Saving Private Ryan

Theatrical Release Date: 1998 07 24 (USA)

UPC: 097360748451

Studio: Dreamworks Video

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Graphic Violence, Not For Children, Profanity, Watch With Your Teen, War Violence]

Summary: Steven Spielberg directed this powerful, realistic re-creation of WWII's D-day invasion and the immediate aftermath. The story opens with a prologue in which a veteran brings his family to the American cemetery at Normandy, and a flashback then joins Capt. John Miller (Tom Hanks) and GIs in a landing craft making the June 6, 1944, approach to Omaha Beach to face devastating German artillery fire. This mass slaughter of American soldiers is depicted in a compelling, unforgettable 24-minute sequence. Miller's men slowly move forward to finally take a concrete pillbox. On the beach littered with bodies is one with the name "Ryan" stenciled on his backpack. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall (Harve Presnell), learning that three Ryan brothers from the same family have all been killed in a single week, requests that the surviving brother, Pvt. James Ryan (Matt Damon), be located and brought back to the United States. Capt. Miller gets the assignment, and he chooses a translator, Cpl. Upham (Jeremy Davis), skilled in language but not in combat, to join his squad of right-hand man Sgt. Horvath (Tom Sizemore), plus privates Mellish (Adam Goldberg), Medic Wade (Giovanni Ribisi), cynical Reiben (Edward Burns) from Brooklyn, Italian-American Caparzo (Vin Diesel), and religious Southerner Jackson (Barry Pepper), an ace sharpshooter who calls on the Lord while taking aim. Having previously experienced action in Italy and North Africa, the close-knit squad sets out through areas still thick with Nazis. After they lose one man in a skirmish at a bombed village, some in the group begin to question the logic of losing more lives to save a single soldier. The film's historical consultant is Stephen E. Ambrose, and the incident is based on a true occurance in Ambrose's 1994 bestseller D-Day: June 6, 1944. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Category: War

Awards: Best Picture - Drama – null Best Director – null Best Foreign Language Film – French Academy of Cinema Best Picture – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Director – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Cinematography – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Picture – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Director – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Score – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Makeup – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Makeup – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Makeup – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Dramatic Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound Effects Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound Effects Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Picture – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Actor - Runner-up – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Director – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Picture – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Picture (Runner-up) – National Society of Film Critics Best Actor – Screen Actors Guild Best Ensemble Acting – Screen Actors Guild Best Cinematography – American Society of Cinematographers Best Picture – New York Film Critics Circle Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: Looking into the past
Miller and his platoon
Boot camp
Making Saving Private Ryan
Re-creating Omaha Beach
Music and sound
Parting thoughts
Into the breach: Saving Private Ryan
Theatrical trailer
Re-release trailer
Shooting war

Saving Private Ryan

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 05/04/2010

Audio: DHMA

Runtime: 169 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Lucia Bozzola

Saving Private Ryan marked another foray into World War II for Steven Spielberg, this time examining the soldiers' struggles to maintain their sense of mission even in situations that seemed to defy reason and hope. To show the carnage of the D-Day Omaha Beach landing, Spielberg used a barrage of sound and the unpolished immediacy of a hand-held camera to thrust the viewer into the conflict for a 24-minute sequence of relentless, random violence more intense than in any previous Hollywood war movie. The desaturated color further recalled WWII newsreel footage while rendering the blood a matter-of-fact part of the landscape. Adapted from an incident recorded by historian Stephen E. Ambrose, the mission to save one man after the Normandy invasion becomes a means for Capt. Miller and his troop of WWII film archetypes to debate the sacrifices of war, even a "good" war. Critically hailed for its stunningly realistic battle sequences and heartfelt performances, the film became a summertime hit despite its realistic violence and serious subject. After winning several critics' prizes, Saving Private Ryan garnered 11 Academy Award nominations and won five, including Spielberg's second Oscar for Best Director and Janusz Kaminski for Best Cinematography. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Ian Bryce  Producer 
Mark Gordon  Producer 
Steven Spielberg  Director 
Steven Spielberg  Producer 
John Williams  Composer (Music Score) 
Gary Levinsohn  Producer 
Robert Rodat  Screenwriter 
Tom Hanks  Actor 
Edward Burns  Actor 
Tom Sizemore  Actor 
Jeremy Davies  Actor 
Vin Diesel  Actor 
Adam Goldberg  Actor 
Barry Pepper  Actor 
Giovanni Ribisi  Actor 
Matt Damon  Actor 
Dennis Farina  Actor 
Ted Danson  Actor 
Harve Presnell  Actor 
Dale Dye  Actor 
Bryan Cranston  Actor 
David Wohl  Actor 
Paul Giamatti  Actor 
Ryan Hurst  Actor 
Harrison Young  Actor 
Dylan Bruno  Actor 
Max Martini  Actor 

Country: USA