Saving Private Ryan (1998)
When a war movie is so brutal it feels like a reenactment.
Presentation:
Steven Spielberg creates a marvel of a film following the Normandy Landings of World War II. Low shutter angle, chaos, death, we are placed right in the heat of the bloodbath. Although there is tremendous gore, I think it should be played in classrooms to truly depict how violent this historic military operation was. The film somewhat glorifies war in its spectacularly exciting action sequences which are well orchestrated and staged, allowing you to stand in the same shoes as the soldiers. But it’s not exactly a violence focus film, there is a real story at the heart of it all holding the chaos together with a substantial drama. It is a bit melodramatic at times catered to be easily digested by the mainstream, which I think shifts the tone from a psychological epic to more of an incredible movie that you could watch on cable TV.
Conclusion:
This is one the grittier war movies that has a focus on combat. It depicts it in a visceral manner that is engaging, but opts for melodramatic elements as opposed to psychological themes to make it one of the less profound films. Nevertheless, it’s one of the most significant war films that everyone should watch if they haven’t already, if not just for the storming of Normandy scene.
Sort by
- action 47
- adventure 25
- animation 4
- biographical 21
- chinese 5
- comedy 28
- coming of age 12
- crime 57
- culinary 3
- detective 10
- documentary 6
- drama 153
- driving 5
- experimental 14
- fantasy 18
- french 10
- heist 4
- historical 11
- horror 36
- japanese 4
- korean 9
- lgb 3
- music 6
- mystery 40
- norwegian 1
- psychological 16
- romance 28
- satire 4
- sci-fi 23
- spanish 4
- sports 5
- superhero 2
- suspense 14
- swedish 1
- thai 1
- thriller 66
- war 11
- western 4
- zombie 3
- 🌶 2
- 🌶🌶 21
- 🌶🌶🌶 76
- 🌶🌶🌶🌶 118
- 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 48
Recommendations
A war thriller at the peak of the French wave.