Saving Private Ryan

"Tell me I've led a good life."

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (R)

Reviewed July 29, 1998 - Check out the Saving Private Ryan Website.

Powerful. Moving. A film of unrelenting force and substance.

It's hard to write about the experience of Saving Private Ryan without using such dramatically strong words. Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film opens quietly with an American flag filling the screen, then slowly fades to an emotional scene as an aged American veteran and his family visits a memorial cemetery in France. Rows upon rows of white crosses line an immaculately mowed lawn, each cross representing a soldier lost while defending the country during the second world war. The veteran stops, falls to his knees, and weeps.

What follows then is a trip back in time to June 6, 1944, to the D-Day invasion of Normandy at Omaha Beach. In an unflinchingly brutal, violent, and bloody recounting of that day's events, Spielberg quickly immerses you in the gruesome realities of war. The sights and sounds of artillery fire and death rush in with vivid detail, as wave after wave of incoming troops are cut down by enemy fire. Torn limbs, open wounds, and spilled entrails are graphically depicted, and the brutality hits again and again and again, until you are both numb and exhausted by it all.

And that's just the first half-hour.

In the wake of this bloody invasion, the US Army learns that three brothers from the Ryan family have just died in action, with their mother receiving notice of all three deaths on the same day. A fourth brother, Private James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon), is believed to be alive, and the US Army Chief of Staff decides that this fourth Ryan will come back home safely...but first, he needs to be found. Enter D-day survivor Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) and his team of eight men, who are given the mission of finding this one man in the midst of a war. Together, they head off into a dangerous French countryside, risking their own lives in search of someone who's just gotten a ticket home.

Running nearly three hours in length, Saving Private Ryan is an experience that is as riveting as it is exhausting. With Spielberg at the helm and Hanks at center stage, it is a film that carries extraordinary power and effect. Hanks and his team of men (with characters played by Tom Sizemore, Edward Burnes, Jeremy Davies, Vin Diesel, Adam Goldberg, Barry Pepper, and Giovanni Ribisi) become our window to the cruel, hellish nature of war. As you'd expect, the acting performances are excellent in this film, giving us memorable and complex human characters that add to the film's strength. Hanks is particularly effective in his role as Captain John Miller, bestowing to the character a richness and texture that will surely reinforce Hanks' status as one of the greatest performers of our generation.

I suppose I could say more but at this stage you probably get the point: Saving Private Ryan is an excellent film, and one that deserves to be seen. Unfortunately, the very graphic scenes of violence in this film make it inappropriate for younger viewers, but for everyone else, it's a must see. This is a story that teaches lessons about courage, fear, brutality and compassion, and it is one that does so with unwavering intensity. At the end of the film, when Spielberg returns us to the present day and that same memorial cemetery, and we meet up once again with that same aged veteran, we return gifted with a deeper understanding of the impact of war. It's a powerful and devastating and sobering experience, and one that's worth three hours of your time at the movie theater.

Responses from cyberspace--thanks for writing!

doggpound_02@yahoo.com gives this movie star: "This movie sucked i wanted to pick 0 stars so it looks like i put down one but other than that watch dude wheres my car that is the best save my privates from ryan please" (4/20/01)

Sean gives this movie stars: "I LOVED IT! The only Reason why it does not get 5 stars is because I have never given a film everything, it has to be extroadanary. Saving Private Ryan was one of the best of a ll time." (4/2/01)

shotgun1@homestead.com gives this movie stars: "This is in my opinion the best spielberg movie ever created. It made me realize what the soldiers went through to protect us. I highly recomend this movie. " (2/8/01)

Ryan gives this movie stars: "It was the best movie" (8/29/00)

anonymous entry gives this movie stars: "I must say that I was surprised at the acuracy of this movie. Being a veteran of WWII. This the best depiction of war I have ever seen. Nothing was held back and I hope it will show those who think war is just a game what it really is. Speilburg is incredible and this movie is proof of his talent and fury when it comes to making a movie. The begining shows the landing at Omaha Beach landing. I can tell you that I myself was stunned. I have seen that, but never in a movie. And this is only the begging of Speilburgs career for there will be many more that will follow that will stunn the audience and tell the world that he is the best director to walk the planet." (4/23/00)

wappak@yahoo.co.uk gives this movie stars: "Please Shut Up Sullivan Gray, you clearly have no idea how groundbreaking this movie is, go see it, but not just cos of hanks, the whole thing is the most moving cinematic experience ever!" (3/14/00)

funky pants gives this movie stars: "it was a great movie. A lot of action." (12/16/99)

jessfroggy@prodigy.net gives this movie stars: " This movie was great it really showed what war was all about it wasnt preety the first scene was fantastic and it was really sad to see how hard they worked and then they just died this movie rocked" (8/18/99)

Gus gives this movie stars: "This is the Best war movie ever made. It's show to us how that war was violent, Spielberg make a movie that is so real, moving, and chocking that made us think how bad was that war. A masterpiece like this should never be forgoted. And should won the Oscar.***** out of *****." (8/1/99)

shotgunshells@hotmail.com gives this movie stars: "This film was a true masterpeice, as was Schindler's List. It was VERY violent, but it made me think of all those people who really died at omaha beach. it was an exclellent film. Now, I have been inclined to see more Tom Hanks movies. this film was very violent, but that's just being realistic. That's all Speilburg ever is, just realistic. he is an amazing director. He can make a cartoon as silly as Tiny Toons, and a film as searious as Schindler's List" (7/27/99)

ShadowRaider_98@yahoo.com gives this movie stars: "Spielberg has made a truly great masterpiece. Astounding. That's all I can say. Absolutely the best movie ever made. Even better than Titanic. 5 stars equals F**king Awesome! " (6/24/99)

bighoss@tyler.net gives this movie stars: "This is an instant classic. I love war movies and have seen all of the great ones. The action, sound and the story make this one of the best war movies i've ever seen; and that's saying a lot if you can imagine all of the great war movies that have been made like Apocalyse Now, Full Metal Jacket and Sands of Iwojima. Further, unlike older war movies, Private Ryan is really "explicit" in that its a gory blood-bath of a documentary of combat. I sat in my chair physically and psychologically horrified at the death and slaughter that was depicted in the action scenes. This movie really made me appreciate what our fighting men have been through or will have to go through in the even of another war. It also pisses me off when I think about how badly our soldiers and veterans have been treated by people and the government when they return home from fighting. Finally, I have a word for all of the protesters who take out their anger on the soldiers that fight instead of on the governments that start the wars: "Leave them alone! Show them some respect! If not, pick up a damned rifle and try fighting for yourself, because they are fighting and dying for you." " (6/12/99)

David gives this movie stars: "5 STARS....'NUF SAID Brilliantly done with great sound, make-up and acting. I could speak for ages on it, but 5 stars says it all." (3/3/99)

jwfinnie31@aol.com gives this movie stars: "I noted a minor error. In one scene a Catholic chaplain is kneeling over a dying man saying the rosary in Latin. No priest ever said the rosary in Latin." (2/26/99)

Tho8350@aol.com gives this movie stars: "My uncle was on the beach during D-Day 1944 an made it to die later at the Battle of the Bulge. My father served during all of ww2 in the Pacific (combat vet) and The Korean War. I am a 2 tour combat veteran of Viet Nam and I must tell you this move is the closest thing to the realities of war I have ever seen. I was very moved and very grateful it was bound by true and factual events (unlike platoon). Thank you Hank Samples 11th ACR RVN 70-72" (2/11/99)

mariusd@bol.co.za gives this movie stars: "I saw this movie in DTS and was breathless at some of the scenes. I left the theatre thinking. Good one Steven." (1/26/99)

Remo Pellegrino gives this movie stars: "That was the f****ing greatest movie after Scream2. That movie had all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The beginning was P - E - R - F - E - C - T" (1/5/99)

d-park@cornell-iowa.edu gives this movie stars: "I may be the only person to say this, but Saving Private Ryan was not the movie I expected it to be. The start off was excellent, the characters developed, the scenes beautifully depicted, and the cinematography well done. What bothered me about Ryan, was the fact that it turned into the Dirty Dozen or A Bridge Too Far so quickly. Come on. How many times have we seen the "New Jersey tough guy" stereotype, or the "emotionally filled/passive medic" stereotype in a war film? Its hard to deny the group of men wasn't pulled out of the Dirty Dozen. I know a lot people feel sympathy towards this movie because of the subject it tries to deal with (atrocities of war, and heroism), but the movie turns into every other World War II film. Even Spielberg admitted he pulled every trick in the book as far as the making of Ryan. What question remains the most bothersome, is what are you supposed to feel? Is saving one man's life justification for other men dying, or is "the cause" more important than anyone's lives? Ryan, other than the fact that it showed the hellishness of war (although I wish it could've impacted people watching more (I don't understand the reason for clapping when German soldiers who surrendered are shot)) never totally sets a clear question and therefore never answers one. It could've been a great movie had it sent a clear message, but fell to the "wonderful classifications of Hollywood" before doing so." (12/10/98)

tatemar@compuserve.com gives this movie stars: "The movie was very good. The interaction of the characters was excellent and actually could have been played up a little bit. It would have been nice to get to know the characters better. The drama of "war" was the most dramatic I have ever seen. Possibly the best movie of the year?!" (10/8/98)

doebler@mail.tcbi.com gives this movie stars: "Well I know I have tons to say on this book and movie, but words are useless in all ways. My simple words are nothing compared to the feelings that so many poeple have felt through reading and seeing this extrordinary piece. I am young, to say the least, too young to have been alive during this war, or any of them for that matter. But, somehow the feelings of all those men who died for our country is pounded into my heart and soul. It is so unexplainable that it is frustrating. I've read mnay a books and seen too many movies, but never have I been so moved by one such as this. it makes me livid to hear some of these people on this web page saying that this movie was overrated and that people are making to much of a big deal of it!! It shows how insensitive and uncompassiontae some are. You heard about the veterans who cried openly at this movie and some who were so upset that they wre sick and some fainted. This was real! Men really died like this, horrifying deaths for who and what? Strangers they had never met and would never know? They went into these battles unknowing of the fate that would take thier young souls. Some of these men were not men at all, they were merely kids. The impact that Saving Private Ryan has had on me will always stay with me. I don't care what the insensitive say. Some people just don't understand how terrible and what a reality Wolrd War really was. What does it take? Another World War for people to see that this wasnt't just a movie? It was life, life that breathed its last breath while bullets shot through or bombs blew to disgusting smitherines. It makes me sad to think of all those guys who busted thier butts for something that they never got to be thanked for or even know why they died for. So much death, pain, memories, and for what? The United States of America? The home of the brave and the land of the free? Sadly yes. Sadly, because our country today isn't exaclty something I'd slaughter thousands of men over. Saving Private Ryan has more meaning then just death and guns and bombs and men swearing all over the place. It is History that I have learned to appreciate to the fullest. I hope many of you have too. My heart and thoughts are with every man that died out there and every man that still suffers from loss and memories of the horror of World War Two." (10/6/98)

Sullivan Gray gives this movie stars: "You know, this isn't a bad film, but it's highly overrated. Everyone says things like "wow, this is the most realistic war film ever" and "it really shows the horrors of war." But no one really bothers to think about it enough to realize that the film relies almost entirely on shock value. Every emotional heart string this film pulls is based solely on the fact someone got violently killed. Ryan himself doesn't even react that strongly to the news that his brothers are dead. For me, that kills any real effect the film can have. Still, Hanks is awesome it. He's the only reason to see the movie." (9/28/98)

Josh Addison gives this movie stars: "I felt this was a good movie because of what it shows wars are really like, also, because they didn't sugar coat it." (9/15/98)

Greg Cole gives this movie stars: "a very intense film that makes you see the real horrors of war. a great movie that will join steven spielbergs list of wonderful films. a must see for this year." (9/9/98)

diggydogg3@yahoo.com gives this movie stars: "This movie is a Must see but I like Action movies, This was a very Greusome movie but I liked it very much." (9/7/98)

wfnd@cusavae.com gives this movie stars: "The move was great! Are you going to have Titanic?" (9/6/98)

nickblaskowski@hotmail.com gives this movie stars: "The book was great.........The movie was great.............everything was great.I was disgusted by Jey Leno's joke,he called the movie "Shaving Ryan's Privates".This is one movie that shouldn't be made fun of.I noticed that many of the people who were seeing this movie were probably survivors of World War two.One man exclaimed"War is Hell".He was most likely a World War two veteran.I agree that this was the best war movie ever.But I have not seen many." (8/21/98)

chiquitita@jps.net gives this movie stars: "An amazing portrayal of the unthinkable violence and raw emotions involved in war-shows that nothing in war is simple: every decision made affects everyone around you and how a wrong decision could end a life. I especially loved Tom Hanks' character and the interpreter's character who best portrayed the loss of innocence involved and the struggle to deny the perfectly human sympathy that one must feel when facing their enemy face to face." (8/18/98)