The Last Movie You Saw On DVD or VHS or TV.

whether or not this is an honest account of World War Two is some-thing the glowing American reviews have ignored. And although the combat realism and period authenticity can't be questioned, other things will stick in the throats of non-American audiences.

Take the no-show of any Allies. While this is forgivable for Omaha Beach (a uniquely American cock-up), it's harder to explain as Captain Miller's eight-man unit move inland. Where are the British, the French, the Polish or the Canadians?

German audiences will likewise be weary at the continuing portrayal of the `master race'. The Americans are a likable blend of doe-eyed teenagers, corn-fed midwesterners and Deep South good ol' boys. When they're killed it's tragic, when they're wounded they cry out for water, morphine or their mothers. But when a German's killed, it's just another dead Nazi, shot down despite his shaven-head, jutting square jaw and piercing, blue eyes. An unbiased historical document? Yeah, right.

Where are the British,

On D-Day, the Allies landed around 156,000 troops in Normandy. The American forces landed numbered 73,000: 23,250 on Utah Beach, 34,250 on Omaha Beach, and 15,500 airborne troops. In the British and Canadian sector, 83,115 troops were landed (61,715 of them British): 24,970 on Gold Beach, 21,400 on Juno Beach, 28,845 on Sword Beach, and 7900 airborne troops.

U-571 is a 2000 war film directed by Jonathan Mostow, and starring Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel, Thomas Kretschmann, Jon Bon Jovi, Jack Noseworthy, Will Estes, and Tom Guiry. In the film, a World War II German submarine is boarded in 1942 by disguised United States Navy submariners seeking to capture her Enigma cipher machine.

The film was financially successful and generally well-received by critics in the USA and won an Academy Award for sound editing. The fictitious plot attracted substantial criticism since, in reality, it was British personnel from HMS Bulldog who first captured a naval Enigma machine (from U-110 in the North Atlantic in May 1941), months before the United States had even entered the war. The anger over the inaccuracies even reached the British Parliament, where Prime Minister Tony Blair stated that the film was an "affront" to British sailors.

One could be forgiven for believing Normandy was an all American show after viewing Spielberg's revisionism

Sergeant Frederick "Fritz" Niland (1920–1983),Company H, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.

Fritz was close friends with Warren Muck and Donald Malarkey, from Company E, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division ("Easy Company"), who were both featured prominently in the 2001 HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.

Fritz fought with the 501st through the first few days of the Normandy campaign. Several days following D-Day, Fritz had gone to the 82nd Airborne Division to see his brother, Bob. Once he arrived at division, he was informed that Bob had been killed on D-Day.

Fritz was shipped back to England, and, finally, to the U.S. where he served as an MP in New York until the completion of the war.

Fritz was awarded a Bronze Star for his service.[2] This story is evidenced in Stephen Ambrose's book, Band of Brothers, as well as from biographical data on Sampson.

Fritz died in 1983 in San Francisco at the age of 63. Private James Ryan in Saving Private Ryan is loosely based on Fritz Niland.

From Total Film.

Quote:

whether or not this is an honest account of World War Two is some-thing the glowing American reviews have ignored. And although the combat realism and period authenticity can't be questioned, other things will stick in the throats of non-American audiences.

Take the no-show of any Allies. While this is forgivable for Omaha Beach (a uniquely American cock-up), it's harder to explain as Captain Miller's eight-man unit move inland. Where are the British, the French, the Polish or the Canadians?

German audiences will likewise be weary at the continuing portrayal of the `master race'. The Americans are a likable blend of doe-eyed teenagers, corn-fed midwesterners and Deep South good ol' boys. When they're killed it's tragic, when they're wounded they cry out for water, morphine or their mothers. But when a German's killed, it's just another dead Nazi, shot down despite his shaven-head, jutting square jaw and piercing, blue eyes. An unbiased historical document? Yeah, right.

http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/cinema/saving-private-ryan