Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Amazon Review

Since its release in 1998, Steven Spielberg’s D-Day drama Saving Private Ryan has become hugely influential: everything, from the opening sequence of Gladiator (“Saving Marcus Aurelius”) to the marvellous 10-hour TV series Band of Brothers, has been made in its shadow. There have been many previous attempts to recreate the D-Day landings on screen (notably, the epic The Longest Day), but thanks to Spielberg’s freewheeling hand-held camerawork, Ryan was the first time an audience really felt like they were there, storming up Omaha Beach in the face of withering enemy fire.

fter the indelible opening sequence, however, the film is not without problems. The story, though based on an American Civil War incident, feels like it was concocted simply to fuel Spielberg’s sentimental streak. In standard Hollywood fashion the Germans remain a faceless foe (with the exception of one charmless character who turns out to be both a coward and a turncoat); and the Tom Hanks-led platoon consists of far too many stereotypes: the doughty Sergeant; the thick-necked Private; the Southern man religious sniper; the cowardly Corporal. Matt Damon seems improbably clean-cut as the titular Private in need of rescue (though that may well be the point); and why do they all run straight up that hill towards an enemy machine gun post anyway? Some non-US critics have complained that Ryan portrays only the American D-Day experience, but it is an American film made and financed by Americans after all. Accepting both its relatively narrow remit and its lachrymose inclinations, Saving Private Ryan deserves its place in the pantheon of great war pictures. –Mark Walker. Click here to read the original article.

My Little Empire Review

Saving Private Ryan is one of the best war movies of our time. When this was shown in cinemas first, it was shown to ex World War 2 vets. Within the first 30 minutes of the movie there was not a dry eye in the house because it was so real. That is the measure of this movie. Its hard hitting, brutally honest and very real. The story starts with the d-day landing when a small group of men are asked to go and save Private Ryan from being shot and killed because 3 of his brothers were also kill on d-day. It sounds a little like a remake of “The Fighting o’Sullivan’s” with a similar story but this is a whole lot better. Tom Hanks plays one of the main parts and is great in this movie. The first 30 minutes is worth watching with the volume turned up very loud.

Saving Private Ryan Trailer

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