Amazon.com Essentials:
When Steven Spielberg was an adolescent, his first home movie was a
backyard
war film. When he toured Europe with Duel in his 20s, he saw old men
crumble in front of headstones at Omaha Beach. That image became the
opening scene of Saving Private Ryan, his film of a mission following the
D-day invasion that many
have called the most realistic--and maybe the best--war film ever.
With 1998 production standards, Spielberg has been able to create a
stunning, unparalleled view of war as hell. We are at Omaha Beach as troops
are slaughtered by Germans yet overcome the almost insurmountable odds.
A stalwart Tom Hanks plays Captain Miller, a soldier's soldier, who takes a
small band of troops behind enemy lines to retrieve a private whose three
brothers have recently been killed in action. It's a public relations move
for the Army, but it has historical precedent dating back to the Civil War.
Some critics of the film have labeled the central characters stereotypes.
If that is so, this movie gives stereotypes a good name: Tom Sizemore as
the deft sergeant, Edward Burns as the hotheaded Private Reiben, Barry
Pepper as the religious sniper, Adam Goldberg as the lone Jew, Vin Diesel
as the oversize Private Caparzo, Giovanni Ribisi as the soulful medic, and
Jeremy Davies, who as a meek corporal gives the film its most memorable
performance.
The movie is as heavy and realistic as Spielberg's Oscar-winning
Schindler's List, but it's more kinetic. Spielberg and his ace
technicians
(the film won five Oscars: editing (Michael Kahn), cinematography (Janusz
Kaminski), sound, sound effects, and directing) deliver battle sequences
that wash over the eyes and hit the gut. The violence is extreme but
never gratuitous. The final battle, a dizzying display of gusto, empathy,
and chaos, leads to a profound repose. Saving Private Ryan touches us
deeper than Schindler because it succinctly links the past with how we
should feel today. It's the film Spielberg was destined to make. --Doug
Thomas
Amazon.com Essentials:
When Steven Spielberg was an adolescent, his first home movie was a
backyard
war film. When he toured Europe with Duel in his 20s, he saw old men
crumble in front of headstones at Omaha Beach. That image became the
opening scene of Saving Private Ryan, his film of a mission following the
D-day invasion that many
have called the most realistic--and maybe the best--war film ever.
With 1998 production standards, Spielberg has been able to create a
stunning, unparalleled view of war as hell. We are at Omaha Beach as troops
are slaughtered by Germans yet overcome the almost insurmountable odds.
A stalwart Tom Hanks plays Captain Miller, a soldier's soldier, who takes a
small band of troops behind enemy lines to retrieve a private whose three
brothers have recently been killed in action. It's a public relations move
for the Army, but it has historical precedent dating back to the Civil War.
Some critics of the film have labeled the central characters stereotypes.
If that is so, this movie gives stereotypes a good name: Tom Sizemore as
the deft sergeant, Edward Burns as the hotheaded Private Reiben, Barry
Pepper as the religious sniper, Adam Goldberg as the lone Jew, Vin Diesel
as the oversize Private Caparzo, Giovanni Ribisi as the soulful medic, and
Jeremy Davies, who as a meek corporal gives the film its most memorable
performance.
The movie is as heavy and realistic as Spielberg's Oscar-winning
Schindler's List, but it's more kinetic. Spielberg and his ace
technicians
(the film won five Oscars: editing (Michael Kahn), cinematography (Janusz
Kaminski), sound, sound effects, and directing) deliver battle sequences
that wash over the eyes and hit the gut. The violence is extreme but
never gratuitous. The final battle, a dizzying display of gusto, empathy,
and chaos, leads to a profound repose. Saving Private Ryan touches us
deeper than Schindler because it succinctly links the past with how we
should feel today. It's the film Spielberg was destined to make. --Doug
Thomas
