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IMDbPro

Saving Private Ryan

  • 19981998
  • RR
  • 2h 49m
IMDb RATING
8.6/10
1.4M
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
202
67
Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, and Edward Burns in Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Trailer for this wartime drama
Play trailer2:10
19 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Drama
  • War
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.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.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.
IMDb RATING
8.6/10
1.4M
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
202
67
  • Director
    • Steven Spielberg
  • Writer
    • Robert Rodat
  • Stars
    • Tom Hanks
    • Matt Damon
    • Tom Sizemore
Top credits
  • Director
    • Steven Spielberg
  • Writer
    • Robert Rodat
  • Stars
    • Tom Hanks
    • Matt Damon
    • Tom Sizemore
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 2.8KUser reviews
    • 271Critic reviews
    • 91Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #24
    • Won 5 Oscars
      • 79 wins & 75 nominations total

    Videos19

    Saving Private Ryan
    Trailer 2:10
    Saving Private Ryan
    A Guide to the Films of Steven Spielberg
    Clip 2:31
    A Guide to the Films of Steven Spielberg
    Memorable Military Moments in Film
    Clip 1:27
    Memorable Military Moments in Film
    'Saving Private Ryan' Anniversary Mashup
    Clip 1:07
    'Saving Private Ryan' Anniversary Mashup
    Saving Private Ryan
    Clip 0:46
    Saving Private Ryan
    Saving Private Ryan
    Clip 0:46
    Saving Private Ryan
    Saving Private Ryan
    Clip 0:31
    Saving Private Ryan
    Saving Private Ryan
    Clip 0:33
    Saving Private Ryan
    Saving Private Ryan
    Clip 0:54
    Saving Private Ryan
    Saving Private Ryan
    Clip 0:20
    Saving Private Ryan
    Saving Private Ryan
    Featurette 1:07
    Saving Private Ryan
    Saving Private Ryan
    Featurette 0:54
    Saving Private Ryan

    Photos313

    Tom Hanks and Tom Sizemore in Saving Private Ryan (1998)
    Matt Damon in Saving Private Ryan (1998)
    Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, and Edward Burns in Saving Private Ryan (1998)
    Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Paschal Friel, Rolf Saxon, and Adam Shaw in Saving Private Ryan (1998)
    Tom Hanks, Jeremy Davies, Tom Sizemore, and Anna Maguire in Saving Private Ryan (1998)
    Saving Private Ryan (1998)
    Saving Private Ryan (1998)
    Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Adam Goldberg, Max Martini, and Demetri Goritsas in Saving Private Ryan (1998)
    Tom Hanks and Edward Burns in Saving Private Ryan (1998)
    Adam Goldberg in Saving Private Ryan (1998)
    Tom Hanks and Matt Damon in Saving Private Ryan (1998)
    Saving Private Ryan (1998)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Tom Hanks
    Tom Hanks
    • Captain Milleras Captain Miller
    Matt Damon
    Matt Damon
    • Private Ryanas Private Ryan
    Tom Sizemore
    Tom Sizemore
    • Sergeant Horvathas Sergeant Horvath
    Edward Burns
    Edward Burns
    • Private Reibenas Private Reiben
    Barry Pepper
    Barry Pepper
    • Private Jacksonas Private Jackson
    Adam Goldberg
    Adam Goldberg
    • Private Mellishas Private Mellish
    Vin Diesel
    Vin Diesel
    • Private Caparzoas Private Caparzo
    Giovanni Ribisi
    Giovanni Ribisi
    • Tas T…
    Jeremy Davies
    Jeremy Davies
    • Corporal Uphamas Corporal Upham
    Ted Danson
    Ted Danson
    • Captain Hamillas Captain Hamill
    Paul Giamatti
    Paul Giamatti
    • Sergeant Hillas Sergeant Hill
    Dennis Farina
    Dennis Farina
    • Lieutenant Colonel Andersonas Lieutenant Colonel Anderson
    Joerg Stadler
    • Steamboat Willieas Steamboat Willie
    Max Martini
    Max Martini
    • Corporal Hendersonas Corporal Henderson
    • (as Maximilian Martini)
    Dylan Bruno
    Dylan Bruno
    • Toynbeas Toynbe
    Daniel Cerqueira
    • Welleras Weller
    Demetri Goritsas
    Demetri Goritsas
    • Parkeras Parker
    Ian Porter
    Ian Porter
    • Traskas Trask
    • Director
      • Steven Spielberg
    • Writer
      • Robert Rodat
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Steven Spielberg cast Matt Damon as Private Ryan because he wanted an unknown actor with an All-American look. He did not know Damon would win an Oscar for Good Will Hunting (1997) and become an overnight star before the film was released.
    • Goofs
      Throughout the movie American characters are shown saying "thunder" to identify friendlies, and waiting for the response "flash". But in actuality the challenge word was "flash", and "thunder" the response. The word order is important, as "thunder" was chosen as the password because of its "th" sound. (There is no such sound in German, thus a German soldier would likely be unable to hide his accent if he tried to answer the challenge.)
    • Quotes

      [weakly mutters something after being mortally wounded]

      Private Ryan: [leans in closer] What, sir?

      Captain Miller: James, earn this... earn it.

    • Crazy credits
      There are no opening credits after the title is shown.
    • Alternate versions
      In the German-dubbed version of the movie, they were unsure how to distinguish dialog between the German and the American soldiers, since they would all be speaking German. In the end, they decided to address all the American soldiers by their English titles, such as "Sergeant" and "Captain".
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: The Mask of Zorro/Polish Wedding/There's Something About Mary/Lolita/Poodle Springs (1998)
    • Soundtracks
      Solitude
      Music by Duke Ellington

      Lyrics by Irving Mills and Edgar De Lange

    User reviews2.8K

    Review
    Top review
    Actually it's pretty GOOD history
    I know it's fashionable to trash successful movies but at least be honest about the trashing... Pvt. Ryan was fiction but it was pretty good HISTORICAL fiction. The details were well thought out and based on reality.

    There was nothing stupid about the portrayal of the German army... Rommel DID blunder in his placement of force, The high command DID think Calais was going to be the invasion spot, not Normandy. Hitler didn't wake up until noon on that day and his aides were afraid to wake him. The Rangers did come in right behind the first wave and did take a beach exit by sheer will to get the hell off the beach. The bluffs were the scene of heavy close fighting. The german defenders were mostly Eastern European conscripts from defeated areas. (note that the 2 men that tried to surrender were NOT speaking German). There WAS a young man rescued from interior Normandy after his brothers were all killed. He WAS an airborne trooper (the difference was that he was found by a chaplain and was removed from the front.)

    The battles inside Normandy were small actions town to town, street to street, house to house. Small actions like taking the radar station happened. Small actions like a handful of men defending a river bridge against odds happened. Small squads of men, formed out of the misdrops banded together ad hoc to fight. There were all enlisted groups and all officer groups. A General did die in the glider assault. FUBAR aptly described much of what happened that day.

    And there were only Americans in the movie because the Brits and Canadians were many klicks away in a different area... this was Omaha beach. The story was an American one. And Monty DID bog down the advance and everyone knew it. And as for "American Stereotypes"... well those pretty much define America: my college roomie was a wise-ass New York Jew. My best friend was a second generation east coast Sicilian. My college girlfriend was a third generation German. My first wife was French and English. I'm Irish, my boss is Norwegian and I work with a Navaho... you get the point?

    So much for it being bad history. It was in fact an excellent way to let a jaded and somewhat ignorant-of-their-past generation *feel* something of what their grandparents (LIVING grandparents) went through. It is perhaps less important that the details be exact as the feel be right. Even now the details are not fully known or knowable about that campaign... it was too big, too complex and too chaotic to be knowable. There is not even an accurate casualty count of D-Day itself.

    Now as to the depth of characters. What I saw there was the extraordinary circumstances into which ordinary people were thrown and what happened to them. I saw the things that would mark a generation (I have heard in my elderly male patients sentiments similar to what Cpt. Miller was expressing when he announced his ordinariness) I saw the dehumanization that occurs with war and its mitigation moment to moment, man to man... Cpt. Miller didn't know anything about Ryan and he didn't care... until Ryan revealed his humanity to him with his story of his brothers. Pvt. Reiban was ready to walk out of the situation until he discoverd his captains ordinariness and his humanity. Then he began to look to him almost as a father. Pvt. Mellish rightfully delights in his revenge for all the times he's had to take it because he was Jewish by telling German captives he's "Juden!" Nerdish Cpl. Upham can stand alongside his bigger, stronger, braver Ranger compatriots and describe the poetry and melancholy of Edith Piaf's song... then face his cowardice, turn around and stand up in the face of danger and finally demonstrate the dehumanization of the enterprise he was enmeshed in by executing Steamboat Willie... even though Willie had no more choice about being there than Upham did and in other circumstances would have made a friend.

    I could go on and on with this but enough already. OK, perhaps it is not The Best Movie Ever Made but it is still a good movie. And if one will take the blinders of fashionable negativism off they will see it. Finally, this is not a patriotic story... if anything it is an acknowledgement and thank you to all those old men still out there that did so much for us. To them I say a deep and sincere thank you.
    helpful•840
    222
    • dedjim
    • Jun 10, 2001

    FAQ80

    • What are the ages of all the squad (Miller, Horvath, Reiben, Caparzo, Jackson, Mellish, Wade, Upham)?
    • At the rally point Wade asks Reiben to smell a wounded soldier's leg to find out if it's "South of Cheese", what does that mean?
    • During the Omaha beach battle, what was the language the soldier praying in?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 24, 1998 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official Twitter
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • German
      • Czech
    • Also known as
      • Private Ryan
    • Filming locations
      • Curracloe Beach, Ballinesker, County Wexford, Ireland
    • Production companies
      • Dreamworks Pictures
      • Paramount Pictures
      • Amblin Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $70,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $217,049,603
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $30,576,104
      • Jul 26, 1998
    • Gross worldwide
      • $482,349,603
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 49 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
      • Dolby Atmos
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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