Review: Saving Private Ryan (1998)

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Saving Private Ryan

Rating

Director

Steven Spielberg

Screenplay

Robert Rodat

Length

2h 49m

Starring

Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Jeremy Davies, Matt Damon, Ted Danson, Paul Giamatti, Dennis Farina

MPAA Rating

Basic Plot

The lives of eight men are risked to save the life of one.

Review

Had you the choice to save one man with many, would you do it?

Steven Spielberg takes us on an extraordinary ride into the lives of eight men who go in search of one man whose three brothers have all been killed-in-action.

The first 30 minutes of the film seem to have very little to do with the plot, but they establish “Saving Private Ryan” as introspective film taking a serious look at the effects of war on many different lives.

We begin with a present-day trip to Arlington National Cemetery. The disturbingly symmetric rows of crosses (and some Stars of David) paint a horrendous picture of the tremendous amount of life lost during the many great conflicts the United States has gone through to protect the freedoms of her people.

An elderly man and his family have come to the cemetery to pay their respects to a fallen soldier, only we don’t find out who this soldier is until the end of the film. We then travel from the realities of life and death to the realities of war.

This next 20 minutes paints a vivid and horrifying portrait of the gruesome nature of war. We see infantry transports motoring to shore off the coast of Normandy. They are carrying hundreds of soldiers, some praying, some seasick, but all with a common destiny.

When they finally arrive and start to crank open the ramps at the front of the boats, several are fatally shot without even getting a chance to deploy.

It is during this sequence that we meet Captain Miller (Tom Hanks), who is one of the boat leaders. We see dead bodies, we see severed limbs and various other unspeakably terrible casualties strewn across the scene.

In the end, all is victorious, despite not seeming like it would be. After this 20-minute segment, we are transported stateside where rows of typists are preparing typing up letters to send to the parents of those who have died during the war. One woman happens upon two letters and compares them vigorously. She then goes to another woman’s desk, rummages through her finished pile of letters and finds a third. She immediately runs to one of the military leaders on the floor and he brings it to the attention of the main officer in the operation.

We discover that one Mrs. Ryan has four children who are each enlisted and serving in the war. Of those four, three have already been killed and the other was dropped in the wrong area during one flying incursion. She’s receiving all three telegrams on the same day.

The decision is made to send a small squad of soldiers in search of Pvt. James Ryan (Matt Damon).

Miller is more or less ordered to lead the search and he gathers up six of his best men and then gets one of the inexperienced military translators (German and French) and head off on their journey.

Among the squad, there is the translator, Corporal Upham (Jeremy Davies), who is completely inexperienced in combat. There’s the hotheaded Private Reiben (Edward Burns), the sensible Sergeant Horvath (Tom Sizemore) and the overly compassionate Medic Wade (Giovanni Ribisi).

The other members are Private Jackson (Barry Pepper), the praying sniper; Private Mellish (Adam Goldberg), the cynical Jew; and Private Caparzo (Vin Diesel), the too-caring soldier.

The acting is solid, though I’m not surprised that Hanks was too over-dramatic again. Davies is probably the most impressive. His accurate portrayal of cowardice in the face of overwhelming terror is the best in the film. The second best performance is that of Edward Burns.

The production value is rather great and the disturbing realism is a major bonus.

I’ve always said that when Spielberg takes on adult subjects, he is one of the greatest directors. “The Color Purple” and “Schindler’s List” are great testaments to his directing ability.

Not for the squeamish, “Saving Private Ryan” is a film that does not shy away from realistic violence and paints the most vivid portrait of war on film that I’ve seen.

Awards Prospects

‘Private Ryan’ has chances for Picture, Actor, a couple of Supporting Actor, Director, Screenplay, Editing, Cinematography, Art Direction, Dramatic Score, Sound and Sound Effects.