Saving Private Ryan

It is a toss-up as to which was the more pitched battle: the invasion of Normandy that Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg so harrowingly brings to the screen in this film's unforgettably gut-wrenching opening half hour, or the successful campaign by Miramax to make its romantic comedy Shakespeare in Love the year's surprise Academy Award-winner for Best Picture. No matter, this is the year's prestige video release. Spielberg's tribute to what Tom Brokaw has termed "the Greatest Generation" is a staggering achievement. Tom Hanks commands the screen in his Oscar-nominated performance as Capt. Miller, who leads his platoon on a mission to rescue one Pvt. Ryan (Matt Damon), whose brothers have all perished on Omaha Beach. "He'd better be worth it," Miller remarks at one point. "He better go home and cure a disease or invent a longer-lasting lightbulb." The supporting cast is uniformly excellent, particularly Jeremy Davies (from Spanking the Monkey) as Upham, a translator who is paralyzed with terror at his first exposure to combat. Only a few plot contrivances and coincidences and stock characters straight out of your standard-issue Hollywood WWII movie, ring false. But along with Schindler's List, Spielberg can wear this film like a badge of honor. Highly recommended. [Blu-ray Review—May 11, 2010—Paramount, 2 discs, 169 min., R, $39.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1998's Saving Private Ryan sports a great transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras include an introduction by director Steven Spielberg (3 min.), a “Shooting War” documentary with star Tom Hanks (88 min.), the featurettes “Into the Breach” (25 min.), “Making Saving Private Ryan” (22 min.), “Re-Creating Omaha Beach” (18 min.), “Music and Sound” (16 min.), “Miller and His Platoon” (9 min.), “Boot Camp” (8 min.), “Looking Into the Past” (5 min.), and “Parting Thoughts” (4 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a contemporary classic makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.] (K. Lee Benson)