The Hurt Locker is an American war film about a United States Army Explosive Ordnance

Disposal (EOD) team during the Iraq War. The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow and the
screenplay was written by Mark Boal, a freelance writer who was embedded as a journalist in
2004 with a US bomb squad in Iraq. It stars Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, and Brian
Geraghty as members of the EOD unit and follows their tour of duty as they contend with
defusing bombs, the threat of insurgency, and the tension that develops among them.

The film was shot in Jordan within miles of the Iraqi border, because Bigelow wanted to bring
greater authenticity to the film. This benefited filming by supplying many Iraqi refugees for
extras and the unmistakable heat of the Middle East.

The Hurt Locker premiered at the Venice Film Festival in Italy during 2008. After being shown
at the Toronto International Film Festival, it was picked up for distribution in the United States
by Summit Entertainment. The film was released in the United States on June 26, 2009 but
received a more widespread theatrical release on July 24, 2009.

Because the 2008 film was not originally released in the U.S. until 2009, it was eligible to be
judged in the 82nd Academy Awards held in 2010. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards
and won six including Best Picture and Best Director for Bigelow, the first woman to win this
award.

The Hurt Locker also earned numerous awards and honors from critics' organizations, festivals
and groups, including six BAFTA Awards.

[edit] Plot
The Hurt Locker opens with a quotation from War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, a best-
selling 2002 book by New York Times war correspondent and journalist Chris Hedges: "The rush
of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug."[2][3]

The story depicts how the fictional character Sergeant First Class William James, a battle-tested
veteran, becomes a team leader in Bravo company of a U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal
(EOD) unit during the early stages of the post-invasion period in Iraq in 2004,[4][5] replacing Staff
Sergeant Thompson, a character who was killed by a radio-controlled 155 mm improvised
explosive device (IED) in Baghdad. The fictional team consists of Sergeant J.T. Sanborn and
Specialist Owen Eldridge, whose jobs are to communicate with their team leader via radio inside
his bombsuit, and provide him with rifle cover while he examines IEDs. During their missions of
disarming IEDs and engaging insurgents together, James's unorthodox methods lead Sanborn
and Eldridge to consider him reckless. Tensions mount between James and the other two team
members. During a raid on a warehouse, James discovers the dead body of a young boy who has
been surgically implanted with an unexploded bomb. James believes it to be "Beckham", a
young Iraqi merchant he had previously befriended.

Later, James orders his team to pursue three insurgents responsible for a recent explosion.
Sanborn protests that the task should be left to the three infantry platoons in the area, but James
overrules him. During the operation, Eldridge is shot in the leg. The next morning, James is
approached by Beckham. The young boy tries to converse with James, who walks by without
saying a word. Being airlifted for surgery, Eldridge angrily blames James for his injury.

After failing in a mission to remove and disarm a time bomb strapped to an Iraqi civilian's chest,
Sanborn becomes emotional and confesses to James that he can no longer cope with the pressure
of being in EOD, and he looks forward to finally leaving Iraq and having a son. James returns
home to his wife and child and is shown quietly performing the routine tasks of suburban civilian
life. But the boredom of normal life easily agitates James. One night James confesses to his
infant son that there is only one thing that he knows he loves. At the close of the film he is seen
going through another tour serving with Delta company of an EOD unit as they are just starting
their 365 day rotation.
Saving Private Ryan
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Saving Private Ryan

Theatrical poster

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg
Ian Bryce
Produced by
Mark Gordon
Gary Levinsohn

Written by Robert Rodat

Tom Hanks
Edward Burns
Starring
Matt Damon
Tom Sizemore

Music by John Williams

Editing by Michael Kahn

Amblin Entertainment
Studio
Mutual Film Company

Paramount Pictures
Distributed by United States
DreamWorks

Release date(s) July 24, 1998

Running time 170 minutes

Country United States

Language English

Budget $90 million[1]

Gross revenue $481,840,909[2]

Saving Private Ryan is an epic 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in
World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. The film is
notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depict the Omaha beachhead assault of
June 6, 1944. Afterward, it follows Tom Hanks as Captain John H. Miller and several men (Tom
Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Adam Goldberg, and
Jeremy Davies) as they search for paratrooper Private James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon), who is
the last surviving brother of three fallen servicemen.

Rodat first came up with the film's story in 1994 when he saw a monument dedicated to four
brothers born to Agnes Allison of Port Carbon, PA, who died during the American Civil War.
The monument was erected twenty-three years after Allison's first son was killed. Inspired by the
story, Rodat decided to write a similar story set during World War II. The script was submitted
to producer Mark Gordon, who then handed it to Hanks. It was finally given to Spielberg, who
had previously demonstrated his interest in WWII themes with films such as Schindler's List, and
decided to direct Saving Private Ryan after reading the film's script. The film's premise is very
loosely based on the real-life case of the Niland brothers.
Saving Private Ryan was well received by audiences and garnered considerable critical acclaim,
winning several awards for film, cast, and crew as well as earning significant returns at the box
office. The film grossed US$481.8 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing domestic
film of the year. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated the film for
eleven Academy Awards; Spielberg's direction won him a second Academy Award for Best
Director. Saving Private Ryan was released on home video in May 1999, earning $44 million
from sales.

Contents
[hide]

 1 Plot
 2 Cast
 3 Production
o 3.1 Development
o 3.2 Portraying history
 4 Release
o 4.1 Reception
o 4.2 Academy Awards
o 4.3 Home media
o 4.4 Television broadcasts
 5 See also
 6 References
o 6.1 Notes
o 6.2 Further reading
 7 External links

[edit] Plot
The film begins with an elderly World War II veteran and his family visiting the Normandy
American Cemetery and Memorial at Colleville-sur-mer; Normandy, France. The scene then cuts
to the morning of June 6, 1944, the beginning of the Normandy invasion, with American soldiers
preparing for the perils of landing on Omaha Beach and struggling against dug-in German
infantry, machine gun nests, and artillery fire, which cut down many of the men. Captain John H.
Miller, commanding officer of Charlie Company, 2nd Ranger Battalion, survives the initial
landing and assembles a group of soldiers to slowly penetrate the German defenses, leading to a
breakout from the beach.

The scene then shifts to the United States where General George Marshall is informed that three
of four brothers in the Ryan family have all died within days of each other and that their mother
will receive all three notices on the same day. He learns that the fourth son, Private James
Francis Ryan of Baker Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne is missing
in action somewhere in Normandy. After reading to his staff Abraham Lincoln's letter to Mrs.
Bixby, Marshall orders that Ryan be found and sent home immediately.

Back in France, Miller receives orders to find Ryan. He assembles six Rangers from his
company, plus one man detailed from the 29th Infantry Division, who speaks fluent French and
German, to accomplish the task. With no information about Ryan's whereabouts, Miller and his
men move out to Neuville. On the outskirts of Neuville they meet a platoon from the 101st. After
entering the town, Private Caparzo is fatally wounded by a sniper, who is in turn shot and killed
by Private Jackson. They locate a Private James Fredrick Ryan from Minnesota but soon realize
their mistake. They find a member of Charlie Company, 506th, who informs them that his drop
zone was at Vierville and that Baker and Charlie companies had the same rally point. Once they
reach the rally point, Miller locates a friend of Ryan's, who reveals that Ryan is defending a
strategically-important bridge over the Merderet River in the fictional town of Ramelle.

On the way to Ramelle, Miller decides to take the opportunity to neutralize a small German
machine gun position close to an abandoned radar station. Wade, their medic, is fatally wounded
in the ensuing skirmish. The last surviving German, known only as "Steamboat Willie", incurs
the wrath of all the squad members except Upham, who protests to Miller about letting the squad
kill the German soldier. The German pleads for his life and Miller decides to let him walk away,
blindfolded, and surrender himself to the next Allied patrol. Viewing Miller's decision as letting
the enemy go free, and no longer confident in Miller's leadership, Private Reiben declares his
intention to desert the squad and the mission, prompting a confrontation with Horvath. The
argument heats up, until Miller reveals his origins, which the squad had set up a betting pool
upon. Reiben then reluctantly decides to stay.

The squad finally arrives on the outskirts of Ramelle, where they help three paratroopers destroy
a German halftrack. Among the paratroopers is Private Ryan. After entering Ramelle, Ryan is
told of his brothers' deaths, and their mission to bring him home, and that two lives had been lost
in the quest to find him. He is clearly distressed at the loss of his brothers, but does not feel it is
fair to go home, saying, "these are my brothers," looking at the small band whose duty it was to
defend a bridge and destroy an approaching German mechanized unit. Miller decides to take
command and defend the bridge, setting up a creative defense plan with what little manpower
and resources available.

The Germans arrive in force with more 50 men supported by armor. Miller leads the defense, but
in spite of inflicting heavy German casualties, most of the paratroopers and his remaining squad,
are killed. While attempting to blow the bridge, Miller is shot and fatally wounded. Just before a
tank reaches the bridge, an American P-51 Mustang arrives and destroys it, followed by more
Mustangs and advancing American infantry and M4 Sherman tanks who rout the remaining
Germans. Upham executes "Steamboat Willie" upon finding him with a group of surrendering
Germans. Ryan, Reiben, Upham, and a couple paratroopers are the only survivors of the battle.
Ryan is with Miller as he dies and says his last words, "James... earn this. Earn it."

Back in the present, the elderly veteran is revealed to be Ryan at Miller's grave. He asks his wife
to confirm that he has led a good life and that he is a "good man," and thus worthy of the
sacrifice of Miller and the others. He then salutes Miller's grave as the camera pans down the
gravestones to a placid American flag and fades out as it shows the number of men who died at
D-Day.