6 - "Saving Private Ryan" (1998)

     I've never been a big fan of war movies. The action scenes in a lot of them are fine, but what so many miss on is connecting with the human element of the characters. In the hands of a different director, Saving Private Ryan, could easily be clumped in with many other films of this genre. But Steven Spielberg doesn't let that happen, and what we are left with is not only a movie with fantastic action sequences, but some of the best pure character drama put on film. This movie will always be known for it's opening sequence, a fabulous depiction of the Normandy invasion on D-Day. The action is very intense and realistic, we almost feel like we were there that day on the beach. It is a masterpiece of special effects, sights and sound. While this scene is tremendous, I think this movie separates itself from the pack during it's quite times. Pay special attention to the church scene, when the guys are just sitting around talking. We get to know so much about them, so when things happen later in the film, we are emotionally connected to the characters. We get a scene in the church when the medic, Wade, is talking about his mother and how when he was young, she would come in late at night from work and want to see him for a few minutes, but he would pretend to be asleep. He mentions that he had no idea why he did that. Then later in the film.............(spoiler alert: skip ahead if you don't want to be spoiled).........................when the group tries to attack a bunker, Wade is shot and is fighting for his life. The guys are trying to save him and as he starts to pass away, Wade starts calling for his mother. This scene is so emotional anyways, but because of that conversation earlier in the film, when he starts crying for his mom, it's absolutely heartbreaking...................................(end spoiler alert)  It's because of scenes like that, and there are several others, that this movie really succeeds.
     The movie also raises a lot of questions that make for great debate. The premise of the story is that 3 brothers that have been killed in combat, and the mother is going to receive all 3 notices at the same time. There is a fourth brother, Pvt. James Ryan (Matt Damon), who is lost inside of France, the result of a missed parachute drop in Normandy. A decision is made to rescue Pvt. Ryan and get him back home to his mother. Capt. John Miller (Tom Hanks) is assigned to lead a squad of 8 men whose only goal is to rescue 1 man. This leads to a question that will be asked throughout the film, "Why risk the lives of eight men to rescue just one?" Not everyone on the team is happy with the mission, and we understand their concerns. The team that Miller takes along is a brilliant collection of fine actors including Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, and Jeremy Davies. Each actor is perfectly cast in their respective role and we get to know each of them on a personal level, some more than others. Hanks is terrific as always, shocking news there. The movie picked up 5 Oscars, including Best Director for Spielberg, but it also missed out due to the Academy losing their minds this specific year. It lost Best Picture to Shakespeare in Love and Hanks lost the Best Actor award to Roberto Benigni for Life is Beautiful........(Academy, you should be ashamed of yourselves for these two awards. Your biggest misses that I have ever witnessed. Shameful)...........Saving Private Ryan is a masterpiece of cinema. Tremendous action combined with a brilliant cast and a screenplay that can't get much better. It's the perfect storm of film making and results in one of the greatest experiences I have ever had with a movie.