Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writer:

Robert Rodat

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore

Top Rated Movies #26 | Won 5 Oscars. Another 74 wins & 75 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Hanks	...	Captain Miller
Tom Sizemore	...	Sergeant Horvath
Edward Burns	...	Private Reiben
Barry Pepper	...	Private Jackson
Adam Goldberg	...	Private Mellish
Vin Diesel	...	Private Caparzo
Giovanni Ribisi	...	T-4 Medic Wade
Jeremy Davies	...	Corporal Upham
Matt Damon	...	Private Ryan
Ted Danson	...	Captain Hamill
Paul Giamatti	...	Sergeant Hill
Dennis Farina	...	Lieutenant Colonel Anderson
Joerg Stadler	...	Steamboat Willie
Max Martini	...	Corporal Henderson (as Maximilian Martini)
Dylan Bruno	...	Toynbe

Storyline

Opening with the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, members of the 2nd Ranger Battalion under Cpt. Miller fight ashore to secure a beachhead. Amidst the fighting, two brothers are killed in action. Earlier in New Guinea, a third brother is KIA. Their mother, Mrs. Ryan, is to receive all three of the grave telegrams on the same day. The United States Army Chief of Staff, George C. Marshall, is given an opportunity to alleviate some of her grief when he learns of a fourth brother, Private James Ryan, and decides to send out 8 men (Cpt. Miller and select members from 2nd Rangers) to find him and bring him back home to his mother...

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Plot Keywords:

rescue mission | year 1944 | d day | 1940s | world war two | 

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Taglines:

The mission is a man.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for intense prolonged realistically graphic sequences of war violence, and for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steamboat Willie is the man seen catching and throwing back a grenade hurled at him by American troops during the defense of the bunker, and also since he only carries rifle ammunition pouches (rather than a machine gunner's webbing featuring a pistol and other pouches) he was certainly not the man who killed medic Irwin Wade. During the grenade fight he is seen wearing a Stahlhelm and a neck-toque of some kind.

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Goofs

When the tank comes over the bridge, there's a helmet is lying beside Captain Miller's leg. In the next shot, the helmet is flipped over.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ryan's son: [running to comfort his father] Dad?
[flashback to D-Day]
LCVP pilot: [shouting out the soldiers on the raft] CLEAR THE RAMP! THIRTY SECONDS! GOD BE WITH YA!

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Crazy Credits

The DreamWorks and Paramount logos play in complete silence.

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Alternate Versions

On one of the Pay-per-view showings, several lines are cut. When the squad is going through the dogtags, Reiben notices many Italian-American soldiers and says "I swear all the guineas are gettin it," that line is was cut. Also, in the scene where Ryan tells Miller about his brothers in the barn, is cut. However on the next airing these scenes were not cut.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Savage Vengeance (2007)

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Soundtracks

Solitude
Music by Duke Ellington
Lyrics by Irving Mills and Edgar De Lange

User Reviews

Fictional yes but combat authenticity was genuinely real.

21 years ago this movie was released and I finally watched it in 2019. I really struggled to watch and I cried and I wept through most of the movie. I did two tours in Nam. This movie was like being back in country. I will never watch it again. It's just eats my guts out.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French German Czech

Release Date:

24 July 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Saving Private Ryan

Filming Locations:

Calvados, France

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$30,576,104, 26 July 1998

Gross USA:

$217,049,603

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$482,349,603

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dreamworks Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Amblin Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

169 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1