After all the hoopla and hype around this movie, I wasn't so much wondering if it'd live up to it. Rather, I was waiting for the time to be right for me to experience it. I mean, I knew that the opening 20-minute scene at Omaha Beach was going to be difficult to watch, and the action scenes weren't going to have that "Rambo" feel to them. It'd be gut-wrenching, emotional and tense, as Mr. Spielberg took me on a wild ride. Was I ready?
Today, I was.
The opening Omaha bit was as advertised. You see the chaotic emotions and whirlwind gore that really happened. The amazing thing is: every veteran who was there says it was exactly this way.
The rest of the movie showed other aspects of war the way they really are, also. Not the clear-cut "good guy v. bad guy." But the moral choices, the ethical conflicts... there is no black and white. For example, what about the quality of mercy when someone surrenders? Do you take him as hostage, kill him, or let him go? Does your answer change if that guy had just got done spilling your buddy's liver into the dirt?
There also was a character whose sole purpose, it seems, was to be the conscience of his squad. Not a warrior like his comrades, he constantly is pointing out to his leader, "is this the right thing to do?" He obviously symbolizes level-headedness and reason in a setting which is mostly devoid of it. We later learn that he is probably the part of Tom Hanks' character which is the guy back home in the U.S., and not the soldier who kills on foreign soil.
Hanks was his splendid self. He's human, emotional and sensitive while playing a role that requires him to be a decisive leader in a war setting. Can one man be all that? Of course, if anyone can pull it off, Hanks can.
The other acting was brilliant and believable. Damon had a scene that impressed me as I watched it. Oddly, it wasn't a war-scenario or sad emotion set. It was one where he was laughing giddily at recalling a family episode. The laughter was spontaneous and in bursts during his story-telling, and after that, he had me. The rest of the cast was also very convincing.
The thing that really stands out about this movie was the use of sound. For example, you hear bullets ZING and machine guns from a point-of-view you've never experienced them before. I've never been shot at, but I know it must sound like this. Tanks rumble in the distance, bringing tension as though you're right . . .there.
Something else is a strobe-like quality to the shooting scenes which seems like they cut out every 3rd frame from the reel. Things are jumpy, hard to follow, and happen quickly. Of course, this is probably how those who fought experienced it.
I try to catch all the Oscar candidates for best picture, actor and actress before the awards are given. Probably the only reason I saw "Saving Private Ryan" was because it fit in that rule. It wasn't because I thought it was garbage or didn't believe the hype, but because I wanted an excuse to put myself through 3 hours of raw hell. The Oscars came along, and I'm glad I did see it. Not because I think war is fun. No. Rather, unlike those who fought, I knew I only had to take the experience for 3 hours and not the days, weeks or months for which they had to endure the hell for our liberties.