Corrected entry: During the Omaha Beach scene, the radio man lying next to Tom Hanks suffers a massive wound to his face, killing him. But there is no blood or gore at all, just a hole in his face. It is impossible to sustain this type of injury and have no blood present.
Corrected entry: In the German version the Americans are translated, so they speak German... but the Germans also speak German, yet they don't understand each other.
Correction: This is not a mistake, but an extremely common technique used to make viewing the film easier for speakers of a particular language and avoid the need for extensive subtitles. German viewers are expected to take it as a given that the American characters are actually speaking English to one another and that Upham is the only character that can actually speak and understand fluent German.
Makes me wonder how they explain "fubar" though.
I'm always curious how slang terms that are that specific are translated into other languages. Take it to the forums and see if anyone who speaks German can watch that version. I'd be curious to see the answer myself.
Corrected entry: When Captain Miller tells Jackson he wants him to be up in the bell tower you can see a tree in the background, complete with green leaves. With all those explosions around which destroyed all the buildings, any tree there would have got burnt, or at least all their leaves would have been blown off by the explosions. (01:54:00)
Correction: An explosion would sooner fell the tree than blow off the leaves, that's why a storm would fell a tree, because the leaves won't come off until autumn. That tree just got lucky.
Corrected entry: When Caparzo is shot by the sniper in the church the shot hits him in the front of his chest/lung, indicating the church is in front of them, but when Jackson sees the church the sniper is stationed in, it's behind them.
Correction: No, the shot hits him in his back and goes through his body, you see it exiting out his chest. He had his back to the church, facing the rest of the squad, when he is hit. There is no error in this scene.
Corrected entry: In the scene where the ATP is ambushed by the two groups of Americans we see Cpt. Miller take their right flank and kill three Germans trying to run for it. But watch as he shoots. The second he stops shooting an explosion goes off in the background 20 yards away. This can't happen with the gun he's firing (Thompson) because it doesn't shoot explosive rounds. In addition to the shooting, a German messed up by getting shot way after Cpt. Miller stopped shooting.
Correction: The explosion is caused by a bazooka in Ryan's group, not Miller's Thompson.
Correction: One of the airborne soldiers shot the 3rd German.
Corrected entry: When Mellish's gun gets jammed he doesn't fix his gun or do anything to it. When the Germans kill the Airborne soldier through the wall, they try to enter the room and Mellish shoots another shot, killing the first German.
Correction: When Henderson takes up his position with his Thompson you can hear an M1 Garand cycle. He cleared his jam off camera.
Corrected entry: After the taking of the beaches, and Miller returns for revised orders, the fleet in the background appears/disappears.
Correction: Watched the scene three times. There is no evidence of ships in the bay behind the actors.
Corrected entry: Contrary to what happens in the movie, commanders wouldn't have sent an army unit into enemy territory to save a single soldier. Some cities were still occupied, and heavily guarded by German military forces at the time in which the movie takes place, and commanders would have thought it would be too risky to send an army unit into enemy territory to save a single soldier. Instead, they would have had put the word out among troops to try to find private Ryan as they found each other after the air-drop out errors, and advanced inland.
Correction: This is not meant to be a true story based on true events. Only it's set around the events of D-Day and after. This is a fictional idea made into a story for heroics and therefore isn't a factual error. Artistic licences are taken into situations like this all the time in movies. If this was meant to be based on a true story, then this would be a factual error, but it's fantasy.
Not only would commanders not have sent into a unit into enemy territory to save one soldier, I don't believe it would make sense to send such a mission given the manpower, and resources that would be needed for such a mission.
This can be a factual error whether the movie is based on a true story or not. There are tons of fantasy films with factual errors.
The main thing is that it's a story and a movie, not a documentary. You are supposed to go with the drama. It is not a mistake if they do it intentionally (may be categorized into a "deliberate mistake" though). It is a fine line, but in this movie it's pretty obvious.
Continuity mistake: Right before Capazzo dies he holds up the letter, but it's in a zip-lock bag. After the sniper is killed the medic retrieves the soaking wet, unbagged letter.
Suggested correction: The letter is never in any bag, plastic or otherwise. It's always bare or else he wouldn't be worried if there is blood on it. Zip-lock bags weren't invented until the 1950's anyway.
Corrected entry: When they first enter the field hospital, look at the side of the glider. By the door, there is no dead body. When they come back, there is a body resting against the glider. Did a wounded man get up to die next to the glider? (01:11:10)
Corrected entry: In Newville when Caparzo is taking the girl he gives her his dog tags. When he dies, Capt. Miller takes his dog tags from his neck. He never got them back from the little girl.
Correction: Caparzo gives the Little girl rosary beads he had around his neck, not his dog tags.
Corrected entry: In Neuville just after Miller's group joined the other scattered soldiers, they try to get to the other side of the city. One of them tears down a wall with Germans hiding in the building. After screaming at each other, the Germans all get shot by others from above. Some moments after this shootout, you hear this very distinctive M1 Garand "pling" sound. This sound only is to be heard after the last shot has been fired and the clip is ejected automatically. Bang - pling. But in this scene there is no shot. If you unload manually, the pling will not sound.
Correction: If the only round left is in the chamber, and you pull the operating rod back, the round in the chamber is ejected as well as the empty clip, making the ping noise. No shots necessary.
Corrected entry: In the scene in the Pentagon between several officers and General Marshall, when the camera pans over Marshall's left shoulder towards the officers, you can see that the colonel, who was missing his left arm in earlier scenes, has it again; it's missing again in the next shot. It may be just that his sleeve's rolled down in the middle shot, but that's still an error. (00:34:00)
Correction: The officer lost his right arm. That sleeve of his jacket is hanging empty as the officers follow Gen. Marshall across the room. At the point where the mistake is supposed to happen the camera shoots an angle from behind Gen. Marshall left shoulder upon the one-armed officer. You see a bit of his sleeve, 6-8 inches. There is no indication it is filled or has changed from previous shot. You just do not see all of it.
Corrected entry: In the Ryan farmhouse scene, the camera pans across the room. You see a telephone hanging on the wall. That type of phone did not appear until at least the 1950s.
Correction: That is a Western Electric model #354 telephone, released in 1937, and remained popular for many years. That telephone is completely appropriate considering the era.
Corrected entry: During the battle of Ramelle, Private Jackson aims his rifle (at his own men) and although a gunshot sound effect is heard, his rifle does not recoil or flash. (02:16:05)
Correction: If you are referencing the scene with the Germans burning after the Molotov cocktail attack, you see an American on the ground shooting a burning German soldier. Jackson makes no effort to cycle the bolt on his rifle, therefore he didn't shoot. The American on the ground made the shot.
Corrected entry: Right after the medic dies, when the unit has killed the Germans except for the one they eventually let leave, one of the dead bodies is breathing.
Corrected entry: When they exit the beach and attack the big concrete bunker two grenades are thrown at the entrance some distance away but the explosion happens on the other side of the wall and not near the entrance at all.
Correction: They threw them and they missed. Same thing happens in baseball, a wild pitch, football an incomplete pass etc.The grenades they threw just simply didn't land where the throwers wanted them to land.
Correction: The grenades are thrown at the entrance to the bunker, to suggest they didn't land there is ludicrous, the explosion behind the wall was done for action and drama purposes only.
Revealing mistake: The shot of the eight members of the group is reused later in the film when there should only be seven.
Suggested correction: This is much too vague. Where is the repeated shot used?
Corrected entry: What Ryan said to Miller would not have been enough to convince Miller to let him stay behind. Military members can't just choose which orders to obey.
Correction: Doesn't matter if it would have, Miller decided to stay himself and keep him safe. Miller was ordered to get him home, but understands Ryan wanting to stay so he decided to stay too and help defend the bridge and keep Ryan alive at least. Even though it was an order it doesn't mean Miller doesn't or shouldn't take Ryan's opinion into consideration.
According to history buffs Fritz Niland the person which the movie is based on responded the way Ryan responds in the movie. Unlike private Ryan though Fritz had no chance of convincing the army otherwise because you can't just pick and choose the orders that were given. He was told that he had to go home and that was that.
Corrected entry: When the Waffen SS unit attacks the town at the end of the film (Ramelle), the Germans use "allied" tactics such as crowding behind a tank to enter the center of the town at a disadvantage by the tall buildings and rubble that inhibits quick forward thrusts. At this stage of the war, especially Waffen SS units (even if they may be replacement units - which I doubt) they would not be blindly led in such horrific maneuvers.
Correction: This assumes that the unit is competently led. At this stage of the defense of Normandy it is very likely that the unit is being led by a junior officer with little formal tactical experience. This is the Waffen SS...they aren't supermen and were the equivalent of Rangers or Airborne. It is also likely that the common ranks were made up of non German soldiers or standard or replacement infantry which would lead to such tactical errors.
Correction: The wound is immediately cauterized from the heat. Therefore, no bleeding. You notice the hole in the face smoking, so he was probably killed by a grenade or shell from a mortar.
lionhead