An exceptional war movie.

Rating: 8/10 (9 May 1999)

This film is an exceptionally well done war movie. It is perhaps the greatest of all time, although in my mind it is waging its own war with Apocalypse Now for that prestigious title. It pulls no punches in its representation of the horrors of war. I am certain that most movie aficionados have heard the stories of veteran flashbacks and emotional breakdowns caused by the film. It is certainly the best portrayal of war in this decade. It has even bested Braveheart's violence, a feat thought impossible three years ago. The scene in which Private Mellish is killed by the German soldier chills me to this day. It is indeed a fantastic war movie. As a movie in general it is not quite as great. It still is a wonderful tale with moving emotional content but I feel certain it was not robbed at the Academy Awards. The characters seemed quite one-dimensional to me and the plot left something to be desired. In the end this film did not approach the quality of Tom Hanks' two Oscar winning performances. And to risk missing the forest for the trees, I must say that the opening scenes of the storming of the beaches at Normandy almost made me feel sick. This was not from the excessive gore, and that fact does trouble me somewhat, but instead from the camera work. I understand that in this age of "ER" popularity the "messy camera" look has become incredibly popular. In spite of this I think the excessive motion of the camera during this scene detracted from the film. I found it difficult to concentrate throughout. Personally I thought the camera work during the battles in Braveheart were much more effective in conveying the mood of a battlefield.