Let's Get This Straight

Rating: 10/10 (8 November 1999)

For those people who feel "Saving Private Ryan" was nothing but an excuse to put some gratuitous violence on screen, or feel that the violence was "over the top," I have just three words for you--Read Your History. Read Stephen Ambrose's book on D-Day (Ambrose just happened to be the historical consultant for the film), and you will learn exactly what bullets, mortars, grenades, etc. actually do to a human being. You'll discover that the violence that television and other movies have fed us for the last 20-30 years is a bunch of c**p.
And for those people who have been involved in war, then watch this film and claim that the violence is excessive and false, then obviously, your experiences in wartime didn't mirror those men who's accounts were used in the book mentioned above and in "Ryan." And they don't mirror those memories of countless men who saw this film and left the theater visibly shaken, because their story was finally told the way it should be.
Steven Spielberg was not trying to "Out-Gross" "Braveheart." He was attempting to open our eyes. And if he was successful, then maybe those truly gut-wrenching scenes would serve a noble purpose--if not "An end to war," then at least an end to the Romanticism of War. Which is, at least, a step in the right direction.
So "Shakespeare In Love" received the Oscar. Is it ever going to be referred to as " A National Monument?" I doubt it. "Saving Private Ryan" is still getting coverage that refers to it in those terms.
So, to sum up, before criticizing this movie based on its level of violence, try accumulating a little background before making such accusations.