Review of Saving Private Ryan (1998) by Hoops2448 — 17 Nov 2011

There are few films that are literally unforgettable and Saving Private Ryan with its shocking imagery, pitch perfect acting and moving score manages to permanently burn itself into your brain.

Despite what everyone remembers of Saving Private Ryan (The Omaha Beach section being the obvious one) its lasting moments are the quiet ones, the ones that show that even through the horrors of war there is still a sense of humanity. Such moments not only provide some much needed levity (Miller and Horvath's discussion in the church being one of the best) as well as allowing the viewer to understand why these characters are worth caring for (Miller and Ryan discuss their families just before the war began). There isn't a moment of Saving Private Ryan where you aren't completely immersed. Both the direction (by Steven Spielberg) and the writing (by Robert Rodat) are brilliant with the latter allowing for a shift between pure darkness and shock to levity and joy in mere moments. In conclusion its Spielberg at the top of his game as he engages with the real emotion behind warfare, both the loss of humanity and the strive to regain it. It engages the viewer by letting him/her decide how to feel about shocking events while sometimes surprising you at the way you might react. Its a masterpiece that will never fail to get to me or as I imagine, almost anyone who watches it.