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Saving Private Ryan
1998
Director Steven Spielberg's World War II tour de force chronicles the journey of a GI squad on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines. Led by Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks), the unit is under orders to track down a soldier, Private Ryan (Matt Damon), so he might return home to his mother in America, where she is grieving the .. Read more
| Starring | Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, Matt Damon |
|---|---|
| Director | Steven Spielberg |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Drama |
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Critics' reviews (6)
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With this Oscar-winning attempt to reshape the past through fiction, Steven Spielberg comes closer than ever before to depicting historical truth. The action opens brutally with a gut-wrenching re-creation of the Second World War D-Day landing on Omaha beach. Veterans of the campaign are divided on the authenticity of some of the more spectacularly gory injuries, but most agree that Spielberg and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski succeeded in capturing the terrifying and bewildering chaos of the encounter. Yet, away from the fighting, the film occasionally lapses into combat picture cliché, with too many members of Tom Hanks's unit recalling stereotypical soldiers from morale-boosting movies made during the war itself. But, then, this is less about the conflict and its concerns than it is about the war films that Spielberg grew up watching. Ultimately, it lacks the resonance of such classics as All Quiet on the Western Front, but (apart from its corny bookend sequences) this is still well-meaning, strongly acted and slickly mounted, and ranks among the director's very best films.
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Two battles, the opening sequence on the Omaha beach and a later one in a ruined town, are virtuoso demonstrations of the director's art; in between, though, the film settles for a standard platoon-in-peril routine familiar from other war movies.
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Ranked #3 in Entertainment Weekly's "10 Favorite Films of the '90s" -- "...[A] masterpiece....One soul-shattering experience..."
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Most helpful members' reviews (3)
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30 out of 42 people found this review helpful
Great Fun
I was initially slightly reticent about the 163min running time of Saving Private Ryan, and this was not allayed by the opening five minutes of the film. However, I needn't have worried: This is a genuinely great film. Wonderfully executed, shot with an evident abundance of care and attention, with absolutely first-rate attention to detail.Spielberg takes an excellent story, full of action, heroics, humanity and moral dilemma, and makes it come alive in a way that only a talented veteran of the silver screen possibly could. (Did this same man *really* direct War of the Worlds? Or did he just pay his plumber to do it for him while he went to the pub?)
Interesting to note is that this film is not some tragic relaying of someone's personal triumph and tragedy, and not purportedly based on true events. So feel free to laugh, guilt-free, at the entertaining ways in which some of the soldiers are killed, and marvel at the Boy's Own comic-book style of WW2 derring-do displayed herein.
That said, it loses one star for the unabashed schmaltz of the opening five and closing five minutes, (Surely Spielberg can come up with a less cheesy way of conveying the same thing?) as well as almost managing to get through the entire movie without a single That-Wouldn't-Happen moment, until fifteen minutes before the end, when, unfortunately, a few start to appear.
Still none of this actually ruins the film, and it's well worth watching. Don't be put off by the length as the time just zips by.
And finally, Saving Private Ryan quietly holds what is perhaps the pinnacle of Spielberg's directing career, and something which I thought impossible: Somehow, he manages to extract a genuinely great performance from the otherwise dire Vin Diesel. Amazing.
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- RJTaylor from Manchester
- Posted 02 Jun 2007 22:57
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12 out of 13 people found this review helpful
A film everyone should see
Ill never forget the first time i saw this film at the cinema, the opening sequence is one of the best? or is it bloodiest ive ever seen, the story moves along nicely and the acting is nothing short of superb. This film made me feel total respect for the people on both sides who served during this war and made me glad that because they did i dont have to. Awesome
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12 out of 14 people found this review helpful
Harrowing beyond belief
I think this film is the most violent film ever made simply because the on-screen violence is based on the recollections of the courageous souls who fought in that battle and in the Second World War. A quite brilliant technical achievement and a film that should be compulsory viewing lest we forget the immense bravery of the soldiers involved in the conflict. They were plenty of Brits and other nations involved also though Mr Spielberg!
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Most recent members' reviews (2)
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4 out of 6 people found this review helpful
Should you order bonus discs?
In this case the bonus disc was interesting and produced an incite into the way the film was not only produced but discussed the various film locations and the way the actors developed methods to enhance their performances. Although not generally a fan of bonus discs I thought this one was certainly worth hiring.
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Moving
Hanks at his best. Extremely moving film fantastically filmed and realistic. What more can I say but 'brilliant film'.
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30 out of 42 people found this review helpful
Great Fun
I was initially slightly reticent about the 163min running time of Saving Private Ryan, and this was not allayed by the opening five minutes of the film. However, I needn't have worried: This is a genuinely great film. Wonderfully executed, shot with an evident abundance of care and attention, with absolutely first-rate attention to detail.Spielberg takes an excellent story, full of action, heroics, humanity and moral dilemma, and makes it come alive in a way that only a talented veteran of the silver screen possibly could. (Did this same man *really* direct War of the Worlds? Or did he just pay his plumber to do it for him while he went to the pub?)
Interesting to note is that this film is not some tragic relaying of someone's personal triumph and tragedy, and not purportedly based on true events. So feel free to laugh, guilt-free, at the entertaining ways in which some of the soldiers are killed, and marvel at the Boy's Own comic-book style of WW2 derring-do displayed herein.
That said, it loses one star for the unabashed schmaltz of the opening five and closing five minutes, (Surely Spielberg can come up with a less cheesy way of conveying the same thing?) as well as almost managing to get through the entire movie without a single That-Wouldn't-Happen moment, until fifteen minutes before the end, when, unfortunately, a few start to appear.
Still none of this actually ruins the film, and it's well worth watching. Don't be put off by the length as the time just zips by.
And finally, Saving Private Ryan quietly holds what is perhaps the pinnacle of Spielberg's directing career, and something which I thought impossible: Somehow, he manages to extract a genuinely great performance from the otherwise dire Vin Diesel. Amazing.-
- RJTaylor from Manchester
- Posted 02 Jun 2007 22:57
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12 out of 13 people found this review helpful
A film everyone should see
Ill never forget the first time i saw this film at the cinema, the opening sequence is one of the best? or is it bloodiest ive ever seen, the story moves along nicely and the acting is nothing short of superb. This film made me feel total respect for the people on both sides who served during this war and made me glad that because they did i dont have to. Awesome
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12 out of 14 people found this review helpful
Harrowing beyond belief
I think this film is the most violent film ever made simply because the on-screen violence is based on the recollections of the courageous souls who fought in that battle and in the Second World War. A quite brilliant technical achievement and a film that should be compulsory viewing lest we forget the immense bravery of the soldiers involved in the conflict. They were plenty of Brits and other nations involved also though Mr Spielberg!
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11 out of 16 people found this review helpful
manipulative, contrived and immoral
From the opening shot of the elderly Ryan's granddaughters, blonde and perfect, to the incidental detail supposed but failing to deepen the characterisation, Spielberg misses no opportunity to pile sentimentality on top of red herrings. Hanks has a mellow reputation and is used cynically to gain the audience's sympathy for the real story of the film. The plot is contrived to bring an improbable 'resolution' to the drama, and this attempts to force the viewer into condoning illegal murder. With such self-defeating propaganda, the case for moral relativity has, ironically, never been stronger.
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9 out of 11 people found this review helpful
Great war movie..
I love Tom Hanks and he's superb in this movie. As for the movie, it's awesome - from the opening scene and first 30 or so minutes of the film, it is mind blowing. The first men onto the beaches at Omaha were mown down in a hail of lead and a desperate battle for soldiers to survive.
Is this what is was like on the beaches on D-Day? Hell - what a start to a movie. The movie then follows a group of men, lead by Tom Hanks, who must find and save a young soldier, Ryan, into occupied enemy territory.
A great war movie and lots of action. Well worth the watch... -
13 out of 23 people found this review helpful
Bonus Disk
Don't bother to rent this disc unless you like watching lots of trailers. Feel a bit cheated that this is actually counted as a rented disc!
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4 out of 4 people found this review helpful
Reality of war in graphic detail
Old soldier retells his story of the war but who is he?.
D-day landings is the best part of any war film in history as soldiers die with realism in the Allies quest for glory.
A squad of soldiers led by Tom Hanks search for a Private Ryan who is eventually found after a series skirmishes with the Germans.
The identity of Private Ryan was worth the wait though and the final battle is superb.
One for the collection. -
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful
Becomes a bore.
I give it 2 stars for the openning 20 minutes covering the actual landings. After that it goes downhill and I found it very boring. Typical American war film nonsense which we have all seen so many times. I had great trouble staying with it to the end and then wished I hadn't wasted my time.
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4 out of 6 people found this review helpful
Should you order bonus discs?
In this case the bonus disc was interesting and produced an incite into the way the film was not only produced but discussed the various film locations and the way the actors developed methods to enhance their performances. Although not generally a fan of bonus discs I thought this one was certainly worth hiring.
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Rollercoaster of emotions
This was a frigtining film because it was so realistic.
The film takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions. The cast portray their characters situations and emotions so well you can really relate to them. If you haven't seen this film allready then we recommend it.
Critics' reviews (6)
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With this Oscar-winning attempt to reshape the past through fiction, Steven Spielberg comes closer than ever before to depicting historical truth. The action opens brutally with a gut-wrenching re-creation of the Second World War D-Day landing on Omaha beach. Veterans of the campaign are divided on the authenticity of some of the more spectacularly gory injuries, but most agree that Spielberg and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski succeeded in capturing the terrifying and bewildering chaos of the encounter. Yet, away from the fighting, the film occasionally lapses into combat picture cliché, with too many members of Tom Hanks's unit recalling stereotypical soldiers from morale-boosting movies made during the war itself. But, then, this is less about the conflict and its concerns than it is about the war films that Spielberg grew up watching. Ultimately, it lacks the resonance of such classics as All Quiet on the Western Front, but (apart from its corny bookend sequences) this is still well-meaning, strongly acted and slickly mounted, and ranks among the director's very best films.
-
Two battles, the opening sequence on the Omaha beach and a later one in a ruined town, are virtuoso demonstrations of the director's art; in between, though, the film settles for a standard platoon-in-peril routine familiar from other war movies.
-
Ranked #3 in Entertainment Weekly's "10 Favorite Films of the '90s" -- "...[A] masterpiece....One soul-shattering experience..."
-
"...Unprecedented immediacy [in] the battle scenes....Uniformly superb performances..."
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"...Sheer gut-wrenching immediacy....[Spielberg] has come of age as an artist..."
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"...Soberly magnificent....It is the ultimate devastating letter home..."
Buy from the LOVEFiLM shop
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Saving Private Ryan
Director Steven Spielberg's World War II tour de force chronicles the journey of a GI squad on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines. Led by Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks), the unit is under orders to track down a soldier, Private Ryan (Matt Damon), so he might return home to his mother in ...
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