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On June 6th, 1944, The Marines stormed the beaches of Normandy for one reason, to take back the strongholds that the Germans had on the coastline. We had to stamp out this sore on land and we had to do it hard and fast. I couldn't even imagine that this had to be done then, as well as I didn't imagine 19 years before I was born that I might not have had that chance of being born, but I did. My own grandfather served in the Army in the Alaskan chain of islands for a tour and was soon to be shipped out to fight for the battle of the bulge as well. My grandfather became ill with a kidney infection and just missed his company getting shipped out. Thusly, my mother had a father at home after the war ended, and I actually did get born. Saving Private Ryan is a very powerful film depicting a true to life situation to save a young Private who has to bare the burden of perhaps returning from the war and make some sense out of why he survived and his brothers all died in the call of duty. Private Ryan (Matt Damon) is first unaware of his brother's demise, but soon learns of the news about them all. Director Steven Spielberg depicts a larger than life size story about the means to an end to lead a squad of men into a dangerous zone behind enemy lines, just to rescue this Ryan and get him back to his home. Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) leads the unit whose orders are to track down Private Ryan return home where his mother is grieving the unimaginable loss of her three other sons to different battles of the war. The first unforgettable 20 minutes of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN realistically and horrifically depicts the Normandy invasion as Miller. his second-in-command, Sergeant Horvath (Tom Sizemore), and the others in the unit land at Omaha Beach. Casting was probably the easiest part for the pre-production team, yet making the movie appear realistic was a definite challenge. Spielberg would have it no other way than true-to-life. That's why the film won so many academy awards. I'll give this a 5/5 or 100% for its valiant men who died at the orders of their superiors for such an important cause they all finally related to in the end. IF YOU LIKE MY REVIEWS, PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO LET ME KNOW BY VOTING. THANKS.Read full review
Devastating. If, for some reason, I was asked to write a one-word review of Saving Private Ryan, that would be the term I would use. As was true of director Steven Spielberg's other masterpiece, Schindler's List, the impact of this motion picture must be experienced; it cannot be adequately described. No film since last year's The Sweet Hereafter has left such a searing and indelible imprint on my mind and soul. This movie did not need to be released at the end of the year to be considered for a flood of Oscar nominations; it's so forceful that no one who sees it will be able to forget it -- not even Academy members with two-month memory spans. Saving Private Ryan opens with a 30-minute cinematic tour de force that is without a doubt one of the finest half-hours ever committed to film. This sequence, a soldier's-eye view of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, is brilliant not only in terms of technique but in the depth of viewer reaction it generates. It is certainly the most violent, gory, visceral depiction of war that I have ever witnessed on screen. Spielberg spares the viewer nothing of the horrors of battle, using every tactic at his disposal to convey the chaos and senseless waste that lies at the core of any engagement. We are presented with unforgettable, bloody images of bodies being cut to pieces by bullets, limbs blown off, entrails spilling out, and a variety of other assorted examples of carnage. And, when the tide comes in with the waves breaking on the body-strewn beach, the water is crimson. Those who are at all squeamish will find the opening of Saving Private Ryan unbearable. This aspect of the film almost earned it an NC-17 rating; only the fact that Spielberg rigorously avoids even a hint of exploitation convinced the MPAA to award an R. In addition to showing what happens when projectiles rip into the soft flesh of the human body, the director employs other methods to capture the essence of battle - hand-held cameras, a slight speeding up of the images, muted colors, and several different kinds of film stock. Put it all together, and it adds up to a dizzying, exhausting assault on the senses. As good as the rest of Saving Private Ryan is, and it's very good, the D-Day attack on Omaha Beach is the sequence that everyone will remember most clearly. Most World War II movies fall into one of two categories: heroic tales of glory and valor or biopics (my all-time favorite film, Patton, falls in the latter camp). Saving Private Ryan is neither. Instead, it's a condemnation of war wrapped in a tale of human courage and sacrifice. In many ways, the picture painted by this movie is more grim than the one Oliver Stone presented in Platoon, which has often been cited as the most daring anti-war film to come out of Hollywood. Saving Private Ryan quickly and brutally dispels the notion that war is anything but vicious, demoralizing violence that makes a cruel joke out of the human body and spirit. Although the film is only loosely based on a true incident, it's hard not to accept these characters and events as real. See it for youself!!!Read full review
"Saving Private Ryan" is an accurate summary about a war I was in. I am now 88 years old and I can show this DVD to my descendants and say "This is the way it was". I am thankful that I survived. I was 18 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, as President Roosevelt put it, "A day of Infamy", a shock to the whole world. Germany invaded France and Poland, and that was the start of World War 2, Japan and Germany, the "Axis", and the rest the world, the "Allies". I joined the Army Air Corp at that time, and rejoiced when The United States Of America declared victory in 1946. This DVD told the story in a graphic way which I could never put in words to tell my descendants the real evils of war. It was "shoot to kill", and maybe, be shot yourself. I wish everybody could see this "Saving Private Ryan" DVD just to learn the way things were happening at that time.Read full review
Spielbrg does a great opening 20 min. About the most intense 20min in movie history but the end is too cliche like an old John Wayne Calvary film. Overall its a better war film than most made. He did his homework for the most part and for that this film is worthy. Though from what I know Rangers didnt complain about their orders. They did what there superiors wanted or died trying. Someone wrote in another review that Marines landed on Normandy and this is not correct. Marines only fought the Japanese in WWII. Beach landings like Normandy we`re a common occurance in the Pacific. The Marines had many D-Days "Island Hopping" to Japan just not as famous as Normandy but just as deadly if not worse at times. The Army also fought in the Pacific sometimes combining their efforts w/ the USMC. Semper FiRead full review
You will cheer, laugh, cry, cringe, not want to watch, and not be able to turn away. This one you can watch again and again. So many things to try to take in. The hopes, the fears and the brotherly love in the cruelest of situations. Got to add this one to your collection!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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