War is hell after all...

Rating: 10/10 (28 June 2005)

It seemed impossible (or was it inevitable?), but director Steven Spielberg did the unthinkable: he made a war movie. The creative and legendary mind behind such kiddie movies like "E.T. the Extraterrestrial" (1982) or "Hook" (1991) and who had ventured into more mature territory with "Schindler's List" (1993) made a movie that put a human face on the horrors of the World War II conflict. We know how personal WWII is to Spielberg (especially to anyone who's seen "Raiders of the Lost Ark" - he just loves to stick it those diabolical Nazis, or the aforementioned "Schindler's List"), but after seeing "Saving Private Ryan" (1998), our assertions at just HOW personal it is to him are revealed. Opening on D-Day (June 6, 1944) at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, the grainy cinematography and jerky camera movements are relentlessly imposing in capturing the graphic battlefield carnage of that day. We watch in horror as one after one, Allied soldiers are butchered by the automatic weapons being unloaded on them by the Germans that had taken up positions on the hills in front of them. In the middle of the chaos, is Captain Miller (Tom Hanks), as he leads his men from the sandy, bullet and body-riddled beach up to the top of the hill. In the scenes that follow, Spielberg is unflinching as we see American soldiers as well Germans become the casualties of history's costliest conflict. The movie doesn't end there; it's only the beginning and the main plot of the film, which is supposedly based on a true story, takes shape. It turns out, that an American mother is going to receive three telegrams in one day, each one informing her that her three sons have all been killed in the D-Day invasion. But there is hope: her fourth son, a paratrooper, the eponymous Private Ryan (Matt Damon, in what could essentially be considered a cameo) of the film's title, survived. The problem is, he's located deep behind enemy lines, and it'll take a small squad of American soldiers to bring him home, as word of this small victory will serve the army good on the home front. Miller leads his squad, which includes Sergeant Horvath (Tom Sizemore), Private Reiben (Edward Burns), Private Jackson (Barry Pepper), Private Mellish (Adam Goldberg), T-4 Medic Wade (Giovanni Ribisi), Private Caparzo (Vin Diesel) and the unproven translator Corporal Upham (Jeremy Davies), deep into the French countryside to rescue Private Ryan and bring him home. It should be stated foremost that this is not an easy movie to sit through. I remember hearing stories from when this film first came about out how WWII veterans who were at D-Day had to be escorted out of the theaters because it was too much for them to handle. But still, that is its goal: "Saving Private Ryan" is the most realistic, gritty, and horrifically violent war movie I've ever seen. It does the impossible task of shedding itself of the stigmas (patriotic flag-waving, one-dimensional soldiers, one-sided portraits of the enemy, no battle-related carnage, etc.) that haunted many WWII films made during the '50s and '60s; contrary to some reviews, none of this goes on in this film. The film is immediately effective in its portrait of soldiers on both sides of the WWII battle, and the cost it waged on them. The performances are flawless, as Spielberg is able to get commanding talent out of all the actors involved. The action, if you can sit through it, will definitely make you squirm in your seat at how realistic it is. It should also be noted that nearly every war film since this one has tried to mimic the style of "Saving Private Ryan," but they can't ever live up to its originality and raw intensity. "Saving Private Ryan" is Spielberg's WWII masterpiece, and is my favorite war movie. It's no wonder Spielberg was voted #1 director of all time; this film proves why.
10/10