Saving Private Ryan (Sapphire Series) [Blu-ray]

Description

Steven Spielberg directed this powerful, realistic re-
creation of WWII’s D-day invasion and the immediate aftermath. The story opens
with a prologue in which a veteran brings his family to the American cemetery
at Normandy, and a flashback then joins Capt. John Miller (Tom Hanks) and GIs
in a landing craft making the June 6, 1944, approach to Omaha Beach to face
devastating German artillery fire. This mass slaughter of American soldiers is
depicted in a compelling, unforgettable 24-minute sequence. Miller’s men
slowly move forward to finally take a concrete pillbox. On the beach littered
with bodies is one with the name “Ryan” stenciled on his backpack. Army Chief
of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall (Harve Presnell), learning that three Ryan
brothers from the same family have all been killed in a single week, requests
that the surviving brother, Pvt. James Ryan (Matt Damon), be located and
brought back to the United States. Capt. Miller gets the assignment, and he
chooses a translator, Cpl. Upham (Jeremy Davis), skilled in language but not
in combat, to join his squad of right-hand man Sgt. Horvath (Tom Sizemore),
plus privates Mellish (Adam Goldberg), Medic Wade (Giovanni Ribisi), cynical
Reiben (Edward Burns) from Brooklyn, Italian-American Caparzo (Vin Diesel),
and religious Southerner Jackson (Barry Pepper), an ace sharpshooter who calls
on the Lord while taking aim. Having previously experienced action in Italy
and North Africa, the close-knit squad sets out through areas still thick with
Nazis. After they lose one man in a skirmish at a bombed village, some in the
group begin to question the logic of losing more lives to save a single
soldier. The film’s historical consultant is Stephen E. Ambrose, and the
incident is based on a true occurrence in Ambrose’s 1994 bestseller D-Day:
June 6, 1944. When Steven Spielberg was an adolescent, his first
home movie was a backyard war film. When he toured Europe with Duel in his
20s, he saw old men crumble in front of headstones at Omaha Beach. That image
became the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan, his film of a mission
following the D-day invasion that many have called the most realistic–and
maybe the best–war film ever. With 1998 production standards, Spielberg has
been able to create a stunning, unparalleled view of war as hell. We are at
Omaha Beach as troops are slaughtered by Germans yet overcome the almost
insurmountable odds. A stalwart Tom Hanks plays Captain Miller, a soldier’s
soldier, who takes a small band of troops behind enemy lines to retrieve a
private whose three brothers have recently been killed in action. It’s a
public relations move for the Army, but it has historical precedent dating
back to the Civil War. Some critics of the film have labeled the central
characters stereotypes. If that is so, this movie gives stereotypes a good
name: Tom Sizemore as the deft sergeant, Edward Burns as the hotheaded Private
Reiben, Barry Pepper as the religious sniper, Adam Goldberg as the lone Jew,
Vin Diesel as the oversize Private Caparzo, Giovanni Ribisi as the soulful
medic, and Jeremy Davies, who as a meek corporal gives the film its most
memorable performance. The movie is as heavy and realistic as Spielberg’s
Oscar-winning Schindler’s List, but it’s more kinetic. Spielberg and his ace
technicians (the film won five Oscars: editing (Michael Kahn), cinematography
(Janusz Kaminski), sound, sound effects, and directing) deliver battle
sequences that wash over the eyes and hit the gut. The violence is extreme but
never gratuitous. The final battle, a dizzying display of gusto, empathy, and
chaos, leads to a profound repose. Saving Private Ryan touches us deeper than
Schindler because it succinctly links the past with how we should feel today.
It’s the film Spielberg was destined to make. –Doug Thomas

Features:

Product Details:

• Genre: Military & War/World War II, Military & War/Drama
• Format: Blu-ray, AC-3, Color, Dolby, Widescreen, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled
• Contributor: Tom Hanks, Jeremy Davies, Van Diesel, Matt Damon, Barry Pepper, Steven Spielberg, Giovanni Ribisi, Adam Goldberg, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns See more
• Language: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese
• Number Of Discs: 2
• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.85:1
• Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.5 x 5.3 x 6.7 inches; 2.47 Ounces
• Item model number ‏ : ‎ 7508045
• Director ‏ : ‎ Steven Spielberg
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray, AC-3, Color, Dolby, Widescreen, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 49 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ May 4, 2010
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Edward Burns, Jeremy Davies, Adam Goldberg, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi