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It is created to take you on a rollercoaster-paced ride that
includes the Allied invasion of Europe on D-Day, through a
rescue mission by a small band of soldiers to retrieve a missing
paratrooper called James Ryan (whose three brothers have all
just been killed) to a final climactic battle scene that will
have you breathless.
Spielberg follows scenes of peaceful introspection and soul-searching
with some of the most gripping and best-filmed action sequences
yet seen.
This is not for the squeamish. When you get to the D-Day
landings you can almost smell the free-flowing vomit and fear
of the men inside the landing craft as the floating bricks
lurch through artillery fire to the enemy-held beaches.
And once there, the sound of explosions and machinegun fire
whizzing by will have you inadvertently ducking for cover
and the sheer pace of the action all around will have you
stunned.
Blood flows by the helmet-load and the damage done to the
human body by flying pieces of steel is graphically shown.
Limbs are blown off, innards draped everywhere and the absolute
violence of a confined killing zone has never been more realistic.
Spielberg uses hand-held cameras to perfection in the landing
scenes with the jarring movement of the style adding to the
"being there" feel. One of the brilliant aspects of the battles
is the way in which Spielberg raises the feeling of impending
danger by slightly overexposing the scene and then pitching
the music at a higher tone so you get the feeling of rising
adrenalin.
Despite the knowledge of "something is about to happen''
the suddenness of renewed violence still comes as a shock
to the system.
On a character level, Spielberg has worked hard to round
out the main people and whether you like them or not you hope,
with few exceptions, that each survives the dangerous rescue
mission.
On DVD, the picture is pin-sharp and even in the battle
scenes where hand-held cameras are used, the quality of the
vision is of Academy Award-winning excellence.
This is one movie where a large monitor really enhances
the grand scale of the experience.
It is easy to hear why the sound effects team won an Oscar
for their work in a movie that you must watch while connected
to a surround-sound system. It really enhances the being-in-battle
feel of the movie.
Conclusion: Movie: 95% DVD Extras:
50%
Continued:
DVD details at a glance >
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