Corrected entry: Newbie is told to stop saluting the Captain because it makes him a priority target, but Tom Hanks sports his Captain's bars throughout the movie.
Ssiscool
19th Jul 2021
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
30th Jun 2003
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Stupidity: When they are preparing for a German assault towards the end of the movie, Miller explains to them the concept of the sticky bomb and adds, "If you have a better idea of knocking the treads off a tank I'd like to hear it." Um... The bazooka? They had eight rounds for it, and it could have easily been used to disable the treads. And the men wouldn't blow themselves up with it. While it couldn't destroy a tank by penetrating the armour, it's certainly strong enough to disable the tracks.
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Suggested correction: Allied forces familiar with the Panzer VI "Tiger", a 60-ton Main Battle Tank during the war knew that the armor is very tough and, even with support fire from a friendly tank, the odds of destroying a Tiger tank with a bazooka like Horvath's are pretty small. From the infantry perspective, techniques that were developed and employed in order to combat heavy Tiger tanks focused mainly on disabling the tank rather than destroying it. Anti-tank weapons of the era, such as the bazooka, were ineffective against most areas of the Tiger's armor, so specific weak points in the design were the focus. Hitting the Tiger in the tracks, suspension, engine compartment, observation slits, and in the joint between the main body and turret were some of the common weak points. Tiger tanks could only be destroyed head-on or from the sides by land mines, or direct hits by heavy artillery shells, or bombs dropped from aircraft. In the film, the first Tiger is disabled by taking out the tracks with "sticky bombs" followed by grenades thrown in the turret hatch. When Horvath fires at the second Tiger, both shots are placed on the joint between the body and the turret, the idea most likely being to hinder or incapacitate the turret's ability to swivel left or right. As the war went on, the Allies developed better strategies for disabling Tigers. One example involved British Cromwell or US Sherman tanks trying to "flank" a Tiger by working in squadrons or columns. One or more tanks would act as a diversion to keep the Tiger's crew focused in front of it while another tank would maneuver behind the Tiger and hit it in the rear section where its armor was the weakest.
28th Mar 2018
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Corrected entry: At the start of the beach landing, the landing craft are either beached or a few feet out - we know this from the view of the machine gun nest and the cameras beside the landing craft. Several soldiers are waist deep in water, but when the men go over the side they fall into water that is 10-20 feet deep, as we see men sink to the bottom and drown and get shot etc. This is a continuous scene so the landing craft would not have moved.
7th Oct 2011
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Corrected entry: Well after the beach has been secured and communication posts are set up where Upham is typing and Miller comes to reassign him, it then shows a panning view of the beach of soldiers still unloading. However, the big X-shaped tank traps are still littered all over the beach. During the assault there were combat engineers telling soldiers to get away from the traps so they can destroy them. How come even now after they've had the beach secured this long they haven't removed the tank traps? The fact that many of the engineers were killed in some of the initial waves on the beach is irrelevant as there were many coming ashore after the beachhead was established. (00:38:05)
Correction: Yes the tank traps are still on the beech head, however if you look closely during the panning shots you will see that the far end of the beach has been cleared of the traps to make room for the landing crafts that are carrying the armor. At the close end of the beach, you can see smaller boats deploying soldiers only. As such there is no need to remove the traps from that area as it would be a waste of manpower and resources.
3rd Oct 2016
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Corrected entry: Right after the medic dies, when the unit has killed the Germans except for the one they eventually let leave, one of the dead bodies is breathing.
17th Dec 2001
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Corrected entry: When they first enter the field hospital, look at the side of the glider. By the door, there is no dead body. When they come back, there is a body resting against the glider. Did a wounded man get up to die next to the glider? (01:11:10)
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Correction: His Captain's bars are a lot harder to spot for a sniper than a salute.
lionhead