Mr. Craven's independent film study.

Rating: 10/10 (29 January 2006)

Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan is clearly one of the most praised war movies so far. It is an account of World War Two from the perspective of Captain John H. Miller and his squad on their mission to save one man, Private James Francis Ryan, who is the surviving brother of three. Each soldier questions the initiative and reasoning behind saving one man. Is it worth it to save man and risk the lives of many soldiers? The answer is obvious by the end of the movie. The story is told in a third person omniscient point of view with a focus on Captain Miller (Tom Hanks), Sergeant Horvath (Tom Sizemore), Private Reiben (Edward Burns), Private Jackson, Private Mellish, Private Caparzo (Vin Diesel) and T-4 medic Irwin Wade. The most breathtaking scene opens with the soldiers moving on Normandy beach on 6 June 1944. The gate on the boat drops down and releases a surge of chaos. As the viewer sees three or four soldiers drown they begin to realize that this movie is taking them for an emotional ride. This scene is not drawn from pure Hollywood imagination; it is a highly accurate account of any soldier's experience during D-Day. Captain Miller and his squad are assigned to find Private James Ryan so he can go back home. Miller's squad is forced to put away all of their morals and philosophies in order to do their job. It is apparent that Miller has a different initiative at first when he's given the mission. He was promised a chance to go home and see his wife; a chance most any man would not give up, but when he actually found Private Ryan it seems that he was glad to have saved him. This is the perfect example of self-sacrifice during world war two. Not only were men and woman forced to give of themselves to save the land, but they were also forced to save each other.