I like and don't like about Spielberg's popular WWII war flick. The initial beach landing (shot at Curracloe Beach, Ballinesker, Ireland) is outstanding, as is the closing half-hour battle at the crumbling village of Ramelle. In between these two great bookends are a few quality sequences, but I didn't find a lot of the drama all that engaging or convincing. The cast is notable (also including Tom Sizemore, Barry Pepper, Edward Burns, Giovanni Ribisi, Jeremy Davies, Vin Diesel, et al.), but the characters never struck me as real for the most part. I've seen the film three times and each time I was too often conscious of the fact that I was watching actors portraying WWII characters in a movie. When you see a truly great picture, by contrast, you completely forget you're watching a movie, e.g. the original "Apocalypse Now" (1979). Moreover, too many of the situations in SPR, including the dialogue, simply struck me as unreal or annoyingly treacly. Exhibit A is the moronic dog-tag sequence, which was supposed to be emotionally stirring but just made me roll my eyes. But, like I said, no one can criticize SPR and get away with it, even if the criticism is legitimate. It's like you'll be accused of being un-American or something, which is far from the case with me since I love America; I just can't stand the corrupt government & politicians, particularly the loony DemonKKKraps. In light of my criticisms, I simply don't get why so many praise SPR as "the greatest war movie ever made." Again, the opening and ending battle sequences are great but the dubious dramatics leave quite a bit to be desired. I've heard SPR hailed on the grounds that much of it was taken "verbatim from first-hand, eye-witness accounts of the real Normandy invasion." I'll take their word for it, but this isn't what I object to. I object to the contrived, sappy, questionable way Spielberg depicted the dramatics and the fact that I was unable to buy the characters as real. The aforementioned dog-tag sequence is just one example, others include the French father’s stupefying actions and the forced fight at the radar station and how it’s resolved (ooh, the Captain’s a high school teacher, whoopee). Nevertheless, there IS a lot of good in SPR that makes it worth viewing. You can’t beat the battle sequences, the cast and the convincing WWII visuals throughout. THE MOVIE RUNS 2 hours, 49 minutes and was shot in Ireland, England and France. WRITER: Robert Rodat. GRADE: C+/B-

Honestly it's a must watch and is on my "Difinitive Movie List"

only one left. That is why corporal Miller is instructed to look for him and return him home. The main actors who play in the film are Tom Hanks who plays corporal Miller and Matt Damon who plays the soldier Ryan. You also have all the soldiers in the group of corporal Miller. I think the characters in the film are very well thought out because they contain characters that are very brave, but also characters who have a hard time in the war. With this they show that not every soldier was as heroic as everyone thought. The film was made on a set that I thought looked very realistic. In the background you saw the buildings that were about to collapse and the shots. I also really liked the sound that came with the film. For example, when a tank arrived, you heard that it was slowly approaching.

naccounted for, the General decides to send a unit to find him and bring him back, despite being told that it's highly unlikely that he is still alive and the area that he was known to be at is very dangerous. So, the unit consisting of 8 men are sent to find him but as stated it's very dangerous and one by one, they are picked off. Will they find him and how many of them will still be alive? I saw this movie at school. I think it's a good film because, the director is very good because it seemed like you were really in it because the camera moved with it. In the quiet parts, the image was also quiet and when it became chaotic, the image was also chaotic. The characters were very realistic and felt as if they were really in a war, and for the costumes it looked very real and the same for the decor it looked like you were in war in France. I liked the movie but thought it was a bit too long, so I give it a 9/10.

ms scores remarkably poignantly. It's during this seemingly impossible assault that we are introduced to "Miller" (a career-best from Tom Hanks) and his squad who are tasked with taking out one of the heavily defended pill boxes. Meantime, the US Chief of Staff - General George Marshall is informed that one particular lady is about to get three telegrams in one day telling her that her sons have died. There is a fourth - "James" - and the reward for "Miller" and what's left of his group is to find this man and get him home to safety. What's also illustrated quite succinctly here is that despite the most meticulous of planning, nobody really has much of a clue who had landed where, who was alive or dead, and whether or not the master plan was working or not! This makes the new task even more difficult as the men, along with the dragooned interpreter "Upham" (Jeremy Davis) set of in search of a man they don't know with feelings that can only be described as "mixed" about the legitimacy of their mission. What now ensues is a potent story of war and of how the pressures and horrors of constant fear and weariness can corrupt the the most decent of souls. We see these men - decent men - turn into things they would never have thought themselves capable of becoming and the acting really rams that home in a characterful and visceral fashion. Brutality and savagery are not limited to the Nazis and again these images are presented to us with an honesty rather from a rose-tinted good v evil viewpoint and the dialogue has a ripeness and vivacity that rings true, too. It's not devoid of some black humour as we progress through war-torn France before a denouement that combines edge-of-the-seat drama with splendid cinematography and all of the ghastliness of conflict. The men valued each other as much as anything else, their inter-reliance and their determination to get the job done - even if they didn't really know why - is a testament to the attitudes that prevailed throughout the real fighting in Europe during WWII and this dramatisation is stunning. Big screen if you can - but it's really a must watch.

ok at how merciful, all powerful and correct we are as an army and how bad everyone else is. If I ignored the stupid reason for the journey, the journey is fun and entertaining, and if I ignored the social and political messages of it its even better as a movie, and then I would rate it as a 85, but unfortunately I can't ignore those and hence its a 70 for me.

aming for his mother as he laid on the beach with his intestines on the sand beside him. That was about the point where my dad paused the movie because I was sobbing so hard I couldn't see the screen anymore. Not to give me a break; he just wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything. So. The point of me explaining that is so you understand how deeply I mean it when I say that in terms of hammering home the horrors of war, this film easily gets a 10/10 for Omaha Beach. I just wish it wasn't a core memory for me, but here we are. The rest of the film is a lot more tame, but I remember being extremely frustrated watching characters I cared about die for a character I hadn't really yet seen and cared nothing about, for what seemed to me to be a nonsensical reason. Like, congrats, you saved one dude so he would go home to his mom so she wouldn't lose all her children, meanwhile multiple mothers lost children on the way to get that guy. I'm unconvinced the math balances out. That being said, I'm a very character-driven viewer; I can usually forgive a mediocre or even outright bad plot if the characters draw me in and make me care about them. That was true of this movie. Unfortunately. 12-year-old me would have preferred hating them all, but such was not the case. Private Jackson, the sniper, was my favourite. He was the one guy who was like "This is stupid." Immediately endeared me to him. Overall, I consider it a good film. Unfortunately, the opening scene at Omaha Beach is its strongest point, and if you're someone who prefers logistics over emotional framing, you're likely to consider the plot needless and foolish drama/sacrifice/tragedy, because there was no need for these men to go on this mission, and therefore the consequences were senseless. But if you prefer emotional framing over logistics, this film will likely resonate with you. Neither viewpoint is better; it's just a matter of perspective.