1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- Saving Private Ryan

#971- Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Starring: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore
Directed by: Steven Spielberg


Plot Summary: After three brothers, Daniel, Shawn, and Peter Ryan are all killed in combat during World War II, a mission is sent out by General George Marshall to retrieve James, the fourth Ryan Brother, and return him home to his mother. James, a paratrooper, was last reported somewhere in Normandy and his exact whereabouts are unknown, so Captain John H. Miller and his company of men go on a life-threatening journey to find him. As if the threat of Nazi soldiers wasn't enough, many of the men in Miller's company disagree with the mission and find it unfair for him to receive this opportunity to be sent home, especially if they end up sacrificing their lives in the process. Miller just hopes that Private Ryan is a good man who will use this chance to earn something that he and his men aren't even guaranteed during the war: a chance to go home and experience life.


I won't lie, one of the main reasons that I wanted to do a look on Spielberg's career was so I could do a review for Saving Private Ryan. How could I not want to review this one? It's universally considered one of the greatest movies in the modern age of film and is certainly one of Spielberg's most memorable movies. At almost 3 hours in length, the film is primarily centered on 9 main characters (Private Ryan and the 8-man company that's supposed to save him), so I thought I would spend most of this review talking about these characters. There's also the actual depiction of war that's worth talking about (and I do get to that at the end). But all the characters in this film are so relatable and entertaining (which is rare, since even the greatest of movies can even have that ONE character you really don't care about) that I wanted to make sure they all got some proper recognition.

So let's start the review of Private Ryan by talking about the main character....Captain Miller, played by Tom Hanks. I know the film is about saving Private Ryan (DUH!!!), but for half the movie, he's just a name or an objective that Miller and his men are looking for. What else needs to be said about Miller other than it's Tom Hanks giving another great acting performance. He's one of my favorite actors of all-time and this is another one of his memorable performances. At first I wasn't sure what Hanks could bring to the role that would make him stand out, but in a moment of art imitating life, it's a role where the experience of a veteran actor translates to him properly portraying the experience of a veteran soldier. Now back to Private Ryan, it's only within the last hour that he's given a face to go along with it all and Matt Damon does a solid job of making Ryan likable to an extent. At first, he doesn't want to leave with Miller since he feels it's his duty to stay with his men and defend the bridge. He has a mindset that shows his loyalty to his country and the military and it is commendable, and once he's told of the sacrifices they've made for him he is a bit more understanding so he definitely shows that he's learning and possibly accepting to the idea.

Tom Sizemore plays Sgt. Horvath, a character who is very loyal to Miller (as someone should be to their Captain). He gets in a few zingers once in a while, but his best qualities is his loyalty to his missions and his physicality for warfare. The polar opposite to Horvath is Private Reiben, played by Edward Burns. Reiben does not think the mission to save Ryan is worth risking the lives of their men and he is openly disrespectful to Miller and Horvath about it. He's the one whose attitude definitely needs to be checked at the front door, but will never back down about what he believes in. And then we have one of the film's most popular characters Private Jackson, played by Barry Pepper. Jackson brings religion into the story by crediting God for his gifts of being an excellent sniper. The scenes where he is needed to take out men from afar are absolutely breathtaking and suspenseful and the things he says while he is preparing to shoot are the epitome of being a BA. Even if Jackson doesn't do a whole heck of a lot in context of the main narrative, it's easy to see why he's so popular.

Hey kids, check it out, it's a young Vin Diesel as Private Caparzo. Admittedly, of the characters in the film, Caparzo probably adds the least, but his popularity is easily boosted by the future sensation Vin Diesel would become. His greatest relationship is with his friend Private Mellish, played by Adam Goldberg. Mellish, also known as "Fish," is a very sarcastic character and has many humorous one-liners, but he is also a very empathetic character. He is a Jewish soldier fighting a bunch of Nazis, so you could definitely understand him getting emotional during this time. Even when he is acting like a bully to some of the other members of his company, you don't really ever hate the guy or find him too obnoxious. The soldier "Fish" normally bullies is their newest member, Corporal Upham, played by Jeremy Davies. Corporal looks and feels incredibly out of his element in this film, which is understandable for the audience, since many of them would feel the same way. Still, Upham is very likable for his ability to be their conscience and he forms a really strong relationship with Miller. Rounding out the main cast is Giovanni Ribisi as their medic Technician Wade. As a HUGE fan of Friends, it's always humorous to see Frank Jr. in this movie, but he's anything but humorous. Many times, like Upham, Wade looks at the bigger picture and is able to keep the company in check when some of their actions seem insensitive. He even has a great moment in the middle where he talks about his relationship with his mother back home. It's very emotional and is a reminder that these people have lives outside of war.

As if the main cast of characters wasn't good enough, we have an insane amount of awesome cameos scattered throughout the film. Normally, I wouldn't take the time to address these, but there are just way too many favorites of mine that they can't be ignored. As a fan of Becker and Cheers, I loved seeing Ted Danson as Captain Fred Hamill. As a fan of Sons of Anarchy and Remember the Titans, I loved seeing Ryan Hurst play paratrooper Mandelsohn (the one with the hearing problem). Loving his work with Joss Whedon, I got a kick out of seeing Nathan Fillion as the "other" Private Ryan. I even loved accomplished actors I'm not too familiar with like Paul Giamatti and Dennis Farina as Staff Sgt. William Hill and Lieutenant Col. Walter Anderson respectively. But my favorite cameo by far was by Walter White himself Bryan Cranston, as Col. I.W. Bryce. I'm a HUGE fan of Breaking Bad, so to see one of my favorite actors be one of the characters to actually set the film's plot in motion (pay attention to that) it's the cherry on top of an amazing ensemble cast.

One of the film's biggest strengths, and one of the many reasons the film won Spielberg another Academy Award for Best Director was it's very realistic and gritty depiction of war. Don't believe me, just watch the film's opening scene of the American troops storming Omaha Beach on D-Day. That scene is so exhilarating, bloody, and disturbing that it probably shattered a lot of preconceived concepts that some had about how glorious and glamorous it was to fight in a war. Added by the way the stunning cinematography that put the audience in the middle of the battles, and you have the ultimate point of view experience of what it was like to fight alongside the troops at D-Day, and it was anything but glamorous. Saving Private Ryan, like Schindler's List, was definitely an eye-opening experience of what was going on at that time, but I feel Private Ryan isn't as gruesome and is more open to viewers revisiting this accomplishment in film. It's nowhere near family friendly, but is definitely more open to a wider audience, which for a director like Spielberg, has always been something he has been about.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Saving Private Ryan is easily one of my favorite Spielberg movies. In fact, it's one of my favorite movies PERIOD. It's one of the most well-known and well-depicted war movies in existence and deserves a lot of the hype and praise it has received over the years. It's one of the easiest recommendations I could give to all movie buffs out there. This one is definitely worth owning in your collection.

Saving Private Ryan and movie images are copyrighted by DreamWorks Pictures