#45: SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

8.5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, but just once, more than 20 years ago in high school

BEST SEQUENCE

It probably wouldn't surprise you to hear that I expected the opening D-Day sequence to be the most effective part of the movie, but the final battle of the bridge is also extremely gripping, more so than I even remembered, so it's a tie between the first part of the movie and the last part

BEST LINE

"I just know that every man I kill the farther away from home I feel"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

94%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Anchored by another winning performance from Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg's unflinchingly realistic war film virtually redefines the genre."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action."

DIRECTOR

Steven Spielberg

MAIN CAST

Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, Jeremy Davies, Vin Diesel, Adam Goldberg, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, Matt Damon

THOUGHTS

• Revolutionary in the war film genre for the level of unflinching realism Spielberg achieved, and the intense feeling of being placed right in the midst of the horrors of war. As per usual with war movies, it feels a little odd to describe it as thrilling, but it certainly is visceral, gripping and harrowing
• Tom Hanks is excellent as Captain Miller, but the whole cast is really great. Giovanni Ribisi is probably my favourite of the main group, and his death hit me the hardest. It's also interesting to see the actors who were cast in smaller roles, only showing up for a scene or two. Some of these actors were already fairly well established, people like Ted Danson and Dennis Farina, but some of these actors were not even close to the level of fame they would eventually achieve, people like Paul Giamatti and Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle didn't even debut until two years later)
• And of course, you've got Private Ryan himself, Matt Damon. Funnily enough, Spielberg cast Damon because he wanted a complete unknown in the part, but in between the filming of Saving Private Ryan and its release, Good Will Hunting came out, ultimately winning Damon an Oscar alongside Ben Affleck and completely ruining Spielberg's intentions to have a nondescript, all-American James Ryan
• Speaking of the Oscars, Saving Private Ryan won Spielberg his second Best Director trophy after Schindler's List, and also his most recent one to date. However this was also one of the most controversial Best Picture decisions when Private Ryan lost to Shakespeare in Love (and I would say that Tom Hanks losing to Roberto Benigni for Life is Beautiful was also fairly controversial). I have also seen Shakespeare in Love, but also a very long time ago, probably around the same time I saw Private Ryan, in fact. Maybe I'll give Shakespeare in Love a rewatch to decide which movie I prefer of the two, but I certainly think Saving Private Ryan had loftier ambitions with the story it told

Up next: Coincidentally we're sticking with Spielberg, but with a very different flavour. From 1982, it's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial