Daily Dialogue — July 3, 2017

“Earn this.”

— Saving Private Ryan (1998), written by Robert Rodat

The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Sacrifice, suggested by Denise Garcia.

Trivia: Writer Robert Rodat first came up with the film’s story in 1994, when he saw a monument dedicated to four sons of Agnes Allison of Port Carbon, Pennsylvania. The brothers were killed in the American Civil War. 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 Tom Hanks. It was finally given to Steven Spielberg, who decided to direct. The film’s premise is very loosely based on the real-life case of the Niland brothers.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Tasked with the thankless job of saving one soldier’s life — after surviving the Normandy Invasion no less — Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) gives his all for Private Ryan (Matt Damon). By saying, “Earn this,” Miller is in effect passing along what Miller himself has earned: Completing a task assigned to him by his superior officers.