Saving Private Ryan

1998

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Quick Synopsis… As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger Capt. John Miller and seven of his men are ordered to penetrate German-held territory and bring the man home.

• I’m pretty sure Saving Private Ryan is the first film in what has become a long tradition of Hollywood attempting to rescue Matt Damon from various circumstances.
• These circumstances include, but are not limited to: The Martian, Intersteller, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!
• I first saw this when it was released in the theater. On a blind date.
• There was no second date.
• It wasn’t because of the movie. Let’s just say I liked the movie a lot more than I liked the girl.
• If you’ve never seen this classic World War II film (can we call a movie from the late-90s a classic already?), then you need to prepare yourself for the first 20 minutes.
• I’ve heard it said that it’s the most gritty and realistic depiction of war put to film.
• At least, it was at the time it was released.
• It certainly is gruesome…
• It opens in the present day, but quickly flashes back to D-Day, as American forces approach Omaha Beach.
• And we see every bit of them taking that beach.
• Tom Hanks plays Captain John Miller, who leads his battalion in a breakout from the beach.
• When the fighting ceases, the camera moves down the beach, focusing on the pack of a soldier, labeled “RYAN, S.”
• Stateside, it’s discovered that three out of four sons in the Ryan family were killed in action. The fourth, Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), is somewhere in Normandy after parachuting in.
• It becomes Captain Miller’s mission to find Ryan and make sure he gets home alive.
• I won’t go through each of the details that lead up to Miller and his select team of soldiers finding Private Ryan.
• But I will say that, if you haven’t seen this movie and can stomach the gruesome realism involved, this is a movie that must be seen.
• It’s number 71 on the AFI list. Number 54 on mine.
• The cinematography is beautiful.
• And it’s incredible to watch and see how each of the men deals with the war, their mission, their situation, in their own way.
• Find it, watch it. You won’t be sorry.