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Saving Private Ryan [Sapphire Series] [2 Discs] [Blu-ray]

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Saving Private Ryan Blu-ray
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Saving Private Ryan [Sapphire Series] [2 Discs] [Blu-ray] on Blu-ray


Steven Spielberg directed this powerful, realistic re-creation of WWII's D-day invasion and the immediate aftermath. The story opens with a prologue in which a veteran brings his family to the American cemetery at Normandy, and a flashback then joins Capt. John Miller (Tom Hanks) and GIs in a landing craft making the June 6, 1944, approach to Omaha Beach to face devastating German artillery fire. This mass slaughter of American soldiers is depicted in a compelling, unforgettable 24-minute sequence. Miller's men slowly move forward to finally take a concrete pillbox. On the beach littered with bodies is one with the name "Ryan" stenciled on his backpack. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall (Harve Presnell), learning that three Ryan brothers from the same family have all been killed in a single week, requests that the surviving brother, Pvt. James Ryan (Matt Damon), be located and brought back to the United States. Capt. Miller gets the assignment, and he chooses a translator, Cpl. Upham (Jeremy Davis), skilled in language but not in combat, to join his squad of right-hand man Sgt. Horvath (Tom Sizemore), plus privates Mellish (Adam Goldberg), Medic Wade (Giovanni Ribisi), cynical Reiben (Edward Burns) from Brooklyn, Italian-American Caparzo (Vin Diesel), and religious Southerner Jackson (Barry Pepper), an ace sharpshooter who calls on the Lord while taking aim. Having previously experienced action in Italy and North Africa, the close-knit squad sets out through areas still thick with Nazis. After they lose one man in a skirmish at a bombed village, some in the group begin to question the logic of losing more lives to save a single soldier. The film's historical consultant is Stephen E. Ambrose, and the incident is based on a true occurance in Ambrose's 1994 bestseller D-Day: June 6, 1944. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
  • Sound By: DTS-HD Master Audio
  • Released By: Dreamworks Video
Looking into the past
Miller and his platoon
Boot camp
Making Saving Private Ryan
Re-creating Omaha Beach
Music and sound
Parting thoughts
Into the breach: Saving Private Ryan
Theatrical trailer
Re-release trailer
Shooting war

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  • Saving Private Ryan Blu-ray
Saving Private Ryan Blu-ray

Editorial Reviews

Saving Private Ryan marked another foray into World War II for Steven Spielberg, this time examining the soldiers' struggles to maintain their sense of mission even in situations that seemed to defy reason and hope. To show the carnage of the D-Day Omaha Beach landing, Spielberg used a barrage of sound and the unpolished immediacy of a hand-held camera to thrust the viewer into the conflict for a 24-minute sequence of relentless, random violence more intense than in any previous Hollywood war movie. The desaturated color further recalled WWII newsreel footage while rendering the blood a matter-of-fact part of the landscape. Adapted from an incident recorded by historian Stephen E. Ambrose, the mission to save one man after the Normandy invasion becomes a means for Capt. Miller and his troop of WWII film archetypes to debate the sacrifices of war, even a "good" war. Critically hailed for its stunningly realistic battle sequences and heartfelt performances, the film became a summertime hit despite its realistic violence and serious subject. After winning several critics' prizes, Saving Private Ryan garnered 11 Academy Award nominations and won five, including Spielberg's second Oscar for Best Director and Janusz Kaminski for Best Cinematography. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi