Best war story since The Best Years Of Our Lives

Rating: 10/10 (21 May 1999)

I find it hard to compare war movie of different wars. All Quiet On The Western Front, Full Metal Jacket, and Platoon are some of my favorites. Glory an Braveheart are also extremely good. Saying this is the best war movie ever is tough. Apocalypse Now, FMJ, and Platoon are all great movies but don't have as great a plot or anything approaching the cinematography of this movie. The cinematography of the opening battle scene is by far the greatest 15 minutes in the history of film technique. It has to be experienced on a theater screen and up close to get the full feeling of the sheer insanity that takes place in the midst of a battle. The story that follows the super impressive opening is no less genius. It's a great Dr Strangelove feel of conflicting morals, interests, and sanity. Tom Hanks,Tom Sizemore do wonderful acting jobs and I'm not quite sure who plays the sniper but he steals the movie from everyone. Great writing and attention to detail including actual Panzer tank sounds rack up more points for this movie. The violence much like any real war has quite a humbling effect. And the backdrop of D-Day (often called the greatest battle in history) provides the perfect opportunity to show how horrible death really is. Actual veterans went into siezers, flashbacks, and emotional trauma when viewing this movie. A help line was even set up to help them cope with the visions. That really says a lot about a film.