10 Movies That Pissed Audiences Off The RIGHT WAY
9. Upham Fails To Save Mellish - Saving Private Ryan
Though Saving Private Ryan is ultimately a melancholic meditation on the tens of millions of lives pointlessly lost in World War II, it invites genuine exasperation with one of its most brilliantly upsetting moments.
Poor Pvt. Mellish (Adam Goldberg) gets waylaid by a German soldier while Cpl. Upham (Jeremy Davies) stands on a nearby staircase, paralysed with fear and unable to save him.
The audience is forced to watch as the soldier eventually overpowers Mellish, slowly driving a knife into his chest and killing him, while Upham does nothing to help.
It's a scene tailor-made to leave the audience throwing up their arms in despair at Upham's inaction even if, on reflection, it's a perfect summation of how the average person would act when forced into the throes of war.
It's unquestionably the most disturbing scene in a movie filled with harrowing moments, and arguably its most tellingly human, all the more so with the strong feelings it brings out in viewers.