Review of Saving Private Ryan: Limited Edition

Introduction

This tour-de-force by Steven Spielberg is a powerful indictment of a world at war and tells the harrowing tale of the search for one soldier, the sole surviving son from a family of four. The other three young men, also US Army recruits, have since died in active duty. Once the US Army realise that Private James Ryan (Matt Damon) is from the same family, they set about trying to locate him in the bowels of war-torn France and return him home to his mother. A bit like trying to find a needle in a haystack, in actual fact.

The man entrusted with this beyond-the-call-of-duty task is Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) and his trusty team of seven men. Facing a multitude of difficult personal decisions, they risk their own eight lives in pursuit of the one.

Video

Pretty much reference quality visuals, capturing every nuance of war with all its bloody implications. You`ll flinch as the bullets hit home with every gory scene captured in a glorious 1.85 anamorphic transfer. Every aspect of the presentation is perfect, even the strange lens-flare type effect that Spielberg wanted is captured in pixel-perfect detail. This is the only DVD you need for demoing your new setup or just showing off to your friends.

Audio

Top-notch sound brings the killing fields into your viewing room with ricocheting machine gun fire and deep, bassy explosions. Your neighbours will wonder what on earth is going on! The first 20 minutes or so will give your surround system a good workout - I actually found myself ducking at one point as a bullet whistled past my left ear! Distant explosions are noticeable and ambient effects such as rainfall are nicely done, appearing from the rear channels. If there ever was a reason to buy a surround system, this is it!

John Williams` musical score is suitably powerful and holds up to listening by itself (the film soundtrack incidentally is as thought provoking and poignant as the movie).

Vocal performances are well captured and easily separated from the various sounds of war.

Features

We are quite well endowed in this department. Firstly, there is a message from Spielberg himself, urging us to never forget what happened all those years ago. After seeing this movie, I guarantee you never will.

There`s also a 20-minute documentary entitled "Into the Breach". Whilst having some interest to me, it tended to dwell too much on Spielberg`s early filmmaking exploits and not enough on the war aspect. It would also have been interesting to explore in more detail how the film was made and what special effects techniques were employed. That said, it is quite enjoyable while it lasts.

Two theatrical trailers are included also, as are crew and cast biographies and some production notes. The quality of these are pretty much as you would expect and offer very little to the package.

What I did find rather odd was the lack of any commentary track. Can you imagine what a hugely fascinating inclusion that would have been, listening to Spielberg and Hanks reminiscing about the making of the movie and chatting about various scenes. It is a travesty that this was missed out. Of course the cynics amongst us would suggest that they are saving it for the Special Limited Edition...

Conclusion

Loved by every critic known to man, Saving Private Ryan is a modern-day masterpiece. Stunning in every sense of the word, it deals with the subject of war in a way that never glamorises, but instead shocks with its realism and terror. WWII Veterans have commented that this is as close to war that anyone has ever got in cinema, and that reason alone speaks volumes about the skill of Spielberg (and Hanks) in creating this movie. Deserving of every one of its hundreds of awards, including 5 Academy Awards, this movie will rank as one of the best of the 20th Century.

Nothing I can say will prepare you for what you will see during the first 20 minutes. From the start, the viewer is caught up in the fruitlessness of war, and the initial beach landings will stick in your mind long after the final credits roll up the screen. I urge everyone who has yet to see this movie to do so.

For me, this movie really hammers home the futility of war, the sheer waste of life and the lasting wounds that are only now beginning to heal for many people around the world.