by Chris Taylor

Created on: May 29, 2010

The Story

The film opens with the allied invasion of Normandy, focusing on a group of soldiers led by Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) as they try to secure a beachhead . During the invasion two brothers are killed. It transpires that a third brother was also killed in New Guinea. Their mother, Mrs Ryan is due to receive all three telegrams on the same day. It transpires that a fourth brother Private James Ryan is actually still serving in

France. The United States Army Chief of Staff, takes the decision to ease the suffering of this family, by finding Private Ryan and bringing him home to safety. Captain Miller is chosen to head a team of 8 men to go and search for this soldier, even though this means the men will face great personal risk in doing so. The film follows their journey and struggle as they set off to find him (some of the team have personal reservations about the risk they have been asked to take) and some great battle scenes ensue.A Few Facts...This film was penned by Robert Rodat and directed by Steven Spielberg. It won 5 oscars and was a resounding financial success returning $481 million on a budget of $90 million. It also took in $44 million in dvd sales alone. It also received praise from veterans for its realism in depicting authentic D Day battle scenes. The Omaha Beach scene cost $11 million to film and used up to 1000 extras, 20 or so of whom were amputees.

This film succeeds on so many levels. First let's talk about the action. The opening scene is about 25 minutes in duration, as is the final battle scene. This time never drags and every second carefully depicts the reality of war and what those young soldiers must have faced. The violence isn't gratuitious - it is what it is - the reality of watching friends being blown apart, while trying to hold it all together. This is stark reality at its grimmest. The film just doesn't make you feel the soldiers fear and pain - it makes you believe you ARE there. I must point out that some of these scenes are distressing and they are not for the faint hearted. The camera work is handheld and jumpy which adds to the chaotic feel. There are some good underwater shots and silence is used to good effect to simulate a kind of shell shock moment. Another aspect I like is that you can follow the action and see what is going on. Too often with films of this nature, it just turns into a gunfire fest, with the viewer having no idea of what is going on.

Characterisation in this film is cleverly built up and

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next Page >>