Film review for Saving Private Ryan

When we talk about films about war, especially about the Second World War, we cannot skip the film Saving Private Ryan. It has already become a classic, and deserves to be watched again and again.

Ryan was an American paratrooper during World War II, After Normandy Landing, he was trapped in the enemy rear and lost contact with the headquarters. Meanwhile, his three brothers all lost their lives during the war. To prevent his mother from losing all her children, the US General Headquarters sent a squad of 8 members to find him and let him go home. The 8 men experienced unimaginable danger in the enemy rear, and some of them lost their lives during the combat. This let them think whether it is worth to sacrifice others』 lives to save just one man. Finally they found Ryan, the man they had never met before. To their surprise, Ryan was not willing to leave the battlefield, because he had been fought with his comrades since the beginning of the war, and he didn』t want to quit half way. The enemy came shortly after then, and they had to fight together. In the end, they won the combat and Ryan was saved, but it cost many soldiers』 lives.

I cannot give more praise to this film. In fact, I think it is ranked No.1 in all the films about war. It accidentally missed the best film in the 71th Oscar Award, but it is such a success that people don』t think it needs an Oscar to show its status in the film industry. Of course, it won other awards in the Oscar, such as the best director, the best actor, the best original screenplay, the best cinematography and so on. Directed by Spielberg, one of the best directors ever, the film is nearly perfect.

The first thing to mention is that it shows the real war to the audience. What really happens in a war? What will a normal soldier experience in a war? Maybe some people still think the experience is glorious and exciting, but they will no more assume it like this after watching this film. What really happened in the war is more ruthless than imagination, even if you have had mental preparation before watching it. Whether the director has exaggerated the bloodiness of the war? Someone has made a comparison between the film and the history: the image from the film is so similar to the photos taken in the real war. The film showed respect to the history from the whole scene to every detail. The warships, planes, tanks and the guns and clothes are all the same with history. The first 20 minutes of the film show the famous Normandy Landing, and the bloodiness of the combat makes it a famous fragment in the film history. The reality shown in this film is one of the factors that make it great.

Because of the cruelty in the war, it is interesting to see how different people behave in it. What is the most important when facing death? Is it the mission or one’s own life, or comrades』 lives? This is a question so hard to answer, but the war gives you no time to think. So everyone shows his true personality. Heroes are those who are willing to sacrifice their lives for something they think is more important, and we cannot blame those who just want to save their own lives in the war, because it is our instinct to stay alive, let alone we have family. The soldiers in the film were all brave and eager to beat the enemy and win the war, but when the crucial moment came, they were different. The film doesn』t try to blame or criticize any one. It just shows the audience what really happened and let us comment. Maybe everyone is guilty, maybe everyone is pitiful. The war not only tested everyone, but also changed them. For example, the soldier who hided himself when his comrade was fighting with enemy and will die without help finally found courage. Another advantage of this film is that it also shows what the enemies do. The enemies were not devil, they were also common people who just follow the orders, but they have to be killed because of the war. This gives audience more aspects to think.

In conclusion, this film has all the great factors to make it perfect, and anyone who wants to know about war should watch it.