‘Saving Private Ryan’s Potent Camaraderie Remains Timeless Even at 25
Steven Spielberg’s epic is still a gut-wrenching, brutal, and deeply moving triumph with a heart that beats with gratitude and devotion.
Perhaps the best word to describe Steven Spielberg’s classic war epic, Saving Private Ryan — which celebrates its 25th anniversary today — is “shocking.” Even two and a half decades after its premiere, the early scene of landing Omaha Beach is a stomach-churning 25 minutes of vicious and overwhelming chaos. Spielberg purposely throws us in the midst of a raw and violent battle with little exposition. The first combat scene is the introduction of Captain John H. Miller (Tom Hanks) and his second-in-command, Mike Horvath (Tom Sizemore). We don’t yet know who they are, but we learn their rank, survival skills, and the resilience they demonstrate during the war. We know virtually nothing about them, yet we relate to their situation instantaneously.
Robert Rodat’s script employs an unconventional approach, showing what these soldiers are capable of on the battlefield, through action and spirit, before revealing anything personal about them. Due to this narrative choice, Spielberg understood that the task of creating a connection between the protagonists and us weighed mostly on his shoulders as a director. He had to make sure we’ll empathize with these men within minutes by solely watching them fight, kill, and survive in a battle where many didn’t.
This storytelling technique is employed throughout the first half and dominates most scenes where new characters enter. To reach the desired effect, Spielberg shot mostly with handheld cameras to bring us as close to the cruelties on the front as possible. It’s a very calculated and meticulous effort, but thanks to the filmmaker’s painstakingly authentic execution, it doesn't feel that way. Instead, it's what makes us feel like we're a member of the crew right on the frontline.
There’s an arsenal of other astonishing technical achievements in Saving Private Ryan — and you can read about its oral history in detail here — but instead of dissecting those, I want to focus on the emotional resonance they create. Since, at its core, the camaraderie between Miller and his soldiers is what cements the film’s legacy as one of the most influential war movies ever made.
Spielberg's famous and abundant sentimentality has ruined some of his features throughout his career (War Horse is a good example), but in Saving Private Ryan, it actually proves adequate. It doesn’t only provide a perfect framework for the story but also balances out the ultrarealistic and futile brutality of the war. Once we see that poignantly affectionate opening scene with an elderly Private Ryan (Harrison Richard Young), our emotional attachment to his following memories is made. Although it’s not as effective and moving as the opening and ending of Schindler’s List, it gives us a powerful, humane sentiment to hold onto while watching Captain Miller and his team shoot their way through Normandy to find the last breathing son of the Ryan family.
However, Rodat’s mournful screenplay deserves just as much credit for the movie’s second and third hours as Spielberg's maximalist direction for its first. When the war’s rapid pace slows down a bit after the intense adrenaline rush of Omaha Beach, the story gets a chance to make some character development in a few quiet moments through dialogue. We can cite Miller and Horvath’s discussion about the former’s PTSD, which unexpectedly turns into an absurd joke about a guy named Vecchio. The goofy kid who used to walk around on his hands because he was shot in the leg — that’s pretty much the length Saving Private Ryan is willing to go to get a rare laugh out of Miller, Horvath, and the viewer.
But the smile on the two men's faces vanishes as quickly as it came. Before we know it, they’re already talking about the loss of lives they suffered and how to justify that in their minds to get through the night. Private moments like these give nuance to the characters, deepening their bond with each other and essentially depicting them as flesh and blood human beings.
One of the most memorable of those — still the emotional climax of the film — comes when Miller decides to let a Nazi soldier walk free after losing two of his men. His controversial decision causes disruption among the team, and soldier Reiben (Edward Burns) says he's had enough of this bullshit and wants to leave his group behind. He's stopped by Horvath, who threatens to shoot him if he doesn't fall in line. It's a pivotal moment, and just as it's about to reach its boiling point, Miller exposes the big mystery that everyone tried to guess about him. He shares that he's a schoolteacher from a little town in Pennsylvania. This seemingly trivial information (followed by a magnificently delivered speech about the futility of killing by Hanks) possesses the power to smooth over even the harshest differences between the unit.
It's a masterfully written and acted sequence that mines the humanity in each soldier underneath the relentless slaughter that constantly occupies their minds, and makes them reflect — even if it’s only for a moment — on what truly matters. It reminds them of home and that the ultimate goal isn’t winning the war but to make it back to their families alive when it ends.
Of course, it must be mentioned that one of the reasons their bond seems so genuine is because the actors have been put through a rigorous six-day “boot camp” led by Captain Dale Dye (a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps) while staying in character. Spielberg wanted them to know what it must’ve felt like to be a soldier at the time, enduring inhumane circumstances in full gear alongside brothers shoulder to shoulder. And the result speaks for itself.
But when all is said and done, all the preparation, technical skill, method acting, potent screenplay, and a visionary director needed to make this picture a renowned and timeless classic, Saving Private Ryan’s most impressive and lasting feat remains its ability to remind us about the soldiers we lost — and more importantly, who they were as human beings.
Last week, as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia S16 came to an end, I gathered Dennis Reynold’s best moments for Den of Geek. If you need a laugh, give it a read. This week, I will review the upcoming Apple TV+ dramedy about the stuffed animal craze of the 80s and 90s, The Beanie Bubble, which will stream from July 28.
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