Rating: 
Summary: Best Movie ever made
Review: This is without a doubt Steven Spielberg's best movie (or at least most realistic movie along with Shindler's List). This is my favorite movie.
The story is simple, Eight Men are sent on a public relations mission to rescue a private (Matt Damon) who lost his 3 brothers. Tom Hanks stars as John Miller, the leader of the squad sent to rescue him. The film is extremely dramatic, sad, depressing, and graphic. These are the elements that let you know it's GOOD. If you're looking for an action movie, this isn't for you. Although there are action scenes, this isn't an action movie. It's a war movie, the Best one ever made. It bugs me as people see this as an action movie and nothing more.
This is the only movie i almost cried at. It was when Arwen Wade, the medic, is shot and bleeds to death. The saddest part is his last words "i wanna go home, i wanna go home! momma! momma...." When you see this one scene, you will understand why Spielberg won Best Director. Also, i can't understand how a horrible movie like Titanic can win 11 oscars, and this wins 5!!! what's wrong with the oscars???!!! This movie deserved a lot more oscars, including Best Picture, without a doubt.
Rating: 
Summary: The more you watch the worse it gets
Review: The first time I watched SPR I was a blown away. I would have given it 5 stars. The next time 4 stars. Now that I watched it for the final time I give it 1 star. Why? Because once you get past the special effects and the great camera work you are left with a terrible script, childish cartoon characters, and a sloppy, unrealistic plot. Just take part of the movie (spoilers alert) where Tom Hanks and his GI's attack a german machine gun nest on the way to find Private Ryan. 1) Given the mission is find Pvt. Ryan why attack the machine gun nest? How did Tom Hanks know only 3-4 Germans were there and not 30? Why didn't TH just send his sniper to pick them off instead of doing a frontal assualt? Why was the medic charging the MG when he could have stayed behind? Why didn't the GI's kill the German out-of-hand if he resisted too long? Why argue about killing the POW when other Germans soldiers would have heard the gunfire? 2) And no WWII GI would argue with an officer over whether to attack or kill a POW. 3)Why not just tie-up the German and bring him along instead of letting him go? 4) Later the POW rejoins the Germans and kills Tom Hanks. What is Steven S saying? Germans are so evil they should have been killed out of hand? The only good German is a dead german? Well, you get the idea. And this is just one scene. The fight at the Bridge is even more silly. Why defend the bridge if you're going to blow it up? Why would the Germans walk into town like a flock of geese or send their tanks into town before it was cleared of infantry? Why would the southern GI go to the top of a tower to snipe - knowing once he opened he couldn't get down without being killed or captured. And on and on. See it once, enjoy it but don't buy the DVD it doesn't hold up.
Rating:
Summary: Best WWII film ever
Review: Steven Spielberg has made the best WWII film ever. Saving Private Ryan makes you realize the senselessness and brutality of war. [DW]
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not Great
Review: I found Saving Private Ryan to be a lot less enjoyable than I hoped it would be. It was, of course, extremely impressive in its scope, remarkable in terms of its humanity and most stunning in visual and audio effects. But the writing and much of the acting was rather poorly done. I really enjoy dialogue and the interaction of characters and while some of the key roles in the movie had interesting things to say, they always managed to say it in a way that made me less interested than I should have been. This prevented me from getting absorbed into the story. It could have been a great movie, but it fell short.
Rating:
Summary: "Maybe you should just shut up."
Review: Mr. Spielberg won his second Oscar for Best Director for this incredibly detailed War epic. I'll start off with a minor negative criticism. The main story that ensues after the D-Day invasion is a little thin, and it carries on to the end without much in the way of sub-plot. However, that is the only negative I can find in this otherwise remarkable film. I still find it needling that this film lost the Oscar for Best Picture to "Shakespear in Love." "Saving Private Ryan" did win 5 Oscars, 4 of which were for technical achievements: Cinematography, Film Editing, Sound, and Sound Effects Editing. The 5th Oscar went to Spielberg for bringing all these great elements together. For the most part the acting is solid, with only a couple standout performances. Tom Hanks is good here, without ever becoming overbearing in the midst of the chaos. In fact, his character is more self-reflective and philosophical than is usual for a lead character in a War film, which makes his performance all the more interesting. His performance was the only one here that was nominated for the Oscar. But there is one performance here that should have been recognized as well. Tom Sizemore, always the professional supporting actor, is the tough-minded soldier holding everyone together with his immense presence. He has yet to disappoint me in any of his films, but if I had to choose my favorite from all his roles, his work here proudly stands out. The realistic battle sequences are intense and terrifying. There is one scene in particular that invokes dread every time I watch it. It's a hand-to-hand knife fight in a small room that is so unnerving that I'm getting chills just relating the scene. No one is coming to either combatant's aid, only one will come out of the bloody situation alive. At one point the American soldier tries to stop the fight through reason, where they could both stop and just end the fight. I was hoping for that positive outcome, but it never arrives. That is just one of many gut-wrenching scenes. This is a far cry from the John Wayne era of films like "The Sands of Iwo Jima" where the men get shot, no blood is to be seen anywhere, and they fall over dead. For what it's worth, "The Sands of Iwo Jima" did use some authentic stock-footage edited into the film for more realism. But it never reaches the graphic reality of "Saving Private Ryan." This is a technical masterpiece from one of the greatest film directors of all-time, and quite possibly the greatest War film yet made.
Rating:
Summary: one of the best war movies
Review: this is absolutely great.this is one of the best war movies i have seen after the longest day.tom hanks plays the role of a life time here.it is steven spielbergs best movie after et.watch this movie but stay far awy from the eminently forgettable pearl harbour.i would recommend you to watch TORA TORA TORA instead if you want to watch the japanese raid on pearl harbour.
Rating:
Summary: A Magnificent war film!
Review: Steven Spielberg is a favorite director of mine. His outstanding contribution to cinema include the films SCHINDLER'S LIST, E.T, JAWS, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. Then came his brainchild, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. It's a unforgettable film achievement that won five Academy Awards, including best director, but was robbed of the Best Picture award to SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE. Nevertheless, this film has had a philosophical and lasting influence to the way war films should match. The World-War II era based film is loaded with powerful and graphic war scenes and the film's message is profound. Honor, dignity, and courage is spread throughout the film. Outstanding actor Tom Hanks portrays Captain John Miller who leads his troops through the historic D-day invasion during WWII. He and his deticated men then embark on a dangerous mission to track down Private James Ryan, whose three brothers died on enemy line, and bring him home. The production values are amazing. The cinematography is well-done, it sort of has a documentary feel to it. The sound is the best I've heard in a film ever! It sounds great on the DVD! The D-Day intro is absolutely breathtaking. Spielberg made his usual masteriso work into making this the most realistic vision of any war film. It could have been the best, if the film would have a better story. But I mean that in the nicest way! Recommended all the way!
Rating:
Summary: A re-reiteration
Review: As one watches this movie, one should weigh the differences between what is considered criminal (murder) and what is considered patriotic (killed in action). Upon discovering that the reason the US went to war in Iraq no longer holds, or indeed never held any water, "Saving Private Ryan" hammers home quite a number of factors as to why what happened nearly 60 years ago is no longer justified today, even in Iraq. Today, as in the past, war-monging citizens who otherwise wouldn't be caught dead joining the armed forces seem to have no compunction about shipping others off to do what we see in this movie; senseless, brutal, mindless, disgusting acts of murder no matter what the rhyme or reason. Of course we see here what having a military means in times of war so I wholeheartedly laud Mr. Spielberg for his incomparable effort at bringing a kind of surgical clarity to this horrid epoch and laugh at everyone else who seem to think this movie is "poignant"???? Please buy "Saving Private Ryan" and you'll be guided quite easily towards an understanding of why anyone would not want this type of history to repeat itself, regardless of the tyrant in question. People are forgetting that the main reason movies like these are made is so that we can be reminded of our useless violent past and maybe, just maybe, we won't repeat that past ever again.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Greatest War flicks of All time
Review: This is one of the truly good war flicks out there. There are plenty of war flicks, but not all of them are worth seeing. This is one of the ones really worth seeing. It about Tom Hanks and the journey he and his squad of men go through trying to get one man, Private Ryan, whose 3 brothers died so he gets to go home. Well through this journey the men in Tom Hanks squad find out who they truly are. The acting in this movie is topped only by the incredible action scenes. And trust me people, its a little gory, not the goriest movie ever made by far, but it has its really nasty moments so this isn't for little children. But if you enjoy war films, make sure Saving Private Ryan is in your library.
Rating:
Summary: Understand Your Grandparents
Review: I never felt any real connection to my paternal grandfather until I watched this movie. Growing up, my grandfather was a quiet old man who smoked and drank beer a whole lot more than he should have. Now, after seeing the most realistic portrayal of what war is, and knowing that he lived through such a thing, makes me proud to be his descendant. I haven't cried at a movie since I was a little kid watching ET in the theater at age seven. Now, Speilberg has done it to me again. Oh, and to the Czech guy, the reason the Jewis soldier looks so "grotesque" is because he's in the middle of a war. Soldiers don't get to bathe everyday. And, since we're on the subject, Since the Nazis murdered (shot starved burned gassed)over a million of them, the war WAS against the Jews. But I digress. This is one of the most important WWII films ever made. While it is extremely violent at times, it does not glorify killing. In fact, Speilberg seems to be attempting to make it as ugly as possible. What this film does glorify, is the men and women who served in the military and lived (and died) under the harshest conditions imaginable. Bravo.
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