In honor of memorial day today I watched the Blu-Ray edition of Saving Private Ryan. Along with Schindler's List, it is the triumph of Steven Spielberg's career. It is one of the best movies ever made, and without a doubt the greatest war film.
The first 27 minutes depicting the Allied Forces invasion of Normandy are the most harrowing ever put on film. They say that "war is hell" and Spielberg made sure the audience fully understood that. There is an authenticity to the way the soldier's talk and react to the violent acts they commit. Every time I watch this film I am left emotionally drained from the experience.
The film belongs to Tom Hanks, the emotional core of the film. He is in almost every scene, and plays the everyman soldier who finds himself far away from everything he knows, doing things he never thought he had in him. The rest of the cast is in fine form, though sometimes during the fast edited battle sequences, it is hard to tell who is who. Jeffrey Davies stands out as Corporal Upman, the squad's interpreter. He also acts as the audiences interpreter seeing the the war from a civilian viewpoint.
The film is a technical masterpiece and this was recognized by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences with several Oscars, including the Best Director award for Spielberg.
At The Movie House rating****stars
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