Yar, you be here: Saving Private Ryan (D-Day 60th Anniversary Commemorative Edition) > Customer Reviews

Saving Private Ryan (D-Day 60th Anniversary Commemorative Edition) Customer Reviews (52 - 54 of 89 Reviews)

There such a thing as TOO realistic?
Steven Spielberg I always find is better when he does heartwarming stores(Close Encounters, E.T) or action type stuff(Jurassic Park, Minority Report) but now and then he wants to go ultra-realistic and while Schindler's List is a very nicely done film, it feels its length. Saving Private Ryan is 15 or so mins shy of 3 hours but never did it feel like it.

Inspired by a true story(although modified slightly), Private James Ryan is 1 of 4 brothers who are in war. 3 of them die however and to relieve the grief of the mother slightly, and maybe some good PR, they decide to send in a Captain to retrieve him and bring him home. Pretty simple story set against the backdrop of World War II and in particular the Invasion of Normandy.

Speaking of which, that scene is probably one of the most realistic war scenes ever filmed. Shot largely handheld the camera is always moving and zipping around and even going underwear than surfacing. One shot I didn't like although maybe it adds to the realism is when a soldier either through bullet hits or an explosion but his stomach is slashed so he's literally holding his guts. It shows the horrors of war yes but it felt a bit too over the top, especially with the guy screaming out. It's like they're trying to make you cry and disturbed when other scenes do it naturally.

The war scenes are violent and graphic yes. Soldiers are blown apart or severed in half, one gets his head blown off. It's extremely bloody but that adds to the realism, unlike Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor which was really tame considering the event, even the "director's cut" wasn't that bloody.

As for performances, they're likable without them being too overbearing. Tom Hanks plays that kind of steadfast captain who admits now and then he's done some wrongs. Everyone else is likable too, even Vin Diesel who to me has only done 2 good performances: this and Pitch Black. The kind of breakthrough though is Jeremy Davis playing Corporal Upham, a translator/map maker taken into war and is just scared ****less about what's going on.

The look of the film is interesting too cause the filmmakers color saturated the film to make it look the way it does and also cinematographer Kaminski is kinda famous for this grainy look, the film kind of looks ugly. But he did win for Best Cinematography so who am I to talk?

I don't find this film to be one of those re-watch over and over like I do with Aliens or Seven but now and then it's nice to pop it in and be entertained(or is that horrified and grossed out?)

Powerful....
Its hard not to cry, or just be totally stunned by the impact that this film leaves on you. The best war film since the days of Platoon and Full Metal Jacket, Tom Hanks and Steven Speilberg both bring their trademark goods to the table, and wow, this film just delivers.

Taking place at the Arlington National Cemetary, an aging veteran named Ryan is with his family, when the memories start come back to him. After not long we're taken to Normandy on D-Day, in a powerful, graphic 20 minute sequence showing the true horrors of war. This film, like Schindler's List before it, shows a realistic depiction of WW11 that leavs its mark on you even long before the closing credits have rolled down the screen to the tune of the National Anthem. Speilberg does an excellent job throughout the film reminding us that the people we are watching are not just actors, for they are portraying real, nameless people. People who really fought for us, amking this seem almost like a war documentary. We are reminded that all veterans are heroes no matter for what war they are fighting in. Hanks, in another unforgettable performance as Platoon captain, is leading his men to the center of the war to retrieve one man, Private Ryan, played by Matt Damon. The story itself may seem a bit strange, seeing that there were thousands of troops in Europe in 1944, so why all this just for one man? Well, watch and found out. Whether you enjoy this or not, take this as a reminder of what our soldiers go through, and that war really is hell.

Oh my god!!!!!!
dude its a good film an all the sounds amazin, blah blah blah but the thing that really bugged me was its just the Americans involved and all the americans just completely ignore the fact that there were other countries in world war 2 as well!! They are all like well it started in 1941 but it didnt!! the real war started in 1939 when Britain protected Poland. I hate it when all the americans try to act all heroic but in fact England played a much bigger part and so did Russia.

Previous Page

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Next Page