1998’s “Saving Private Ryan”, directed by Steven Spielberg.
Starring Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Barry Pepper, Jeremy
Davies, Edward Burns, Adam Goldberg, Giovanni Ribsi, Matt Damon, Dennis Farina,
Ted Dansen, Paul Giamatti, and Vin Diesel.
Winner of an Academy Award for Best Director (Spielberg),
Best Cinematrography (Janusz Kaminski), Best Sound (Gary Rydstrom, Gary
Summers, Andy Nelson, Ron Judkins), Best Film Editing (Michael Kahn), and Best Sound
Editing (Gary Rydstrom, Richard Hymns).
Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Actor (Hanks), Best Original Screenplay (Robert Rodat), Best Art Direction (Thomas E. Sanders, Lisa Dean), Best Make Up (Lois Burwell), and Best Score (John Williams).
What is it about?
Set almost entirely during WWII, we first see an old man in present day in a memorial graveyard, who flashbacks to his memories of the historic D Day landing into France. It’s AFTER the invasion and introduction of Tom Hank’s platoon that we find out the crux of the movie: after a secretary for the military brings to an official’s attention that 3 out of 4 brothers have perished in combat, the military formulates a mission to locate and return the solo remaining brother (played by Matt Damon), back to his homeland. While it’s difficult to imagine the military making such a gesture, it’s the Macguffin that sends us on a journey to meet great characters grinding through some of the most skillfully executed combat sequences ever put to film.
Why is it worth seeing?
Spielberg, who cut his teeth in the efficient and no frills world of television serial directing, decided to shoot without his usual amount of planning for the film’s opening D day invasion of Omaha Beach. The result, is one of the more awe inspiring opening scenes in film history. Is it war as mere pornography, as some have suggested? Maybe, but it’s an immersive and sublime collage of sound and motion, chaotically merged in a brilliant introduction to the story’s characters.Although Spielberg could learn a thing or 2 from Terrence Malick (“The Thin Red Line”) about how to juxtapose nature scenes around and within war sequences, Spielberg’s expert command of riveting action, preparation scenes, and strong trademark sentimentality courses through the movie instead. It will be up to the viewer to decide whether or not the military is a decent career choice, and if war itself is good for anything- but Spielberg’s position is clear.
Throughout, the soldiers march on, struggling not to be
traumatized amidst death and carnage, while trying to keep their sense of
humanity. Whether it be compassionately letting prisoners of war go, trying to
rescue young children, or transcribing bloodied death letters to loved ones, they’re
all helpless to comprehend what is going on around them. Regression proves inevitable,
whether it’s laughing during inappropriate times, squabbling over mission
objectives, or just being fatalistically cavalier in battle. Spielberg shows us this,
through Hanks’ seasoned experiences, but also through the eyes of
the group's inexperienced translator (Davies, really strong here). The members of Hank's platoon,
with experienced right hand man Tom Sizemore, evangelical sniper Barry Pepper, haunted medic Giovanni Ribsi,
Brooklynite Ed Burns, Jew Adam Goldberg, and lughead Vin Diesel, land on Omaha
Beach, and we follow them through France and the awful realities of world warfare.
By the end, we see, as well as feel, that indeed, war is hell, but even when
made well and excitingly as a work of historical fiction, it can have it’s
positive spots amongst the graphic carnage.
While a few dialogue exchanges in the film can be ham fisted at times, other exchanges are as skillfully executed as the war scenes, making “SPR”’s place in film history secure. Despite the Academy’s baffling decision to instead go with “Shakespeare in Love” for Best Picture, “SPR” is the film people will come back to for generations, whether for historical interest, or purely moving entertainment (or both). Unlike the Hanks character who won’t reveal parts of his history, this is a classic that is saved just for us.
While a few dialogue exchanges in the film can be ham fisted at times, other exchanges are as skillfully executed as the war scenes, making “SPR”’s place in film history secure. Despite the Academy’s baffling decision to instead go with “Shakespeare in Love” for Best Picture, “SPR” is the film people will come back to for generations, whether for historical interest, or purely moving entertainment (or both). Unlike the Hanks character who won’t reveal parts of his history, this is a classic that is saved just for us.
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