One of the greatest war films around.

Rating: 8/10 (8 November 1999)

When is the life of one man, greater than the life's of 8. This is one of the issues raised in Steven Speilberg's great war epic " Saving Private Ryan".
Set during the D Day invasion it follows 8 soldiers led by Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) who must venture behind enemy lines in order to find and retrieve Private James Ryan who's 3 brothers have been killed in action.
There are many who have said that this film includes to much gore and over the top violence, and in some way I must agree. In any war not everyone will have parts of their bodies blown off, but equally the film is trying to destroy a myth that so many have that in some twisted way war is glamorous. The majority of war films will simply have a soldier shot and fall to the ground with a minimum of blood lost, if this were the case then there would not have been so many soldiers who returned from wars minus limbs.
This film deals with many of the human aspects of war, similar in certain ways to " The Thin Red Line ", soldiers are expected to obey orders without thought or question, no matter how impossible or crazy the orders may be.
A solid cast hold this film together for 2hr 40minutes, with Tom Hanks well cast in the role of Captain John Miller and Mat Damon as Private James Ryan. Each and every one of the main actors in this film will stay in your mind after you have seen this film, and is because of them and Speilberg that this film is as good as it is.
I feel Speilberg has dealt with a strong subject with the same level of sensitivity which was shown with "Schindler's List " it maybe painful to remember, but equally it is important not to forget the past or the same mistakes could be made again. No one should ever have to go through another war like that.
If you are looking for a film with a strong story line, then I can think of none better than this, I don't think there can be a person alive who after watching this film will not look upon war in a completely different light, and remember the sacrifices which were made.