This movie changes everything.

Rating: Null/10 (31 March 1999)

Just as the movies "2001" and "Star Wars" changed forever the expectations of movie goers for that genre, "Ryan" has changed what audiences expect from a combat movie. Even though the characters in the movie are made up, the units, equipment, and events are real. I had already read several of Stephen Ambrose's books about the European Theater of Operations (D-Day, Citizen Soldiers) before I saw the film. So when I heard about the "realistic" combat scenes, I had to see it. Spielberg said in an interview that there was a line he did not cross with the blood and gore. As gory as the movie was, I believe that he was correct. He could have made it much worse without departing from reality. The most important impact the movie may have is that it makes history interesting in the way Schindler's List did. I would love to see Spielberg take on other historic stories.