Yeah, Kim, "Saving Private Ryan" is an interesting case to compare, all right. I went to see it because I'm very interested in war history, and it seemed to be a pretty accurate film. There was one thing in it that was not too accurate, and it bugged me...namely, the general incompetence of the German troops in the film (following the initial landing scene...they were fairly competent in that one). The Germans shown in the film continually exposed themselves to heavy losses by making what I would call pretty poor tactical moves. A real German assault unit would likely have done a lot better in attacking Ryan's company at the bridge, and not lost its tanks so carelessly. This clumsiness was anything but typical of the German army in World War II...although it did happen on occasion. And when a wall falls down between a bunch of Germans and a bunch of American G.I.'s...and they all panic and start shooting...how is it that only the Germans get shot? Are Americans really that much better at the "quick draw"? This is comic book stuff, as far as I'm concerned.

I was probably one of the few moviegoers in North America who had that particular objection to the movie, but it's nitpicking. In general, I thought it was a pretty good film. Somebody ought to make a movie about the Canadians or the Australians or the New Zealanders in WWII for a change.

- LH