War
is hell and in Steven Spielberg's new film, you will experience hell first hand!
This is the best film of the year thus far, from one of the world's best film
makers. Be warned, however, it is rated R for a reason. The war violence is very
graphic and very realistic.
Saving
Private Ryan tells the story of a soldier who's lost three brothers in World War
II, and upon orders from the President's Chief of Staff, is to be sent home. This
intense war epic tells the story of the squad that is sent to find him.
Tom
Hanks, in a beautifully subtle performance, is the leader of the squad. The rest
of the top notch ensemble cast includes; Tom Sizemore (Heat), Ed Burns (Brothers
McMullen), Adam Goldberg (T.V.'s Friends), and Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting).
One reason these actors' comradery is so authentic is because the actors themselves
actually attended boot camp before the film began shooting.
The
saving grace of Private Ryan is Spielberg who doesn't get much help from Robert
Rodat's sometimes overly melodramatic script. The film's best scenes are the ones
in which Spielberg is the driving force, such as the opening Normandy invasion
sequence. These images are so terrifying and brutal that you won't be watching
this film, you'll be experiencing it. Spielberg directs the battle sequences in
this film with a ferocious energy that is unmatched. And he is again ably assisted
by cinematographer Janusz Kaminski who also collaborated with him on the brilliant
Schindler's List.
Although
Saving Private Ryan isn't quite the masterpiece Schindler's List was, it's still
a classic that rivals such historic war films as Full Metal Jacket, Glory , Apocalypse
Now, Born on the Fourth of July, Platoon, and my personal favorite, The Deer Hunter.
This is a film that will strike a cord in many, especially those who fought in
this horrifying war. It's a restrained, realistic war epic that tries to answer
the question--Is one life worth so many others? Spielberg has fashioned another
brilliant film that tries to answer this question. Saving Private Ryan is a film
that will be treasured for years to come.
