CHUD.com Community › Forums › SPECIFIC FILMS › Films in Release or On Video › Saving Private Ryan
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Saving Private Ryan - Page 2

post #51 of 166
10/13/08 at 1:25pm
You're totally right. If I hadn't been told by the film, I would have thought Vin Diesel was from Mississippi.
Reply
post #52 of 166
10/13/08 at 1:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolfie View Post
If I hadn't been told by the film, I'd have thought he was a Brooklyn Italian.
Mellish is played by Adam Goldberg. Can't get much more Jewish than that.

Reply
post #53 of 166
10/13/08 at 1:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by InTheShadows View Post
Mellish is played by Adam Goldberg. Can't get much more Jewish than that.
At the risk of backing up NoDiggity's point, Goldberg's mother's not Jewish, and Jewishness is matrilineal by some standards. And I'm pretty sure that, religiously speaking, he's non-practicing. So I'd say that, yes, you can probably get much more Jewish than that.
Reply
post #54 of 166
10/13/08 at 1:34pm
It's just a very Jewish sounding last name, is all. And he certainly looks Jewish, whether he's practicing or not.
Reply
post #55 of 166
10/13/08 at 1:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by InTheShadows View Post
Mellish is played by Adam Goldberg. Can't get much more Jewish than that.
I'm supposed to have researched the names of all the actors before I watched the movie, so I could know whether they were Irish, Jewish, Italian?

And looking at the picture, I can't see anything about his face that would tell me he was Jewish, or Italian, or what. Some of us may go around looking for such clues, but I don't. I personally don't find it obvious. Maybe It's because my high school had such a mix of Catholics, Protestants, Jews, that I never noticed. We were all just kids together.
Reply
post #56 of 166
10/13/08 at 1:38pm
Dave, you're right, logically, but I think what we're trying to say is one of the ways Spielberg gets us comfortable with the characters is by drawing them in those broad strokes in the beginning.

The film has a large cast, and part of the way he does that is by casting actors who are, or were, previously identified with other roles. Sure, guys like Pepper or Diesel weren't well known at the time the film was made, but Goldberg had played characters who were identified as Jewish in other films, just like Burns played smart-assed guys from New York and Tom Sizemore played tough guys and Jeremy Davies played wusses. Dennis Farina played cops and military guys. Even the casting of Matt Damon to some extent works in that regard.

You can certainly make the argument, though, that the casting of Goldberg is stereotypical. If that's not what anybody else was trying to say, sorry for putting words in your mouth.
Reply
post #57 of 166
10/13/08 at 1:39pm
Not a risk worth taking, Dave.

On an another note, The Hebrew Hammer is pretty funny.
Reply
post #58 of 166
10/13/08 at 1:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by InTheShadows View Post
It's just a very Jewish sounding last name, is all. And he certainly looks Jewish, whether he's practicing or not.

Wow.
Reply
post #59 of 166
10/13/08 at 1:44pm
Oh please, I wasn't being anti-semitic, and if it sounded that way I apologize. It's a stereotype, sure, but all stereotypes are based in fact.
Reply
post #60 of 166
10/13/08 at 1:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RathBandu View Post
Dave, you're right, logically, but I think what we're trying to say is one of the ways Spielberg gets us comfortable with the characters is by drawing them in those broad strokes in the beginning.

The film has a large cast, and part of the way he does that is by casting actors who are, or were, previously identified with other roles. Sure, guys like Pepper or Diesel weren't well known at the time the film was made, but Goldberg had played characters who were identified as Jewish in other films, just like Burns played smart-assed guys from New York and Tom Sizemore played tough guys and Jeremy Davies played wusses. Dennis Farina played cops and military guys. Even the casting of Matt Damon to some extent works in that regard.

You can certainly make the argument, though, that the casting of Goldberg is stereotypical. If that's not what anybody else was trying to say, sorry for putting words in your mouth.
No, you're right, actually. I just thought IntheShadows' phrasing was funny, since Goldberg isn't quite as Jewish as most would be inclined to think, given the roles he often takes.

I'd have to think that Spielberg cast him for the role specifically because he wanted someone who could be quickly identified as Jewish.
Reply
post #61 of 166
10/13/08 at 1:47pm
I should have said "You can't have much more of a Jewish sounding last name then that." You're right, my phrasing sucked.
Reply
post #62 of 166
10/13/08 at 1:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by InTheShadows View Post
Oh please, I wasn't being anti-semitic, and if it sounded that way I apologize. It's a stereotype, sure, but all stereotypes are based in fact.
All stereotypes?
Reply
post #63 of 166
10/13/08 at 1:52pm
There are exceptions to every rule, and I certainly run the risk of sounding like an ignorant bigot here, but really, what stereotypes exist that aren't some extrapolation of the truth?
Reply
post #64 of 166
10/13/08 at 1:54pm
Doesn't Mellish say something about using the knife to cut challah when Caparzo gives it to him?
Reply
post #65 of 166
10/13/08 at 1:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RathBandu View Post
You're totally right. If I hadn't been told by the film, I would have thought Vin Diesel was from Mississippi.
Nobody knows where Vin Diesel is from.
Reply
post #66 of 166
10/13/08 at 1:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Dickson View Post
Doesn't Mellish say something about using the knife to cut challah when Caparzo gives it to him?
Jeez. I think he did say something like that. I don't know what challah is, so that wasn't a clue for me. What the hell is challah?
Reply
post #67 of 166
10/13/08 at 1:58pm
Bread.
Reply
post #68 of 166
10/13/08 at 1:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolfie View Post
Jeez. I think he did say something like that. I don't know what challah is, so that wasn't a clue for me. What the hell is challah?
Reply
post #69 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:00pm
It's bread over which a blessing is usually said before meals during the Sabbath.
Reply
post #70 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by InTheShadows View Post
There are exceptions to every rule, and I certainly run the risk of sounding like an ignorant bigot here, but really, what stereotypes exist that aren't some extrapolation of the truth?
Jews make their bread from the blood of blond children and secretly control the world's finances.
Black men are obsessed with having sex with white women.
Puerto Ricans will steel your hubcaps.
Asians are terrible drivers.
The Polish are stupid.
The French are cowards.
Germans are assholes.
Southerners are inbred.

Do I really need to keep going here?
Reply
post #71 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveB View Post
Jews make their bread from the blood of blond children and secretly control the world's finances.
Black men are obsessed with having sex with white women.
Puerto Ricans will steel your hubcaps.
Asians are terrible drivers.
The Polish are stupid.
The French are cowards.
Germans are assholes.
Southerners are inbred.

Do I really need to keep going here?
OK, the first one isn't true, but the rest? They are all extrapolations of truth, or were created from something that happened in our history (I'm pretty sure the Polish being stupid stereotype is because of WWII, where they fought German tanks with Cavalry). These things weren't created out of thin air (except the first, which I honestly have never heard before). Are all black men obsessed with having sex with white women? No, but there certainly are some out there.

And Asian women are terrible drivers.
Reply
post #72 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:08pm
Adam Goldberg is super Jewy. Give me a break.
Reply
post #73 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by InTheShadows View Post
Now I'm all hungry.
Reply
post #74 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveB View Post
Jews make their bread from the blood of blond children and secretly control the world's finances.
Black men are obsessed with having sex with white women.
Puerto Ricans will steel your hubcaps.
Asians are terrible drivers.
The Polish are stupid.
The French are cowards.
Germans are assholes.
Southerners are inbred.

Do I really need to keep going here?
DO BELGiUM!!!!
Reply
post #75 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:27pm
Not to derail the derailment, but near the end of the film there's a gorgeous Edith Piaf playing when the troops are done with prep and waiting for the final German offensive (when Ryan is telling Miller the story about saving his brother from an ugly girl). I've looked IMDB up and down and can't seem to match the songs listed with the song that I actually heard. Folks, any clue? Many thanks.
Reply
post #76 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by InTheShadows View Post
There are exceptions to every rule, and I certainly run the risk of sounding like an ignorant bigot here, but really, what stereotypes exist that aren't some extrapolation of the truth?
Your response to Dave's list? Firmly places you as sounding like an ignorant bigot.
Reply
post #77 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gaybe Sapien View Post
DO BELGiUM!!!!
They have good waffles.
Reply
post #78 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:29pm
We totally do. I guess it's all based on some modicum of truth after all.
Reply
post #79 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:29pm
Now I want waffles.
Reply
post #80 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:33pm
Man, this thread is so terrible on so many levels.

Too bad Spielberg didn't trust the audience on this one, cause if he did he'd have a masterpiece.
Reply
post #81 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:33pm
Thread Starter 
Jesus, this thread went to hell.

Any chance we could lock this fucker or something? It actually embarrasses me.
Reply
post #82 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:36pm
A man has no control over when or where he'll get a craving for waffles. For that I make no apologies.
Reply
post #83 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:47pm
Now I want waffles. Fuck's sake, I only came to read about a film I remember enjoying.
Reply
post #84 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonathan Banks is my hero View Post
Not to derail the derailment, but near the end of the film there's a gorgeous Edith Piaf playing when the troops are done with prep and waiting for the final German offensive (when Ryan is telling Miller the story about saving his brother from an ugly girl). I've looked IMDB up and down and can't seem to match the songs listed with the song that I actually heard. Folks, any clue? Many thanks.
I checked imdb.com and a few other places, and it looks like the consensus is that it's "Tu Es Partout." It's been years since I've seen SPR, but is that not the right song?
Reply
post #85 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:52pm
Saving Private Ryan should've won Best Picture. Does anyone even talk about Shakespeare in Love anymore? It's a case of How Green Was My Valley over Citizen Kane.
Reply
post #86 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:54pm
This scene, Banks? 'Cause that is definitely "Tu es partout."
Reply
post #87 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andre Dellamorte View Post
Man, this thread is so terrible on so many levels.

Too bad Spielberg didn't trust the audience on this one, cause if he did he'd have a masterpiece.
I'd say he trusted Wolfie a little too much.
Reply
post #88 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bees?! View Post
Now I want waffles. Fuck's sake, I only came to read about a film I remember enjoying.
Reply
post #89 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:59pm
SiL vs. SPR is so old hat. And of course, I would have given the nod to Thin Red Line.

Re: Bob Clark, Like Whoodini once sang, the freaks come out at night.
Reply
post #90 of 166
10/13/08 at 2:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by User_32 View Post
Saving Private Ryan should've won Best Picture. Does anyone even talk about Shakespeare in Love anymore?
I'd give it to The Thin Red Line before either of them, and people probably talk about that one even less than Shakespeare in Love.
Reply
post #91 of 166
10/13/08 at 3:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andre Dellamorte View Post
SiL vs. SPR is so old hat. And of course, I would have given the nod to Thin Red Line.
Thin Red Line is a way better film. But I suppose SPR is a more INTERESTING film than Shakespeare in Love. SiL is like a chicken running around after it's head is cut off. No, all the scholarly references to Shakespeare and Bacon don't make it better.

Shakespeare in Love got the Oscar because it had two Oscar Bait elements. 1. Literary pretentions 2. Nudity. In combination male critics find that irresistible. Worked for "The English Patient" too.
Reply
post #92 of 166
10/13/08 at 3:07pm
No way. Thin Red Line is fine.. but SPR is the better film. But then all the nominees were better than Shakespeare in Love that year.
Reply
post #93 of 166
10/13/08 at 3:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by User_32 View Post
Saving Private Ryan should've won Best Picture.
Nope. Thin Red Line should've won.
Reply
post #94 of 166
10/13/08 at 3:14pm
Also, Shakespeare in Love is fine for what it is, and though it's not exactly on my list of best whatever, it is far more consistant than SPR. As great as the film is for about70-90% of its running time, when it fucks up, it really, really fucks up. Also, I would never expect this board to say nice things about SiL, so dissing it is not worth much.
Reply
post #95 of 166
10/13/08 at 3:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolfie View Post
How is Pepper's death a denunciation of the Hand of God? People are constantly depicted as having acted with God's help, even if they die in the process of completing God's mission. And he wasn't "lost", but steadily picking off the Enemy while he prayed. Why do you assume he was praying for protection, and not for help in doing God's work? As far as the film tells us, he's Godly because he prays, and that makes his actions Godly. You can't pretend that someone dying while doing heroic things in God's name is usually seen as proof that God was not with that person.
KISS
Reply
post #96 of 166
10/13/08 at 3:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andre Dellamorte View Post
Also, Shakespeare in Love is fine for what it is, and though it's not exactly on my list of best whatever, it is far more consistant than SPR. As great as the film is for about70-90% of its running time, when it fucks up, it really, really fucks up. Also, I would never expect this board to say nice things about SiL, so dissing it is not worth much.
The same can be said about Steven Spielberg movies as of late it seems. It's getting to a point on these boards where anything that is popular should be bashed.
Reply
post #97 of 166
10/13/08 at 3:22pm
Uhhh... welcome to the internet?
Reply
post #98 of 166
10/13/08 at 3:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolfie View Post
No, all the scholarly references to Shakespeare and Bacon don't make it better.
Yeah, the Shakespeare references in SiL took me right out of the movie.
Reply
post #99 of 166
10/13/08 at 3:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andre Dellamorte View Post
Also, Shakespeare in Love is fine for what it is, and though it's not exactly on my list of best whatever, it is far more consistant than SPR. As great as the film is for about70-90% of its running time, when it fucks up, it really, really fucks up. Also, I would never expect this board to say nice things about SiL, so dissing it is not worth much.
Gwynneth Paltrow's bare bosoms were lovely.
Reply
post #100 of 166
10/13/08 at 3:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andre Dellamorte View Post
Also, Shakespeare in Love is fine for what it is, and though it's not exactly on my list of best whatever, it is far more consistant than SPR. As great as the film is for about70-90% of its running time, when it fucks up, it really, really fucks up. Also, I would never expect this board to say nice things about SiL, so dissing it is not worth much.
While I prefer Ryan, SiL is a very enjoyable and worthy film. I don't consider it the Oscar embarassment that some do.

Side note: has any actor in recent memory squandered their spotlight worse than Joseph Fiennes?
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Films in Release or On Video
CHUD.com Community › Forums › SPECIFIC FILMS › Films in Release or On Video › Saving Private Ryan