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User Reviews for: Saving Private Ryan

BraylonMitch07
10/10  3 years ago
Saving Private Ryan is a phenomenal movie. I’ve been wanting to watch this film for a long time and this was one of the first films I ever put on my watchlist. I always wanted to watch this film because it seemed like the type of film I would love but for some reason I kept pushing it back. I decided it was finally time that I watched this iconic film and because of all the fantastic things I had read/heard about it I had extremely high expectations. All of my high expectations where exceeded, every single aspect of this film completely blew me away. Besides a few minor problems it’s honestly hard to think of any major or notable flaws. The plot is great it’s an immensely realistic and captivating story. The second the film starts it grabs your complete attention and doesn’t let go until the credits role. Right off the bat the story begins with a brutally intense and masterfully crafted 30 minutes depicting the events of D-Day. Those 30 are undoubtedly some of the most well made and truly heartbreaking moments in film history.

The story is such a human story that brilliantly balances an array of moral themes. It’s the type of story where you can’t help but ponder what’s to happen next because of how unpredictably realistic the story can get. The pacing is great since it’s absolutely an engaging story there isn’t a single slow or boring moment. The acting is phenomenal Tom Hanks a phenomenal performance. Hanks doesn’t even have to try and give an outstanding performance he’s just that amazing of an actor.

Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Vin Diesel, and Giovanni Ribisi give fantastic supporting performances as well. This film seriously has one of the most versatile and talented casts of all time. The direction is phenomenal from Steven Spielberg, every single one of his directorial choices felt masterfully thought out and genius. Spielberg truly knows how to tell an incredibly important story. The script is fantastic it’s an authentic and very well written script stacked with memorable pieces of dialogue between the platoon. The cinematography is phenomenal this film is full of beautiful and impressive shots that immerse the audience into WW2. The visual effects and editing are phenomenal as well. The score is phenomenal from John Williams he really knows how to make a score that strikes up personal emotion. I’ve said this many times before and I’ll say it again Williams is the greatest film composer of all time. It’s hard to believe that Shakespeare in Love won Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Original Score won over this. The ending is a heartfelt ending that brings you close to tears. Overall Saving Private Ryan is an intensely realistic and overwhelmingly stunning war film that’s absolutely a true masterpiece.

(10/10)
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drqshadow
9/10  4 years ago
Gripping, horrific first-person experiences in the thick of World War II, as you're already, no doubt, keenly aware. It's held up exceptionally well over time, most likely due to the great lengths taken by Spielberg and company to stamp it down in a specific era and remain steadfastly historical.

The Normandy beach landing that opens the action is still as powerful and haunting as ever, an effects showcase like none other that puts us right down in the middle of hell itself. I couldn't help but pontificate about the futility of ground warfare here, faced with row after row of doe-eyed teenagers, unceremoniously mowed down before taking so much as a single step on enemy territory. Which is part of its message, no doubt - though that's somewhat countered by the tales of bravado, camaraderie and character that sprawl out over the next two hours.

A richly rounded war story, it enjoys a mess of acting performances even stronger than the work of the effects team. Tom Hanks is at the top of the mountain as Captain Miller, a demanding role that he owns from moment one. Supporting faces pop out of the woodwork at every corner; most of us remember Vin Diesel and Adam Goldberg in early roles, but quick shots from Paul Giamatti, Ted Danson, Bryan Cranston and more left my jaw agape. How did I miss spotting these guys the last time?

A true war epic, profound and moving, with plenty of action but just as much character-building and adventure also in the mix. One of Spielberg's - and Hanks's - best.
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Wuchak
/10  6 years ago
Great WWII war action in France, but too much of the drama is weak

RELEASED IN 1998 and directed by Steven Spielberg, "Saving Private Ryan" (SPR) is about the Normandy invasion and its immediate aftermath from June 6-16, 1944. The focus is on a Captain (Tom Hanks) and his men who are commissioned to find a paratrooper (Matt Damon) whose brothers have been killed in action.

No one's supposed to say anything bad about SPR. To do so is considered sacrilege, but I have to be honest about what I like and don't like about Spielberg's popular WWII war flick. The initial beach landing (shot at Curracloe Beach, Ballinesker, Ireland) is outstanding, as is the closing half-hour battle at the crumbling village of Ramelle.

In between these two great bookends are a few quality sequences, but I didn't find a lot of the drama all that engaging or convincing. The cast is notable (also including Tom Sizemore, Barry Pepper, Edward Burns, Giovanni Ribisi, Jeremy Davies, Vin Diesel, et al.), but the characters never struck me as real for the most part. I've seen the film three times and each time I was too often conscious of the fact that I was watching actors portraying WWII characters in a movie. When you see a truly great picture, by contrast, you completely forget you're watching a movie, e.g. the original "Apocalypse Now" (1979).

Moreover, too many of the situations in SPR, including the dialogue, simply struck me as unreal or annoyingly treacly. Exhibit A is the moronic dog-tag sequence, which was supposed to be emotionally stirring but just made me roll my eyes. But, like I said, no one can criticize SPR and get away with it, even if the criticism is legitimate. It's like you'll be accused of being un-American or something, which is far from the case with me since I love America; I just can't stand the corrupt government & politicians, particularly the loony DemonKKKraps.

In light of my criticisms, I simply don't get why so many praise SPR as "the greatest war movie ever made." Again, the opening and ending battle sequences are great but the dubious dramatics leave quite a bit to be desired.

I've heard SPR hailed on the grounds that much of it was taken "verbatim from first-hand, eye-witness accounts of the real Normandy invasion." I'll take their word for it, but this isn't what I object to. I object to the contrived, sappy, questionable way Spielberg depicted the dramatics and the fact that I was unable to buy the characters as real. The aforementioned dog-tag sequence is just one example, others include the French father’s stupefying actions and the forced fight at the radar station and how it’s resolved (ooh, the Captain’s a high school teacher, whoopee).

Nevertheless, there IS a lot of good in SPR that make it worth viewing. You can’t beat the battle sequences, the cast and the convincing WWII visuals throughout.

THE MOVIE RUNS 2 hours, 49 minutes and was shot in Ireland, England and France. WRITER: Robert Rodat.

GRADE: C
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CinemaSerf
/10  2 months ago
I don't think I can recall any Hollywood film that depicts the atrocities of the D-Day landings as effectively as this does at the start. Indeed, watching it you wonder just how any of the Allied soldiers managed to ever survive the water let alone fight their way up a beach crowded with tank traps, mines and barbed wire - all whilst under constant machine gun fire. Steven Spielberg leaves very little to our imagination and bodies drop left, right and centre with an authenticity that John Williams scores remarkably poignantly. It's during this seemingly impossible assault that we are introduced to "Miller" (a career-best from Tom Hanks) and his squad who are tasked with taking out one of the heavily defended pill boxes. Meantime, the US Chief of Staff - General George Marshall is informed that one particular lady is about to get three telegrams in one day telling her that her sons have died. There is a fourth - "James" - and the reward for "Miller" and what's left of his group is to find this man and get him home to safety. What's also illustrated quite succinctly here is that despite the most meticulous of planning, nobody really has much of a clue who had landed where, who was alive or dead, and whether or not the master plan was working or not! This makes the new task even more difficult as the men, along with the dragooned interpreter "Upham" (Jeremy Davis) set of in search of a man they don't know with feelings that can only be described as "mixed" about the legitimacy of their mission. What now ensues is a potent story of war and of how the pressures and horrors of constant fear and weariness can corrupt the the most decent of souls. We see these men - decent men - turn into things they would never have thought themselves capable of becoming and the acting really rams that home in a characterful and visceral fashion. Brutality and savagery are not limited to the Nazis and again these images are presented to us with an honesty rather from a rose-tinted good v evil viewpoint and the dialogue has a ripeness and vivacity that rings true, too. It's not devoid of some black humour as we progress through war-torn France before a denouement that combines edge-of-the-seat drama with splendid cinematography and all of the ghastliness of conflict. The men valued each other as much as anything else, their inter-reliance and their determination to get the job done - even if they didn't really know why - is a testament to the attitudes that prevailed throughout the real fighting in Europe during WWII and this dramatisation is stunning. Big screen if you can - but it's really a must watch.
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KayP97
9/10  2 years ago
During the D-Day invasion of Normandy, Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) and his platoon are deployed to find and bring home a Private Ryan after all his brother's have been declared KIA.

War films can be some of the most shocking films ever to be made. As most of them are based on true events and put soldiers in the line of fire to risk their own lives for their country. They are put in situations where death seems all but inevitable. Steven Spielberg has proved why he is one of the best directors of all time. A lot of the action pieces in this movie are some of the most real that's ever been shown in cinema. Even from the opening of the movie, it is a violent but spectacular bit of action. Truly shows the horrors of war where you are just thrown right into the action with no time to prepare for the movie you are about to watch. Don't let the near 3 hour watch time put you off as it rarely stops moving forward and is a enthralling viewing.

What else is there to say about Tom Hanks that hasn't already been said. He is perfect in this movie. It is a sensational performance from him, and his portrayal is one I will never forget. The colouring in this film really adds to this movie, a lot of it is washed out which to me seems to really bring out the sense that the hope of these characters surviving this is also washing away. This makes it all the more powerful. It is a disturbing and depressing watch, but that is just an accurate depiction of war.

This is the best war movie ever made in my opinion, as you experience it through the eyes of these characters, you will feel what they went through. 9/10.
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