Good but nothing like "Schindler's list".

Rating: 7/10 (6 July 1999)

When I got to the theater to see this "Saving private Ryan", I hadn't yet seen "Schindler's list" and thought it was pretty good and that it would win a lot of awards at the Oscars. However, after having seen "Schindler's list", I understand why "Saving private Ryan" did not win best picture of the year.
"Saving private Ryan" is closer than a cool action movie than a heavy drama like "Schindler's list". Sure it's good, but it isn't the best movie of the year. I think that perhaps if Spielberg had cut out more of the action and gory scenes and had concentrated more on the fact that Mrs. Ryan would like to see her last son come home, it probably would have been a higher and better quality drama than it actually is.
Although the opening on the beach of Normandie on D-day is pretty well shown, I think that there were a couple of scenes that could have been cut for example one of the soldiers looking around for his arm in a pile of others or the other soldier trying to keep all his intestines inside his body.
All in all, it's a very good movie but it isn't even close to being nearly as good as "Schindler's list" (which probably explains why "Saving private Ryan didn't win best picture of the year).