The 10th anniversary of the filming of Saving Private Ryan in Ireland was held in June 2007. Here is the story of my recent trip to Curracloe Beach where the first part of the movie was made. So it's time to revisit my notes from the year the movie was released. It's just a collection of thoughts, ideas & quotes rather than an actual review (of which you'll find loads right here)...“People were saying how amazing the first 25 minutes of Saving Private Ryan was, and yes, it is amazing. Wait. 25 minutes? Are you sure? Because it seemed less than 10 minutes... No, it seemed way longer than 25 minutes... more like hours! How long is it gonna take one man to get off from a boat, swim a few yards, and land on a beach? Probably a matter of minutes. But hell, is it easy? By the time Tom Hanks and others barely managed to land on a beach, I was dead. I got shot about 100 times and my arms and legs were blown away, my blood was changing the color of the sea into red. How the hell can you survive? Hide in the back of the boats? Dig a hole and hide inside? They won't do it. Simple answer: you CAN'T survive.”
Date – 6th June, 1944. D-Day. The opening sequence of the film is everything you've heard, and more. Quite simply, it is possibly “one of the most devastating things ever committed to film.” “The fronts of the boats drop open, and the enemy gunfire explodes with a sickeningly dense and relentless cracking, the camera trembling as if the earth itself were coming apart.” “The carnage is so obscene it almost becomes hallucinatory. A stunned soldier calmly reaches down and picks up his severed arm, then wanders along the beach in shock. At one point (though it's hardly the focus of the shot) Hanks is pulling a wounded man towards what little cover there is, when he suddenly realizes that he's dragging only half a body. Another soldier screams in pain as he lies on the sand, calling for his mother while literally grasping his intestines in his own hands. Yes, it's hellish, and, yes, it's supremely disturbing.” “For nearly half an hour, Spielberg uses his unparalleled kinetic genius to create an excruciatingly sustained cataclysm of carnage, nausea, and death.” “The incoming tide is turned deep red with blood.” This isn't done for shock value – this was real, this happened. The hand-held camera work is outstanding. It’s shot from the perspective that you’re struggling onto the beach with the soldiers. The camera shot even bobs under water, along with the brilliant and sickening sound design that goes along with every scene in this film. Eventually, a group of soldiers gain a foothold and manage to knock out the Nazi defences. Thank God the relentless ferocity of the first half hour is over.
Now we’re introduced to the 'human' element of the story as we discover that three brothers in the same family have been killed in combat in the last few days. The mother of the brothers is due to receive all the death notices on the same afternoon. But there’s still one brother left - Private James Ryan (Matt Damon). He’s parachuted behind enemy lines in the Normandy invasion. The plan is set in place to ‘save’ Private Ryan and send him home. Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) of the 2nd Ranger Battalion of the 29th Infantry Division is assigned the task of locating Private Ryan. Along with a group of seven men (who survived the D-Day invasion), the story of sacrifice and honour begins. The squad consists of tough, trustworthy Sergeant Horvath (Tom Sizemore). Pvt. Reiben (Edward Burns) is the chief griper of the group. Pvt. Caparzo (Vin Diesel) also has doubts. Sharpshooter Pvt. Jackson (Barry Pepper) places his faith in God and his gun. Pvt. Mellish (Adam Goldberg) is a Jewish soldier who has a personal stake in the war. Wade (Giovanni Ribisi) is a medic, frustrated by the hopelessness of his task during wartime. Rounding out the group is Cpl. Upham (Jeremy Davies), a meek mapmaker who's never seen combat, but speaks fluent French and German.
So there you have some ideas about Saving Private Ryan - repeated around the world on tv on a regular basis. Or you could buy it on DVD, for a much fuller experience, particularly with the incredible sound design.
The Movie Nut's Rating - 10 Out Of 10
(originally posted on movies-australia.com in 1998)
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