WWII Historian Reveals How Realistic This Iconic War Movie Really Is (2024)

World War II historian John McManus, who's considered a good authority on war facts, has shared his take on how realistic Steven Spielberg's WWII epic Saving Private Ryan really is. McManus is a professor of military history at Missouri University of Science and Technology, and of his 15 written works, most are about WWII. His specialty is D-Day and the landing on Omaha Beach, where allied troops arrived in order to strike against the German invasion of France, and one huge part of the Spielberg film.

In a thorough analysis for Insider, McManus takes a deep dive into the iconic movie and explains in great detail what is realistic about Saving Private Ryan, and what tends towards 'Hollywoodization' of the facts. His rundown is mainly focused on the pivotal scene of the movie, often categorized as one of the most important opening sequences in cinema:

"The realism is incredible on some levels."

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."

McManus offers further insight into the Omaha Beach scene. One of the most powerful moments in cinematic history, and reveals what it would really have been like for the soldiers. He explains that "the biggest danger to your life, if you're one of these guys coming ashore, is the artillery," and says the way the movie shows "the explosions, the way people are kind of flipped about, dead-on accurate to what happens, unfortunately."

Saving Private Ryan

R

Where to Watch

• stream
• rent
• buy

*Availability in US

Release Date

July 24, 1998

Director

Steven Spielberg

Cast

Tom Hanks , Tom Sizemore , Edward Burns , Barry Pepper , Adam Goldberg , Vin Diesel

Main Genre

Action

The historian also addresses one peculiar aspect about Spielberg's film, and something that has been heavily used in battle sequences ever since: the ear-ringing shot.

"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 kind of explosions close to you, you are sort of concussed, but your hearing is, of course, severely damaged.

It may seem a little over-the-top Hollywood, but I will tell you, those are taken from directly from veterans' accounts. You're seeing what would've appeared to you at Omaha Beach."

The specialist's rating of the Omaha Beach scene is a hugely impressive 9/10 in terms of realistic depiction. He shares that the writing got some things wrong, but it's all for dramatic effect. "It's so well researched. It's so true to many eyewitness accounts," he says. But the most important aspect of McManus' analysis is that he validates what many consider to be absurd: Why would so many soldiers be put at risk to save a single private? Yes, the WWII specialist has a great answer.

Is Saving Private Ryan Inspired by a True Story?

Not only does Spielberg's film have a profound sense of realism, but the story, as absurd as it may seem, has some truth to it. Saving Private Ryan follows Captain John H. Miller, who arrives at Omaha Beach on D-Day alongside his soldiers. While not all of them make it to safe ground, Miller is forced to compile a list of his best to carry out a difficult mission: they must all try to find James Francis Ryan and bring him to safety as Ryan's three other brothers have been killed in action, and the authorities want to save at least one Ryan and send him back home.

McManus confirms that the script is inspired by the story of the Niland brothers. The Nilands were four brothers who were deployed during World War II, and while three of them didn't make it, the fourth one was extracted from the battlefield and sent home as part of the Sole Survivor Policy. However, McManus' claim leaves some room for doubt. He explains:

"Is it possible that you would've had a patrol sent out to get the surviving guy and get him home? 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."