Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 war film set during the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. This film is particularly notable for the intensity of its opening 24 minutes, which depict the Omaha beachhead assault of June 6, 1944. Thereafter it presents a fictional search for a paratrooper of the United States 101st Airborne Division. While this part of the plot is a work of fiction, the premise is very loosely based on the real-life case of the Niland brothers. Saving Private Ryan was well received by audiences and garnered considerable critical acclaim, winning several awards for film, cast and crew as well as earning significant returns at the box office.

Main Cast
Tom Hanks as Captain John H. Miller
Tom Sizemore as Technical Sergeant Michael Horvath
Edward Burns as Private First Class Richard Reiben, a BAR gunner
Jeremy Davies as Technician 5th Grade Timothy E. Upham, a cartographer and interpreter
Barry Pepper as Private Daniel Jackson, a marksman
Adam Goldberg as Private Stanley Mellish, a rifleman
Vin Diesel as Private Adrian Caparzo, a rifleman
Giovanni Ribisi as Technician 4th Grade Irwin Wade, a medic
Matt Damon as Private First Class James Francis Ryan, a paratrooper

Directed by Steven Spilberg

DVD Review
By Peggy Vincent "author and reader"
Some people advise others to close their eyes during the loooong opening scene of Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. That would be a mistake. Yes, it's carnage, it's horrible, it's relentless, it's bloody, it's random death, it's a portrayal of fear and courage and raw coincidence. But it's also one of the most powerful pieces of cinematography ever filmed.

There are many other scenes that have stayed with me during the years since I last saw this unforgettable film, perhaps Spielberg's best ever. Perhaps the most poignant one that comes immediately to mind is the woman whose sons are all away at war. She's on a remote farm, washing dishes, and thru her window she sees the dust of approaching cars. She goes outside to meet the visitors, tenses as she sees military brass and a chaplain step from the cars, then crumples wordlessly to the worn boards of her front porch as she tries to take in the news: all her boys have been killed, except for one: Private Ryan.

Another related scene, the one that came just before this one, is equally gut-wrenching (and in both scenes, there is no dialogue, just heart-stabbing visuals that are more powerful than any words could have been) as a woman charged with sending out letters of the We Regret to Inform You variety realizes that she's seen three letters with the same address within the past few days, and she takes this terrible proof to her supervisor - and thus is born the search for the surviving son, to bring him home to his momma.

Tom Hanks, with his own persona of morality and honesty, is perfectly cast as the good Captain Miller, a soldier's soldier charged with this onerous task, and of course there is terrible cost.
Saving Private Ryan is the film Spielberg HAD to make. Outstanding, in every possible way.

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Saving Private Ryan Movie Trailer


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