Spielberg's Horrific Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (15 May 2007)

After directing such films as Jaws, E.T., and Schindler's List, I don't think that anybody thought that Steven Spielberg could do anything better.
Well, he did.
Saving Private Ryan, the greatest war film ever made, is undoubtedly Spielberg's masterpiece. Forget that it lost the Best Picture Academy Award to the utterly forgettable Shakespeare in Love; This film transcends all other war films before it, and will continue to be the standard for all war films after it.
From the very first gunshot on the beaches of Normandy (which is still the most shockingly brilliant scene in any movie in history) until the final shot is fired in the small French town at the end of the movie (quite possibly the 2nd most shockingly brilliant scene in history), the movie grabs your attention and refuses to let go. You squirm as the camera follows brave soldiers into the heat of battle out of fear of being shot yourself, and you feel each soldier's pain when one of their own falls in combat. After Private Ryan's thank you to Captain Miller at the end of the movie, we can't help but thank Captain Miller along with him. And we thank Spielberg, too, for creating one of the best films of all time for us to enjoy.