Films To Watch Before You Die #65 - Saving Private Ryan (1998)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die…

Saving Private Ryan, 1998.

Directed by Steven Spielberg.
Starring Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Matt Damon, Barry Pepper, Tom Sizemore, Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Jeremy Davies, Ted Danson, Dennis Farina and Paul Giamatti.

Saving Private Ryan is the epic war film in which a small group of American soldiers, led by Captain John H. Miller (Hanks), are tasked with finding Private Ryan (Damon) during the Normandy beach landings of 1944. Ryan is the last surviving brother of four servicemen fighting and their task is to make sure he returns safely to his Mother.

The film follows Miller and his men as they make their way across war torn France looking for Ryan, encountering a variety of tasks along the way as well as finding several Ryans without coming across their man. As they trek on foot across the French countryside, the men debate the merits of their mission and whether or not Ryan deserves his chance to leave the war despite every other man being demanded to stay and fight.

Saving Private Ryan received eleven Oscar nominations and won five, including Speilberg’s second for Best Director after Schindler’s List. The film has received worldwide critical acclaim and grossed over $480 million across the globe.

Saving Private Ryan is a film you must see before you die as the 27 minute opening scene depicting the Omaha beach landings has been cited by Empire magazine as the Best Battle Scene of All Time and is regarded by many World War Two veterans as being the most realistic depiction of combat they have ever seen. As a landing craft full of men are gunned down and destroyed before many of them can even reach the shore, it brings to life the brutal reality of war and how difficult a task the D-Day landings actually were.