The Greatest 27 Minutes in Film History

Rating: 10/10 (23 March 1999)

The first time I laid my eyes on this film (I have seen it about 10 times now), I was filled with awe and inspiration. The "transitional" wide-angle shot of the grunts being torn to peices just as the higgins boats reach the beach are the most horrifying (and at the same time) the most beautiful images I have ever seen on film. The half-hour that follows (and I don't think that many will disagree with me) is flawless filmmaking. Unfortunately, that is the problem. The first half-hour is SO damned strong in fact, that it is in MY opinion that the momentum of the rest of the film suffers in comparison. Like "Braveheart" and "All Quiet on the Western Front", Speilberg showed his ideas through emotions and feelings rather than words. I believe that was all accomplished in the first act of the film, leaving the rest of the picture to fend for itself. What turned out to be a very intelligent move by Robert Rodat and Speilberg was to use each member of the squad to express an intruiging symbolic idea. To me, that made up
for the lack of any solidity to the story-line that may have existed. The level of violence and arbitrariness are without a doubt maxed out here, but at good cause. ANYONE who knows ANYTHING about what unfolded on Omaha Beach that morning knows that it was a collosal bloodbath full of blood, guts, vomit, and death. If you would read Steven Ambroses' "D-Day" novel, you would actually realize that "Saving Private Ryan" was just an edited version of what occurred that morning on the different sectors of Omaha Beach. Never-the-less, this film is a true repreasentation of raw power and gritty realism, that I am sure, will not be passed up for a long while in scope.