Raw...Powerful..Emotional

Rating: 9/10 (7 September 2013)

Wow... I've seen this movie once before, and I decided to watch it again this evening and it had the same effect on me that it did the first time I watched it. Saving Private Ryan is a movie that stays with you long after you watch it.It is affecting and moving, gritty and powerful. You watch this film and you see the hell that is war.You see what it does to people, it dehumanizes them , it strips away their moral compass, their values.The movie is violent and sickeningly realistic, but its violence and graphic scenes are not numbing, you are never detached from the what the soldiers are going through. You watch the action unfold and you are there, you are there feeling the pain of the soldiers.Steven Spielberg has once again drawn us in emotionally to the story. Just as he did with Schindler's list, he uses his gift for compelling story telling and character development, to immerse us in the story,to make us care for the characters.The acting was top notch as well. Tom Hanks,as Capt. John Miller, did an amazing job,probably one of his best roles(besides Forrest Gump and Philadelphia) as did Matt Damon (Private Ryan). The whole cast was perfect and fit right into each of their roles. The underlying score of John Williams, one of my favorite score composers(E.T, Jurassic Park, Star wars, etc.),was used in the right moments,creating tension and at other times, tugging at your heart strings.One of the best movies by Spielberg and ONE of the best WWII movies(not the best but one of them).