By Isaac Mathewson
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Written by: Robert Rodat
Starring: Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Matt Damon, and Tom Sizemore
War is very complex. It is difficult if not impossible for a film to give us an accurate depiction of war, not just in visuals but also by emotion. If there is any film that came close to giving us an accurate and realistic view of war, both physically and emotionally, it would be this.
Saving Private Ryan tells the fictional story of a squad of U.S. Army Rangers, led by Captain Miller (Hanks), who are sent on a perilous mission to find a lost paratrooper (Damon) after his brothers were killed, during the D-day invasion of World War 2. During the mission, they question their orders as they continue to fight the war. This story was inspired by a real life WW2 veteran named Fritz Niland who soldiers were sent to look for to bring home after his brothers were killed, as part of the sole survivor policy.
What Saving Private Ryan does really well is depicting the horrors and heartbreak of war, as well as portraying soldiers. Throughout the film, these men fight a war that they do not want to fight and they each question the reason why one man gets the chance to come home and they don’t. However, they know that they must follow orders despite the cost and they will do anything to achieve their goals as long as something good will come out of it.
No doubt this film is most famous for is its realistic depictions of combat. At the time, war movies were fairly tame in order to keep an audience, but this film took war movie battle sequences to a whole new level. The first half hour of the film depicts the Allied invasion of Omaha Beach, where it gives the most realistic depiction of combat ever for a movie. There are also several other battles, including a just as intense climatic battle in a bombed out French city.
Steven Spielberg does a fantastic job bringing this film to life and putting the audience into this time period. He did this by making it look as real as possible. The actors had to be put under intense boot camp training to make them look like real soldiers and real amputees were used during the opening battle sequence. He also used real tanks and boats from that war.
The actors all fit their roles well. Tom Hanks is good, as usual, as the quiet, mysterious captain whose only goal is to do what he is ordered to do. Tom Sizemore is very good as the sergeant of the group, Edward Burns is good as the stubborn private who questions his role and at one point threatens to desert, and Damon is very convincing as Private Ryan himself, who wants nothing more to be reunited with his family. Other actors include Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Barry Pepper, Bryan Cranston, and Paul Giammati, all of whom are a treasure to watch.
Although many historians may point out some of the inaccuracies of the invasion as well as the absence of other Allies who took part in the invasion, this film is a masterpiece that cannot be missed. It is a salute to the soldiers who died during that war and for veterans in general. It is simply a beautifully made movie.