I first saw this in 1999 and now, in June 2021, I saw it again on the 2004 edition which in in honor of 60 years after D-Day in June 1944, on DVD from my public library. It is a 2-disc edition with the second devoted to various "extras" about the movie.
Most of the first half-hour is devoted to recreating that invasion on the beaches of Normandy. It is very realistic and shows how perilous the mission was. That half-hour is very hard to watch, not only because of the very graphic violence and mutilation of war, but also the memory of all those who gave up their lives.
The rest, about an additional 2 hours, is the quest for one particular soldier, and the mission to bring him home safely after his three brothers all were killed in combat. Tom Hanks, as always, if fine in his role, as the Captain leading a group of eight men in search of Private Ryan, played well by Matt Damon. We all need to see Private Ryan at least once, if for no other reason but to remember the ugliness of war.
The movie is long because it in essence contains a series of mini-movies, as the team crosses France in their search. This is war, you can't just ignore new battles as you come upon them.
Most of the first half-hour is devoted to recreating that invasion on the beaches of Normandy. It is very realistic and shows how perilous the mission was. That half-hour is very hard to watch, not only because of the very graphic violence and mutilation of war, but also the memory of all those who gave up their lives.
The rest, about an additional 2 hours, is the quest for one particular soldier, and the mission to bring him home safely after his three brothers all were killed in combat. Tom Hanks, as always, if fine in his role, as the Captain leading a group of eight men in search of Private Ryan, played well by Matt Damon. We all need to see Private Ryan at least once, if for no other reason but to remember the ugliness of war.
The movie is long because it in essence contains a series of mini-movies, as the team crosses France in their search. This is war, you can't just ignore new battles as you come upon them.