Rating: 
Summary: Bad history, unintentially hilarious plot
Review: Those who have studied the Neptune landings at Omaha Beach
will feel cheated and insulted by Spielberg's portrayal of
the Omaha landings. No one leaving the theater after seeing this film will be any the smarter about the event. Although the scenes of Miller and his small Ranger company (68 men), as a
portrayal of companies A & B at Dog Green may pass a lax muster
as accurate, the general image of their experiences as typical
for those at Omaha during the first 90 minutes (0630-0800) are
completely false. The casualty rate for the period (by far the
worst that day at Omaha) were approx 11 1/2 percent, far fewer
than one one asume from watching Pvt Ryan. In fact, the entire 5th Ranger Battalion (under Col Schneider) landed but a 100-150
yards east of Miller's group and took but 1 percent wounded
moving to the shingle and to the top of the cliffs. The troops at Omaha , except for Miller's group (who moved west) WALKED
up the slopes to the bluffs - cliffs were only present at the extremeties of the 4.5 mile long landing area, and were not scheduled for assault. The remainder of the movie has a totally
illogical plot, whereby troops (Miller) from Omaha beach are sent to move thru German lines to contact a kid inthe 101st.
Aside from the unliklihood of such a strategy actually working,
the fact was that the 4th Division at Utah Beach was in contact with the 101st from day 1. Historically, this film is a total
distortion of the Omaha Beach landings and introduces an unintentionally hilarius crackpot scheme to get Miller into more heroic action. Totally transparent. Totally nonsensical.
Rating: 
Summary: an awesome movie experience
Review: this movie blowed me away from its passion and its images of war. Spielberg creates yet another masterpiece. this one best picture of 1998 and it deserved its award. the beginning is spectacular as they invade Normandy's beach and the movie does great work with its cast: Tom Hanks(Cast Away, Road To Perdition, Splash and Big) Edward Burns(Sidewalks of New York, 15 Minutes, Confidence and The Brothers McMullen) Tom Sizemore(Dreamcatcher, Natural Born Killers and Heat) Matt Damon(School Ties, Dogma, Chasing Amy, Mystic Pizza and All The Pretty Horses) Vin Diesel(XXX, Pitch Black and Knockaround Guys) Giovanni Ribisi(Suburbia, The Gift, That Thing You Do, and The Mod Squad) Jeremy Davies(Spanking The Monkey, Million Dollar Hotel, Solaris and Ravenous) and the other cast is phenominal as well. a bloody and rewarding film
Rating:
Summary: Best WW2 movie released in theaters, ever
Review: "Saving Private Ryan" is the best theatrically-released WW2 movie ever made, period. So much has already been said about this film that to say much more is redundant. It is graphic, faithful to detail, and the acting is top-flight, lead by Tom Hanks (Captain Miller) and Tom Sizemore, who is the ultimate squad sergeant (see also "Black Hawk Down"). The two battles which bookend the movie are the most intense ever filmed.The movie should come with a warning, although not the parental kind. It is like the little blue pill that starts the "Matrix": there is no going back. I now have trouble watching many likable old fashion war movies like "Big Red One" or "Longest Day" just because "Private Ryan" is so far above them all. Even the noisy and expensive "Bridge Too Far" suffers. Historical combat movies for me now divide into pre-PR and post-PR - "Black Hawk Down" being a post-PR movie. I said, "best theatrically-released movie" because I actually prefer HBO's "Band of Brothers" just ever so-slightly (another Spielberg production), but this is an unfair apples-and-oranges comparison because "Band" is longer (ten hours) and is real history. Both are ten-plus, like Ferrari and Lamborghini. This movie is an amazing aural experience. Unless you have a very good home theater system, you will miss the incredible effects of feeling the approaching German tanks before you see them. Kids under about 13 should probably not see this movie, and certainly not unsupervised. It is just too graphic and intense. Recommendations: Anyone who liked "Saving Private Ryan" who has not seen "Band of Brothers", what are you waiting for? And it goes the other way, too.
Rating:
Summary: K-Bam
Review: The D-Day invasion scence at the beginnig is quite possible the most intense sequence in moving-making history. Fasten your seat-belts. This movie kicks from beginning to end.
Rating:
Summary: The horrors of war on a confrontingly outstanding DVD...
Review: It is ironic that today's youths, myself included, happily play computer games based on the events in this movie, and somehow fail to realise that this really happened.
Saving Private Ryan depicts a company in the US Army during WW2 venturing deep into unprotected line to recover a soldier who's three brothers were all killed in action. It is a confronting film, as the soldiers must deal with homesickness and the death of their 'brothers' within their company. What you see will shock and scare you, but ultimately will give you a look at the horrors of war.
Tom Hanks is brilliant as Captain John Miller, a smalltown school teacher turned war hero, and the actors who play the soldiers in Miller's company are unforgettable. Perhaps most memorable is the performance of Jeremy Davies as a cowardly translator thrown into the frontline, as he faces his greatest fears while in combat.
Saving Private Ryan is an incredible film, which will stay with you forever as we who never witnessed the horrors of World War 2 develop a greater understanding of the most important battle of the 20th century.
A wonderful DVD, full with Spielberg's touching reflection on D-Day (6/6/1944) and interviews with men who were there in France when these events really happened. A must have, and one to watch so that you gain a greater understanding of what war is really like.
Rating: 
Summary: Refreshing
Review: This movie reminds viewers that war is a terribly frightning thing. The Speilbergian touch (Upham) is enough to make me want to re-edit the movie, though. It's loosly based on historical events, but each of the characters are so distincly written-in to the story that it watches more like PROPAGANDA than a homage to the fallen.
Rating:
Summary: Can' t be better
Review: I saw the movie, and it earns a total of five stars.
This is the best of the war films, EVER!
The effects were perfect and also the acting would earn a total...
Rating:
Summary: Saving Private Ryan-Honoring WWII veterans
Review: This is a fine WWII movie that shows the bravery of American soldiers in the face of so much horror, chaos, and hardship of war. World War II was hell, but it was a necessary hell in which decent people were forced to give up some part of their humanity in order to stop an enemy that was really determined to wipe out the free world. This film is about showing respect to those who risk their lives in order to make this a better and more peaceful world. The middle part of the movie is a little bit weak and overlong; I do believe the director and screenwriters could have done a better job with that part of the movie. The movie does show how unpredictable, chaotic, and dangerous warfare is, and how the GREATEST reward for any soldier is trying to survive all of that. For those people who criticize that this movie is not always 100% accurate, please keep in mind this is a fictional WWII movie; it is NOT suppose to be a documentary about WWII, D-DAY or how soldiers fight in a war. The DVD version of the movie is pretty fine. The picture quality is sharp and clear as expected, but I did notice during the famous first 30 minutes of the bloody Omaha landing scene that the top and bottom half of the picture seems to be cut off or missing. There are also some good extras such as production notes, 2 theatrical trailers, and cast and filmmaker's biography info. P.S. For those who still doubt the plausibility of some of the movie's events, you may want to look at Stephen Ambrose's books BAND OF BROTHERS (US 101st Airborne Unit), D-DAY JUNE 6, 1944 (interviews with American, British, Canadian, French, and German veterans of D-DAY) and his other books. Some of the movie's events were taken from these books. And for those who believe the movie's ending is implausible, you can read the book STEEL INFERNO (written by Michael Reynolds, a retired British officer who is an expert on German panzer tactics) on pages 130-131, Chapter 11, it tells about an incident that took place at Villers-Bocage, France (6/13/1944) that is ALMOST similar to what see in the movie ending.
Rating:
Summary: A Military Epic from a Human Perspective
Review: According to veterans of D-Day, this is one of very few films which come about as close as possible to portraying what it is like to be there. Director Spielberg and his crew recreate the arrival of Allied forces at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, by using water-level and then ground-level handheld cameras during a 24-minute sequence of especially graphic carnage. Later, Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) and his men are given an assignment to locate Private James Ryan (Matt Damon) and remove him from harm's way because he is the only remaining of several Ryan brothers. (The others have died in battle serving elsewhere.) Stephen Ambrose discusses this situation in his book D-Day: June 6, 1944. Spielberg's primary purpose is to examine how those entrusted with this assignment react to the dangers which it involves. Their questions are understandable: Why is Ryan so important? How are we going to find him? Is it worth risking all of our lives by trying to save his? As the search proceeds, Miller does his best to maintain the group's morale. He has his orders and is determined to follow them. It is important to keep in mind that Miller and his men have a special mission which is, in certain respects, is even more perilous because they face the same stiff resistance other Allied forces do but cannot be distracted from reaching their ultimate objective which is to find a human "needle" within the invasion "haystack." They cannot fall back, re-group, await reinforcements, call in air cover or artillery support, etc. Nominated for eleven Academy Awards, this film received five (for direction, cinematography, editing, sound, and special effects editing) and each was deserved. Much as I admire Shakespeare in Love, I remain convinced that Saving Private Ryan should have received another Oscar as best film. For those of us who were not involved with D-Day and the period which immediately followed it, this film enables us to get a sense of what it was like. Obviously, heroic efforts to "save" Ryan provide the primary plot. However, I was (and am) most impressed by how Spielberg enables us to empathize with the legitimate concerns about what that "salvation" requires of those ordered to achieve it.
Rating:
Summary: Moving
Review: During World War II, three soldiers who were killed are brothers. Chief of Staff, General Marshall (Harve Presnell) has the extremely unpleasant task of informing the mother that her three sons are dead. The General soons learns that there is still one brother out there and decides to send a unit to find him and bring him back. Eight men are given the task of finding Pvt. Ryan (Matt Damon) and bringing him back home safely.
|
