Washington ? ABC’s broadcast last Veterans Day of the Oscar-winning war movie “Saving Private Ryan,” which contains graphic violence and profanity, did not violate indecency guidelines, regulators have ruled.

The film contained “numerous expletives and other potentially offensive language generally as part of the soldiers’ dialogue,” the Federal Communications Commission said.

“In light of the overall context in which this material is presented, the commission determined it was not indecent or profane,” the five-member FCC said in a unanimous decision in denying complaints about the movie.

“This film is a critically acclaimed artwork that tells a gritty story — one of bloody battles and supreme heroism,” FCC chairman Michael Powell said in a statement. “The horror of war and the enormous personal sacrifice it draws on cannot be painted in airy pastels.”

A spokeswoman for ABC in New York declined comment.

Sixty-six ABC affiliates, covering nearly one-third of the country, ultimately decided not to air Steven Spielberg’s movie on Nov. 11 due to skittishness over whether the film would be deemed indecent — even though the FCC in 2002 had already ruled it was not.