6584]

I saw this in the theatre when it was first released in 1998. Watch it with a good sound system: it will immerse you.

[@lazyperfectionist1]

"This Ryan better be worth it." This Ryan is the only member of his generation of the family still alive. If his family is going to have a future, it's going to be through him. Otherwise, WWII _took his family's entire future._

[@nicolelawless9942]

When he said that; I thought “He is worth it you idiot!” I was so mad

[@matthewgraham2619]

The guy that went left was the sniper. The guy that died was the medic.

[@exquisitelemonade3039]

They look alike. I knew who Giovanni Ribisi was in the 90s, so some of us wouldn't have been confused about it.

[@cs3473]

The school teacher speech is one of my favorite Tom Hanks acting moments. The US Military has a policy which forbids siblings serving in the same unit after all five Sullivan Brothers were killed when their ship (The USS Juneau) was sunk during the Battle of Guadalcanal.

[@kevinwheesysouthward9295]

My Dad was at Guadalcanal. He never spoke about any of his experiences, just the locations. The worst moment of my life was when my father was on his deathbed. He was crying uncontrollably (I had never seen him shed a tear before that). He was terrified and crying to Jesus, asking him to not send him to hell for the things he had to do in the war. For the record, my dad was the nicest, most humble, most honest man I ever knew. That was the day I went from being a closeted atheist to a militant one. I despise the fact that a great man was made to fear eternal punishment for being a hero.

[@theshermantanker7043]

@@kevinwheesysouthward9295 Whether god is real or not, I doubt Jesus would punish your father for something he had no control over, given he's supposed to be an all loving being

[@kevinwheesysouthward9295]

@@theshermantanker7043 all loving being? Have you read any of his books?

[@ryanbrooks8045]

Schindler's List probably needs to be on your list but it'd absolutely wreck you.

[@menotu000]

Yeah.... make sure to have a full box of tissues.

[@joekaput747]

@@menotu000 Maybe a pallet full

[@jkhoover]

She's already said that she can't do a reaction to Schindler's List. She doesn't want to break down that much in front of us.

[@mrs7195]

Yeah that is one of those movies you can watch all the way through only once and that is that.

[@joekaput747]

@@mrs7195 once every five or so years

[@joellytle8969]

I saw this in the theater when it first came out and there were a lot of veterans in the packed theater. The opening scene was jarring to everyone and even at that time I was thinking, "what's going through these guys minds?" When the movie was over I remember a lot of young family members fiercely hugging the "old guys" wearing their veterans caps. It was absolutely silent as people walked out of the theater.

[@OddThoughtz]

"I enjoy watching movies like this from time to time. I enjoy watching really well made films." Watched it on her phone. That is just disrespectful. LMAO

[@Waggers789]

I remember accidentally watching the opening sequence and a young teen and being so upset by what I saw I couldn’t watch the rest of the film until I was much older. This film, this cast, this story, this score is incredible. Probably one of the best war films out there. These stories are so important for every generation to learn from past mistakes.

[@BenjWarrant]

Oh, Nat! How soon they forget. There's Nathan Fillion acting his heart out as Private James Ryan - Minnesota - and you didn't even recognise him…

[@BobGnarley.]

I honestly think this film is so important educationally and historically. It's so vivid I remember young me watching this and WW2 seemed so distant, this brought it to life and I sat there in silence for the duration.

[@Cifer77]

Awesome reaction! Watching on a phone? Lol this is 100% why you didn't recognize so many faces. I feel like that would be ok in a comedy, but in a big epic war drama.... Overly sentimental? It's WAR! lol

[@sandercohen3309]

Yeah, phones are only acceptable for sitcoms, anime and other types of cartoons. Not big production movies and tv shows like this.

[@philging]

My buddy and I went to the American cemetery you see in the movie at Colleville-sur-Mer and then scattered the ashes of his father in law Jack on the Dog Green Section of Omaha Beach, where he had been on his 18th birthday in 1945 - we were there on June 6th 2018 which would have been Jack's 91st birthday.

[@neilgriffiths6427]

I've been to the US cemetery at Omaha Beach,. quiet, peaceful, immense, The gravestones there were dated anything up a month after D-Day, they came from so far, to a war they probably didn't want to be in or even understand fully, yet they sacrificed their lives at such young ages. Never to be forgotten.

[@thomasbeauchamp3781]

I saw the title and thought, "She's going to be wrecked in the first 15 minutes."

[@ariochiv]

Perhaps the most intense first 15 minutes of any movie.

[@davidfarinella129]

a ww2 veteran said in a movie theatre the opening scene was so accurate that the only thing missing was the smell of blood and gun powder and he could still smell both while watching the scene. thank you so much to all who serve and have served. thank you and god bless.