Rating: 
Summary: A Better DVD Release For An Excellent Film
Review: MOVIE: One of the greatest war films ever made finally has a little justice on DVD. Steven Spielberg loves WWII, he is really fascinated with it. Saving Private Ryan is the true story of a group of men risking their lives for one. Really people see this movie being about the horrors of war but in truth its about finding decency within this war. The movie really spends most of its time focusing on the character of Captain Miller and his journey to find himself. Spielberg even mentions this in the "making of". What this movie has done really well are the editing and the camera work. When combined we have a very genuine feel to the movie and not something churned out by Hollywood such as Windtalkers. The movie also deals with the issues of teamwork and brotherhoods. War is a very unique in that soldiers go into it wanting to fire big guns but in the midst of it they realize more about themselves then ever before, and this movie demonstrates that very well. The opening D-Day scene is intense and probably one of the best edited scenes of all time. Not only will Saving Private Ryan show you the horrors of war like any other war film could, but it will show you how men learn about themselves and human nature within it.VIDEO: Excellent transfer with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The picture is very sharp and very clear as it should be. AUDIO: With Spielberg you can expect a DTS mix and here we have a DTS 5.1 mix ready to shake your home theater. Excellent sound for a movie that won one of its Oscars for sound. PACKAGING / EXTRAS: I love the packaging of this set. It is modeled after an ammo cartridge box used in the war. It's made of very hard cardboard and is very sturdy. The case opens like a box, not like a book. One disc sits in the door of the box and the other is sitting in the bed of it. Very unique. As for extras, there is just enough to make you buy this set, but nothing to go crazy over. The first release was almost stripped bare except for trailers and an interview with Spielberg, but at least here we have a decent look into the movie. The featurettes are very basic actually, just focusing on how Spielberg came to direct the film, the history of the war, the characters, the D-Day scene, a boot camp featurette, sound, and a few others. I'm glad that this set just didn't talk about history and stuff like that and actually looked into the making of the film itself. At least it was better than Schindler's List in terms of extras. I wish they had the trailers on the set though so if I want to watch them I don't have to get out my old set. Overall they just put enough to get the grade, nothing above and beyond. Movie Score: (5 Stars / 5 Stars)
DVD Score: (8 / 10)
Rating:
Summary: A Shocking Film That Makes You Look Twice at WWII
Review: This is defiantely one of Spieldberg's greatest achievments. He truely captures the horror of D-Day and past events of WWII. He leaves nothing to be imagined. The performances, especially Mat Damon's and Tom Hanks are brilliant. The gore and violence are shocking and gross but the effect the movie gave would be lost without it. The characters are put through hell, and the film altogether makes you look twice at how lucky you really are.
Rating:
Summary: See You On The Beach
Review: Steven Spielberg's Oscar-winning film, Saving Private Ryan, is one movie that is so powerful, any words to describe it, seem hollow and over-used. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of D-Day, the film is re-released on DVD, this time, in a 2 disc set, complete with extras. The film opens as the fateful D-Day invasion of World War II begins. Spielberg gives you very little time to prepare yourself for the images that you are about to see. The constantly moving camera during the first half hour of the film, creates a dizzying and gut-wrenching effect, not for the timid, combined with realistic sound and battle footage, it's quite an experience. My hats off to Spielberg and film editor, Michael Kahn, for what must have been a tough sequence to complete. After the "battle on the beach", Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks in his best role since Philadephia-before and after) leads a small squad of men, behind enemy lines, to search for the only surrviving son of the Ryan family, Jim Ryan (Matt Damon). His other three brothers were killed in combat. Facing impossible odds, the members of the team, question why they are doing all of this to save one guy...It's up to Miller to keep everyone focused in order for the mission to be completed. The rest of the squad is made up of some fine actors. Edward Burns Proves he can act outside of his own films. Then unknown, Vin Diesel, makes a lasting impression with his performance. Adam Goldberg, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, and Jeremy Davies, all come together quite nicely under Spielberg's leadership. The script by Robert Rodat is powerful and only resonates louder because of the care that seemed to go into making the film. As usual, composer John Williams, puts the so-called "icing on the cake", with another powerhouse score for a Spielberg film. As someone who already owns the the DTS version DVD, I was disappointed that, save for a few trailers, there were no other extras. For this edition, Spielberg documentarian Laurent Bouzereau, put together a 75 minute look at how the film made its way to the big screen (found on disc 2). Topics include-historical research, the screenplay, casting, how the cast trained for the rigors of shooting, recreating D-Day, the music and sound for the film, and finally a few parting words from the director. Most of the documentary, aside from the interviews with composer John Williams and sound designer Gary Rydstrom, seems to be stuff culled from other material--at the time of filming or its initial release. Despite the "dated" material though, it's still worth your time, to see how it all came together. My only wish: When Spielberg's Schindler's List hit DVD, I said that to do the film justice, you needed both historical background and behind the scenes material. Schindler only had historical perspectives, in contrast, Ryan's extras only deal with the film itself. I would have liked to know more without having to look elsewhere. Saving Private Ryan is a must have DVD for your collection in any form
Rating:
Summary: Great War Picture
Review: And I mean it! At this point in the review process it would be pointless to tell you about this movie. So many other reviewers have already done it pretty darn good.
However, I can tell you that I wholeheartedly enjoyed this motion picture. An absolutely great picture that is a must see. If you haven't seen this picture, then you should. This is a movie to own!
Rating: 
Summary: no DTS?
Review: The best thing to commemorate about this movie was the awesome sound editing. So leaving a DTS track out of this commemorative edition is dumb. Why not make the dvd badass if you're going to all the trouble of re-releasing it with all kinds of extras? I'd rather have a better quality viewing experience than all that extra hype they stuff onto these discs.
Rating: 
Summary: No DTS Track!!!!
Review: This is capitalism at it's finest. There is no DTS track on this version of the film, why not???!!! Because the studio is making you buy the entire 4-dvd World War II Collection, in order to get an "exclusive DTS 5.1" track. What a crock. I'm stickin with my older DTS version and I suggest fellow DTS version owners do the same.
Rating:
Summary: Yawn...
Review: Got moved by the fact a mother lost three sons and the fourth and last is about to be saved. (Earns a star.)
Sappy.
Patriotic propaganda.
Good battle scenes. (Earns another star.)
To much of the good guys and the bad guys. Life is't like that or? Watch "The thin red line".
Gives you a punch in the tummy and you'll feel it for a long time.
Private Ryan you forgot the minute you left the theater or turned of your DVD player.
Rating:
Summary: amazing, painfully real war movie
Review: This movie is amazing in every way. It is however very graphic, but I believe this is what makes this movie so powerfull. Today it's all about action movies and it's easy to get caught up in the shoot em' up action flick and forget that wars and death happened and still do today. This movie shows a great deal about how soldiers were affected during the war. It shows how stressed out they got and how they had to deal with unbelievable fighting conditions. This movie really leaves you feeling sad but also amazed and thankfull for the people who fight for our country. Great film All-star actors A+++++
Rating: 
Summary: Probably as realistic as Hollywood will get
Review: I remember when this movie was released, the media went on about how gory, gritty and realistic the opening Omaha Beach scene was. I don't know how realistic it was (I've never seen combat), but watching that scene made it hit home with me that war is not a Nintendo game, like many young people might think. After that, the action drags at times, but this remains one of my favorite movies. Great interaction between Tom Hanks and Tom Sizemore, and a great performance by Barry Pepper as the pios Southern sniper.
Rating:
Summary: Battlefield Metaphor
Review: The opening sequence of this film alone is worth the purchase price. Without doubt it is the most wrenching, realistic combat sequence ever filmed. Many of the incidents associated with the landing are lifted from Steven Ambrose's excellent book, D Day, since he was a technical advisor to Speilberg. However, to a military man what gives the landing scene amazing verisimilitude is the professionalism of the company commander and his first sergeant, each in separate landing craft. Hanks, who plays the Ranger company commander, is shaking from accumulated combat stress to the point that he is barely able to drink from a canteen. Yet he maintains his composure, cares for his men, and most importantly focuses on accomplishment of his mission despite a landing degenerated into chaos.
Next to a parachute drop the most confusing entry into a battlefield is across a hostile beach. No where is this better portrayed than in Saving Private Ryan. Throughout the film the character, courage and depth of American fighting men is exemplified and respected.
The plot is taken from fact. A soldier in the 101st Airborne lost a brother in the China-Burma-India Theater, another on Utah Beach and a third with the 82nd. In reality a message was sent to the commander of the 101st, General Max Taylor, and the soldier was evacuated across the beach. In Saving Private Ryan, the story becomes a metaphor for the war itself. In what seems a confusing statement Hank's sergeant says 'This could be the best thing we've ever done.' The viewer is uncertain if he is referring to the last, frantic battle to defend a bridge - a critical invasion choke point - or saving Ryan. Or both. That is just one of several mysterious facets that keeps you coming back to the film. What does he really mean here? It is much more than simply an adventure story though as such it can hardly be equalled.
Speilberg has said that he intended this to be an anti-war film. That is also confusing in that his Jewish prisoners were rescued by an Allied advance in Shindler's List and would have died without victory in the war. Perhaps he is caught up in some PC. Nonetheless, these are nits and do not detract from the overall impact of the film.
You will want to see this again, so you need to own it.
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