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Summary: A new standard for war films
Review: "Saving Private Ryan" tells the story of a United States Army captain (played by Tom Hanks) who, during World War II, is sent on a special mission in Europe: he and his team are to find and bring home a young soldier named Private Ryan. Ryan's brothers have been killed fighting the war, making him the last surviving son in the family; the U.S. government thus wants him pulled out of the combat zone.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.
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Summary: Not the message I'd want my kids learning...
Review: 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.
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Summary: Words are not enough
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: well done
Review: 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.
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Summary: Quite possibly the best war movie ever
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Could have been great
Review: We have got to stop with the cheap name dropping. Spielberg does not equal great movie. This movie may have been great if it ended after the beach invasion sequence or been handed over to a real director from that point like say... Terrence Malick. Problem was after the action was over I guess there was nowhere else to go exept revert to the same cliches that have plagued most war movies. And could we please stop with the generic John Williams scores, they do nothing for me.
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Summary: Powerful, stunning, emotional and memorable
Review: This is a movie for the ages but certainly not for the faint hearted or the squeamish. From the explicit bloodshed and graphic violence of Normandy, to the casual grousing of the enlisted men, to Ambrose's band of brothers mentality that clearly emerges, one can't help but admire this generation and the deft handling of the topic by Speilberg. Small, overwhelming scenes include Ryan's mother collapsing on the porch upon the appearence of her minister bearing obviously terrible news and George Marshall's somber reading of Abraham Lincoln's letter to another war mother, eighty years earlier. As Captain John Miller, Tom Hanks' mission is the basis for the film, to save the one survising brother of the decimated Ryan family, a mission both simple yet daunting. And as great as Tom Hanks filled this role, my helmet goes out to Ted Sizemore for his "we're in business!" gung ho attitude and skills. Miller may have died due to his own humanity in sparing a German prisoner. Private Ryan had to be haunted by Captain Miller's dying whisper, "Earn this!" When Ryan, fifty years later, turns to his wife and pleads: "Tell me I've lived a good life," my eyes well with tears of respect and admiration for all concerned with the real and imagined Private Ryans. See it. Buy it. Remember it.
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Summary: Prowar propaganda
Review: This is not an anti-war film. It's pro-war. Upham, the anti-war soldier, is portrayed as a coward who lets other Americans die. Then, finally, at the end, he shoots back. Americans are portrayed as the war's savior. Indeed, the world's! Look at the beach scene when American soldiers are marching in formation after the battle carnage is cleaned up. Don't mess with us! And of course the Germans are portrayed as pure evil. Kill them all! Never mind the fact there more people of German ancestry in the U.S. than any other. The average German solider was stuck in a bad situation. They should have refused to fight? Just like 100 percent of American soldiers refused to fight in immoral, unjustified and undeclared wars like Korea and Vietnam? Watch "All Quiet on the Western Front" or "The Boat" for what it was like on the German side. Spielberg is bypassing the brains and going for the gut. It's pure propaganda, nothing else.
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Summary: DTS vs Dolby Digital Review
Review: As I sat through the first 30 minutes of both movies I decided to write, not about the actual movie, however but the sound quality and differences. You will be able to read about the movie from other reviewers, but for the record, it was an exsquisite and moving film. I just recently got the DTS version of the movie and I have to say the sound quality is more superior in comparison from DTS and Dolby Digital. Needless to say, both are incredible sounding, however the DTS, I feel gives more depth to the sound environment around you. Not only that, but the LFE of the movie is more resonant in the DTS version. The Dolby Digital version gives more of a precise, pinpoint sound in each of the speakers, however the DTS version gives more of a 360 degree feel to the sound, blending the sounds from one speaker to the other. In the DTS you are able to hear more of the gun shots especially from distant shots. Best example of this is comparing the portion of the movie right after the first big fight. When Captain Miller opens his canteen to take a drink of water, and a little bit before that exact scene, you'll be able to hear gunshots clearer in the DTS version against the DD version. Ambiant sounds are more clear in general and enveloping in the DTS. Now, however with the improvement in sound comes the drawback of the lack of the featurette "Into the Beach." It is a big loss to the DVD, however when you sit to debate whether you want better sound or one more feature on the DVD is up to you. Eitherway, with both the DTS and Dolby Digital version of the movie, you can't go wrong. You just have to decide which you would prefer. For those audiophiles, I strongly suggest DTS and whoever else has a DTS capable sound system, I strongly suggest that copy of the movie. Otherwise, you are set with the Standard copy.
Rating: 
Summary: Great for 10 minutes, then kaput
Review: This flick is great for the first ten minutes, then it sputters out .... The costumes and effects are great throughout, but the action was .... The thing that annoys me about this movie is there is not one memorable line of dialogue. ....If you want to see great WW2 flicks, there are lots better than this one. Check out 'Midway,' 'Tora, Tora, Tora,' 'The Longest Day,' and especially, 'A Bridge Too Far.'
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