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Saving Pvt. Ryan was the best picture of the year hands down. Anytime someone takes a much traveled genre like the war movie, and reinvents and reinvigorates it while raising the bar for future films it is exceptional. Spielberg did that here. No one has ever depicted combat quite so effectively, and Pvt. Ryan is now the standard. Even the negative reviewers concede the Omaha Beach opening is stunning and excellent. But, I think the assault on the machine gun and the closing! battle just as intense and vivid.
Pro War? Please. I don't think Spielberg's purpose was to be pro OR anti-war. I think his purpose was to honor the sacrifice of the men who fought the war. Period. But within that context, I think the death of Wayne (the Medic) is as horrifying in its unexceptionalness as anything I've seen on screen. This is war, overdosing with morphine a friend who is bleeding to death with a shredded liver. Just like that. And Mellish's hand to hand fight and vain attempt at stopping his own killing after being overpowered...this is pro-War stuff? Not to mention, that at the end of the movie nearly everyone in the squad has been killed.
The idea that Spielberg was glorifying Americans at the expense of everyone else is nonsense. This movie wasn't about Stalingrad & the Eastern Front. It wasn't about the entire operation of Overlord. It wasn't about the entire scope of the Allied effort. It was about one squad of Rangers landing on Omaha and !then getting a strange assignment. Period.
That such a mission never happened? So what? That there was no plot? That IS the plot. The mission. Works for me.
One quick comment about the idea of cliched characters etc. Who do these people think fought the war? It was wise guys from NY, hillbillies from W. Virginia, hispanics from S.California, southerners, hobos, college men etc. How in hell else are you supposed to show them? AND, the military of WWII was not integrated, in case you didn't know.
As to the reality of the ending battle. First, when the Sgt. says "something good coming from this mess" I don't think he meant all of WWII. I think he meant the mess of this mission and the men they had lost now & everywhere. Second, the Germans are attacking the town, Miller & the Airborne defending. Door-to-door street fighting is the most casualty-intensive fighting possible, and the advantage is usually always with the defenders. That's why soldiers hate it. S!o they had a chance and they had a plan....ultimately to retreat & blow the bridge. If you think this is too far fetched, you should read Ambrose's Citizen Soldiers etc. and find out just how incredible small unit actions have been. Many are unbelievable.
And what were Miller & his squad to do when Ryan refused to leave? Say "tough luck 101st, we're outta here". Maybe. But I think they would have stayed & fought. Just read about the Rangers who scaled the cliffs on D-Day. Courage was a common currency in those days.
As to the acting, characters etc. I thought they were fine. There were no false heroics to my mind. I believe they wanted to honor these men and they played it straight. Hanks was believable to me portraying a school teacher who is now a leader of men and his scene where he does the awful math of the men he's lost and the rationale he uses to live with the fact says it all. He seemed to me an average man having to do impossible, horrible things and wo!ndering what it is doing to him.
The movie is about suiting-up, showing-up and getting-on-with-it. It is about the everyday heroism of doing the dirty job and trying to survive.
Was the movie flawless? No. I would have had Ryan tell a better story to Miller than the somewhat stupid and cruel one he told. And, for that fact I didn't get the point of Wayne's story about his mother. The German shooting Miller and Upham shooting the German was somewhat problematic (emotionally satisfying, but empty. If the lesson is mercy will get you killed, by that logic, he should have shot them all)....but these are minor quibbles in a great effort.
What about Spielberg? Spielberg is a brilliant and clever director. Too clever? Sometimes. But I liked most of his touches and flourishes. I liked the sniper seeing the other sniper shooting at him. I like the wall coming down & the standoff. I liked the tank rolling up on Miller blowing up by a seeming gunshot. I didn't mind !the bit of deception at the opening & closing of the film because by the time it ended I was moved by the sentiment. I thought the opening & closing battles were magnificent. I like his compositions. I thought all the combat throughout had a genuine feel never depicted as accurately before. His camerawork & direction was continuously inventive. I thought death was shown without glamor. The courage as that mustered up and brought to bear by ordinary men. Enough.
I could go on, but what's the point? If you are nitpicking this movie you have missed the experience. And it WAS an experience (especially on the big screen) that was exceptional for eye, ear and emotions. If you were not moved, so be it. I found it a beautiful tribute to the fathers and grandfathers who did what they had to do. And it came as close as anyone has been able to convey to an audience the horrors they had to endure.
It isn't a documentary, and it isn't a history. It's a movie. But a first rate! movie in all departments.
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From the manufacturer
Saving Private Ryan
Seen through the eyes of a squad of U.S. soldiers, the story begins with World War II's historic D- Day invasion, then moves beyond the beach as the men embark on a dangerous special mission. Captain John Miller must take his men behind enemy lines to find Private James Ryan, whose three brothers have been killed in combat. Faced with impossible odds, the men question their orders. Why are eight men risking their lives to save just one? Surrounded by the brutal realities of war, each man searches for his own answer - and the strength to triumph over an uncertain future with honor, decency and courage.
Saving Private Ryan Cast
Tom Hanks
Captain Miller.
Matt Damon
Private Ryan.
Tom Sizemore
Sergeant Horvath.
Edward Burns
Private Reiben.
Hour long featurettes ! Absolutely recommend !
Absolutely recommend this movie ! Especially,there are hour long featurettes! That's what a movie-goer desires to see ! Disc 1 UHD Feature Film Subtitles: English SDH/French/Spanish/Portuguese Disc 2 BD Feature Film Subtitles: English SDH/French/Spanish/Portuguese Disc 3 Special Features (The extras are subtitled) Subtitles: English SDH/French/Spanish/Portuguese 'Shooting War' (SD, 88 min) An Introduction (SD, 2 min) Looking Into the Past (SD, 4 min) Miller and his Platoon (SD, 8 min) Boot Camp (SD, 7 min) Making 'Saving Private Ryan' (SD, 22 min) Re-Creating Omaha Beach (SD, 18 min) Music and Sound (SD, 16 min) Parting Thoughts (SD, 3 min) Into the Breach: 'Saving Private Ryan' (SD, 25 min) Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2 min) Re-Release Trailer (HD, 2 min)
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2012
Top reviews from other countries
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Marcos Eduardo da Silva NascimentoReviewed in Brazil on March 22, 2022
Compra internacional que chegou antes do previsto!
- VINCENT69Reviewed in Canada on April 25, 2023
STEVEN SPIELBERG EPIC WAR FILM INSPIRED BY TRUE STORIES!!
Superb film with an unforgettable cast one of the best war films around highly recommend!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the film I purchased the bilingual version of the film digital copy is redeemable @ iTunes . Digital is in 4K . 3 disc. Film looks and sounds amazing on both blu ray & 4k . The prongs that are meant to hold the disc in place on the case seemingly are to short kept falling off so I had to tape it down. I put some padding inside too. The cases today are unfortunately pretty cheap , they are always trying to make them thinner , lighter & it’s only damaging the product . Not the worst case in the world I’ve had worse lol. Vortex cases are the most durable ! Elite has good cases however, they have really cheap ones too. & Unfortunately it didn’t come with a slipcover 😞 that was the only other disappointment I was really hoping for a 20th anniversary slip Ahh well .. Other than that everything was great it was delivered safely to my doorway. Thanks again Amazon !VINCENT69STEVEN SPIELBERG EPIC WAR FILM INSPIRED BY TRUE STORIES!!
Reviewed in Canada on April 25, 2023
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