Saving Private Ryan is, in my view, not only one of the best war films ever made, but it is also one of the best films ever made with Spielberg having very much earned his Best Director Oscar for this film. I could continue writing about this film and why it’s so brilliant and deserving of its stellar reputation, but I’ll simply say that if you haven’t seen this film, I implore you to watch it immediately. Also fine turns from the likes of Edward Burns, and Tom Sizemore, but for my money, though, the best performance goes to the wonderfully named Barry Pepper as Jackson, the platoon’s deeply religious sniper who quietly prays to himself before he takes a shot. Matt Damon gives a fine turn as the titular Private Ryan, with his standout moment being a truly wonderful, (not to mention entirely improvised) monologue remembering a funny moment involving his brothers. The cast led by Tom Hanks is also excellent, with Hanks giving a great understated performance as the school teacher turned army captain whose eyes we see the horrors of war through. This is not a film for those with a weak stomach, though, with the film holding nothing back in showing the gore and mayhem of war, with the D-Day opening being a true horror show of blood, guts and pain of the soldiers as they attempt to push further up Omaha beach. The battle sequences themselves could have entire articles written about how masterful their execution is they are, with the ferocity and horror of the frontline perfectly reconstructed by director Spielberg and his crew. This is a film best experienced with the biggest speakers around, with the volume turned right up to max. The sound design is some of the best in a film, with every bullet pinging, whizzing and cracking as it races past the heads of our protagonists or the way that the dropping of rain onto a leaf is brilliantly synced to the sounds of a distant battle growing ever fiercer and ever closer.
The cinematography is outstanding with it often feeling like the camera man is an extra character following the action, one who struggles to keep his head afloat when he has to jump from a landing craft into the chilly waters of the Atlantic. This film from the opening seconds of its breathtaking D-Day sequence is simply one of the most visceral and believable depictions of war ever capture in a motion picture. Do I really need to fully discuss the various aspects of this film and why it’s better than the romantic twaddle of Shakespeare in Love?
0 kommentar(er)
