A different kind of war film.

Rating: 9/10 (11 December 2015)

Director Steven Spielberg yet again brings together an all-star cast to create an influential war film. Saving Private Ryan tells the story of eight men who set out to find Private Ryan, played by Matt Damon, as his three brothers were killed in action. Their goal, is to find Private Ryan and send him home to his mother as he is her only child still living. The movie, set during WWII, shows not only the hardships of war but also what men are willing to go through to bring a fellow soldier home. These eight men, led by Captain Miller who is played by Tom Hanks must travel into enemy territory to retrieve Private Ryan and in doing so find themselves fighting for their own lives to do so.
While the theme of the film is war, Spielberg directed his cast in a portrayal of courage. Showing what great lengths men will go through in such a troubling time. Courage could be referenced as part of the plot of this film but it can be argued that you can't have a film with war as the theme and not have this be a subsequent role in the film. Another element of this film would be the loss of life or disregard for life. In the film, soldiers are seen killing German soldiers who are attempting to surrender. This again relates to the main theme of war but also that in which life has no real value.
Lighting was impactful for this film and appeared to be natural lighting but seemed to be duller than what would be expected. This brought out the element of drama and while being a typical dramatic effect, gave a real sense of mood in most of the film. Like most war films, a depressing mood is given off and with this type of lighting, it really made this feeling come true for me as a viewer. Character costume was also an important element in this film. Not only was there uniformity between officer and enlisted, you could also get a feeling for who was in the fight and who may have just arrived. Most men looked haggard and beaten down and without needing to look at their expression, you could understand this through their appearance. Men's uniforms were dirty or blood stained while men at a base would have what almost appeared as new fatigues as they had not left the safety of the base. These different elements added to the cinematic effect and helped in portraying such an exhilarating film.
While some may describe this as just another war film, Spielberg, Hanks, and Tom Sizemore together made this a classic. War films generally follow the action and Saving Private Ryan turned the focus to courage rather than just victory. A must see film from an all-star cast.