Editorial Review:Product Description:A small band of u.S. Soldiers are sent on a mission during the tumultuous battle at normandy to find the lone survivor of four brothers in steven spielbergs brutally honest world war ii epic. Special features: cast and filmmakers bios: production notes: interactive menus: two theatrical trailers and more. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 02/14/2006 Starring: Tom Hanks Tom Sizemore Run time: 169 minutes Rating: R Director: Stephen Spielberg
Amazon.com essential video: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
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Average Rating:
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One of my top favorite WW II movies
Impressive. All 5/5 stars for the first 15-20 minutes of the movie and the whole story of course is magnificent. Awesome! This is my favorite WW II movie. Great job and a fitting tribute to those who died trying to liberate Europe from Nazism and Fascism. Extremely well-done and a great movie. Makes me tear eyed when the army car comes by to notify Ryan's family of their sons' death. The acting is great and the visual effects are very well-done. Moreover, the Robert Kapa's style of photography is amazing. Spielberg might be a typical liberal Hollywood star but his movies are fantastic. He's got better yr by yr. I think this is thus far the best WW 2 movie of the recent yrs. loved it!
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The best war film ever
* Reviews for this movie are pretty much ineffectual. Everyone's seen this movie and if you haven't you probably don't like war movies. The hype for this movie is right on. It's Visually stunning. It has The best opening scene in any movie. You won't be disappointed in this movie.
After this movie, Steve Spielberg decided to do the Band of Brothers which is also very good.
If you like War Movies and you haven't seen this, you must see it. ...
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A MUST SEE movie
I hope that this is the closest that I ever come to combat in my life. Thank God for the men that put their lives on the line to keep us, and the world, free. Hats off to Spielberg for the realism of the combat. That should be enough for all of us to make a promise to ourselves to personally thank as many vets as we can for serving to keep us free. War is no walk in the park, and this movie comes closest to capturing just how close to hell it really is. This movie teaches a lot about sacrifice, courage, heroism, and emotion. Sometimes there are causes greater than our own selves which are worth sacrificing for. A great movie for this era. Too many men of that generation have passed away - this captures a little bit of what was special about that generation. A must see for all kids as soon as they are capable of handling it.
Rating: 
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A strange film in many ways.
* This is an interesting film but marred in all sorts of funny ways: yukky setimentality intrudes and damages what could have been a very great film.
The opening sequence is based on a similar one in a German film called Stalingrad, and has great impact. When the film came out, this is what impressed people, along with its apparent realism.
Wouldn't it have been a great film if Private Ryan himself had not been much worth saving? He is presented as an heroic figure when we first see him, holding a bazooka. But supposing he had been crying and hiding behind a tree? That would have, perhaps, have said more about the nature of war, fate and taking orders.
When hundreds of dead American troops are shown lying dead in the surf, there is a musical soundtrack, an orchestra in a minor key. Why? Surely, the sight of hundreds of young men lying dead on a beach is melancholy enough.
Why was it set in the present, with the body of the film as a flashback? I could not see the purpose to trying to anchor it in the present, in some way.
No disrespect to anyone, but why is it that whenever we see a US flag, or hear the mention of someone like President Lincoln, an orchestra always starts to play? It has all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
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Rating: -
A flawed gem
First off, everything you may have heard about the opening Normandy sequence is true: this is quite simply the most amazing battle re-creation footage you're ever likely to see. Definitely not for the squeamish, it paints its horrifying portrait without ever allowing the viewer to glory in any kind of "excitement" (which most battle simulations end up doing on some level, even the well-meaning ones). Spielberg uses every ounce of his talent and ingenuity to show combat the way it should be shown: as pure Hell, a nightmare that it is impossible to waken from. As for the rest of the movie which follows this opening sequence. . . well, I'm not sure. The first time I saw it, I was caught up from the beginning and the rest of the film seemed to hold me equally well. But upon further viewings, the flimsiness and basic illogic of the central plot become far more noticeable. I don't know, it's a toss-up. There are still several compelling scenes here, and Tom Hanks gives the performance of his career (his "dramatic" career anyway - I'm one who still believes there's much to be said for Tom's earlier work in comedy) but there just seems to be an overall "falseness" in the structure that undercuts some of the film's power. I wish a better framing story could have been found. But by all means see this movie. Warts and all, it's the kind that only a truly great director could make - and the opening alone is worth the cost. Just don't expect a masterpiece; think of it more as a flawed gem.
