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Amazon.co.uk Review
Since its release in 1998, Steven Spielberg's D-Day drama Saving Private Ryan has become hugely influential: everything, from the opening sequence of Gladiator ("Saving Marcus Aurelius") to the marvellous 10-hour TV series Band of Brothers, has been made in its shadow. There have been many previous attempts to recreate the D-Day landings on screen (notably, the epic The Longest Day), but thanks to Spielberg's freewheeling hand-held camerawork, Ryan was the first time an audience really felt like they were there, storming up Omaha Beach in the face of withering enemy fire.
After the indelible opening sequence, however, the film is not without problems. The story, though based on an American Civil War incident, feels like it was concocted simply to fuel Spielberg's sentimental streak. In standard Hollywood fashion the Germans remain a faceless foe (with the exception of one charmless character who turns out to be both a coward and a turncoat); and the Tom Hanks-led platoon consists of far too many stereotypes: the doughty Sergeant; the thick-necked Private; the Southern man religious sniper; the cowardly Corporal. Matt Damon seems improbably clean-cut as the titular Private in need of rescue (though that may well be the point); and why do they all run straight up that hill towards an enemy machine gun post anyway? Some non-US critics have complained that Ryan portrays only the American D-Day experience, but it is an American film made and financed by Americans after all. Accepting both its relatively narrow remit and its lachrymose inclinations, Saving Private Ryan deserves its place in the pantheon of great war pictures.
On the DVD: Saving Private Ryan on disc comes in a good-quality anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer with a suitably dynamic Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix in which bullets fly all around your living room. Extra features are pretty minimal, with a standard 30-minute "making of" piece called "Into the Breach" and two trailers. There are text notes on the cast and crew as well as the production, and a brief message from Mr Spielberg himself about why he decided to make the movie. --Mark Walker
Special Features
- Trailers
- Production notes
- Biographies
DVD Technical Information:
- Running Time: 162 minutes
- Disc Format: Single Sided/Dual Layer
- Region Code: 2
- Widescreen
- Aspect Ratio: 1.78 Anamorphic
- Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles: English, English for the Hearing Impaired
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The ultimate well crafted flag waver,
By Hood1941 (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Saving Private Ryan [DVD] [1998] (DVD)
For a whole young generation this film is probably the most profound depiction of the second world war. The by now well known opening 20 minutes are a master class by Spielberg in the direction of an action movie (with some thanks to Stanley Kubric I suspect). The movie is also filled with memorable vignettes including the kangaroo court martial of the German machine gunner and the death struggle between the Jewish Ranger and the SS Panzer Grenadier. It's a shame that after the beach landing the whole of the rest of the film is a total fiction. Like so many others I hate the slander against Field Marshal Montgomery, (architect of every successful operation carried out by the western allies) and the airbrushing out of the Anglo/Canadian part in the operation. It remains a terrific testament to the GI's on Omaha beach and is a brilliant all action war film. But be warned, it has all the historical accuracy of First Knight and should by no means be treated as a documentary.
67 of 73 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A new approach to war films, honest and realsistic.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Saving Private Ryan [VHS] [1998] (VHS Tape)
Spielberg has broken from the norm with this film and has the courage to depict war as it really is. Previous war films have been heavily sanitised to 'protect' the viewer, and Saving Private Ryan acts as a wake up call to the public, especially to myself and the younger generation, who have never experienced a major conflict in our lifetime. This film acts as an antidote to the traditional John Wayne style war movie. War is not fun, and this film removes the myth that when a soldier is shot, they fall to the floor quietly and lie still. Some of the injuries suffered by the soldiers are truly horrific but the level of violence is not gratuitous and is necessary as it adds to the level of realism.Many people have argued that this film only portrays the American side of D-Day, neglecting the contribution of the troops from other Allied nations. Whilst this is true, Omaha beach and the areas featured in this film were areas attacked by predominantly American troops, and to feature the entire Normandy area of operations would overly complicate the story. The scene showing Omaha beach after the battle, with the sea flowing red with all the blood spilt, is particularly poignant and brings a lump to the throat of everyone who sees it. I recently watched this film with my grandfather, who landed on the British 'Gold' beach in one of the first waves ashore on June 6th 1944. He watched the first 20 minutes of the film, which depicts the D-Day landings, with tears in his eyes as the memories of that day flooded back. While he got through that day unharmed, a number of his friends and comrades were not so fortunate. The film transported him back 57 years, and he said that this is the closest you can get to the reality of the landings without actually being in a landing craft and coming under fire. Saving Private Ryan aptly demonstrates the horror and chaos of battle. After watching this film I found myself with a new found sense of respect for those young men who were thrust into the Hell of World War 2 and still carry those memories as pensioners. Stunning, moving, compelling, and deserving of all the accolades it gets.
26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Saving Private Ryan,
By
This review is from: Saving Private Ryan 60th Anniversary [DVD] [1998] (DVD)
Saving Private Ryan finally gets the treatment it deserves with this superior DVD release, now complete with a DTS soundtrack. The special features on the discs are minimal, with only a few trailers and some notes; but there is an interesting, if not fascinating documentary on the making of the film which includes interviews with D-Day veterans.However, you probably wouldn't buy a film like this for the features. You would buy it for the intense, unrivalled and spellbinding combat sequences - most notably the acclaimed D-Day landing recreation. But it doesn't stop there. Spielberg takes us into a debate about the war through the eyes of eight stereotypical soldiers (although nonetheless powerful or resonating for it). The soldiers lay the different views, reasons and arguments before the audience about the war that were shared by so many at the time. The film climaxes in what can only be described as a brilliant battle between the platoon in peril and Nazi tanks and infantry. The film is improved with the DTS soundtrack, which completely immerses you into the experience. This is a great transfer onto DVD of a great film. The extras too on this 2-disc release are good, documenting well each aspect of the making of the film. Altogether, a worthy treatment of what has been often called the greatest war film ever made!
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