Saving Private Ryan

Pros: Superb action
Cons: The usual Spielbergian pap

I'm another one of those guys who really wanted to like "Saving Private Ryan". It has been eons since a decent World War II movie was released. Frankly, I'm at a loss to think of one since than "Memphis Belle", which was none too...

Pros: Entertaining at times.
Cons: Wow! Talk about maudlin and overdone! Not to mention, very, very simple.

The operation that was D-Day remains one of the most complicated, involved, risky military operations ever undertaken. The very notion of moving hundreds of thousands of men and materiel over water into hostile territory in the span of several hours is...

Pros: Gives human face to war, unflinching
Cons: Schmaltzy at times, occasional obvious character development

We could use a few more movies like this, to de-glorify violence. See, Saving Private Ryan tells us a tale of war and puts a human face on the target between the sniper's sights, reminding us that every one of the 40 million plus casualties in...

Pros: Brutal Realism
Cons: Blood, gore and violence

I did NOT want to see this movie. I grew up during the Vietnam War years and saw enough blood and gore on the nightly news and had heard so many stories from friends who returned from the war. After watching "Apocalypse Now" and "Full Metal Jacket" I had...

Pros: realistic in every way, you feel as if you are walking along side them through everything.
Cons: very graphic beach scene, some can't stomach all the death

I, unlike many in my generation, have a real appreciation for WWII. My parents being older than most of my peer's parents, gave me a more influenced view of the last great war. So when "The Thin Red Line" and "Saving Private Ryan" hit...

Pros: Lushly visual, excellent SFX, some good performances, compelling initial action scene
Cons: Flat story arc, glaring historical errors destructive of the necessary illusion of reality

In the days before the DoD became, well, whatever it is now, there was one of George Catlett Marshall's most treasured maxims hanging on a Pentagon wall, to the effect that at the end of every grand plan is one poor infantryman walking point. The point...

Pros: Gut Gripping Reality
Cons: Tears,tears,graphic and violent footage

I didn't get to see Saving Private Ryan in the movies. I saw it on video at home. Thank God for that because I was sobbing in my chair with a blanket wrapped around me. The beginning footage on Normandy Beach slammed me backwards in my chair with a...

Pros: Closest any film has come to portraying the real thing.
Cons: None.

This is the first movie I have ever seen that gave me a lump in my throat at the beginning of the movie. I have seen many of the documentaries about D-day that show men running up the beach, some of them falling to the sand, no doubt dead or wounded....

Pros: Compelling, Remarkable Realism, Exceptional Acting
Cons: none

John Wayne...cinematic war hero and symbol, of all that was righteous and good with the American way of life was nothing more than a figurehead of the Hollywood propaganda machine. His films glorified and simplified the war effort that was raging in...

Pros: Realism will help young people understand what freedom actually costs.
Cons: Might be graphic for some.

Last night I watched Saving Private Ryan, a film, part of which depicted a battle that was fought almost exactly two years before my birth. My father had fought in World War II and because of certain physical ailments was held back from joining his...

Pros: Emotional / Unbelievably Realistic / Amazing Performances / Inspirational Story / Nothing Short of Spectacular
Cons: Violence is too graphic for some

Steven Spielberg's recent epic movie, "Saving Private Ryan," is quite possibly the greatest war film ever made. Though that fact is debatable, there is no question that it is the most realistic war movie ever produced. The first war sequence,...

Pros: Very gripping war epic; Spielberg, Hanks, and company at their very best
Cons: The battle sequences are extremely graphic, brutal, and honest--but necessary

Regardless of whether it is World War II, Korea, or Vietnam, the old adage is still the same: War Is Hell. And only a handful of films have shown it for what it is. Steven Spielberg's 1998 epic SAVING PRIVATE RYAN is one of those movies.

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Pros: Amazing special effects depicting the assault upon Omaha Beach.
Cons: Improbable premise upon which to base a WW II movie. Another cliche festival.

Time to turn my fantastic storehouse of knowledge back to the subject of WW II and the movies. I thought long and hard before attempting this review, as there have already been so many. As a military history buff and writer on the subject, I think there...

Pros: Way too real, intense, amazing
Cons: If you are a vet....could be a hard one to swallow

Well, if you are a vet, and you still have those flashbacks of the war, or remember some of those horrific scenes that you were faced with, then expect to find this movie a very difficult one to watch. Both my father and my best friends father had to...

Pros: Solid acting, directing done with a good 'feel' to the movie
Cons: Little bits perhaps not historically accurate

Some of you may be wondering why i'm reviewing a non-recent movie on Christmas Day. Did I receive a copy for Christmas? No; i've had a copy of it for three or four years. What happened was that I had a hankering to see the movie again on Christmas ...