Saving Private Ryan
Academy Award × 5·AFI #71·National Film Registry
Rent/Purchase
As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.
What critics thought
Broadly acclaimed as a landmark of war cinema, the film is most celebrated for its ferocious, sustained Omaha Beach sequence, which critics widely agreed had redefined how combat could be depicted on screen. Outside the battle scenes, opinion was more divided: some found the script derivative of earlier anti-war filmmakers and the sentimental framing device manipulative, while others felt those quieter passages earned their emotional weight. Hanks's performance drew near-universal praise; Matt Damon's Ryan was a recurring weak point, with some critics arguing the character was too thin to justify the mission built around him.
“American soldiers mock virtue and shoot surrendering Germans, where decent and altruistic actions tend to be fatal, where death is random, stupid and redeems hardly anything at all”
Kenneth Turan·Los Angeles Times
“it will forever change the way people imagine the most important event in 20th century history. That is no small achievement.”
Gary Kamiya·Salon.com
“it's a safe bet that Saving Private Ryan, a powerful but flawed movie, will be revered as a classic decades hence.”
Stephen Holden·The New York Times
“pornography of violence and cruelty”
Andrew Sarris·The New York Observer
Genres
Drama, War
Cast & Crew
DirectorSteven Spielberg
StarringTom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg
ComposerJohn Williams
Saving Private Ryan
Academy Award × 5·AFI #71·National Film Registry
As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.
What critics thought
Broadly acclaimed as a landmark of war cinema, the film is most celebrated for its ferocious, sustained Omaha Beach sequence, which critics widely agreed had redefined how combat could be depicted on screen. Outside the battle scenes, opinion was more divided: some found the script derivative of earlier anti-war filmmakers and the sentimental framing device manipulative, while others felt those quieter passages earned their emotional weight. Hanks's performance drew near-universal praise; Matt Damon's Ryan was a recurring weak point, with some critics arguing the character was too thin to justify the mission built around him.
“American soldiers mock virtue and shoot surrendering Germans, where decent and altruistic actions tend to be fatal, where death is random, stupid and redeems hardly anything at all”
Kenneth Turan·Los Angeles Times
“it will forever change the way people imagine the most important event in 20th century history. That is no small achievement.”
Gary Kamiya·Salon.com
“it's a safe bet that Saving Private Ryan, a powerful but flawed movie, will be revered as a classic decades hence.”
Stephen Holden·The New York Times
“pornography of violence and cruelty”
Andrew Sarris·The New York Observer
Genres
Drama, War
Cast & Crew
DirectorSteven Spielberg
StarringTom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg
ComposerJohn Williams
Rent/Purchase