Tom Sizemore-Sergant Horvath

Giovanni Ribisi-Medic Wade

Jeremy Davies-Corporal Upham

Edward Burns-Private Rieben

Matt Damon-Private Ryan

The phrase "war is hell" has been used so many times in the great hollywood movies that it sometimes seems as if you just wanna yell to the people who make anti-war films-WE GET THE POINT!!!!!!!!!!!!. But as you watch Steven Spielberg's boot camp of a film you realize that his idea was never really to make the audience believe in a certain fact. What he was attempting to do was simply get people in a war. The first 20 minutes of film bring us about as close to the real feeling of war as any man could sanely get. It shows us how these men die. The Ohmaha beach scene pulled no punches, and was not afraid to show the people the truth, even if the truth is'nt pretty. To sum it all up, the war film has evolved. In the brilliant All Quiet on The Western Front the film told us "war sucks". In the equally brilliant Saving Private Ryan the film tells us "this is why war sucked".

The movies opens with the jarring D-Dayscene you've heard everyone talking about. But after the blood and the guts, the real plots sets in. The movie follows a group of eight soldiers, led by Captain Miller (Tom Hanks). They have been assigned to find a private by the name of James Ryan. All of Ryan's brothers have died in the war, and now they must rescue him to keep the family bloodline going. Of couse all they really know is that Ryan is somewhere in the middle of Germany. To quote the film, the job is like "finding a needle in a stack of needles".

The film deals with many of the elements taht are prevalent in the dissucions of the ethics of war. It deals with issue of the needs of the few outweighing the needs of the many. It deals with the lost innocence that comes with a war. But in reality those issues are not the centerpoint of the film or the centerpoint of the characters. The main issue of this film is that soldiers need not question the ethics of the war, but they must simply do what is ordered. Tom Hanks gives a very good speech about how Ryan does not matter to him. He tells us that this war is not about the people. That as soldiers they must simply do what is said, so that they can continue with their lives. In The movie, Ryan is more of a methaphor than a real person. This is stressed in the fact that Ryan does not even show up much. He is simply reffered to and spoken about. Matt Damon barely even has a speaking role. His character is simply an excuse for an interesting study into the morality of innocnet men, forever changed by war.

The acting in this film is top notch. Two particular supprting actors caught my eye. Giovanni Ribsi and Jermey Davies. They stole every single scene they were in.

I've been telling people that Ribsi is a great actor since I saw the classic X-Files episode "D.P.O" where Giovanni played the troubled youngster Darren Peter Oswald. His work as a boy with a power he can't control was beautiful and moving. He brought such life to this charcter, that I knew he was headed for bigger (and possibly better) things. At last he has found his ticket to fame.

As Medic Wade he shows us that he in vulnerable and weak, yet has the strength to pull through. In the soon to be famous scene in the broken down church he gives a poigtant speech about his life and his past. The most incredible part about the scen is how easliy it could have turned out crappy. But Giovanni was able to get right to the soul of the character and show us wounded little boy afraid of what he sees, but can find no way out. Don't be suprised if he gets a best supporting actor nomination.

The same can easily be said for Jeremy Davies, who plays Corporal Upham. I don't even have to write much about him to prove his mastery of his craft. I only need to describe one scene, and anyone who has seen this film will agree. I am of course reffering to his breakdown on the stairs. He hears the sounds of Private Rieben's struugle with the German soldier. We see horrifyingly graphic shots of Rieben getting stabbed to death by this German, intercut with Upham crouched on the floor moaning with and cradlying, ironically, his gun. This is one image that I, or the audience, will not long forget.