Nathan on American TV tonight!
POSTED BY: gojiro
UPDATED: Monday, November 15, 2004 15:19
VIEWED: 6222
PAGE 2 of 2
Fellow Browncoats:
So sorry y'all didn't get a chance to see Nathan's cameo in SPR tonight. As I've said before, I live in a midwestern 'flyover state' (address withheld to minimize death threats). Think: the red part of the map on election day. Serious Bible belt; homemade anti-abortion billboards in the wheatfields alongside the interstate. What we native Houstonians refer to as 'spooky'.
But, then again, we did get SPR tonight, and y'all didn't. Weird, huh? It's like our station just decided to let us see this great movie, uncut and uncensored, even though this is a conservative area. They dropped the 'F' bomb at least three times a minute, interspersed with a plethora of other colorful turns of phrase (like, Burns', "She could see I had a h*rd*n the size of the Statue of Liberty"). And of course, all the bodies blown to hamburger, and the hand-to-hand death scene that haunted me for days after I first saw it, years ago.
The funny part is, I didn't remember it being that foul-mouthed. And after a while this evening, the profanity became as natural as a bunch of guys talking in unmixed company. It was shocking only because it was on broadcast TV.
As far as the movie being about the horrors of war, Spielberg made it as an homage to American veterans. We know what the horrors of war are. That's not what the movie is about. It's about the sacrifices made to keep our nation free. It's about human beings overcoming the frailties of their characters, and discovering the bravery they never knew they had. It's about those who fell in battle, and those who had to live the rest of their lives haunted by their memories.
But mostly, it's about the debt we as Americans owe to those who have served in our military. Captain Miller charges Ryan -- and us as well -- to "Earn it". We must earn the rewards they have sacrificed to give us. In the end, we must judge ourselves, as Ryan asked his wife at the memorial, "Tell me I've led a good life. Tell me I'm a good man." Tell me I've earned the right to call myself an American, that I am worthy of the blood spilled to keep me free and my family safe.
It's just a pity less conservative areas didn't get to see the film on ABC. Y'all are right. It does appear to be a case of censorship, but it doesn't appear to stem from the conservative side of the fence.
Critically,
zoid
P.S.
The movie wasn't too melodramatic, considering it was a movie. As in 'fiction'. As in 'Hollywood'. Now if we could just get someone to take as realistic a look at the Japanese occupation of Nanking. Good fun for the whole family! Just don't expect Sony Pictures to sign on...
_________________________________________________
"Burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me." The Ballad of Serenity
Only 160 days, 21 hours, 14 minutes, and 29 seconds left until The BDM!
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Other movies of intrest -
Enemy at the gate - like SPR very brutal opening, crossing the Volga under fire and the first mass charge, then sinks into sentamentality and melodrama. I guess a full 90 minutes of realistic slaughter will not be too successful at the box office.
The Big Red One - A new print is now out. The director, Sam Fuller, fought as an infantry man in WWII and landed on D-Day. The film includes a D-Day sequence. Shot under more restrictive censorship and a fraction of the budget it still bring home a sence of the horror and honour of the battle. The film uses a severed arm to show the passing time. The film cuts to it to show the still functioning wrist watch and water getting more bloody.
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Quote:
Originally posted by KeepWalking:
Other movies of intrest -
84 Charlie Mopic - Vietnam LRP goes bad.
from combat cameraman pov. Riveting, good characters, and features Brooks (who played Early). first time I saw Mr. Brooks, been a fan of him ever since.
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The CBS affiliate here in Richmond, VA did not carry Saving Private Ryan either, which was dissapointing to say the least. Instead they showed Home Alone. Veterans Day and they show ruttin' Home Alone instead of Saving Private Ryan?!?
I promptly turned off my set and popped in my DVD of SPR & watched it. Gorram CBS tv! 
__________________________________________
"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."
Richmond, VA & surrounding area Firefly Meet Up:
http://firefly.meetup.com/9/boards/
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BrownCoat1 wrote:
Quote:
The CBS affiliate here in Richmond, VA did not carry Saving Private Ryan either...
Ummm, you mean ABC, right? Maybe CBS didn't show SPR in your area because it was already being shown on ABC.
Don't be too hard on them...
v/r,
zed
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debiji:
I'll have to check out "84C MoPic". I've never heard of it; but if it's got our Mr. Brooks in it (in a significant role), it'll be worth checking out.
Other good movies:
"Gallipoli", early Mel Gibson flickering picture (so early in fact, that Mel isn't the main character), re: the horrors of amphibious assault and subsequent trench warfare in WW I. Specifically, the flower of Australian youth being thrown into a meat grinder in Turkey by inept and uncaring British (read: English) leadership. Rather a black eye for the British, wot? But after all, no one's perfect. On the other hand, I was watching a Biography Channel (yes, I have digital cable) piece on D-Day, and they reckoned the failure at Gallipoli taught lessons that made D-Day a success.
"Full Metal Jacket", beloved of FFFn, features AB in meaningful role. Most accurate depiction of Marine boot camp ever filmed. Yes, 'blanket parties' do (did?) occur, though more as a threat than reality. Full marks to R. Lee Ermey, former Marine drill sergeant. The rest of the movie, fanciful.
"Forrest Gump", military bits pretty accurate and well-realized, if fantastic by design. Especially liked Gary Sinise (Lieutenant Dan) as disillusioned vet. Long family tradition of dying in battle; very humorous. Matrilineal?
There's another one that I thought of last night as a very good example, which has now slipped my memory altogether. How exasperating! More later if I can think of it...
Bad examples, anyone?
Cinematically,
zoid
P.S.
You lose three things as you get older: Your hair, your eyesight, and I can't remember the fourth thing...
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Quote:
Originally posted by NervousPete:
Zoid: Bang on about the lack of support for the luftwaffe - an outfit designed for the planned short, sharp war that Hitler envisaged at first and fatally never modified for the strategic long haul - which meant that they had no strategic bombers like the Lancaster or Fortress, and the deadly jet fighter program was bungled too.
*Phew* eh?
The Luftwaffe command also needed to be told to share its 'toys'. The Luftwaffe refused to give control of A/Cs to the Kriegsmarine (German Navy), which caused the "Graf Zeppelin" (A German Aircraft Carrier) to sit uncompleted in its shipyard. Also they didn't provide the maritime recon for the U-Boats that they needed to find targets. And if the development of the Type XXI U-Boat (The first sub designed for all underwater operation and the only U-Boat with 6 bow torpedoes http://uboat.net/types/xxi.htm ) wasn’t delayed the war could have been quite different.
Other good films to see are:
Bravo Two Zero: Its about a British SAS (Special Air Service) team that its comprised behind Iraqi lines during the 1st Gulf War. They fight their way to Syria (70 km away) on foot and 3 of them are captured. The book is also a must read.
And
A Bridge Too Far: What’s arguably the greatest cast in movie history play the major players in the failed Allied invasion of the Netherlands. James Bond him self (Sean Connery) plays the British paratrooper commander whose forces are cut off from reinforcements for days and after holding out is ordered to withdraw when help arrives.
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The airing of this movie became a main topic today in one of my classes.
http://www.simple-assault.com/Firefly.htm
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My favorite war movie, which was also fairly realistic given when it was made, was The Battle of Britain - "Never before have so many owed so much to so few". I'm American, but I developed a life-long love of Spitfires after watching that movie.
Apathy on the Rise. No One Cares.
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Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
BrownCoat1 wrote:Quote:
The CBS affiliate here in Richmond, VA did not carry Saving Private Ryan either...
Ummm, you mean ABC, right? Maybe CBS didn't show SPR in your area because it was already being shown on ABC.
Don't be too hard on them...
v/r,
zed
Slip on my part. ABC is what I meant to say.
__________________________________________
"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."
Richmond, VA & surrounding area Firefly Meet Up:
http://firefly.meetup.com/9/boards/
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME