Factual error: After the soldiers' initial disembarkment they are shown crouching in groups near the shore and later running towards the bunkers. Unlike the movie shows, anything even as simple as crouching behind the tank traps, let alone actually standing up and running, was impossible at Dog Green Sector and indeed for anyone when pinned down by a machine gun from a high far-away position. In the real-life landing at Dog Green within 7-10 minutes all the officers of the landing company were dead and the survivors inert. They could do nothing except throw away all their equipment and slowly crawl up the beach, shielded from bullets by the incoming tide and dead bodies. 1 hour 40 minutes after landing twelve (known) survivors made it to the base of the cliffs. Only 2 had enough strength left to go on and fight with another group. (The second wave, apart from one boat which was almost entirely killed, opted to land elsewhere when they saw the fate of the first wave.) In this way the movie rather poorly represents what it meant to make a properly opposed landing on D-Day - although whether this is justified or not is another matter. (00:07:00 - 00:07:40)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Ending / spoiler
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Tom Sizemore, Barry Pepper, Edward Burns, Adam Goldberg
When Miller and his men find Ryan, he is dug in with his unit awaiting the German counter attack. Ryan refuses to leave his buddies and Miller and his men agree to fight with them. The Germans attack in overwhelming numbers and everyone fights valiantly except Upham who runs and hides. Of the men in the original platoon, Jackson gets blown up in the Bell Tower. Mellish has a fight with a German Soldier who after much struggling stabs Mellish to death. And Horvath gets shot numerous times and eventually dies. Miller gets shot trying to reach the remote to detonate the bridge. Reinforcements arrive just before he dies. Upham, Reiben and Ryan survive the battle. The old man we saw at the beginning in the war cemetery is Ryan, and he is there with his family to visit Miller's gravesite, the man who saved his life.
Private Reiben: I got a bad feeling about this one.
Captain Miller: When was the last time you felt good about anything?
Trivia: The pivotal role of "Minnesota Ryan", the Private Ryan that Captain Miller mistakes for the Private Ryan for whom he is searching, is played by a very young and, at the time quasi-unknown, Nathan Fillion.
Question: After Capt Miller gets briefed on his new mission to rescue Pvt Ryan and enlists Upham for the mission, there is a long shot of the beach. What are those Zeppelin-like things that are floating around, tied to the ground? What are they good for? (00:39:50)
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Answer: These were barrage balloons, commonly used during the war. They are used to stop low level bombing and low level fly bys by enemy fighter planes. The cables attached to the balloons are designed to cut through the wings of the aircraft and to bring them down, so any pilot would have to fly above them, and the balloons would also restrict the view from above.