Saving Private Ryan

Name: Saving Private Ryan
Genre: Action, Drama, War
Released: July 24, 1998
Duration: 169 min
Rating: 91
Cast: Matt Damon, Tom Hanks

1998

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 38 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 1061 Ratings

See All

8.9

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

8.9	Your Score
8.9	User Score Universal acclaim based on 1061 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

Saving Private Ryan

Now Playing: Saving Private Ryan

Movie Details & Credits

DreamWorks Distribution | Release Date: July 24, 1998 | TV-MA

Starring: Matt Damon, Tom Hanks

Summary: During the WWII D-Day invasion, a squad of soldiers led by Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) is sent into Normandy to find Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), and return him to his mother in America. She has already lost three other sons in this war.

Director: Steven Spielberg

Genre(s): Action, Drama, War

Rating: TV-MA

Runtime: 169 min

See All Details and Credits

Awards & Rankings

1	#1 Best Movie of 1998
1	#1 Most Discussed Movie of 1998
1	#1 Most Shared Movie of 1998

Watch Now

Buy On

Stream On

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

Bob Graham

An overwhelming experience. Read full review

100

Michael Wilmington

A watershed picture, for both Spielberg and war movies. Read full review

100

Rex Reed

Saving Private Ryan is a masterpiece. It cements Steven Spielberg’s reputation as one of the seminal filmmakers of the era. It tells a gallant story of honor and duty and courage under fire. It shows you things about war that have never been seen on a motion picture screen. Read full review

100

Todd McCarthy

A searingly visceral combat picture, Steven Spielberg’s third World War II drama is arguably second to none as a vivid, realistic and bloody portrait of armed conflict. Read full review

Film.com John Hartl

Feels like the first truly honest attempt to deal with the horrors of combat - and the terrible responsibility shared by all survivors.

Maitland McDonagh

The movie's greatest strength lies in phenomenal performances that reach from the leads right down to the smallest supporting roles. Read full review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Nothing that suggests an independent vision, unless you count seeing more limbs blown off than usual. Read full review

SEE ALL 38 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

peopgamer

Feb 15, 2011

A very high quality, which blends extreme action, with a underlying sadness for the disaster that was world war 2. All put together with superb casting.

16 of 19 users found this helpful163

MovieManiac83

Apr 24, 2015

Devastating. If, for some reason, I was asked to write a one-word review of Saving Private Ryan, that would be the term I would use. As was true of director Steven Spielberg's other masterpiece, Schindler's List, the impact of this motion picture must be experienced; it cannot be adequatelyDevastating. If, for some reason, I was asked to write a one-word review of Saving Private Ryan, that would be the term I would use. As was true of director Steven Spielberg's other masterpiece, Schindler's List, the impact of this motion picture must be experienced; it cannot be adequately described. No film since last year's The Sweet Hereafter has left such a searing and indelible imprint on my mind and soul. This movie did not need to be released at the end of the year to be considered for a flood of Oscar nominations; it's so forceful that no one who sees it will be able to forget it -- not even Academy members with two-month memory spans.

Saving Private Ryan opens with a 30-minute cinematic tour de force that is without a doubt one of the finest half-hours ever committed to film. This sequence, a soldier's-eye view of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, is brilliant not only in terms of technique but in the depth of viewer reaction it generates. It is certainly the most violent, gory, visceral depiction of war that I have ever witnessed on screen. Spielberg spares the viewer nothing of the horrors of battle, using every tactic at his disposal to convey the chaos and senseless waste that lies at the core of any engagement. We are presented with unforgettable, bloody images of bodies being cut to pieces by bullets, limbs blown off, entrails spilling out, and a variety of other assorted examples of carnage. And, when the tide comes in with the waves breaking on the body-strewn beach, the water is crimson. Those who are at all squeamish will find the opening of Saving Private Ryan unbearable. This aspect of the film almost earned it an NC-17 rating; only the fact that Spielberg rigorously avoids even a hint of exploitation convinced the MPAA to award an R.

In addition to showing what happens when projectiles rip into the soft flesh of the human body, the director employs other methods to capture the essence of battle - hand-held cameras, a slight speeding up of the images, muted colors, and several different kinds of film stock. Put it all together, and it adds up to a dizzying, exhausting assault on the senses. As good as the rest of Saving Private Ryan is, and it's very good, the D-Day attack on Omaha Beach is the sequence that everyone will remember most clearly.

Most World War II movies fall into one of two categories: heroic tales of glory and valor or biopics (my all-time favorite film, Patton, falls in the latter camp). Saving Private Ryan is neither. Instead, it's a condemnation of war wrapped in a tale of human courage and sacrifice. In many ways, the picture painted by this movie is more grim than the one Oliver Stone presented in Platoon, which has often been cited as the most daring anti-war film to come out of Hollywood. Saving Private Ryan quickly and brutally dispels the notion that war is anything but vicious, demoralizing violence that makes a cruel joke out of the human body and spirit. Although the film is only loosely based on a true incident, it's hard not to accept these characters and events as real.

There's nothing especially complex about the structure of Saving Private Ryan. The film, which runs nearly three hours, is bookended by two major battle scenes. In between, smaller fights alternate with quiet, character-building moments that flesh out the soldiers, allowing them to escape the threat of stereotyping. Spielberg, along with writer Robert Rodat and the actors, ensures that everyone in the movie is developed into a multi-dimensional individual for whom we can grieve if and when they die. They are "citizen soldiers" -- ordinary men caught in the teeth of extraordinary circumstances. With the exception of a little manipulation at the end (when tears are actually a welcome source of relief from the film's intensity), Saving Private Ryan rigorously avoids toying with our emotions.

With Saving Private Ryan set alongside Schindler's List, Steven Spielberg, once known as a purveyor of well-crafted-but-lightweight feel-good fare, has given us two of the decade's most gripping, disturbing, and powerful motion pictures. I consider Schindler's List to be one of the most amazing movies I have ever experienced, and, in many ways, Saving Private Ryan is its equal. Although both films take place during the same time period, they focus on different ideas. Schindler's List personifies good (Schindler) and evil (Amon Goeth), and plays out the struggle against a tragic backdrop. In Saving Private Ryan, there are no human villains, and the enemy isn't so much the Germans as it is the implacable, destructive specter of war. The film's central question (When is one life more important than another?) is never really answered. For those who are willing to brave the movie's shocking and unforgettable images, Saving Private Ryan offers a singular motion picture experience. I will be surprised if another film tops it for the best of 1998.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

GerrickC.

Jun 12, 2007

Few movies can capture the terrors and carnage or war. Few movies can convey what exactly our men went through during these times. Saving Private Ryan is not only one of those few movies, but perhaps the only war movie that captures the intensity and brutality of war. This is a must-see for Few movies can capture the terrors and carnage or war. Few movies can convey what exactly our men went through during these times. Saving Private Ryan is not only one of those few movies, but perhaps the only war movie that captures the intensity and brutality of war. This is a must-see for any war or war movie buff, and anyone in between must see it also.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Fuccboi1

Feb 15, 2020

I don't wanna spoiler you mist see this movie its awesome directed by one of the best directors of all time

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

MovieManiac1994

Jan 4, 2016

Despite receiving universal critical praise in the US, Saving Private Ryan is not as perfect as everyone's claiming. Yet Spielberg's fourth foray into World War Two does deserve much of the hype, as it contains the most believably shocking combat sequences ever seen. It's also the kind ofDespite receiving universal critical praise in the US, Saving Private Ryan is not as perfect as everyone's claiming. Yet Spielberg's fourth foray into World War Two does deserve much of the hype, as it contains the most believably shocking combat sequences ever seen. It's also the kind of movie that attracts review quotes which pant: "Powerful, honest, moving..." But is this description accurate?

Without doubt, the intensity, attention to detail and sheer volume of combat footage make it a powerful and disturbing experience. The opening 25-minute Omaha Beach battle may be the largest in scale, but it's a blip compared with the closing conflict, which rages for 50 minutes. Around half the total running-time is combat.

And what combat it is, with the visceral madness of warfare highlighted by a jittery hand-held documentary style. Shots of wildly differing exposures are cut together as the viewpoint trips and stumbles across the battlefield without pause to wipe mud, blood and water off the lens. The way each dismemberment and explosion is almost missed gives the impression that Spielberg is capturing only a fraction of the carnage.

Omaha Beach is a shambolic strip of misery bordered on one side by barbed wire and on the other by red waves and dead fish. Soldiers are burned up or chopped into meaty slabs rather than being punched by neat Hollywood holes. Ryan's war is relentless and breathtaking, its battle scenes an exemplary example of faultless movie-making.

But whether or not this is an honest account of World War Two is some-thing the glowing American reviews have ignored. And although the combat realism and period authenticity can't be questioned, other things will stick in the throats of non-American audiences.

Take the no-show of any Allies. While this is forgivable for Omaha Beach (a uniquely American cock-up), it's harder to explain as Captain Miller's eight-man unit move inland. Where are the British, the French, the Polish or the Canadians?

German audiences will likewise be weary at the continuing portrayal of the `master race'. The Americans are a likable blend of doe-eyed teenagers, corn-fed midwesterners and Deep South good ol' boys. When they're killed it's tragic, when they're wounded they cry out for water, morphine or their mothers. But when a German's killed, it's just another dead Nazi, shot down despite his shaven-head, jutting square jaw and piercing, blue eyes. An unbiased historical document? Yeah, right.

Is Saving Private Ryan moving? Unaccountably, no. Beyond the horror of the visuals, the intervening hours fail to tug the heart strings. We're given a single defined sympathetic character, Hanks' Captain Miller. His inner torment is etched on Hanks' face in what must be another Oscar nominee role. But his unit are presented as a sketchy band of combat clichés: a cocky New Yorker, the dependable Sarge, a whining Jewish kid and a cowardly translator. As Ryan, Damon has barely a scene to act before he's plunged into the fighting.

The 'plot' is nothing more than a sequence of events glued together. Between the opening and closing mini-apocalypses, there's a slow-paced, occasionally dull and average meander that pales in comparison with many older war movies. That Edward Zwick's brilliant Glory packs a dozen rounded characters, three massive battles and heart-swelling scenes of horror, courage and sacrifice into two hours really does expose Saving Private Ryan as a bloated and frequently empty experience.

The end result is frustratingly patchy, equally brilliant and lacklustre, and delivers a profoundly mixed message. Are we meant to think that war is an impersonal meat-grinder as in the opening battle, or that a few good men can make a difference, as in the climax? Spielberg set out to make the definitive war movie. He ended up making a grown-up Indiana Jones film with several must-see combat scenes.

Spielberg's triumph is to confront a blood-lust audience and make them flinch at the horror of non-Hollywood reality. But this is no Schindler's List. Technically, it may be the best-made war movie yet, but dramatically, it barely delivers.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Spangle

Jan 15, 2014

Phenomenal film. While extremely graphic, it is nice to see a war film that does not sugarcoat anything and this certainly does not sugarcoat a thing. It's tragic, tormenting, and a mixture of being impersonal and personal, all of the things it should be. Ultimately, it is hard to think ofPhenomenal film. While extremely graphic, it is nice to see a war film that does not sugarcoat anything and this certainly does not sugarcoat a thing. It's tragic, tormenting, and a mixture of being impersonal and personal, all of the things it should be. Ultimately, it is hard to think of how a war film could be done better.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

DirtyPoo

Aug 26, 2006

crap!!!!!!!!

0 of 18 users found this helpful

SEE ALL 157 REVIEWS