Rating: 
Summary: Spielberg doing what he does best
Review: Saving Private Ryan is a great film. My only complaint is about the framing device used by Spielberg. The veteran in the cemetary was placed there to elicit emotion, that it did. In his recent releases Spielberg has made it clear that if he cannot evoke emotion through character and plot development, he stoops to contrived means. Cut this from the film, and it is a near perfect film.
Rating: 
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: Forget the Oscars, this was the best film of 1998, and maybe several other years as well. Steven Spielberg earned the Best Director Oscar for this film, and rightfully so; this is an incredible work. The production is incredible down to the smallest details. This movie rings so true to actual WWII combat that it is at times very hard to watch. Even the cinematography during the opening sequences was planned to simulate combat photography. The results are stunning. In fact, many images are far too strong for children and some adults. This is a powerful, highly emotionally-charged movie. What Spielberg has accomplished is to make a film that is at once a memorial to those who fought and died to preserve freedom and a strong anti-war statement. I was reminded over and over again of the saying that heroes are simply ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances. This is, quite simply, a masterpiece of film making.
Rating:
Summary: Major Miller - "Earn this"
Review: I would like to dedicate this review, in as much as this film is a dedication, to the memory of all those who gave their lives so future generations could pursue happiness at liberty and in peace. The story of "Saving Private Ryan" is of a soldier whose brothers are all killed within days of each other during world war two. Out of compassion for this soldier's relatives, Private Ryan is ordered by the government, to be returned to the USA so as to be with his relatives in their time of grief. A squad of eight men led by Captain Miller (played admirably in a sober and sombre performance by Tom Hanks) set out to find Private Ryan at the frontline. As in the parable of the lost sheep, this small group risk their lives for one man's life, only to find Ryan is infused with a remarkable sense of duty. "Ryan: You can tell her (Ryan's mother) that when you found me, I was with the only brothers I had left. And that there was no way I was deserting them. I think she'd understand that" A masterfully told story and a timely reminder of how well served the world can be by a nation dedicated to democratic ideals.
Rating:
Summary: uplifting
Review: This movie was superb. By far one of the best I have ever seen. This movie gives you a true understanding of WWII and the begining scene at the Normandy landing. It makes you fell like you're their and the Graphic Detail is just astounding. This movie shows that Americans never give up. And this movie makes you have pride in America and those brave men who sacrificed their lives not only for their Country but Mankind as well. Well, enough with the details of the movie let's get to the plot. The story is about a soldier named "Private Ryan" who just lost 3 of his brothers in WWII. So the Army sends a small squad of soldiers to find him. Along the way they encounter many obstacles like Nazi's and Tanks and the ending Bridge scene is Awesome. If you are looking for a good movie and don't mind a little gore get this movie. By the way, If you are a WWII fan like me you will love this
Rating:
Summary: Typical Spielberg
Review: An incredibly ambitious film that gets weighed down in syrup and shmaltz, which is typical Spielberg. He can't seem to let the audience think for themselves too much...instead he has to hammer home his point and "make" us feel a certain way. This over-the-top emotional manipulation almost ruins this film...but fortunately he and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski shot some of the most spectacular and memorable war footage ever seen on film. A good overall WWII film with some amazing images hampered by some heavy-handed story and dialogue.
Rating: 
Summary: The violence of war becomes the artistic prop of a sadist
Review: I watched this movie all the way through, but wondered afterwards that I had been able to do so. What is it with the Americans that they so love scenes of violence? The opening fifteen minutes, over which as much ink has probably been spilt as blood, were not in the least realistic, to my way of thinking. Apart from stating the obvious, that you couldn't ever capture that much detail with a beach-based camera crew during a real battle (and therefore the attempt to replicate the scenes 1940s style was completely flawed), it was historically inaccurate. To say that this is what the landings on D-Day looked like is false. Certainly, on some of the beaches that fatal morning, U. S. troops (among others) did face extremely accurate and deadly fire from well placed defensive positions, but that was not the case at every point in the attack, nor even the rule. Some beachheads were established with remarkably little loss of life. This was due to either lack of preparedness on the part of the defenders or by the degree of surprise the attackers attained, or by the mere fact that, in some cases and in spite of Rommel's preparations, the landings were made on poorly held ground. Choosing to focus on a beach landing where the fighting was so desperate was therefore totally gratuitous and in my opinion, it demonstrates a degree of sadism on the part of the director to have done so. He could make a movie about a regiment of Scotch Guards attacking a Boer position in 1899, and with the firepower of the Mausers then available, it would have been just as violent and certainly as deadly. There was nothing so special about D-Day in that sense. In addition, what the opening scene had to do with the rest of the story is beyond me. As for the rest, in spite of having thought about the details a good deal, I cannot see that the story was anything but a vehicle or even an excuse for a movie about D-Day (which means that what we have is a fifteen-minute, totally falsified newsreel). Of course there were families who lost four or more sons in the fighting. The war was made up of a myriad of curious statistics of that kind. Perhaps the most devastating fault I found with the film, once it had settled down to a random patrol meandering through the countryside of Normandy, was that it had absolutely nothing to say. At the halts along the way, the conversations between the members of the patrol, although they appear to be trying to say something, are devoid of content. And as for the series of events which occur, I had a hard time maintaining any sense of continuity, and therefore felt there was hardly a story at all (hence the feeling of the newsreel again). This was especially true of the freeing of the German soldier who would later turn into an authentic Aryan killer, as implacable as he had formerly been pathetic. Why focus on this one sideshow of the war? Is it to show the awful Nazi for the treacherous scoundrel that people may imagine him to be? Is it to show how humane the Americans are by comparison? As for this character's subsequent "execution" by the one member of the patrol who had to overcome his own apparent cowardice to carry it out (and who did so by shooting an unarmed man - bravo), well, by that time, I was feeling I must really have missed something important. When poor old Tom Hanks was slowly expiring in the middle of the bridge, I must admit I was almost relieved. I thought, "Thank goodness that's over." So many meaningless details left me utterly bemused as to why the film had been made in the first place. I confess I'm still wondering.
Rating:
Summary: A great film with a great message
Review: One of the best American films of the past few years (the embarassment of the film community when the puerile "Shakespeare in Love" won best picture last year was palpable) this movie reminds us all that a hero is simply an ordinary person in an extradinary situation--and that it is to these Average Joes that we owe everything. So much has been said about this great movie that I won't go into much more detail, except to point out that the previous reviewer makes a couple of mistakes. First, the movie makes it clear that most of Captian Miller's men DON'T make it off the beach...the ones who go on the patrol with him are simply some of the survivors. Miller even says 'is this all that have made it?' at one point during the landing sequence. Second, regarding Ryan's children as looking too young, the 'modern' private Ryan is obviously about 75 years old (i.e., he would have been about 21 in 1944) and his children look to be in their forties...the youngsters referred to in the review are certainly Ryan's grandchildren. The 'typical' WWII vet made the most of his opportunities, went to college on the GI bill, and probably wouldn't have started a family until his 30s. The numbers work for me.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best movies of all time!
Review: Saving Private Ryan feels so real at times, you think you are in the middle of a battle. The action sequences are extremely intense, and are not for the weak of heart. Before this movie I really thought war was more glamourous and simple. Speilberg has opened my eyes, and showed me what war really is, brutal and dehumanizing. I couldn't even imagine having to go through with that in person. Everytime I see the movie, I wonder, how would I react in a situation like that. Thankfully, because of those men and women who sacrificed themselves, I can live in a place were i don't have to worry about such things. The movie is very moving, and should be seen by everyone. It will make you cherish the things that we sometimes take forgranted.
Rating:
Summary: Saving Private Ryan: Spielberg's three tasks
Review: With that incredible opening scene on the Omaha landings, Spielberg brings war to the cinema as it has rarely been done before. I know some D-Day veterans have said Spielberg got it right, yet others were less sure suggesting nothing could portray the horror and tragedy of those events in June 1944. Whatever the case, those of us who never went will never understand the experiences of those that did. But Spielberg shows that this does not matter so much. In the post-Vietnam world, Spielberg's first task was to shock us, to rub our jagged nerves, to expose the lie that there can ever be glory in war. After seeing Saving Private Ryan no viewer could be left in any doubt that war really is hell. There are no heroes or innocents in this film, only ordinary people confronted with the dilemmas war throws forward. Some have suggested the main characters in the film are too stereotypical. But it is not really the characters that are stereotypical but the motives and emotions they represent. Each of the central players are voices that need to convey the contradictions, the riddles, the questions, the problems of armed conflict - all as old as humanity itself. These stresses work their way through all scenes: Captain Miller's shaky right hand; the little French girl offered up by her father; paralysis on the steps as a comrade struggles for life above; to kill, free or take captive the enemy prisoner. Above all else there is the underlying theme of which there can be no right answer: to sacrifice many to save one, to return one child to its mother. Spielberg's second task was to present these themes in a way that we human beings could understand. Similar to his Schindler's List, Spielberg uses some of the attributes of documentary to tell his story and for this, the film's five Academy awards are well won. The jerky camera shot, the immensely telling sound and special visual effects, the snappy editing place us in the action. We become just another member of Captain Miller's squad looking for somewhere to fire, to shelter, to prey, and to breath. With Spielberg shocking and provoking us, his third task was to haunt us. The movie's memorable opening and closing scenes will always linger in our thoughts. Those images are so raw they leave our emotions punch drunk, singeing that area of the brain where reason and moderation reside. The blisters will take some time to heal which is how Spielberg might have wanted it to be. With a new century upon us, some of us might be tempted to think that war is straightforward, always winnable, good for the character and national spirit, much as some of our ancestors thought of war at the beginning of the 20th century. Spielberg's genius is that he has left us with a joltingly fresh reminder of war and it terrors. Especially for our leaders, war will always provide more questions than answers, and questions of the most terrible kind at that.
Rating:
Summary: A moving film about the true horrors of war
Review: The first time I watched this film, it blew me away. It is an awesomely powerfull and moving film which keeps up the intensity for the whole 3 hours. I can't fault the acting in any way. It was absolutly flawless. Tom Hanks, as usual was supurb, he did a remarkable job of fitting the character of a hardened war captain. The effects also were stunning. Its this which sets the film in a different league to all the other war films. Especially the beach landing scene, how they managed that still amazes me. Thoughout the film there is good character development as the team start to bond in the face of grave danger. The theme about where the captain came from is a nice touch. Also, I liked the individual quirks of each character, you could use these to identify with them. For example, at the beginning, on the boat. Capt. Miller's hand was shaking and the sniper kissed his cross. These, idiosincrasises are used later on. All the way through the film you are made aware that this isn't just a film about war. It is about deeper things. For example at the bridge, the translater is literally the weak link in the chain which makes them fall apart. It is an epic film which fully deserves all the oscars that it got. My ONLY slight critism is that it is possible a little too Americain.
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