Review of Saving Private Ryan (1998) by Stacy K — 06 Oct 2014

The movie "Saving Private Ryan" is simply a masterpiece of its time with its outstanding story telling, amazing special effects, and unmatched overall quality. These features blew all other movies created in the late nineties out of the water. Without a doubt this movie was revolutionary for the movie industry.

This films cinematography is some of the greatest for its age with some of the most beautiful settings all over Germany. The scene that recreates D-Day is a perfect example of this with a camera in the place of a soldier in the back of the boat. When that gate fell and the Nazis began to fire leaving the camera with no choice but to jump over the side of the boat with some of the other troops made you feel as though you were in the battle itself. This is not the only time the camera shots do this. Later we are put in the machine gun nests of the Nazis firing upon American troops with an amazing view of Omaha beach. The shots such as these really make you feel like you are fighting and taking part in World War II, which is a major wow factor.

The cinematography is not the only thing that will have you silent with awe. The special effects for this movie are some of the best ever presented by the movie industry in the late nineties. The amount of realistic blood and gore in this movie makes it feel extremely authentic. There are scenes of soldiers having their limbs blown off and soldiers being shot to death that appears to be so real that you would question if this were real footage from the war itself. This is something "Saving Private Ryan" offers compared to most war movies today. These elements make the movie superior to most other war movies out there because the producers were not scared to show what the fighting was actually like which gives you a real vision of World War II.

The overall acting of this movie was phenomenal for many reasons. Through out the entire movie there will not be a moment where you will believe you are watching Hollywood actors but instead real military personnel. The actors of this movie do an excellent job with earning your heart-felt compassion for their characters. There are scenes where soldiers are in despair and near death begging for their mother's presence holding each other tightly as brothers that really grabs you by the heart. Watching these actors shed real tears together is insane when it comes to the quality of the acting. This movies acting easily beats a good portion of the movies that have come out prior to its release.

Seeing the realism in the costumes, vehicles, and weaponry is another major factor that stands out. It is amazing how well they did with paying attention to detail. The fact that they made sure only the captains had Thompson machine guns showed they had good knowledge while making this movie. It is also astounding how they managed to create so many weapon replicas with such detail and authenticity by showing the ware on the weapons themselves for each soldier in the movie. This is an incredible feat judging on the fact they had over fifty soldiers on screen at one time each wielding their own weapon and having their own costume.

The movie "Saving Private Ryan" without a doubt is one of the greatest films ever created by mankind. It is not just a movie you watch and enjoy; it is an experience you will live with for the rest of your life. This movie is simply a work of art that will stand out among the greatest war films in history.