Saving Private Ryan (1998) - Quotes

Quotes about Saving Private Ryan: [https://www.frankwetta.com/ Frank J. Wetta,; https://www.smh-hq.org/gazette/ryan3.html Private Ryan's Celluloid War; [w:The Journal of Military History|''The Journal of Military History''] * Dean, Arts & Sciences, Daytona Beach Community College, in a movie review entitled published in ]. (Fall, 1998)

Quotes about Saving Private Ryan: [among other reasons for; A; the film's; ''Saving Private Ryan''; and for that] Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg's summer 1998 "blockbuster," is noteworthy its recreation of the experience of combat . . . . udiences will surely remember attention to the realities of battle . . . . Private Ryan is not anti-war; rather, it is a bloody memorial to the veterans of the crusade against Hitler. . . . We may leave the film with the conviction that war is hell, but not the belief that this war was unworthy of sacrifice. . . . The scene in which Private Ryan's mother sees the priest emerge from the car and she realizes that someone has been killed (she does not yet know that three of her sons are dead) is as powerful as any of the action scenes: She steps out onto the porch and in silent agony slowly sits down to await the news . . . . takes the history of combat seriously military historians, at least, owe Spielberg a debt. And for those who never saw a battle, Spielberg has enriched the imagination.

Taglines: There was only one man left in the family, and the mission was to save him.

Taglines: In the last great invasion of the last great war, The greatest challenge for eight men... was saving one.

Taglines: The mission is a man.

Pvt. Reiben: You know what that song reminds me of? It reminds me of Mrs. Rachel Troubowitz and what she said to me the day I left for basic.

Pvt. Mellish: What, "Don't touch me"?

Pvt. Reiben: No. Mrs. Rachel Troubowitz was our super's wife. She comes into my mom's shop to try on a few things, all right? And she’s easily like a, uh, a 44 double E.

Pvt. Mellish: Double E?!

Pvt. Reiben: I mean, these things are massive.

Sgt. Horvath: Those are big!

Pvt. Reiben: And I've got her convinced that she’s like a 42D, all right? So we're in the dressing room, she’s trying to squeeze into this side-cut, silk-ribboned, triple panel girdle with the, uh, shelf-lift brassiere and it's beautiful because she's just pouring outta this thing, you know?

Pvt. Mellish: Is it tight?

Pvt. Reiben: It's beautiful. And she sees me and she can tell I got a hard-on the size of the Statue of Liberty, right? And she says to me, "Richard, calm down." And she says, "Now when you're over there, if you see anything that upsets you, if you're ever scared, I want you to close your eyes and think of these. You understand?" So I said, "Yes, ma'am.

Pvt. Ryan: It doesn't make sense, sir. I mean, why me? Why not any of us? Hell, these guys deserve to go home as much as I do. They’ve fought just as hard.

Capt. Miller: Is that what they're supposed to tell your mother when they send her another folded American flag?

Pvt. Ryan: You can tell her that when you found me, I was here, and I was with the only brothers I have left. And that there was no way I was deserting them. I think she'd understand that.

Capt. Miller: James... I'm here to tell you your brothers were killed in combat.

Pvt. Ryan: Which... which ones, sir?

Capt. Miller: All of them.

Pvt. Reiben: [[wikt:decent|decent; Pause] I guess that was the, uh, ] thing to do, huh Captain?

Capt Miller: Get your gear. Let's go.

Sgt. Horvath: [At Reiben; Pause; [w:Military order (instruction)|order] You heard him. Gear up. The captain just gave you an ].

Pvt. Reiben: [[w:List_of_World_War_II_firearms_of_Germany#Machine_guns|this machine gun] Yeah...Like the one he gave to take ]. That was a real doozy, wasn't it Sergeant?

Sgt. Horvath: Soldier, you are way out of line.

Pvt. Reiben: [At Miller; [w:Mission-type tactics|one hell of a call; [w:Defensive fighting position|nest; [Loss|lost; https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/saving-private-ryan-1998 little Jimmy's life is a little bit more important than two of our guys!; Sgt. Horvath grabs Reiben and throws him to the ground and attempts to grab him again.] Yes, sir. That was ] coming to take this ], but...The hell, we ] one of our guys going for it. I swear, I hope Mama Ryan's real fucking happy knowing that But then again, we haven't even found him yet, have we?! HAVE WE?! Get the hell off me.

Sgt. Horvath: [Reiben gets off the ground] Reiben, get up. Gear up. Fall in.

Pvt. Reiben: [Reiben walks away and Horvath runs toward him.] I'm done with this mission.

Sgt. Horvath: Hey! HEY!

Cpl. Upham: [At Miller] Sir...

Sgt. Horvath: [At Reiben] Don't you walk away from your captain. Reiben, get back in line!

Pvt. Reiben: [Horvath pull out a pistol on him] No, sir. I'll spend for the rest of my life in the stockade if I have to, but I'm done with this.

Sgt. Horvath: [Aims the pistol at Reiben] I'm not gonna ask you again, soldier. Fall in!

Cpl. Upham: Captain!

Pvt. Jackson: Aw, now this is bullshit.

Sgt. Horvath: FALL IN.

Pvt. Reiben: You gonna shoot me over Ryan?

Sgt. Horvath: No, I'm gonna shoot you cause I don't like ya.

Pvt. Jackson: Sarge, if he wants to go, just let him go!

Cpl. Upham: [At Miller] Are you letting this happen?! Captain! You see this?!

Pvt. Mellish: Captain, sir. Sir, Ryan's dead.

Cpl. Upham: Bullshit!

Pvt. Jackson: Sir, we have a situation you might...

Cpl. Upham: That is Bullshit!

Pvt. Mellish: Captain, I have a sixth sense about these things. I know it in my bones.

Pvt. Reiben: [At Horvath] You didn't kill that son-of-a-bitch Kraut, now you're gonna shoot me?

Sgt. Horvath: He's better than you.

Pvt. Reiben: Then why don't you just do it, Sarge? Do it man. Put one in my leg and give me that million-dollar-wound!

Sgt. Horvath: I'M GONNA SHOOT YOU IN YOUR BIG GODDAMN MOUTH!!!

Pvt. Reiben: Well, put your money where your mouth is and do it then! Do it! Pull the trigger already!

Sgt. Horvath: You don't know when to shut up. You don't know how to shut up.

Cpl. Upham: [At Miller] Captain, please.

Capt. Miller: [At Upham] What's the pool on me up to?

Sgt. Horvath: [At Reiben] YOU ARE A COWARD SON-OF-A-BITCH!!!

Pvt. Reiben: [At Horvath] I'm waiting, Sarge.

Capt Miller: [At Horvath; breaks up argument; Pause] Mike, what's the pool on me up to? Wha-Wha-What it is up to? Wh-What is it up to? 300? 300 dollars? 300? Is that it? I'm a schoolteacher. I teach English composition in this little town called Addley, Pennsylvania. It's uh...Last 11 years, I've been at Thomas Alva Edison High School. I was a coach of a baseball team in the springtime.

Sgt. Horvath: I'll be doggone.

Capt Miller: [At Reiben] Back home, I tell people what I do for a living, they think, "Well, that figures." But over here, it a...a big...a big mystery. So I guess I changed some. Sometimes, I wonder if I changed so much, if my wife is gonna even recognize me, whenever it is I get back to her. And how I'll ever be able to...to tell her about days like today. Ah, Ryan...I don't know anything about Ryan. I don't care. The man means nothing to me. He's just a name. But if...you know, if going to Ramelle and...finding him so he can go home, if that earns me the right to get back to my wife, well then, that's my mission. You wanna leave? You wanna go off and fight the war? All right. All right, I won't stop you. I'll even put in the paperwork. Just know, every man I kill, the farther away from home I feel.

Capt. Miller: Tell, me Reiben, if you had to do it again, how'd you think you'd react the next time?

Pvt. Reiben: [[w:Suicide in the military|I'd shoot myself] Me? ] before I ever got off the damn boat.

Pvt. Reiben: What's the saying? "If God's on our side, who the hell could be on theirs?

Pvt. Reiben: Yeah, that's it. What did I say?

Capt. Miller: [[Killed in action|killing] You see, when... when you end up ] one of your men, you see, you tell yourself it happened so you could save the lives of two or three or ten others. Maybe a hundred others. Do you know how many men I've lost under my command?

Sgt. Horvath: How many?

Capt. Miller: Ninety-four. But that means I've saved the lives of ten times that many, doesn't it? Maybe even twenty, right? Twenty times as many? And that's how simple it is. That's how you... that's how you rationalize on making the choice between the mission and the man.

Sgt. Horvath: Except this time, the mission is a man.

Capt. Miller: [[w:Saving_Private_Ryan#Cast|Ryans for one Vecchio or one Caparzo] This Ryan better be worth it. He better go home and cure some disease or invent a longer-lasting light bulb, or something. Because to tell you the truth, I wouldn't trade ten ].

Sgt. Horvath: Amen.

Capt. Hamill: What've you heard? How's it all falling together?

Capt. Miller: [[w:Operation Overlord#Beaches|the beachhead; [w:Bernard Montgomery#Normandy|Monty's taking his time moving on Caen] Well, we've got ] secure, problem is ], we can't move out til he's ready.

Capt. Hamill: That guy's over-rated.

Capt. Miller: No argument here.

Capt. Hamill: [[w:Battle for Caen|take Caen; [w:Saint-Lô#World War II|St. Lo] We gotta ] to take ].

Capt. Miller: [[w:Battle of Saint-Lô|take St. Lo; [w:Valognes|Valognes] You gotta ] to take ].

Capt. Hamill: [[w:Operation Cobra#Planning|Valognes; [w:Cherbourg#Second World War|Cherbourg] ], you got ].

Capt. Miller: [[w:Battle of Cherbourg|Cherbourg; [w:Paris in World War II|Paris] ], you got ].

Capt. Hamill: [[w:Liberation of Paris|Paris; [w:History of Berlin#Second World War|Berlin] ], you get ].

Capt. Miller: [[w:Operation Magic Carpet|that big boat home] And then ].

Capt. Hamill: How was the road in?

Capt. Miller: Scenic. We lost most of our ammo.

Pvt. Mellish: Not to mention one of our men.

Capt. Hamill: [Speaking to another soldier; [w:Bazooka|bazooka] Lieutenant, redeploy that ] to the other side of the road!

Soldier: Yes, sir!

Capt. Hamill: And get Ryan up here.

Soldier: [Running away from Hamill] Ryan! Ryan! Front and center! Ryan!

Pvt. Reiben: [Seeing Ryan running down the road; Ryan runs past Reiben. At Horvath.] Here comes our boy. Told ya he was an asshole.

James Frederick Ryan: [At Hamill] Sir, Private Ryan, reporting as ordered, sir!

Capt. Hamill: [[w:2nd Ranger Battalion#Omaha Beach|2nd Rangers] At ease. Captain Miller ] wants a word with you.

Capt. Miller: [Directing Ryan; Miller stops and sits on a rock; He does so, taking his helmet off as well. Pause; Pause; Ryan has a saddened look on his face.; [home; There is a long pause] This way. Take a knee. Private, I'm afraid I have some bad news for you. Well, there isn't any real easy way to say this, so, uh...I'll just say it. Your brothers are dead. We have, uh, orders to come get you cause you're going ].

James Frederick Ryan: [crying] Oh, my God, my brothers are dead. I was gonna take em fishing when I got home...

Capt. Miller: I'm so sorry, James.

James Frederick Ryan: [sniffling] H-How'd they die?

Capt. Miller: They were killed in action.

James Frederick Ryan: T-That can't be. That can't be, my brothers are still in grammar school.

Capt. Miller: You're James Ryan?

James Frederick Ryan: Yeah.

Capt. Miller: James Francis Ryan from Iowa?

James Frederick Ryan: [Hamill has a confused look on his face] James Frederick Ryan, Minnesota? W...Does that mean my brothers are okay?

Capt. Miller: Yeah, I'm sure they're fine.

James Frederick Ryan: Are you sure that they're okay though? How-

Capt. Miller: [[wikt:foul up|foul-up] We're looking for a different Private Ryan. This is just a big ].

Pvt. Mellish: [Upham gives him a tap on the shoulder] Hey! You want to get your head blown off, you fancy little fuck? Don't ever fucking touch me with those dirty little rat claws again. Get the fuck back in formation.

Cpl. Upham: [Mellish glares at him. Upham walks ahead to Caparzo] I was just wondering where you're from, that's... Uh, Caparzo, is that it?

Pvt. Caparzo: [[w:Corporal#United States Army|corporal] Hey, drop dead, ].

Cpl. Upham: Got you.

Pvt. Caparzo: [[w:Salute#U.S. Armed Forces|salute] And another thing, every time you ] the captain you make him a target for the Germans. So do us a favor, don't do it. Especially when I'm standing next to him. Capisce?

Cpl. Upham: Alright, capisce.

Medic Wade: Corporal, what's your book about?

Cpl. Upham: [[w:Unit cohesion|bonds of brotherhood developed between soldiers] It's supposed to be about the ] during war.

Pvt. Caparzo: [laughs; [Brotherhood] ]? What do you know about brotherhood? Get a load of this guy, Fish. Why don't you ask the captain where he's from?

Pvt. Mellish: Yeah, ask the captain. He'll tell ya everything you wanna know about him.

Pvt. Reiben: You want to explain the math of this to me? I mean, where's the sense in risking the lives of the eight of us to save one guy?

Capt. Miller: [Quietly; Speaks up] Twenty degrees. Anyone wanna answer that?

Medic Wade: [[Mothers|mother] Hey, Reiben, think about the poor bastard's ].

Pvt. Reiben: [Looks at Miller] Hey, doc, I got a mother, you got a mother, the sarge has got a mother. Shit, I'll bet that even the Captain's got a mother. Well, maybe not the Captain, but the rest of us have got mothers.

Corp. Upham: [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson#The Charge of the Light Brigade (1854)|Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and die] ].

Pvt. Mellish: [[Death|die] La-la-la-la-la-la-la. What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Corporal? We're all supposed to ], is that it?

Capt. Miller: [[w:Soldier's Creed|our duties as soldiers; [w:Military order (instruction)|orders] Upham's talking about ]. We have ] and we are to follow those orders, and that supersedes everything, including our mothers.

Corp. Upham: Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.

Pvt. Reiben: [[w:List of military slang terms#FUBAR|FUBAR] Even if you think the mission's ], Captain?

Capt. Miller: Especially if you think the mission's FUBAR.

Corp. Upham: What's FUBAR?

Pvt. Mellish: Oh, it's German.

Corp. Upham: [who is fluent in German] Never heard of it.

Pvt. Jackson: [At Miller] Sir, I have an opinion on this matter.

Capt. Miller: Well, by all means, share it with the squad.

Pvt. Jackson: Well, from my way of thinking, sir, this entire mission is a serious misallocation of valuable military resources.

Capt. Miller: Yeah, go on.

Pvt. Jackson: [[w:Sniper|a fine instrument of warfare] Well, it seems to me, sir, that God gave me a special gift. Made me ].

Capt. Miller: Reiben, now pay attention. THIS is the way to gripe. Continue Jackson.

Pvt. Jackson: [[w:Sniper rifle|sniper rifle; [w:Adolf Hitler|Adolf Hitler] Well, what I mean by that, sir, is if you's to put me and this here ], anywhere up to and including one mile of ] with a clear line of sight, sir, pack your bags fellas, war's over. Amen.

Pvt. Reiben: [At Jackson; At Miller] Oh, that's brilliant, bumpkin. Say Captain, you don't gripe at all?

Capt. Miller: [[w:Captain (United States O-3)|I'm a Captain; [w:Command hierarchy#Military chain of command|chain of command; [w:United States Army Rangers|Ranger] I don't gripe to you, Reiben. ]. We have a ]. Gripes go up, not down. Always up. You gripe to me, I gripe to my superior officer, and so on and so on and so on. I don't gripe to you. I don't gripe in front of you. You should know that, as a ].

Pvt. Reiben: [[w:Major (United States)|Major] Well, I'm sorry, sir, but let's say you weren't a Captain, or maybe I was a ]. What would you say then?

Capt. Miller: [[w:Sir#Military and police|''sir''] Ah, well, in that case, I'd say this is an excellent mission, ], with an extremely valuable objective, sir, worthy of my best efforts, sir. Moreover, I feel heartfelt sorrow for the mother of Private James Ryan and am willing to lay down my life, and the lives of my men — especially you, Reiben — to ease her suffering.

Pvt. Mellish: He's good.

Pvt Caparzo: I love him.

Capt. Miller: [[w:Neuville-au-Plain|Neuville] You and I are taking a squad up to ] on a public relations mission.

Sgt. Horvath: [[w:Squad|squad] What, you're leading a ]?

Capt. Miller: [[w:101st Airborne Division|the 101st] Some private in ] lost three brothers and he's got a ticket home.

Sgt. Horvath: How come Neuville?

Capt. Miller: [[w:101st Airborne Division#Operation Overlord|he must be there somewhere along with all the other airborne mis-drops.] They think ]

Sgt. Horvath: It isn't going to be easy trying to find one soldier in the middle of this whole goddamn war.

Capt. Miller: Like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles.

Sgt. Horvath: [[w:Company (United States Army)|the company] What about ]?

Capt. Miller: We take the pick of the litter and the rest get folded into Baker.

Sgt. Horvath: Geez, they took away your company?

Capt. Miller: [[w:M1918 Browning automatic rifle|B.A.R.; [w:Saving Private Ryan#Cast|Jackson, Wade, Beasley, and Caparzo.] Wasn't my company; was the Army's, or so they told me anyway. Get me Reiben on ], ]

Sgt. Horvath: Beasley's dead.

Capt. Miller: Alright, Mellish, then. Got anybody who speaks French?

Sgt. Horvath: Not that I know of.

Capt. Miller: What about Talbot?

Sgt. Horvath: This morning.

Capt. Miller: [[wikt:motor pool|motor pool; leaves to command post] Oh. Assemble a ] on the beach while I go dig up another interpreter.

Sgt. Horvath: Alright. Listen up.

Pvt. Caparzo: Where are we going?

Sgt. Horvath: You're going to be sent home wrapped in an American flag with a hunk of cheese in your ass, Caparzo, you smart-ass.

Pvt. Reiben: Wait, I thought you liked it in the ass.

Sgt. Horvath: What?

Pvt. Reiben: I thought you liked it in the ass.

Capt. Miller: Yes it is. Quite a view.

Sgt. Horvath: [after Miller sends Jackson out under fire from German machine guns] Captain, if your mother saw you do that, she'd be very upset.

Captain Miller: I thought you were my mother.

Sgt. Horvath: [[w:M1918 Browning automatic rifle|B.A.R.] Reiben, where's your ]?

Pvt. Reiben: The bottom of the channel, Sarge, the bitch tried to drown me.

Sgt. Horvath: Find a replacement.

Capt. Miller: Is this all, all that's made it?

Sgt. Horvath: [[w:Omaha Beach#Infantry landings|We're scattered pretty bad; [w:Fog of war|There's bound to be more of us.] ], sir. ]

Capt. Miller: Not enough. This is not enough.

Sgt. Horvath: Dog One exit, it's got to be that cut on the right, or is it the one on the left? Shit!

Capt. Miller: [[w:Vierville-sur-Mer|Vierville] No, no, no, ] is to the west of us, this is Dog One.

Soldier: They're killing us! And we don't have a fucking chance, and that ain't fair!

Capt. Miller: Sergeant Horvath! Do you recognize where we are?

Sgt. Horvath: [[w:Omaha Beach#Plan|Right where we're supposed to be] ], but no one else is!

Soldier: [[w:Omaha Beach#Initial assault|Nobody's where they're supposed to be!] ]

Capt. Miller: [Goes to soldiers huddled behind a beach obstacle] The seawall! Move up to the seawall!

Soldier: [[Safety|I'm staying!] Sir, ]

Capt. Miller: Clear this beach, make way for the others!

Soldier: This is all we've got between us and the Almighty!

Capt. Miller: [[w:Omaha Beach#Terrain and defenses|Every inch of this beach has been pre-sighted! You stay here, you're dead men!] ]

Private James Francis Ryan: [Older James Ryan at Captain Miller's grave; [w:Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial#In popular culture|My family is with me today; [Living|live my life] ]. They wanted to come with me. To be honest with you, I wasn't sure how I'd feel coming back here. Every day I think about what you said to me that day on the bridge. And I've tried to ] the best I could. I hope that was enough. I hope that at least in your eyes, I've earned what all of you have done for me.

Private James Francis Ryan: [[wikt:brother-in-arms|the only brothers that I have left] Tell her that when you found me, I was here, and I was with ]. And that there's no way I was gonna desert them.

Sergeant Mike Horvath: [[Sacrifice|what if we stay; [Miracles|miracle; [w:Operation Overlord#German preparations and defences|this whole godawful, shitty mess; [w:Demobilization of United States Armed Forces after World War II#Germany surrenders|we all earned the right to go home] I don't know. Part of me thinks the kid's right. What's he done to deserve this? He wants to stay here, fine. Let's leave him and go home. But another part of me thinks, ], and by some ] we actually make it out of here alive? Someday we might look back on this and decide that saving Private Ryan was the one decent thing we were able to pull out of ]. And like you said, Captain: We do that, ].

Captain John H. Miller: [''Dying words, to Private Ryan''; [w:Operation Overlord#Casualties|earn this. Earn it.] James... ]

Captain John H. Miller: [[Killed in action|killing] You see, when...when you end up ] one of your men, you tell yourself it happened so you could save the lives of two or three or ten others. Maybe a hundred others.

Captain John H. Miller: [[truth; [w:Saving Private Ryan#Cast|ten Ryans for one Vecchio or one Caparzo] This Ryan better be worth it. He better go home and cure some disease, or invent a longer-lasting light bulb, or something. Because to tell you the ], I wouldn't trade ].

Captain John H. Miller: Like finding a needle in a stack of needles.

Captain John H. Miller: [''In the [[w:LCVP (United States) | Higgins boat landing craft; [w:Atlantic Wall#D-Day | clear those murder holes.; [w:Action (firearms)|actions; [w:Omaha Beach | the beach.] ] before the assault] Move fast and ] . . . Keep the sand out of your weapons. Keep those ] clear. I'll see you on ]