Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Reconsidering Private Ryan

Inspired by General DePuy’s account of the horrors of the summer of ’44 for U.S. troops in Normandy, with World War I — like rates of loss, I find myself reconsidering Saving Private Ryan, which I admired quite a lot when it came out. After reading the DePuy bio, I find myself thinking that the ...

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
585463_090529_ryanb2.jpg
585463_090529_ryanb2.jpg

Inspired by General DePuy’s account of the horrors of the summer of ’44 for U.S. troops in Normandy, with World War I — like rates of loss, I find myself reconsidering Saving Private Ryan, which I admired quite a lot when it came out. After reading the DePuy bio, I find myself thinking that the first half hour, crossing the beach, is great, but that the rest of the film is kind of an overworked fantasy.  

reuvenim/flickr

Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1

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