Spielberg's finest hour

Rating: Null/10 (6 August 1998)

Saving Private Ryan forced me to respect Steven Spielberg again. While I often found little depth to his other films, with the obvious exception of Schindler's List, his work on this was absolutely magnificent. The thing I liked most about the process behind SPR was the amount of teamwork involved -- Janusz Kaminski's photography is the best I've ever seen, for not only was it technically brilliant, but it also made me feel as though I was in Normandy, on the beach, and amidst the dying. The same goes for the sound and production design, for it did what was needed most: put the viewer in the action. Everyone associated with this picture should be proud of their work. The only fictional war story better than this in my opinion would be Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front.
I doubt I'll see a movie more powerful than Saving Private Ryan, even if the rumors about The Thin Red Line are true.