Best war movie ever

Rating: 10/10 (18 September 2004)

"Saving Private Ryan" is not a mindless charade of "the glory of war";
it goes much, much deeper than probably any war film I have seen. It explores the fellowship of men banding together to save one private so that they ("can go home to (their wives)"), and the brutal obstacles they encounter, in the unpredictable situation of war. We witness an unforgettable, impeccable account of the most notorious siege in war history, "D-Day" in such personal, graphic, and unflinching detail that we find ourselves aboard the ships, swimming to the bloody shores, in the scorn of relentless battle. The direction throughout the film is superb: sincere, unapologetic, and poignant, as Spielberg takes us on a historical journey through the plights of these heroic men, and we witness every horror, every tragedy, and every act of courage which comprises the uncertain, the most fatal of situations, war. We are compelled by these soldiers' personal stories: their desires to someday return home and tell of their heroism to their grandchildren, to live happy, complete lives after this dangerous task. We are emerged into battle as the Americans and Germans are desperate and unrelenting in witnessing the others' demise, as this is the constant case of war. The ruins of the towns and its horrified citizens crying for mercy cause us to shudder with graveness and sympathy, as we encounter the unfortunate cost of war. The music is hearty and reverent, the sounds of the trumpets saluting those heroes, survived and fallen, and victims of war; from the brutal plights of battle, to the starking realization of survival being the only hope, to the grim deliverance to a mother a notice that her child has fallen in war; it is beautiful, passionate, and reinforces a theme of elegy prevalent throughout the film. This is one somber, reflective, and honest account of the last great war, and it is touching, engaging, and uncompromising in its infallible homage to a time of sacrifice and the men who comprise that honor. The best war movie I have ever seen. **** out of ****