Private Ryan Saves the WWII Film

Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan is one of the few war movies that I actually enjoy. This was my first time seeing it, and I was surprised to find that I thought it was a great film, not only because I have been disappointed with my last few first Spielberg experiences (like The Color Purple or Empire of the Sun) but also because I just don't generally like the war genre. After classic Vietnam war movies like Oliver Stone's Platoon or Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, I have found that for some reason I just do not have much of an interest in non-Vietnam war films. I think the reason for that is that the material just hasn't been handled very well, that is, until Saving Private Ryan. In this film, Steven Spielberg approaches the topic of World War II with what Nigel Morris refers to as "asserting psychological as well as sensual realism." This approach to war is what makes Spielberg's film truly astonishing and it is the reason people often describe Saving Private Ryan as one of the most "realistic" war films.

Specifically, one of the most realistic and most powerful scenes in the film is the D-Day landing at Normandy. Shot in "real time" with several hand-held cameras, this sequence is one of the most "realistic" and effective because it feels as though we, the audience, are right there with the soldiers, experiencing the fighting and chaos all around us just as the characters in the story are. Other effects, such as blood splattering on the lens (something that Spielberg claims was unplanned), add another element of that same feeling of "immediacy and involvement," according to Nigel Morris. Morris also quotes John Corner, who writes how this sequence tackles subjective realism, in relation to Captain Miller, on three separate levels -- the cinematic (with the elimination of sound), performance (with Tom Hanks' shaking hand), and narrative (with the character's reluctance to explain his pre-war background).

Another reason that I think Saving Private Ryan is great, aside from its successful and masterful portrayal of the realism of war, is its compelling story and cast of characters. As with Schindler's List, Steven Spielberg chooses a remarkable story that is interesting in its own right while also showcasing an important time in history. By focusing on this one group of soldiers setting out to rescue a single man within this gigantic war, Spielberg really puts a personal touch on World War II that many other war films fail to achieve. One way he does this is by developing a core group of unique and engaging characters, from the stubborn and bull-headed Reiben to the inexperienced and cowardly Upham (even though I couldn't help seeing actor Jeremy Davies as Faraday from LOST). But yet another way that this personal take on war plays out is in one particular sequence near the end of the film, where Mellish is stabbed to death by a German soldier, after they battle in close combat in a small room, alone and separate from the war going on outside. This scene brings up another connection to Schindler's List -- that war is not about the faceless masses of victims, but that it is instead made up of individuals. And when Spielberg ends the film at Arlington cemetery (closing out the bookend from the beginning) and we see all those white crosses covering the grass, we are reminded of just how many individuals have been affected, and it makes the film even more powerful.