This World War Two film has been described as ‘often copied but rarely bettered’ (Image: Getty)
It has been called the “most intense war film ever made” and “often copied but never bettered” with an opening scene that is “unforgettable”.
Its action sequences have been described as “extraordinary, utterly believable, horrifyingly graphic”, it widely received five stars and full marks from reviewers and currently has a 94% review rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Saving Private Ryan is one of Steven Spielberg’s best films and was released in 1998, five years after another of his World War Two masterpieces, Schindler’s List. Starring Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi and Ted Danson, it tells the story of a team of soliders led by Captain John H Miller (Hanks) sent to rescue Private James Ryan (Damon) when the US Armed Forces learn that all of Ryan’s three brothers have been killed in action.
Its astonishing opening scene takes place on D-Day and stunned audiences with its graphic portrayal of injuries as Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy where German troops were already lying in wait.
The opening scene of Saving Private Ryan in which soldiers land on Omaha Beach (Image: Getty)
Is Saving Private Ryan a true story?
Saving Private Ryan is not an entirely true story but it is inspired by Fritz Niland. He and his brothers, Bob, Preston and Edward, were all in the US Armed Forces during World War Two. A month before D-Day, Edward was captured by the Japanese forces, while Bob was killed storming the beaches of Normandy on D-Day and Preston was killed in Normandy the next day. Their mother reportedly found out about the deaths all on the same day.
When the US War Department heard that three of the four brothers had perished, they decided that the remaining brother needed to be brought home — just like in the film. Fritz was ordered home. In 1945, at the war’s end, it turned out that Edward had not been killed and was also able to return home to the United States.
Before Niland’s rescue, the Sullivan brothers of Iowa had all been killed in 1942 when the US Navy ship they were aboard was hit by a Japanese torpedo. After their deaths, there was a policy that brothers would not all be allowed to serve alongside each other.
The gravestone of Frederick ‘Fritz’ Niland, whose story inspired Saving Private Ryan (Image: Getty)
What people say about Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan received widespread praise and still has the power to shock today. Writing in The Times, Wendy Ide said: “The 24-minute sequence at the start of Steven Spielberg’s Second World War drama is one of the greatest pieces of combat cinema yet made.”
Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian said it was “an old-fashioned war picture to rule them all — gripping, utterly uncynical, with viscerally convincing and audacious battle sequences”. Leah Rozen, writing in People Magazine, said the film would make “many of us will look at our aging fathers or grandfathers with a newfound respect”.
And Jay Carr, writing for the Boston Globe, said it was “the war movie to end all war movies” and “the ultimate combat film, far outdistancing what until now had been the genre’s World War Two classics”.
Viewers have been equally full of praise, calling it “epic”, “emotional”, “brutal” and “one of, if not the, most powerful war films ever made”. And Empire magazine ranked it the 54th best film ever made, saying: “The sheer bludgeoning, blood-spilling, visceral power of its Omaha Beach, D-Day-landing opening act ensured that Steven Spielberg’s fourth World War Twomovie set the standard for all future battle depictions.”
It added that its style “has been often copied, but rarely bettered” since.
Saving Private Ryan tells the story of Private James Ryan (Matt Damon) (Image: Getty)
Where was Saving Private Ryan filmed?
Saving Private Ryan was filmed almost entirely on location in England and Ireland between June and September 1997. The opening Omaha Beach D-Day battle reportedly cost $12 million to film over a four-week period, using 1,500 background actors. It was filmed at the usually peaceful Curracloe Beach in County Wexford, Ireland, where “most of the explosive charges on that beach were real, so when they went off the beach shook,” BBC reports.
Saving Private Ryan’s unit production manager and associate producer, Mark Huffam, said the filming was “terrifying” to witness and said that, while Normandy was considered as a filming location, it was quickly ruled out due to post-war development along the coast.
The film’s other scenes were filmed at the Hatfield Aerodrome in Hertfordshire, England, including the building of the fictional town of Ramelle, where a battle takes place.
Tom Hanks during the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan (Image: Getty)
What awards did Saving Private Ryan win?
At the 56th Golden Globe Awards in 1999, Saving Private Ryan won Best Drama and Best Director. At the 71st Academy Awards (Oscars), it won Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing. But it did not win Best Picture, losing out to Shakespeare in Love in a surprise result.
At the 52nd British Academy Film Awards (Baftas), it won Best Special Effects and Best Sound, but did not win Best Film, Best Direction or Best Actor.