John McManus, history expert, analyzes Saving Private Ryan: “it is often called the sort of classic example of the dumb German”

Since its release in 1998, Saving Private Ryan has been held up as an example of realism in war cinema, an honor that, according to leading experts, is by no means exaggerated. A case in point is one of the most iconic scenes in the genre, namely the opening scene. In a cruel recreation of one of the most important battles of World War II, or the one considered to be the most important unless we ask a Russian, Steven Spielberg left us with moments to remember.

John McManus is a historian specializing in World War II who analyzed that brutal opening scene, and he had many good things to say about it... Although not all of them were positive. “The realism is incredible on some levels,” he said. “I don’t know how they did it, but the atmospheric feel for what you’re seeing here is very similar to the morning of D-Day. You get a sense of the tides and the surf being pretty rough as they come ashore. That’s 100% accurate.”

“The biggest danger to your life if you’re one of these guys coming ashore at H-hour is the artillery,” he said, more specifically praising the effect of weapons and bullets on the bodies of the soldiers who arrived at Omaha. He also praised the way the film shows “the explosions, the way people are kind of flipped about, dead-on accurate to what happens, unfortunately.”

Similarly, sound effects are also an aspect that makes a difference for McManus, specifically the beeping sounds that the protagonists endured. “This is one of my favorite parts of the entire movie, because it shows something that happened quite a bit at Omaha Beach and in combat in general, and it’s called acoustic trauma. When you have these kinds of explosions close to you, you are sort of concussed, but your hearing is, of course, severely damaged,” he explains.

However, as we said before, it’s not all praise, and McManus also has some criticism. “You have here what is often called the sort of classic example of the dumb German. Someone has just thrown a grenade into your bunker, and you’re just going to sort of, you know beetle out of there, out of the bunker without looking to see who’s out there,” he says, referring to the way Nazi soldiers come out of the bunkers where they are taking cover. There’s also, not strictly speaking, any real evidence that we ever had a flamethrower team clear out a pillbox or bunker with their weapon at Omaha Beach on D-Day.”

As we recall, in Saving Private Ryan, Tom Hanks and his platoon venture into France in search of James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon), whose three brothers have already been killed in the war. To prevent further tragedy for the family, James is ordered to leave the front immediately. This story is not based on real events, but... could it have actually happened? “Is it possible that you would’ve had a patrol sent you to get the surviving guy and get him home?,” says McManus. “I suppose, theoretically, yeah. I’ve always thought it pretty unlikely that you’d send a patrol this far behind enemy lines and try and find him.”

Where can I watch ‘Saving Private Ryan’?

With a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Saving Private Ryan is considered one of the best war movies ever made. Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring not only Hanks and Damon, but also a cast of stars such as Tom Sizemore, Vin Diesel, and Bryan Cranston, it is available to rent on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, and Fandango At Home.

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