Captain John Miller must take his men behind enemy lines to find Private Ryan, whose three brothers have been killed in combat. Faced with impossible odds, the men question their orders. Genre: Feature Film-Drama Rating: R Release Date: 14-FEB-2006 Media Type: DVD
When Steven Spielberg was an adolescent, his first home movie was a backyard war film. When he toured Europe with Duel in his 20s, he saw old men crumble in front of headstones at Omaha Beach. That image became the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan, his film of a mission following the D-day invasion that many have called the most realistic--and maybe the best--war film ever. With 1998 production standards, Spielberg has been able to create a stunning, unparalleled view of war as hell. We are at Omaha Beach as troops are slaughtered by Germans yet overcome the almost insurmountable odds.
A stalwart Tom Hanks plays Captain Miller, a soldier's soldier, who takes a small band of troops behind enemy lines to retrieve a private whose three brothers have recently been killed in action. It's a public relations move for the Army, but it has historical precedent dating back to the Civil War. Some critics of the film have labeled the central characters stereotypes. If that is so, this movie gives stereotypes a good name: Tom Sizemore as the deft sergeant, Edward Burns as the hotheaded Private Reiben, Barry Pepper as the religious sniper, Adam Goldberg as the lone Jew, Vin Diesel as the oversize Private Caparzo, Giovanni Ribisi as the soulful medic, and Jeremy Davies, who as a meek corporal gives the film its most memorable performance.
The movie is as heavy and realistic as Spielberg's Oscar-winning Schindler's List, but it's more kinetic. Spielberg and his ace technicians (the film won five Oscars: editing (Michael Kahn), cinematography (Janusz Kaminski), sound, sound effects, and directing) deliver battle sequences that wash over the eyes and hit the gut. The violence is extreme but never gratuitous. The final battle, a dizzying display of gusto, empathy, and chaos, leads to a profound repose. Saving Private Ryan touches us deeper than Schindler because it succinctly links the past with how we should feel today. It's the film Spielberg was destined to make. --Doug Thomas
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Good film but no masterpiece:
The first scenes of "Saving Private Ryan" are spectacular. You are with the landing force as it hits the beach at Normandy. Shells are exploding, landing craft are blowing up and machine gun bullets are pinging off of metal. Craft bow hatches are let down only to let machine gun bullets enter and wipe out the would-be invaders. Still other soldiers, loaded down with ammo and weapons, jump out into deep water to sink and drown on the spot. Survivors scramble to the beach where they are shot down in the... more info
D-pressing:
I know a lot of people consider this some kind of classic, but I find it to be one of the most depressing films I've ever watched. I'll take "To Hell and Back," "The Big Red One," or "Sands of Iwo Jima," to name a few, over this film anyday. I know "War is Hell," and a terrible thing and all, but I don't need those facts driven home quite this forcibly. This movie is a bummer to watch and I'll never watch it again (with all due respect to Tom Hanks, a great actor)!
One of the best WWII movies for me:
The only other thing that comes close to this is the Band of Brothers mini series. Very cool and well done.
Nothing else compares...except Band of Brothers.:
The best WWII film ever made. I've got a bunch of other movies in the genre and nothing comes close to the realism and the quality of the film making. There is an aura to this movie. The way the colors are sort of drab and drowned out is amazing. It gives you a sense of being there. I think about this movie a lot lately. I dunno why, but I always want to put it in. I pray that someone makes something close to how good this is some day. I feel like we've reached the top and there's no place left but down. If... more info
