Oh, belive me, I'm not looking for a "war itself" movie.
I think we saw very different films, AP. I saw a dramatised version of a wartime propaganda story with some cliched characters and, with the exception of those three scenes I mentioned (all of which are good, but don't really do anything for me) an average, unimaginative script. If it wasn't for the opening and closing shots (which make no sense as Tom seems to be remembering Ryan's memories, rather than his own) and the scene when the guy's silently knifed on the stairs, I wouldn't remember a single visual from that film.
"SPR is an excellent story of the people behind the war..."