I enjoy writing about all sorts really. I love travel and am pregnant at the moment so expect a lot ...
I enjoy writing about all sorts really. I love travel and am pregnant at the moment so expect a lot of baby reviews to come. I also post on Dooyoo under the name Whizz11
Member since:07.09.2007
Reviews:412
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Saving Private Ryan
"In the last great invasion, of the last Great War, the greatest danger for eight men…..was saving one."
This film starts with a bang, literally, on the beaches of World War 2's historic D-Day invasion, a very intense and moving scene. If you are at all squeamish this is not really a film for you as, the beginning in particular and actually much of the rest of film is brutal and bloody and features blood, guts and missing limbs, however it is so good and so powerful you should look past all the gore to experience this wonderful movie.
This 1998 film is described as a poignant and powerful homage to the soldiers of WW2. Like I said it starts on the beaches depicting the D-Day landings. If you are not familiar with the D-Day landings they are described as the first operations of the Allied Powers' invasion of Normandy, also known as Operation Neptune and Operation Overlord, during World War II. D-Day for the operation, postponed 24 hours, became June 6, 1944. The operation was the largest single-day invasion of all time, with over 130,000 troops landed on June 6, 1944. 195,700 Allied naval and merchant navy personnel were involved.[2] The landings took place along a stretch of the Normandy coast divided into five sections: Gold, Juno, Omaha, Sword and Utah. The main plot of the movie goes like this. The United States discover that 3 out of four brothers in the Ryan family have been killed in combat and the only one left, James Ryan is missing in action. A group of soldiers are then deployed to go and find him and rescue him. Apparently although this film is a fiction it is said to be loosely based around the story of the real life Niland brothers. The film then follows them on their search and then to the end where they decide to help protect a bridge from certain German invasion.
Now I don't generally like war movies but this one is done so well that I did find it very watchable. It actually won 5 Academy awards including best director for Steven Spielberg. When he is directing a film you can pretty much guarantee that it is going to be a good one!
It does ask a good question as well, why should 8 men risk their lives looking for one soldier? Is his life worth more since his brothers have dies or are they doing it for the greater good? In the end I believe this question is definitely answered.
The great thing about this film was the amazing cast. Tom Hanks plays Captain John Miller, the soldier in charge who leads his troops on the search mission. He did play the part very well but I wasn't too sure that he was the best man to play that role. I think I just associate him with more of a joking character such as Forrest Gump or in the movie Big so to see him in more of a serious role was a bit strange but he still did well.
Matt Damon (all the girls go ahhh!!) plays Private Ryan. He features in the middle to latter part of the film so we don't see him all the time but he definitely looks good in uniform and can play a soldier very well.
The group of troops that go looking for Ryan include Vin Diesel, Tom Sizemore (of Heidi Fleiss fame), Giovanni Ribisi (who plays Phoebe's brother in Friends), Ed Burns (married to the Supermodel Christy Turlington) etc, etc. In fact, you will recognise just about every character and think oh I've seen him in this or that.
The scenery in this film is brilliant. It really makes you think that you are in France and I'm sure it can never recreate the atrocities of was but does go some way to show what it must have been like and the constant danger that they were in.
I have the D-Day 60th Anniversary commemorative edition of the DVD. The 2 disc set contains various bonus features such as Boot Camp for the Cast, Re-Creating D-Day on Omaha Beach and looking into the past.
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Production Year: 1970 - War - Director: Brian G. Hutton - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring: Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Carroll O'Connor, Donald Sutherland, Don Rickles, Gavin MacLeod
Sorry for the H, but if this is to be a full DVD review, I would prefer to see a review of the extras in similar detail to the way you've reviewed the film, rather than just a passing mention of them.
pinky.chaz 30.07.2008 13:28
I could watch this film over and over....love it!!
Since its release in 1998, Steven Spielberg's D-Day dramaSaving Private Ryanhas become ... more
hugely influential: everything, from the opening sequence ofGladiator("Saving Marcus Aurelius") to the marvellous 10-hour TV seriesBand of Brothers, has been made in...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Since its release in 1998, Steven Spielberg's D-Day dramaSaving Private Ryanhas become ... more
hugely influential: everything, from the opening sequence ofGladiator("Saving Marcus Aurelius") to the marvellous 10-hour TV seriesBand of Brothers, has been made in...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Seen through the eyes of a squad of American soldiers the story begins with World War ... more
II's historic D-Day invasion then moves beyond the beach as the men embark on a dangerous special mission. Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) must take his men behind ...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Internationally acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, Steven Spielberg's Saving ... more
Private Ryan is an unforgettable film achievement that has had profound and lasting impact throughout the world. It was the top-grossing motion picture of 1998.Seen thr...
Advantages: A very poignant movie Disadvantages: The plot is a bit thin
christianfilmcritic 07.07.2006 (07.07.2006)
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Review of Saving Private Ryan (DVD)
Advantages: A very poignant movie Disadvantages: The plot is a bit thin
christianfilmcritic 07.07.2006 (07.07.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Saving Private Ryan (DVD)
Advantages: Some very good scenes. Ensemble cast work, and Edward Burns, especially. Disadvantages: Ultimately overdone, hyper-real; some weak dialogue; incessant music; inescapable schmaltz; unwitting propaganda. Matt Damon.
zerbine28 06.03.2004 (06.03.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of SavingPrivateRyan (DVD)
Advantages: great realism and acting - Tom Hanks Disadvantages: Fails to show ANY British soldiers despite the fact they far out-numbered American Troops.
![Saving Private Ryan [DVD] [1998]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78522556.jpg "Saving Private Ryan [DVD] [1998]")
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