Media Diary: Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan - Film Review

Director: Steven Spielberg

Written by: Robert Rodat

Starring: Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi,
Adam Goldberg, Jeremy Davies and Matt Damon.

Certificate 15

Running time: 169 minutes

Saving Private Ryan is a Steven Spielberg movie released in 1998.The is based in World War 2,
The movie is based around a real life story which serves to follow a troop of soldiers set on a special PR mission through Normandy to find a Private James Ryan and take him, home to his mother, who is shortly to learn that her other three sons that went off to war were killed in action. In the movie a real life letter sent to the Ryan's mother is shown which informs her of the deaths of her 3 sons written by Abraham Lincoln.

The opening scene is the most unforgettable scene I have ever encountered, the scene is the American Soldiers arriving on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944 in a way that is as graphic as any war footage. The cinematography of this scene is outstanding as the ECU's of the characters faces as they set out onto the beach really sets a feeling for the whole scene as you can see the fear in the eyes of the men. The whole scene is shot by a hand held camera which really shows you the point of view of these soldiers, and makes you feel like you are their on that same beach encountering this horror. You are forced to confront the chaos that faced the poor troops on the beach, like when a soldier has his arm blown off. He staggers, dazed, open to further fire, and then he bends and picks up his arm, as if he will need it later. Few film makers have ever shown the audience so much 'real life' horror graphics of battle the way Spielberg does in this opening scene. It is a genuinely terrifying scene which really puts you in the shoes of these soldiers and is a tribute to those men who fought and died on that beach.

The plot of this story is really enlightened by the cinematography used by Spielberg as the camera tells a story itself no way id does in any other war film. It really makes you feel like you are among these soldiers and really makes you feel the pain they felt.

Many war veterans who watched this movie have said that Saving Private Ryan is the most realistic and outstanding recreation of what it was really like that day on June 6th on the beach,

At the end of  this scene the camera focuses on the corpse of a soldier lying on the beach with the initials on 'Ryan S' on his back. This was the death of the 3rd son, this leads onto a haunting scene of the mothers informing of the death of her 3 sons, which leads onto the mission which is covered in the movie of the finding of Private Ryan the mothers fourth son.

I would say this is the best recreation of a war film I have ever watched and the most hear throbbing realistic experience of being an audience I have ever encountered. Unsurprisingly Spielberg won numerous awards for this movie including a Oscar for best director in 1999. I would strongly recommend people to watch this movie.



This scene sets the feel for the whole movie