LOOKING BACK: Saving Private Ryan

Since yesterday was the anniversary of D-Day, I decided I'd sit down and rewatch Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg's masterpiece of the invasion of Normandy. Band of Brothers is an annual watching event around Memorial Day, and it's been a couple of years since I've seen the movie that led to the idea of the mini-series.

In the past, the opening invasion scene has always made me feel uneasy and a bit sick, with it's graphic footage of the D-Day beach landing at Omaha Beach. I guess after watching Band of Brothers, and playing Call of Duty as much as I have, I'm kinda immune to it now. That's a disturbing thought.

While this film did tug on my heart-strings, and some tears did fall (I'm a sucker for war movies), I just didn't feel the same emotional connection with the characters as I did with Band of Brothers. In my opinion, the mini-series is significantly better than the movie. Which isn't surprising, as the mini-series is over 10 hours long, and there's that much more time to discover things that you love about the characters.

This is a fantastic movie, though, and it's cool to see the technical aspects and story aspects that make it into Band of Brothers. I did have one problem with it, though.


In the final battle, at the bridge in Ramelle, when everything is going on at once, Matt Damon as Private Ryan can be seen sitting out from the battle, cradling himself and rocking back and forth. This seems totally against everything that the character has been built up to in the movie to this point.

This is a guy who has jumped behind enemy lines, gone further behind said lines to defend a bridge, denied his chance to go home after finding out about his brothers, and has finally gotten the respect of the Rangers sent to get him by standing his post at the bridge and fighting against insurmountable odds. At yet, when the shit hits the fan, he's in the fetal position?

Not only is that insulting to the character, it seems insulting to the Airborne, men who jumped into enemy territory in the early mornings before the invasion and attempted to make the beach landings easier. I'm sure I'm just being sensitive, but this scene really seemed to upset something in me, and even after thinking about it, I still don't know why.

But Spielberg went on to glorify the Airborne with Band of Brothers, and this movie is a great view of early actors who at this time, weren't the big stars that they are now. The cast is littered with them, just proof that Spielberg has an eye for talent.

If you haven't seen the film, go rent it, or catch it on cable when it's shown. It's an important memorial to those men who died trying to change the world.

One of my new favorite actors, Barry Pepper, as sniper Jackson