Shakespeare in Love (1998) vs. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

[Hank Kingsley]

Honestly I only watched SiL once. It was a mostly harmless film that was sometimes charming and I like Gwen Paltrow as an actress, if not a person. SPR I have watched a few times but honestly SPR is way more in my personal wheel house. I watch lots of war movies over and over again. So while I prefer SPR that's more about personal preference than objective evaluation.

IMO, Spielberg used SPR to hone his war movie skill and enabled him to make maybe the best film ever made, Band of Brothers. Yes I know it is a mini series but it is still a film.

When I watch Private Ryan I find I lose interest once they are off the beach. Until then, rocket fuel.

 

[flyerhawk]

When I watch Private Ryan I find I lose interest once they are off the beach. Until then, rocket fuel.

Yeah. The beach scene was really incredible. The rest of the story was kinda meh. Historically speaking pretty suspect as well.

 

[Indrid Cold]

When I watch Private Ryan I find I lose interest once they are off the beach. Until then, rocket fuel.

Do you come when the Germans get flamed out of their pillboxes?
;^)

 

[Hank Kingsley]

Do you come when the Germans get flamed out of their pillboxes?
;^)

No.

I just think that is the best D Day landing scene I've seen.

And I watch it LOUD.

Closest I'll ever get to being in battle.

 

[Indrid Cold]

No.
I just think that is the best D Day landing scene I've seen.
And I watch it LOUD.
Closest I'll ever get to being in battle.

It is a good scene.

There is a museum near Wheaton IL for the Big Red 1 that focuses quite a bit on WWII. Last time I took my dad there before he died, maybe 25 years ago, they had installed a huge new D-Day section that included a theater that you actually had to go through to get to the rest of the new exhibit. The theater was shaped like a landing ship with fairly basic wooden benches, and we were the only people there when we sat down for the movie.
It was all raw combat footage of men just getting hosed down by machine gun fire, ships blowing up, and bodies floating in the water. When the movie ended, the screen folded down like the ship was landing and you moved on to the exhibit.
My dad and I were so freaked out that we didn't move...and he had actually been at Normandy beachhead 6 days after the invasion and also fought in Sicily and at The Bulge. It probably took us a good two minutes to build up our courage and move on.
That footage was terrifying....