Saving Private Ryan Movie Review | One of the best war movie yet.

Saving Private Ryan, well, how can I describe this fabulous piece of art? Released in 1998 based on the Invasion of Normandy in WW2, it is the truest and precise depiction of war. It has notable graphics, and realistic portrayal of the ugly face of a war which makes it epic. It has set a benchmark in genre of movies related to war and clearly no movie beats it or even come near it. Even Lone Survivor or American Sniper don’t come near the legacy which this movie has created. Written by Robert Rodat and directed by Steven Spielberg starts with intense 30 minutes of fighting which the depiction is of Omaha beach (code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings) on 6^th June 1944 (D-Day).  In 1994, Robert Rodat saw a monument in Putney Corners, New Hampshire, memorialising Americans who were killed from the American Civil War to the Vietnam War. He noticed the names of eight siblings who died during the American Civil War. Inspired by the story, Rodat did some research and decided to write a similar story set in World War II.

     

Saving Private Ryan received universal critical acclaim, winning several awards for film, cast, and crew. The film grossed US$481.8 million worldwide. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated the film for 11 Academy Awards; Spielberg's direction won him a second Academy Award for Best Director, with four more awards going to the film. Saving Private Ryan was released on home video in May 1999, earning another $44 million from sales. In 2014, Saving Private Ryan was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry as it was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Movie has one of the best starring ever consisting of Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel, Edward Burns, Berry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, Adam Goldberg, and Jeremy Davies.

The sequence depicting the Omaha Beach landings was named the "best battle scene of all time" by Empire magazine and was ranked number one on TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest Movie Moments". The scene cost US$12 million and involved up to 1,500 extras, some of whom were members of the Irish Reserve Defence Forces. In addition to add more realism, twenty to thirty actual amputees were used to portray American soldiers maimed during the landing. The Unique thing was that Spielberg did not storyboard the sequence, as he wanted spontaneous reactions. 

The historical representation of Charlie Company's actions was well maintained in the opening sequence. The sequence and details of the events are very close to the historical record, including the seasickness experienced by many of the soldiers as the landing craft moved toward the shoreline, significant casualties among the men as they landed from the boats, and difficulty linking up with adjacent units on the shore. The distinctive signature "ping" of the US soldiers ‘M1 Garand’ rifles ejecting their ammunition clips is heard throughout the battle sequence. The filmmakers used underwater cameras to better depict soldiers being hit by bullets in the water. Forty barrels of fake blood were used to simulate the effect of blood in the seawater. The main challenge to show highest degree of realism and was more difficult to achieve when depicting World War II German armored vehicles, as only few survive in operating condition. The Tiger I tanks in the film were copies built on the chassis of old, but functional, Soviet T-34 tanks. 

To achieve a tone and quality that was true to the story as well as reflected the period in which it is set, Spielberg collaborated with cinematographer Janusz Kamiński. Kamiński had the protective coating stripped from the camera lenses, making them closer to those used in the 1940s. Without the protective coating, the light goes in and starts bouncing around, which makes it slightly more diffused and a bit softer without being out of focus.

This movie made D-Day veterans cry and many of them left the theatres after watching first scene rather than completing the movie.

Popular acronym associated with this movie is ‘FUBAR’. Saving Private Ryan is a lot more powerful than a testosterone and adrenaline filled Sylvester Stallone’s movie (For the record I am a fan of Sylvester’s movies).

Personally, the last scene where Tom Hanks says “James…Earn this, Earn It” to Matt Damon and the part where the old Matt Damon acknowledges “I hope at least in your eyes I have earned what all of you have done for me” made me cry. In the end I will say this movie will always be the best and the top movie in my ranking list.