A Horrible Must-See

Rating: Null/10 (2 August 1998)

This is the most terrible, horrifying movie that has ever been made. ... and it should be required viewing for everyone on this small planet. "Saving Private Ryan" drives home what we all knew about war, but never felt in our guts until now. It shows us once and for all that war is always wrong.
Superb movie making brings us into the middle of the battlefield -- an illogical, chaotic, insane Hell -- where men are driven away from their own humanity. For the first time, we are not viewing "a movie" from the outside. We are in the middle of the action with bullets flying overhead and bombs exploding all around us. We inevitably become nervous and start ducking involuntarily, lest we be killed as well. Kudos to the sound techs and cinematographers. "Saving Private Ryan" is sure to become a classic. It will be seen for years to come as a high-water mark in film, a true pinnacle. It is a film that has the power to change the viewer. If only it could change the world's leaders, we may never be faced with the horror of another war.