Saving Private Ryan (Special Limited Edition)

Unlike some other war films, SPR includes no love story subplots; this is all about men at war. The combat scenes are brutally intense and graphic. But the violence is never gratuitous or glamorized. Rather, the violent scenes play like a documentary whose maker is intent on showing the terror and pain of war.

Steven Spielberg directs an excellent ensemble cast. Hanks brings a quiet, anguished dignity to his role as Captain Miller. The rest of the cast does equally admirable work.

The quest of Captain Miller and his squad involves both an internal and external struggle; they must fight enemy troops while struggling to stay in touch with their own humanity. The film raises such issues as loyalty, duty, the treatment of enemy prisoners, and the value of a single life in the midst of overwhelming death.

While the film clearly empathizes with Hanks' American soldiers, it does not demonize the Germans, and does not indulge in jingoistic imagery or rhetoric. In the end, "Saving Private Ryan" is a well-made film that is often disturbing, often moving, but always attentive to high human cost of war.


Not the message I'd want my kids learning...   June 3, 2001
 9 out of 64 found this review helpful

My grandfather on one side fought in the Pacific, my other gramps in Normandy. They both survived.

Sure I appreciate the liberties that the Constitution provides, but should we tell our kids that fighting is the way to solve problems and that those that kill are heroes?

The same people that cheer this film and its pro-war message are the same that slam Tupac Shakur and The Basketball Diaries as "causing school violence" while Shakur and the heroin addiction film have a lot more to offer in ways of considering our current society. A film like this which is celebrated tells kids that violence and aggression are the ways to solve problems and that's just wrong.

As for Tom Hanks' performance-- if he won best actor for this I'd be disapointed. I don't recall whether he did, but this role is banal and completely lacking depth.

Sure I feel bad that Americans died fighting thousands of miles away from home against enemies with no intention of bothering us, but let's not brainwash another generation... PLEASE. You'd think we'd learn with Vietnam.


Words are not enough   June 1, 2001
 0 out of 1 found this review helpful

Simply put a stirring movie which should be in any home movie library. If this movie doesnt bring you to tears, you're not human.


Quite possibly the best war movie ever   May 31, 2001
In a few words, this picture was robbed of its 1998 Oscar for best picture. It is, undoubtedly, a masterpiece of modern film, and deserves all the praise it has received. What I like most about this film is not the gut-wrenching realism, or the way the film transports you back in time, but the way it leaves you feeling at the end. My mind was numb as the fluttering American flag faded out at the end and the credits rolled. Never before had such a harrowing portrayal of war been shown to me. I didn't feel like I had just seen a movie, I felt like I had lived through an experience.

Part of what makes the such a great war film is its brutality. The gripping battle scene in the beginning is so real that to this day my adrenaline rushes when I see it. The movie does an excellent job of making you feel a part of the conflict. You are alongside Capt. Miller (Tom Hanks) and his men, and you never know who is going to be the next to die. The feeling of anxiety never leaves you as this film goes on. Spielberg never lets your mind wander. Your eyes are glued to the screen, expecting a German to pop out of the bushes or rubble at any moment.

What makes this quite possibly the greatest war film of all time is how Spielberg brings you into the mind of the characters in this movie. You see them struggle emotionally, weep, and fight for their lives, and you believe in them, because you know that there were soldiers just like this and in situations just like this in the real war.

I recommend everyone see it, because it is a harsh reminder of what price was paid for our freedom, and it shows how the war was really fought. I developed a newfound respect for our veterans as a result.

This isn't a movie, it is a snapshot of history, preserved beautifully on film for all to see.


well done   May 31, 2001
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Unlike a lot of the previous reviewers I am not an expert on WWII, so I can't tell you how real or historic it seemed or not. I am just your average Joe movie watcher. But I can tell you if I like a film or not and why. A lot of folks feel that this may be the one of the best WWII films ever. I agree that it may be the one of the best to date in the technical sense, using up-to-date, groundbreaking film and audio techniques to really entrench you in the battle scenes. And I agree that the first war scene on Omaha Beach on D-Day was extremely effective and emotional, capturing the utter frustration, fear and horror of the men involved. And I think the casting was great and the acting was well done. But for some reason it did not give me the payoff that I was expecting. I had a difficult time becoming emotionally attached to the characters. When Tom Hanks (Miller) died at the end I didn't even feel bad - I knew it was just a movie. It did keep my attention the entire time and I did "enjoy" it if it is okay to say that. But the best ever? I'm not so sure. Maybe it was just too real for me to perceive as something that was supposed to entertain.