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With well over 1,000 films made about World War II, only the incomparable Steven Spielberg could craft a movie so memorable that one Washington Post critic described Saving Private Ryan as the greatest war movie ever made, and notoriously tough movie critic, Roger Ebert, wrote that the film addressed the philosophy of war through action and powerful images that said more than words ever could. Saving Private Ryan stars Tom Hanks in the lead role as Captain John H. Miller, a high school English teacher turned reluctant hero to the men he leads into battle. The film also stars Vin Diesel, Barry Pepper, Ted Danson, Nathan Fillion, Bryan Cranston, and Matt Damon as Private James Ryan.
Learn where to watch Saving Private Ryan again, or for the first time, and you’ll see one of the most accurate depictions of World War II, with unforgettable images of blood-soaked sand, grim battle scenes, and the unique brand of brotherhood that comes from camaraderie under the most horrific circumstances imaginable.
Released in theaters in 1998, Saving Private Ryan caused more movie theater tears than Titanic and won multiple Academy Awards, including Best Director, as well as Golden Globes for Best Drama and Best Director. When released to VHS, the film became the most rented movie of its decade.
The Worth of One Life
When the U.S. War Department learns that one widowed mother would soon receive word that she’s lost three of her four sons to battles overseas, they determine to bring home the missing fourth son, Private James Francis Ryan, of the 101st Airborne through a detachment of soldiers led by Captain John Miller. As the men encounter dangerous combat and the most brutal realities of battle in war-torn Europe, they have grave doubts about the justice of risking an entire ranger platoon of young men to save a single soldier and send him home to his mother. But honor, courage, and an unflagging commitment to accomplish the mission they’ve been assigned drive them onward through Nazi-occupied territory to locate Ryan’s unit and bring the missing private home.
Watch Saving Private Ryan On Amazon Prime.When they finally meet the man who’d almost become a myth in the eyes of the soldiers who searched for him through weeks of mud, blood, and battle, Ryan doesn’t want to leave his makeshift unit to go home. Instead, he wants to fulfill his duty to defend a strategic bridge, despite mourning his three brothers lost in combat. Miller and the battalion under his command must commit to helping Ryan defend the bridge in battle with a Nazi counterattack in order to bring the courageous private home.
Where to Watch Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan was written by Robert Rodat, inspired by the real-life story of the Niland family who lost 3 out of 4 brothers to combat in World War II. The critically acclaimed 1998 film is arguably Tom Hanks's most memorable role, depicting an ordinary man forced by the grim reality of war into extraordinary circumstances that leave him so irreparably changed that he worries his own wife won’t recognize him. But his reserve of strength is a deep well, and Captain Miller won’t stop until he saves Private Ryan.
World War II is the war that never ends in Hollywood films, but if you only ever see one WWII movie, learn where to watch Saving Private Ryan for a riveting look back at the reality of war in a movie that’s gritty, dark, and loaded with the horrific violence of war, but also filled with unflagging hope.