Continuity mistake: The scene where they are looking for Ryan's dog tag. Doc comments they are laughing in front of all the guys walking by. One of the soldiers looks like Sal Mineo. Frustrated, Tom Hanks walks into the line of soldiers and civilians and starts asking if anybody has seen or knows James Ryan. The same Sal Mineo lookalike walks by him again. (01:15:10)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Plot summary
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Tom Sizemore, Barry Pepper, Edward Burns, Adam Goldberg
After leading a company of Rangers in the battle for Omaha beach on D-Day, Captain John Miller is sent on a mission to find paratrooper Private James Ryan and bring him home safely. Ryan's three brothers have all been killed in action and the Brass want him returned to his family. He is fighting with his unit somewhere inland, but no-one knows where.
Miller chooses seven men for this dangerous mission. The squad picks its way across the devastated countryside - losing two members in skirmishes with the Germans. Eventually, they find Ryan dug in with his unit and awaiting a German counter attack. He refuses to leave his comrades and Miller agrees that his squad will stay to help them defend their position. The Germans attack in overwhelming numbers and Miller and most of his squad are killed, but Ryan survives and makes it home.
More mistakes in Saving Private Ryan
Private Jackson: What I mean by that, sir, is if you was to put me and this here sniper rifle anywhere up to and including one mile from Adolf Hitler... With a clean line of sight... Pack your bags, fellas. War's over. Amen.
Trivia: The movie was shot in chronological order, which is unusual for a film. Spielberg chose to shoot it that way so that the actors would feel like they were going through the experience in the same order as the characters they play, and they lose friends on the way. This helped create the resentment towards Ryan, who doesn't share the journey with them.
Question: Jackson, the sniper of Miller's crew, states that if he was in a mile of Adolf Hitler, he would kill him. So, as they were driven to the beach, why didn't Jackson and other snipers try to pick off the the German guys who were firing the at the boats as the Americans left them?
Answer: Also, the machine gunners were under heavy cover. No one had a good shot at them.
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Answer: Sniping needs stability - the movement of the waves under the boat would disrupt their aim so badly that they wouldn't have much hope of hitting anything.
Tailkinker ★