Saving Private Ryan

What's one of the most important and significant films of all time? If I were to ask you that question, I think many people would be hard pressed to actually come up with an answer. It's a tough one, but it's also nearly impossible to probably just pick one. 

Having said that, I imagine that there are instantly a few films that rise to the forefront of your thoughts. 

Within that group of four to five important films, I'd be willing to bet that many have the option of Saving Private Ryan dancing around. 

Now, I'm not going to do something as grandiose as naming the Spielberg World War II drama "the most significant film ever", but I do think that it's place in cinematic history is well earned and eternally cemented. It's a film that I've shockingly never seen all the way through in one sitting (until the other night) as I've caught all of it on TV and pieced it together from there. Even still, it was a film that was in my Top 10 and watching it all the way through for once only helped its cause. It's a powerful film that is the "war" genre at not only its best, but probably most intense and violent -- throwing the viewer right into the thick of it. 

Visceral

After mass casualties...

At this point, most have seen it so retreading the plot would be a bit pointless. I did always think, to a certain extent, that the plot itself had a few gaps of logic in it, but the more I see the film, the more I understand that may not be the case. To me, it seems hard to believe that there would be an executive order to save the life of one so that he and his family may be spared the grief of another casualty in the war. What's interesting about it though is that element adds to a certain amount of debate as to the morality and importance of these troops' mission and I do always love a good movie discussion. 

Of course, this mission doesn't occur until after the famous (or infamous) D-Day storming of Omaha Beach scene; a scene that has been called "The Best Battle Scene of All Time" before and that Spielberg designed with the hopes to welcome viewers to his stage and put them right there on the beach. I'd say he accomplished his mission as the Omaha Beach storming is one of the most iconic, graphic, and memorable movie scenes of all time. It's so in your face that it really was before its time and there are so many technically impressive aspects to the whole set that add another layer of amazement while watching it. It's no surprise that this scene alone caused PTSD recurrences in Vets and forced others to leave the theater. It violent, bloody, unforgiving, and raw -- just like real war. There's little glamour to be had here and it's about as accurate of a portrayal of war as there's ever been. 

Before he became Bourne (yay alliteration!)

This leads to some controversy the film stirred up, claiming that it was glorifying war on the silver screen. While I can see where that argument emerged, I also highly disagree with it. The violence Spielberg poses on screen isn't lustful, or at least most of it isn't. It doesn't crave to make you say "Oh wow, that's awesome!". It's unforgiving and so realistic that I found it to be an intense memorial of the soldiers who actually lived through it. For every death or limb lost there was likely a identical moment in World War II that was witnessed in real life by young men fighting to protect their countries, families, morals, and freedom. Even outside of the Omaha Beach scene, Spielberg keeps the violence intense, almost as a reminder to us that there were atrocities and horrors everywhere, not just in the main battles captured in the history books.

Aside from the battles, Saving Private Ryan is just a mightily impressive film in every facet. The direction from Spielberg is nearly flawless in both the film's smaller scenes and its larger ones. The entire movie is almost a string of iconic scenes and the organization of the story itself is fascinating. I love the bookends too as they really elevate the film's emotional impact and bring the life-long consequences of the battle to the "modern day" in the 90s which I'm sure connected with many theater goers. On a technical level, Ryan is also a marvel. The cinematography is memorable, but also features some classic Spielberg and there are a few instances of really gorgeous imagery. Even more impressive is the sound design and editing, probably some of the best I've ever heard. From the explosions, soldiers yelling, M1 Garand clips ejecting, and bullets whizzing by, the sounds of war are captured and dialed up to 11 here. As if the images of war weren't enough, the sounds will really put you in the battlefield. Thinking of sound, John Williams' original score is also quite rousing when used, but I feel like it wasn't used often enough. It's particularly effective in the bookend segments but I wasn't often affected the way I would hope to be during battles or dramatic deaths.

And of course, one can't speak of the film without mentioning the stellar cast, many of whom went on to have much larger careers from their "launching pad" experience. Tom Hanks gives one of the best performances of his storied career (though I don't think it's his absolute best) and his Captain Miller is the anchor that the film relies on. It's a role that I can't quite imagine anyone else playing in retrospect and once the character's origins are revealed, Hanks is pretty instantly the best pick over someone who might have been more action-hero-oriented. The other Tom, Sizemore, gives probably the best performance of his career here too as Hanks' right hand man. A young Matt Damon comes to the party late, but has several scenes of innocence and youth, particularly one where he reminisces about the last night he had with his brothers. The film requires a range of emotions from all involved and they all deserve a particular shout out for bringing their A-game; I surmise they likely knew how special of a project they were involved with. Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, and Jeremy Davies -- congrats on being part of the company that sets out to save private Ryan. 

America's Hero: Tom Hanks

Saving Private Ryan is truly a treasure within American cinema, but it also speaks to the conflict of World War II at large. Even more than 9/11, it was one of the most significant and world-altering events within the last century -- a vicious clash of powers and men -- and such a terrible but defining time deserves a movie of similar caliber. 

I dare say that Spielberg got mighty close to that impossible order with Saving Private Ryan.

CONS:

• Deserves the length it has, but still could have been trimmed in spots
• I would have personally loved the original score to have been utilized a little more
• I still question the decision of the plot to save one man while risking the lives of many, but that's also part of the interest in the film as it creates conversation
• Not a con necessarily, but I imagine there are many that can't watch this film. It is exhausting and intense...not for everybody

PROS:

• One of the most accurate portrayals of war ever captured on screen. It's incredibly hard to watch, but realistic and true to the horrors that many endured and witnessed 
• A simple, but powerful plot
• When used, the original score is amazing
• Fantastic cinematography both during battles and during the film's more quiet moments. Probably even more so during the latter
• Expert direction by Spielberg and easily in his Top 3 all time greatest films
• Powerful and heart-wrenching bookends that really send home that emotional impact
• Features one of the most iconic movie scenes of all time with Omaha Beach on D-Day. Simply incredible
• Some of the best sound editing and effects I've ever heard
• Tom Hanks is perfect in this role and he was just the anchor that the film needed. He has moments of violence, vulnerability, and heartbreak and handles them all with ease
• The rest of the cast brings their A-game and forms a believable and memorable company of heroes
• One of the most important and significant films in American history, but also cinematic history

Retro Rath's Review Score:

10/10 -- Instant Classic