Visually rich with a stunning and honest depiction of war

Rating: 9/10 (1 February 2008)

Many of us can't truly say we know what World War II looked like, but I would venture to say that Steven Spielberg gives us a pretty good idea with "Saving Private Ryan." Spielberg, in his second attempt to capture the WWII era on the big screen, has made a movie that plays out like the telling of a war story and in the combat scenes latching back on to a sense of harsh reality with violence and the death of many soldiers.
Worthy of the most praise is the incredibly well-deserved second Oscar win for the team of Spielberg and Janusz Kaminski. The two have done everything together and this is certainly a high point of their partnership. The cinematography really captures a war that is both dark and in the case of D-Day, legendary. Rarely do most films capture a spirit of war that is scary and also beautiful without glorifying the war or its soldiers.
Here is wear "Ryan" succeeds as a truly strong war film and probably the best depiction of World War II battle in history. The characters are strong and while they seem to be more like characters when they don't fight, they react like people when they are forced to do their jobs, not like super soldiers with the exception of Barry Pepper's character, but that only makes the film better by rounding out the way different soldiers viewed the war.
The themes are incredibly strong thanks to this depiction of violence. The universal idea of fighting for something or obeying orders when you don't understand why is perfectly interpolated by the band of soldiers sent to find Private Ryan and in that way it requires every viewer to forcibly reconcile that which a soldier in any war must do. Those of us who aren't veterans should consider ourselves fortunate to only have to ponder it and not actually come to terms with it.