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| Tom
Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Giovanni Ribisi, Matt Damon |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Captain
Miller: Sometimes I wonder if I've changed so much, my wife is even
gonna recognize me whenever it is I get back to her... and how I'll
ever be able to... tell about days like today. Ahh, Ryan... I don't
know anything about Ryan, I don't care. The man means nothing to me,
he's just a name. But if, you know, if going to Remôal, and finding
him so he can go home, if that earns me the right to get back to my
wife, well then... then that's my mission.
A
small group of soldiers is sent into France behind enemy lines in WWII
to save one man whose brothers have all been killed.
 Much
has been said about Saving Private Ryan's opening sequence and
the impact of its apparently realistic depiction of the Allied Forces'
invasion of Normandy on D-Day. It's an astoundingly skillful piece of
filmmaking in which the various arts and crafts involved - most notably
cinematography, editing and sound editing - join forces to achieve a
battle sequence unlike any we had ever seen before. It's a sequence
that shows the degree of technical skill that Spielberg has acquired
more clearly than any other thing he has ever directed. It is a greater
pity therefore that the two hours that follow this opening stunt are
as predictable and dull as they are. For whereas the opening gives us
something new, the main narrative of the film brings us back to the
most conventional, old-fashioned type of morality tale that Hollywood
used to crank out in the 1940s and early 1950s.
The platoon that goes in search of Ryan is the most outrageously contrived
group of soldiers a Hollywood screenwriter can come up with: the stern,
brooding commander, the reliable sergeant, the wise guy from the Bronx,
the clever young medic, the short-tempered Jewish boy, the naive college
boy who loses his innocence... Not only are these characters stereotypical,
they also get to die in the most predictable order imaginable, in 'shucks
folks ain't war hell' incidents that try to be poignant but rarely are.
Fortunately the last half hour is another set piece that is handled
more than proficiently, and Janusz Kaminski's magnificent cinematography
at least makes sure it all looks breathtaking and consistent throughout.
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There
are two versions available for Region 1: a 'regular' edition with a
Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix, and a DTS version. A Region 2 version is
released in November 2000.
The
anamorphic widescreen image is framed at a ratio of 1.85:1, and it is
without a doubt the finest-looking DVD transfer I have ever seen. The
press release said they used a process called 'C-Reality' - whatever
that is - to give viewers the opportunity to 'witness this powerful
film in the most vibrant format for the home viewing experience'. Anyway,
in this case the marketing people are not kidding, as the picture on
this movie is as crisp as they come, with great black levels, contrasts
and an exact reproduction of the movie's desaturation and color balance.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix is equally impressive, creating a fully
immersive sound field with great definition and detail.
The
extra items on this disc are all geared towards furthering the impression
that this is not just a movie: this is an Important Film!... There's
a laughably pretentious Special Introduction by the Director, in which
Spielberg speaks directly to the camera about the significance of the
events he has depicted in this film. And the featurette 'Into the Breach'
also consists mostly of cast and crew speaking awestruck about the greatness
of this project and how honored they feel to be a part of it. It's all
rather heavy for a movie that is most enjoyable for its kinetic war
sequences and somewhat less memorable for its vapid philosiphizing about
the morality of war. The
menus employ subtle navigation in their tasteful design. Navigation is
straightforward.
Dan Hassler-Forest
Reviewed: 2001
Click
here for IMDB info on Saving
Private Ryan.
Click here
to return to the front page.
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