Rating: Summary: DTS IS WORTH EVERY EXTRA PENNY Review: I am not one who normally sees the same movie over and over. However, I am not ashamed to admit I have seen SPR more than 15 times, including 3 times at the theater. This movie affected me partly because my dad served in WW2 and both my parents were the same age as those who served our country during that time. Indeed, many of my parents' high school friends went to war and never returned. This movie doesn't pull any punches and it is better for it. I recently made a significant upgrade to my home theater setup including a multi-channel Klipsch speaker system with powered subwoofer, etc. I spent the extra money for the much-touted DVD/DTS version of this movie, even though I already have it on VHS. I was not prepared for the astounding difference in sound quality, even between dolby digital surround and DTS. The DTS version literally recreates the movie theater experience (with the right equipment). Your DVD player and receiver/amp must have a built-in DTS decoder (I recommend you look at the Toshiba 3109 DVD player) to play back in this format. I was able to watch the movie yet again as if it were for the first time because the auditory experience was so intense. If you are DTS-ready do not even think of buying any other version of DVDs. I found you can find all the DTS DVDs at amazon.com simply by entering DTS in the search window. As of today's date there are about 40 available.
Rating: Summary: Visual eloquence at a visceral level Review: Stunning. Nothing can compare to this film's raw, overwhelming presentation of the horror and misery of sudden death on the field of battle. At the risk of offending people who have elevated recent WWII best-sellers like WAR OF THE RATS or THE TRIUMPH AND THE GLORY to the top of the fiction charts, or praise classics like ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT or THE NAKED AND THE DEAD, those novels, as fine as they are at revealing the stark realities of war in written form, when compared to a monumental achievement like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, are like football offensive linemen in comparison to an All-Pro QB. They all get the job done but the QB gets most of the attention. I've read all those books and many like them, BUT I've only read them once. I've watched Saving Private Ryan about 15 times now. Enough said.
Rating: Summary: Some Movies are Unforgettable Review: I'm a WWII history buff. This movie was the greatest I have ever seen. I'm just a kid, so I don't feel comfortable making comments about how real the battle footage was. I will say, it made me realize that war is hell. I have never been so moved by a movie
Rating: Summary: Amazing War Epic Review: SPR is the greatest war movie ever. Okay, maybe films like From Here to Eternity might have been a tad bit better, but there is no doubt: in the long run, SPR will be 20 times more respected than it is now, and it already has war vets crying. The battles are amazing, like none ever put on film, and the drama reaches beyond the other war films and tips your eye, causing them to leak with one half happiness and one half sadness. Hanks' death helps separate this from most war films, and all performances are good, especially the newcomers. Much better than the emulating Thin Red Line. See it tonight, remember it forever.
Rating: Summary: dont adjust size Review: The video was good. But as in all video presentations of movies such as the scope of Saving Private Ryan, The small ,adjusted screen size of the video presentation, is disapointing. A video of this movie ,or others , should be shown in wide screen format , and life will be wonderful again.
Rating: Summary: A remarkable film. Review: Tom hanks leads a platoon through german areas to find one man.Incredible war drama won five academy awards,but somehow did not win best picture.Great acting from an emsemble and marvelous direction.The D-DAY invasion is brilliantly filmed but its VIOLENT to say the least.I could not believe that Tom Hanks lost the oscar for best actor.
Rating: Summary: Shows it like it truly is! Review: As the wife of a soldier, and coming from a long line of family in the military, I have been told what it is like to be in war and have seen what it does to the people who are there first hand. This is an excellent movie that shows it like it really is, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to try to understand what the people in their families or maybe even their spouses have went through.
Rating: Summary: Compare this to "They were Expendable" Review: Until I saw "Private Ryan" I thought the best film about World War II was John Ford and Robert Montgomery's "They were Expendable". Now I can say that what "Expendable" is to the Pacific War, "Private Ryan" is to the European War.I think both these films try to convey the same thought: sometimes wars must be fought, and we must never forget those who never come back. To paraphrase Tom Hanks' last lines, "We must make ourselves worthy of their sacrifice." Despite the advances in filmmaking technology that make "Saving Private Ryan" a more intense experience than "They were Expendable," both are magnificent films that compliment each other. Both have been given splendid DVD transfers, and it is fascinating to watch them back-to-back to compare how similar events are portrayed in the idioms of two different eras. Spielberg has the advantage of being in an era without the constraints suffered by Ford. Unlike Ford, Spielberg can add, "And lest we forget, to bring home the meaning of sacrifice, here's a look at what really happened to those who didn't come back."
Rating: Summary: The War Department couldn't have made a better film Review: From a totally aesthetic perspective, the film's principle storyline is fatally flawed. The effect is a jumbled film, a mishmash of melodramatic images and mindless special effects. A 'Jaws' for war. There is no heart to Saving Private Ryan. It's a heartless, mind-numbing, flag-waving extravaganza. The final image is, in fact, a waving American flag. Here's to war, to the flag, and to this film.
Rating: Summary: The War Department couldn't have made better a film Review: As a piece of propaganda from the pinnacle of propaganda experts this film stands head and shoulders above anything filmed in history. The Nazis could have used a Spielberg. Forget about Hollywood war-musicals commissioned directly by the War Department -- here comes Steven to help us all sleep better. Perhaps we should reassess our storytelling prowess, when we of 'modern' times can't produce something with greater insight on historical war than Aeschylus's The Persians. Shame on us. From a totally aesthetic perspective, the film's principle storyline is fatally flawed. The effect is a jumbled film, a mishmash of melodramatic images and mindless special effects. A 'Jaws' for war. There is no heart to Saving Private Ryan. A perfectly suitable film for Spielberg -- a heartless, mind-numbing, flag-waving extravaganza. Something we can all clap to, like good subjects. What's next for this guru of mediocrity?
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