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‘Private Ryan’ shows realities of war
Tom Hanks and Steven
Spielberg have created a
graphic, yet moving
portrayal of World War II
By Michael Hines
Editor in Chiel
It seems like either Steven
Spielberg or Tom Hanks has been
behind every great drama in the
last five years. From “Philadel
phia” to “Schindler’s List,” these
two have mastered the tear-jerker
movie.
Now they’ve teamed up and
produced a film that is truly
amazing — “Saving Private
Ryan.”
Following an emotional intro
duction, the movie flashes back to
June 6, 1944, better known as D
Day. Soldiers vomit and shiver
with fear as they approach the
deadly shores of France, which is
occupied by the Nazis.
Just a warning — when Spiel
berg said “Private Ryan” was go
ing to portray the true horrors of
World War n, he was not kidding.
As the first boats open their
doors for the waves of soldiers to
take the beach, German machine
gunners mow down virtually
everyone. To get out of the boat,
some soldiers jump over the sides
because the front is clogged with
the dead. Once in the water, many
drown, and many more are shot.
Making his way out of the
bloody Atlantic Ocean and wind
ing his way through the mass of
mangled bodies strung along the
shoreline is Captain John Miller,
played by Hanks.
Overwhelmed by the carnage
and emotion of it all, Miller lapses
in and out of consciousness and
participation with his surround
ings. Miller and Sergeant Hor
vath, played by Tom Sizemore,
lead what is left of their group of
men directly into German gunfire.
After this gut-wrenching battle,
the movie switches scenes to a
warehouse of women writing let
ters to the families of deceased
soldiers. It is here that the military
realizes three brothers died in
combat in different parts of the
world, and their mother is due to
be informed of all three deaths on
the same day.
The woman has one son left
SUMMER MOVIES
‘Saving Private
Ryan’
Historical Drama
Directed by:
Steven Speilberg
■ STARRING: Tom Hanks,
Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore
■ RATED: R
■ SCORE: ★★★★★
alive, Private James Ryan (Matt
Damon), and the government is
sues orders to find him and bring
him back to the United States.
After succeeding in the suicidal
mission up the French shores,
Captain Miller is given orders to
take his men and find Private
Ryan.
Miller’s men are a scrappy
bunch of survivors. Privates
Reiben (Edward Bums), Caparzo
(Vin Diesel), Mellish (Adam Gold
berg) and Jackson (Barry Pepper)
join Miller, Horvath and Medic
Wade (Giovanni Ribisi) on the
trip into Nazi-occupied Germany.
Miller finds Corporal Upham (Je
remy Davies), a writer and a sol
dier who hasn’t fired a gun since
basic training, to tag along with
the group as a French and German
interpreter.
The mission becomes compli
cated because the military doesn’t
know where Private Ryan is. It
doesn’t even know if he’s alive!
He was taken in by airplane a cou
ple days before D-Day and para
chuted onto the mainland. Inac
curate drops of soldiers and
supplies is a constant problem, so
there is no reliable way for Miller
and his men to find Ryan except
by asking everyone they meet.
Much like his role in “Going
All the Way," Davies masterfully
plays an awkward soldier who is
a little disturbed and a little poet
ic. Pepper plays one of the most
moving parts as a strong-willed
Jewish soldier who revels in teas
ing German prisoners of war and
is occasionally overwhelmed by
the emotion of what is happening
to the Jews.
Ultimately, the story is about
Miller’s group of men questioning
why they are to save just one man.
Hanks’ character has to be the
glue that keeps his men together
while battling his own personal
demons.
At one point, Miller jokes that if
Private Ryan is special enough to
rescue, he better “invent the
longer-lasting light bulb.” But for
Miller, the smiles are only a fa
cade, and he hides to weep in des
peration after a short gun battle
with a small group of Germans.
Spielberg provided the stun
ning backdrop and Hanks the
electricity to move the story
along, and the two can be proud
of this somber creation.
i
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