Saving Private Ryan

I was a teenager when this film was released but I didn't see it in its entirety until university. When I did, I couldn't quite tell what was so special about the movie because it resembled a lot of war movies I had seen recently. I then came to understand that prior to "Saving Private Ryan", war movies were not so realistic. Director Steven Spielberg's experience with subject matter of World War II by 1998 was a wide spectrum from Indy to Schindler (the latter earning him his first Oscar for directing). The most impressive characteristics of this movie are the cinematography, sound and acting. For years prior to "Saving Private Ryan", neither Spielberg nor Tom Hanks wanted to get into a working relationship for fear it would destroy the friendship they already shared. The pull of this particular story on both of them was worth the risk and thus began the first of many successful collaborations between Spielberg & Hanks. I believe that relationship was a huge part of why "Saving Private Ryan" took the world by storm.

The opening modern-day scene includes images we have seen many times on Remembrance Day or Veterans Day. The slow reveal of all the tombstones was pretty powerful. We are about to catch just a glimpse however of what war veterans of World War II see instead (no film can truly help us to understand the horrors of war). The depiction of D-day in this movie is hailed as one of the greatest sequences in Hollywood history. Gone is the Technicolor John Wayne-type war battle and it is replaced with handheld POV camera shots and desaturated colours. The use of sound is also extremely noteworthy, especially as the image bobs above and below the water level. In "Jaws", Spielberg had a similar shot but the context is vastly different in "Saving Private Ryan". He also did not storyboard the D-day sequence and not by choice (the reason will be discussed later). The sequence worked so well that nearly all veterans who saw the opening sequence had to walk out or they experienced a resurgence of PTSD afterwards. For me, I gain a great appreciation for what American, Canadian and British soldiers braved as they paved the way for the end of the war. World War II is known as "the good war" (maybe the last good war) and I believe that is true because sometimes the reasons for fighting aren't so clear. In the case of this war, they were very clear and the Normandy invasion actually becomes a symbol of these reasons. The invasion was so devastating that the Allies had to use their freedom to improvise a victory. The Germans on the other hand were constantly waiting for orders from their superiors (one high level officer was coincidentally out of contact). Despite the obviousness of good and evil in World War II, this movie does address the fact that atrocities were committed on both sides. We see Americans shooting surrendering Germans and the scene with the soldiers going through the dog tags is another example. As the Normandy sequence wraps up, we get a close-up of Captain Miller that matches the shot from the opening sequence at the cemetery. Could the elderly man be Miller? I also love the bookend shots of Miller using his shaking hand to open his metal canteen. The simile of Private Ryan being a "needle in a stack of needles" is well written and all the soldiers around Miller and Horvath as they say this illustrate the phrase quite well. We then get the signature shot of the whole show as Miller and his squad come over the grassy brow of the hill. As with most ensembles, the men are unique individuals. You have the leader, the second in command, the religious sharpshooter, the rookie and so on. They have their mission but they get involved in other skirmishes. I enjoy Caparzo because he comes across as tough guy with no heart at first but his sacrifice proves otherwise. The capturing of the radar station is worth commenting on because we see it from Upham's point of view. This creates variety. Truth be told, this was not how Spielberg wanted to shoot this scene because they had to shoot it during the wrong time of day with the sun in the wrong place. Wade's death is another scene that is hard to watch, especially because the other squad members have to ask Wade what to do to save him. The subsequent moment when Miller looks around and then breaks down in heartache is very powerful.

After the captain lets "Steamboat Willie" go, he suddenly begins to loose control of his men. One moment, Miller will not save a child in need which cost Caparzo his life and then Miller frees a German that killed Wade. This brings on the powerful "that's my mission" speech. It seems like nothing special from an acting perspective but that's the point many times with Tom Hanks' acting. His job is to make you believe that he is an everyman or an average Joe. Hanks creates the illusion of ordinary and with a little help from the musical score, the speech becomes extraordinary. The speech is followed up with a great shot of Miller silhouetted against the sunset as he buries the paratroopers. In my view, it was the right thing to let that German go free without the help of hindsight. The hope was that other squads would pick him up. The mistake was Willie's to make in that he did not show mercy upon those who spared his life. While a lot of fault does fall on Upham during the climax, he sort of redeems himself from his mistake. We keep hearing that "Ryan better be worth it" so the film demands a familiar face and a great actor in the form of Matt Damon. Part of that was luck because Damon was cast before the release of his breakout film "Good Will Hunting". Ryan ends up taking the news like any man would. He is devastated at the loss of his brothers but maintains some emotional control as opposed to other Private Ryan from earlier in the film. Suddenly, we see that Ryan is worth fighting for because he won't take the free ride home. That might sound contradictory at first in that two men died trying to find him. On the other hand, Ryan won't desert his new brothers who are protecting the bridge. He is a good man who wants to go home but not until he feels worthy enough to leave. I enjoy the reminiscing moments throughout the film but especially leading up to the climax. The story that Ryan tells was actually ad-libbed by Matt Damon and that is extremely impressive to me. A few other moments in this film was also improvised by the way. All these scenes of recollection remind me of life as a missionary except it was much safer. Then, as the sound of tanks is heard is the village, they slowly get up and grab their guns. Only when Edith Piaf is cut off do the men pick up the pace. After a great concluding battle, I like the slow reveal that Ryan survived. The transition to the elderly Ryan was a great accomplishment in terms of special effects. The swearing in "Saving Private Ryan" was a little too much for my taste but I guess it could have been worse.

Spielberg took a four-year break from directing after making "Schindler's List" and we can't blame him. He then directed three films, one after the other with very little time off in between. After filming "The Lost World: Jurassic Park", he made "Amistad" and then "Saving Private Ryan". Spielberg decided to use the lack of preparation time to his advantage with the last film because it forced him to approach the project as a documentary filmmaker, creating a genuine feel of warfare. This film would have introduced me to many actors had I seen it in 1998. Not Tom Hanks though. Miller's final line in the movie is very powerful as delivered by the two-time Oscar winning actor. I also knew who Matt Damon was back then because of his own Oscar win earlier that year. I first saw Tom Sizemore in "Enemy of the State" (which was also released in 1998) but he really stood out to me after I saw him in a subsequent WWII movie, "Pearl Harbor". He provides a nice contrast to Hanks and at the same time there is chemistry between them. "Enemy of the State" also introduced me to Barry Pepper and I have seen many movies of his since then. He made Jackson a notable character. I didn't recognize Vin Diesel's name before 2002 but his brief role was memorable in this show. "Saving Private Ryan" was the first time I saw Jeremy Davies who plays Upham but I know him most for his role in the Vietnam War movie "Rescue Dawn". I didn't even make this connection until I wrote this. I have seen "Saving Private Ryan" four times but it wasn't until the third time that I recognized Ted Danson. The second time though I was easily able to pick out Paul Giamatti. He was another actor that I was introduced to back in 1998 but instead through "The Truman Show". I love his line concerning needing a wheelchair by the time the war is over. Other actors in this film that I have seen a lot of in recent years include Bryan Cranston and Max Martini. The main cast members were put through boot camp to prepare them for his movie by the way. Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski's first film with Spielberg was "Schindler's List" (Kaminski won his first Oscar on that film) and since then, the director hasn't used anyone else. This was somewhat familiar territory for the two of them and it shows. John Williams' scores around this time were recognizable and there were moments where the music in "Saving Private Ryan" sounded similar to "The Lost World". Nevertheless, this is the great John Williams we are talking about here and his "Hymn to the Fallen" during the end credits is yet another masterpiece of his.

If "Psycho" changed the horror genre and "Star Wars" changed the sci-fi genre, "Saving Private Ryan" changed the war genre because all war movies after 1998 take notes from Spielberg's cinematic rulebook. Video games were also influenced. This movie was the highest grossing film domestically in 1998 and it received eleven Oscar nominations including Best Actor (Tom Hanks), Best Picture, Original Screenplay, Dramatic Score, Art Direction and Makeup. The film won five Academy Awards such as for Sound Effects Mixing and Editing. With his win for this film, editor Michael Kahn is tied for the record of most Oscars won by an editor and his three Academy Awards were all for WWII films. He currently holds the record for most nominations by the way. Kahn has edited all the Spielberg's films since "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", for which he earned his first Oscar nomination. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is where Kahn won his first Oscar and his second win came because of "Schindler's List". Kaminski won for Best Cinematography and Steven Spielberg picked up his second Best Director Oscar. In Oscar history, there have been upsets in the category of Best Picture but sometimes that only became apparent in hindsight such as with "How Green Was My Valley" and "Gandhi". That was not the case in 1999. "Saving Private Ryan" won so many other awards that year that it was thought by many to be a shoo-in for the Best Picture win. The film though has gone down in history as an example of "what was the Academy thinking" due to the fact that "Shakespeare in Love" won. Because I have not seen that film however, my opinion may not be valid. The American Film Institute has included "Saving Private Ryan" on its list of the most thrilling movie (#45) and most inspiration films (#10). They also named this show as the 71st greatest movie of all time and the 8th greatest epic. WWII history was truly brought back into the limelight in the 90's because of Spielberg and I thank him for that. He earned well his third career Oscar.

4 Stars out of 5