Video:
Original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio (Anamorphic Widescreen)
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 (Available in DTS - not reviewed here)
Time:
Movie: 169 minutes / Documentary: 25 minutes
Rating:
R
Year:
1998
Director:
Steven Spielberg
Producers:
Steven Spielberg, Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon, Gary Levinsohn
Starring:
Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Matt Damon, Edward Burns
Extras:
· Exclusive Message From Steve Spielberg
· Saving Private Ryan 'Into the Breach'
· Two Theatrical Trailers
Accompany a group of men on a journey along the war-torn lands of France to rescue a lost soldier and prepare to be transported to an alternate reality that few of us will ever know and many have never lived to tell about. It is the time of tragedy where thousands upon thousands of men prepare to defend their freedom, their countries and their own lives. Some blindly ride the backs of dictators and others willingly sacrifice themselves for the stranger fighting alongside them. If war isn't hell - it's the closest thing to it. Under chilling and terrible circumstances, you will see the catastrophic consequences of war as no film of the genre has ever explored before. Saving Private Ryan will have your pulse racing, your nerves frayed, and leave you feeling as though in this instance you were mercifully granted a window of opportunity to peek through a brief portal from a guarded distance into a world we pray to never know as did the men who wrote their history in blood at Normandy.
Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) was no different than the next man in line at the grocery store. No different than the neighbor across the street or the post man that visits our front door. What separated Captain John Miller from the rest was his position in a war in a far away land in a time not so long ago. The mysteriousness of his unknown background elevated him in stature amongst his men awarding a strong sense of loyalty and respect. Into battle he would lead them on a mission atypical of standard reconnaissance assignments. Unaware of the tragic consequences the war has brought upon his family, Private John Francis Ryan (Matt Damon) has been called home to his mother by the US government as they have already sent her notice regarding the passing of three of her sons in the war. Based on a concept that has occurred before in the past during times of battle in our country's history, Saving Private Ryan follows the dramatic journey of eight young men lead by the gallant Captain John Miller into France. Their goal will be to locate a soldier who has gone unaccounted for since the initial air forces dropped over Normandy on D-Day. What you will witness is the portrayal of a series of events in what has got to be the most realistic depiction of humankind in its worst hour. It is there that survival is the name of the game and the life of one can rely on the courage of another. Each moment is eerily endured as if it were a character's last. This film, worthy of Best Picture for its year in theatrical release, has been immortalized on DVD day-and-date with the VHS sell-through release.
This production becomes another in a long list of Steven Spielberg's World War II-themed movies. "Nearly half of the films I've directed take place in the '30s and '40s," he comments. Some of his other films of the time period include 1941, Empire of the Sun, Schindler's List, and the Indiana Jones Trilogy. Surely this might very well be a result of his childhood exposure to John Wayne's glamorous characterization of war and from the resulting influence of his father's own war stories. Spielberg explains, "My dad brought home stories of the war, and he always explained to me how unglamorous it is. What I tried to do in this film was approximate the look and the sounds and even the smells of what combat is really like." Throughout the film, the attention to detail is as magnificent as it is horrifying. Actors in the film testify to the extent of the production's attempt to replicate the reality of war. Retired Captain Dale Dye of the Marine Corp was brought in as the military advisor to allow the actors a taste of what was to come. As he did during the creation of Oliver Stone'sPlatoon, Captain Dye conducted a rigorous training resembling boot camp. It was the least of things that would prepare the cast for the severity of the approaching production. Tom Hanks would later attest to the harshness of his experience, "The adrenaline rush was like nothing I had ever experienced on any other movie, because it was chaos as soon as you stepped out there."
Generally speaking, the transfer of this film to DVD is beautiful to look at. Having seen the film numerous times in multiple theaters, my first thought would be to comment that I do not recall the film print being very colorful. From my recollections, I felt as though a large part of the film seemed to consist of washed-out shades of brown, beige and especially gray (Bravo! Standard suburban war-time colors, no?). From my understanding, the majority of theatrical film prints are 2nd or 3rd generation and a degradation in quality is understandable. But, this feeling of a grayish overtone seemed natural for the movie, especially in the opening and ending sequences. Now, the DVD itself seemed full of color, particularly in the shades of green prevalent in the middle segments of the film. Having a good amount of experience with film on DVD, I think most of you might agree with me when I state that a good sense of color saturation is natural for this format. Having raised this point during a large presentation through a HDTV projector in one of our review sessions of this disc, another individual agreed regarding the sudden disappearance of the aforementioned grayish tint present in the theatrical release. Others did not - though I couldn't help but feel I had the upper hand with the amount of presentations I witnessed in the theater (yes, it nearly bordered on obsession). Another viewer present in the same showing added that they felt an excessive use of "edge enhancement" was predominant in scenes depicting long straight edges. One such scene would be the long shot of the flag poles in the beginning of the film where the edges of the pole seem outlined by obscure white lines. This type of affect can be replicated by increasing the sharpness on television displays. With our anamorphic image being driven by a progressive scan DVD-ROM player through HDTV front projection, sharpness was not an issue. However, let it be known that unless specifically making an attempt to view this effect (as some of us seem so inclined to do), any remnants of this was not distracting in the least and nearly unnoticeable. The effect was non-existent on a standard television calibrated for the necessary sharpness settings.
Never before have I been so immersed by the sound emanating from my speakers during a Dolby Digital soundtrack. I recall the nature of this soundtrack consisting of a wide variety of moments stressing the separation capabilities of our current motion picture sound technology. But the intricacy of the clarity in separation present here is absolutely outstanding. From the atmospheric 'whir' of flying lead to the clank of bullets bouncing off the eerie metal arms of hedgehogs lining the beach to the explosion of grenades to the pounding of pierced flesh - it is the sound of this film that will easily trick your senses into second guessing their whereabouts by having you consistently look over your shoulder for the impending danger. If it weren't for the realistically graphic portrayal of war-time casualties in the first 30 minutes of the film, this disc would quickly become the reference-standard disc for sound exhibition in my home theater for all viewing audiences. Prepare your senses for the unimaginable. For those interested, Dreamworks will be releasing a DTS version of this DVD along with the Dolby Digital release.
In terms of additional features, Saving Private Ryan does not come up short. At point, Steven Spielberg offers an exclusive message regarding his support for The National D-Day Museum in New Orleans (www.ddaymuseum.org). Amidst the pack are two theatrical trailers, a slew of extensive production notes and informative cast/crew bios. The two trailers are the original and the re-release version for the film's second showing in theaters in light of the award nominations that followed its initial introduction to audiences around the world. Taking up the rear is Saving Private Ryan - Into The Breach, a documentary discussing not only the making-of the film, but a worthwhile glimpse into the history of the battles at Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6th, 1944, with personal insight from those who survived this onslaught of historic chaos. Reading the insert packaged with this disc will give you an idea of the issues covered in the documentary. The menu system is done well in theme with the film. Creative animation brings simple but effective transitions between menus. Overall, the disc is representative of splendidly indulgent workmanship. We experienced no problems in the operation of this disc throughout our testing with a number of different players.
Saving Private Ryan is a testament to the distance that humans will go under uncontrollable circumstances where a a split second of doubt can be one's last. From the courage of soldiers with full intent on doing their part in obtaining the absolute goal to the helpless souls frozen in their own fear, for three hours you will feel their loss ... their pain ... their fear ... their triumph. You will feel the horrors of war allowing you complete understanding of why the benefits of freedom should not be taken for granted. Serious collectors and fans of the film should hastily assimilate this disc into their collections if not for the quality of the presentation - for the humanitarian lessons that it teaches.
