Saving Private Ryan

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Saving Private Ryan
Poster of Saving Private Ryan
Directed bySteven Spielberg
Written byRobert Rodat
Produced bySteven Spielberg
Ian Bryce
Mark Gordon
Gary Levinsohn
Production Companies
DreamWorks SKG
Paramount Pictures
Amblin Entertainment
Mutual Film Corporation
Mark Gordon Productions
StarringTom Hanks
Edward Burns
Tom Sizemore
Barry Pepper
Adam Goldberg
Giovanni Ribisi
Matt Damon
Vin Diesel
CinematographyJanusz Kaminski
Edited byMichael Kahn
Music byJohn Williams
Distributed byDreamWorks (US and Canada)
Paramount Pictures (elsewhere)
Release dates
United States July 24, 1998
Running time
170 min.
LanguageEnglish
Budget$70,000,000 US (estimated)

Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 Academy-Award-winning film set in World War II, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat.

This film is particularly notable for the intensity of its opening 25 minutes, which depict the Omaha beachhead assault of June 6, 1944. Thereafter it presents a fictional search for a paratrooper of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division. While this part of the plot is a work of fiction, the premise is very loosely based on the real-life case of the Niland Brothers. Saving Private Ryan was well received by audiences and garnered considerable critical acclaim, winning several awards for film, cast and crew as well as earning significant returns at the box office.

Plot

The film begins with an elderly veteran (Harrison Young) and his family visiting the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. We then see the vet walking to a headstone, falling to his knees before it and losing his composure. His family gathers around him and the scene flashes back to a graphic recreation of the landing of the first wave of soldiers on Omaha Beach during the WWII invasion of Normandy. The film focuses on one Cpt. John H. Miller of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, who eventually manages to lead a group of men through the dense German beach defenses to reach the heights overlooking the beach.

The story shifts to the U.S. War Department offices where thousands of death notification letters are being typed for delivery to the families of the fallen soldiers. It is discovered that three of the four brothers of the Ryan family have all died within days of each other and that their mother will receive all three notices on the same day. The fourth son, Pfc. James Francis Ryan of the 1st Battalion 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, a paratrooper, remains unaccounted for somewhere in France. Gen. George C. Marshall orders that he be found and sent home immediately.

The scene changes back to Europe, where Miller assembles a squad of eight men to carry out his orders: find Ryan and return him safely to the rear. Possessing virtually no information as to Ryan’s whereabouts or the location where his unit parachuted into France, Miller and his men must move from town to town and among other American units to find him.

After several false leads and the loss of one of their squad, Caparzo, to a German sniper, the men happen to find a friend of Ryan’s. He tells them that Ryan is defending a strategically important bridge over the Merderet River in the nearby (fictional) town of Ramelle.

On the way to Ramelle, the unit discovers the bodies of several dead soldiers from the 82nd Airborne, and realize that they had been ambushed by a German MG-42 weapons team guarding a bombed-out radar station. The unit attacks the position, losing T/4 Wade in the firefight. His death greatly affects the rest of the men, who seek to execute the lone surviving German, called "Steamboat Willie" in the film's credits. Miller decides to let him go precipitating a dramatic confrontation with some of his squad.

The unit eventually arrives on the outskirts of Ramelle. Crossing an open field, they spot a German Sdkfz-251 halftrack. The unit takes cover, and an unknown source fires a bazooka at the German vehicle, stopping it. Miller's squad kills the crew. A three-man ambush team from the 101st Airborne Division emerge and introduce themselves. One of the men is Ryan.

In Ramelle, Captain Miller tells Ryan of his brothers' deaths and of their mission to bring him home. Ryan surprises them by refusing to leave his unit and the men who he has called "the only brothers he has left". Miller and his squad decide to help defend the town from an impending German counter-attack and elicit Ryan’s promise that he will leave with them once the town is secured.

Miller leads the defense of the small town in the movie’s climactic battle. The Germans overwhelm the defenders killing nearly all of Miller's squad. Only Ryan, Upham, Reiben and Miller and a few airborne troops remain. They prepare to destroy the bridge, but a near miss from one of the German tanks knocks Miller off his feet and sends the detonator flying.

Miller attempts to venture back onto the bridge into heavy enemy fire to retrieve the detonator, but is shot and critically wounded (ironically by "Steamboat Willie", the German soldier he released earlier). Dazed and dying, Miller vainly fires his service pistol at a Tiger tank advancing across the bridge, when it unexpectedly explodes. Seconds later, the true cause of the tank's destruction is revealed when a pair of Mustangs fly over, providing air support for the newly arrived American reinforcements. Upham briefly takes a group of German soldiers prisoner, kills "Steamboat Willie" for not honoring their agreement, and lets the rest retreat.

Miller is tended to in vain by Reiben, one of the only two members of Miller's squad who survives. His final words to Ryan are: “James… earn this. Earn it.” Ryan’s face morphs into that of the old man in the cemetery from the opening of the film and the grave is revealed to be Miller’s.

File:Saving private ryan il faut sauver soldat ryan tom hanks.jpg
Tom Hanks as Captain Miller
This file may be deleted at any time.

Development

In 1994, Robert Rodat saw a monument in Putney Corners, New Hampshire, dedicated to eight brothers who died during the American Civil War. Inspired by the story, Rodat did some research and decided to write a similar story set in World War II. Rodat's script was submitted to producer Mark Gordon, who liked the story but only accepted the text after 11 redrafts. After Spielberg and Tom Hanks joined the project, a shooting date was set for June 27, 1997.[1] Before filming began, several of the film’s stars, including Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel and Giovanni Ribisi as well as Tom Hanks, endured several days of “boot camp” training and work on the film set to prepare for their roles.[2]

Spielberg had already demonstrated his interest in World War II themes with the films 1941, Empire of the Sun, Schindler's List, and the Indiana Jones series. Spielberg later co-produced the World War II themed television mini-series Band of Brothers with Tom Hanks. When asked about this by American Cinematographer, Spielberg said, “I think that World War II is the most significant event of the last 100 years; the fate of the Baby Boomers and even Generation X was linked to the outcome. Beyond that, I’ve just always been interested in World War II. My earliest films, which I made when I was about 14 years old, were combat pictures that were set both on the ground and in the air. For years now, I’ve been looking for the right World War II story to shoot, and when Robert Rodat wrote Saving Private Ryan, I found it.”[3]

Although the D-Day scenes were shot in Curracloe, Wexford, Ireland, some shooting was done in Normandy, for the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer and Calvados. Other scenes were filmed in English locations such as a former British Aerospace factory in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, London, Thame Park, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. Production was due to also take place in Seaham, County Durham, but Government restrictions disallowed this.[4]

Historical inspiration

While researching the screenplay, Rodat came across the story of Sgt. Frederick (Fritz) Niland, who, with some other members of the 101st Airborne, was inadvertently dropped too far inland. They eventually made their way back to their unit at Carentan, where the chaplain, Lieutenant Colonel Father Francis Sampson, apocryphally told Niland about the death of his three brothers, two at Normandy and one in the Far East. (Other versions have Niland traveling to Sainte Mere Eglise and Utah beach to visit his brothers and discovering their deaths himself). Also, Niland, a member of Company H, 501st PIR, was a member of a paratroop stick dropped south of Carentan, one of the worst mis-drops during the American airborne landings in Normandy.

Under the War Department’s Sole Survivor Policy, brought about after the death of the five Sullivan brothers serving on the USS Juneau, Fr. Sampson arranged passage for Sgt. Niland back to Britain and thereafter to his parents, Augusta and Michael Niland, in Tonawanda, New York. There was no behind-the-lines rescue mission, and his mother was not a widow, and she did not receive all three telegrams on the same day. Niland himself remained with the 101st during its entire time in Normandy, returned with it to England, and did not return to the United States until September 1944. Later it was determined that the brother believed to have been killed in the Far East had actually been captured and was later returned home after his liberation.[5]

In the film, the decision to order the safe return of Private Ryan is inspired in part by the General’s reading of the Letter to Mrs. Bixby, written by Abraham Lincoln to console the mother of five sons then believed to have been killed in the American Civil War, thus tying the film back to Rodat's Civil War inspiration.

Battle scenes

Saving Private Ryan has been critically noted for its realistic portrayal of WWII combat.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). Filmed in Ireland, the Omaha Beach scene cost $11 million and involved up to 1,000 extras who were also members of the Irish Army Reserve. In addition, 20-30 actual amputees were used to portray US soldiers maimed during the landing.

The landing craft used included two actual WWII examples. The film makers even used underwater cameras to better depict soldiers being hit by bullets in the water. Forty barrels of fake blood were used to simulate the effect of blood in the seawater.[6] This degree of verisimilitude was more difficult to achieve when depicting World War II German armored vehicles, as few examples survive in operating condition. The Tiger tanks in the film were copies built on the chassis of old, but functional Soviet T-34 tanks.[7] The two vehicles described in the film as 'Panzers' were built on the chassis' of Czech-built Panzer 38(t) tanks.[8] Inevitably, some historical license was taken by the filmmakers for the sake of drama. One of the most notable is the depiction of the 2nd SS Division “Das Reich,” as the adversary during the fictional Battle of Ramelle. 2nd SS was not engaged in Normandy until July, and then at Caen against the British, a hundred miles east.[9] Further, the Merderet River bridges were not an objective of the 101st Airborne Division but of the 82nd Airborne Division.[10] Finally, much has been said about various 'tactical errors' made by both the German and American forces in the movie's climactic battle. Steven Spielberg responded, saying that in many scenes he opted to replace sound military tactics for dramatic effect.[11]

Cast and characters

Main cast

Supporting cast

German troops were played by the controversial Second Battle Group.

Reception

Saving Private Ryan was a critical and commercial success, and is credited with contributing to a resurgence in America’s interest in World War II. Old and new films, video games, and novels about the War enjoyed renewed popularity after its release. The film's use of desaturated colors, hand-held cameras and tight angles has profoundly influenced subsequent films as well as computer and video games; many of the latter display the same style of action and often use the same battlegrounds as the movie itself.

Saving Private Ryan was released in 2,463 theatres on July 28, 1998, and grossed $30.5 million on its opening weekend. Domestically the film grossed $216.5 million and $265 million at the foreign box office, bringing its world wide total to about $482 million,[12] being the third highest grossing movie of 1998, behind Titanic and Armageddon.[13] Critical reception was also positive, with much praise for the realistic battle scenes[14] and the actor performances,[15] but earning criticism for the script and for ignoring British contributions to the D-Day landings in general and at Omaha Beach specifically.[16] The most direct example of the latter is that in reality the 2nd Rangers disembarked from British ships and were taken to Omaha Beach by Royal Navy landing craft. The film depicts them as being US Coastguard-crewed craft from an American ship.[17][18] The film wasn't released in Malaysia after Spielberg refused to cut the violent scenes.[19]It currently scores 95% on Rotten Tomatoes[20] and 90% on Metacritic,[21] two movie reviews aggregate sites. Many critics associations, such as New York Critics Circle and Los Angeles Film Critics Association, chose Saving Private Ryan as Film of the Year.[22]

The film was later nominated for eleven Academy Awards, with wins for Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, Best Editing and Best Director for Spielberg, but controversially lost the Best Picture award to Shakespeare in Love, being one of a few that have won the Best Director award without also winning Best Picture.[23] The film also won the Golden Globes for Best Picture - Drama and Director, the BAFTA for Special Effects and Sound, the DGA Award, a Grammy Award for Best Film Soundtrack, the PGA Golden Laurel Award, and the Saturn Award for Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film.[22]

Home video

The film debuted on home video in May 1999, with a VHS release that earned over $44 million. A later special edition was released featuring an extra tape with documentary footage of the actual D-Day landings as well as the making of the film.[24] The DVD was released in November of the same year,[25] and was one of the best-selling titles of the year, with over 1.5 million units sold.[26]

In 2004, a Saving Private Ryan special edition DVD was released to celebrate the 60th anniversary of D-Day.[27] This two-disc edition was also included in a box set titled World War II Collection, along with two documentaries produced by Spielberg, Price For Peace (about the Pacific War) and Shooting War (about war photographers, narrated by Tom Hanks).

References

  1. ^ "Message in a Battle". Entertainment Weekly. 1998-07-24.
  2. ^ http://www.rzm.com/pvt.ryan/production/scenes/bootcamp.html
  3. ^ "Five Star General". American Cinematographer Online Magazine. August, 1998. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Sunderland Echo, 11/02/1999
  5. ^ Look Out Below by Fr. Francis Sampson, 1958 (ISBN 1-877702-00-5).
  6. ^ How we made the best movie battle scene ever {{citation}}: Text "web" ignored (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ http://www.sbg1.mistral.co.uk/spr1.htm
  8. ^ http://www.sbg1.mistral.co.uk/spr2.htm
  9. ^ http://www.dasreich.ca/normandy.html
  10. ^ http://www.6juin1944.com/assaut/aeropus/en_index.php
  11. ^ Saving Private Ryan, The Men, The Mission, The Movie : A Steven Spielberg Movie by Steven Spielberg. Newmarket Press 1998
  12. ^ Saving Private Ryan at Box Office Mojo
  13. ^ "Movie Market Summary for Year 1998". the-numbers.com.
  14. ^ Turan, Kenneth (1998-07-24). "Saving Private Ryan review". Los Angeles Times. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ Ebert, Roger (1998-07-24). "Saving Private Ryan review". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2007-04-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ http://www.totalfilm.com/cinema_reviews/saving_private_ryan
  17. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/the_oscars_1999/299784.stm
  18. ^ http://www.sproe.com/l/lcm.html
  19. ^ "Malaysia bans Spielberg's Prince". BBC. 1999-01-27.
  20. ^ Saving Private Ryan at Rotten Tomatoes
  21. ^ "Saving Private Ryan reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-05-06.
  22. ^ a b "Awards for Saving Private Ryan". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
  23. ^ Academy Awards 1999
  24. ^ "'Ryan's' next attack: sell-through market". Variety. 1999-07-29. Retrieved 2007-05-06.
  25. ^ "DreamWorks' Saving Private Ryan DVD press release". 1999-09-13. Retrieved 2007-05-06. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 32 (help)
  26. ^ "The Matrix disc soars beyond 3 million mark". 2000-01-08. Retrieved 2007-05-06.
  27. ^ "Saving Private Ryan: D-Day 60th Anniversary Commemorative Edition review". IGN. 2004-05-26. Retrieved 2007-05-06.
  • Alex Kershaw. The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice. Da Capo Press, 2003. ISBN 0-306-81355-6.

External links

Template:Unverifiable-external-links

Preceded by Golden Globe for Best Picture - Drama
1999 		Succeeded by
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