Saving Private Ryan

''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set during the Battle of Normandy in World War II, the film is known for its graphic portrayal of war, especially its depiction of the Omaha Beach assault during the Normandy landings. The film follows United States Army Rangers Captain John H. Miller (Tom Hanks) and his squad ( Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Adam Goldberg, and Jeremy Davies) as they search for a paratrooper, Private first class James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon), the last surviving brother of four, the three other brothers having been killed in action. The film was a co-production between DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, and Mutual Film Company. DreamWorks distributed the film in North America while Paramount released the film internationally.

Rodat first wrote the script in 1994 after reading about the Niland brothers, and by 1996 producer Mark Gordon acquired the rights to Rodat's script. After eleven rewrites, Gordon began developing the project at Paramount. Spielberg, who at the time was forming DreamWorks, was eventually hired by Paramount to direct the film while DreamWorks would co-finance as part of a deal. After the cast went through training supervised by Marine veteran Dale Dye, the film's principal photography started in June 1997 and lasted two months. The film's D-Day scenes were shot in Ballinesker Beach, Curracloe Strand, Ballinesker, just east of Curracloe, County Wexford, Ireland, and used members of the Irish Army reserve as extras to portray infantry for the D-Day landing.

''Saving Private Ryan'' received publicity for its graphic depiction of violence and war, with Spielberg himself expecting the film to receive a NC-17 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America. On its release, ''Saving Private Ryan'' became the second highest-grossing film of 1998 worldwide with $485 million worldwide, behind ''Armageddon''. The film received critical acclaim from critics and audiences, who praised the performances, realism, cinematography, score, screenplay, and Spielberg's direction. Topping many film critics' 1998 top ten lists and winning numerous awards, ''Saving Private Ryan'' won five Academy Awards, including Spielberg's second Academy Award for Best Director, though it lost the Academy Award for Best Picture to ''Shakespeare in Love'' in a controversial Oscars upset. The film solidified Damon's rising star power and would strengthen the collaborative relationship between Spielberg and Hanks, while the film also helped Diesel launch his career.

In the years since its release'', Saving Private Ryan'' has maintained its reputation as one of the greatest and most influential films of the 1990s, one of the greatest war and action films of all time, and one of the greatest films ever made, and some declaring it as Spielberg's best film. Hailed as an influential landmark in the war and action film genres, the film helped depict war and action scenes with a stronger emphasis on realism while helping influence cinematography due to its use of desaturated colors, hand-held cameras, and tight angles. It has also been credited for renewing interest in World War II media, particularly World War II-themed first-person shooter games that became popular in the 2000s. In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked ''Saving Private Ryan'' as the 71st-greatest American movie in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) and in 2014, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot

An elderly veteran visits the Normandy Cemetery with his family. At a specific grave, he is overcome with emotion and begins to recall his time as a soldier.

On the morning of June 6, 1944, the U.S. Army lands at Omaha Beach as part of the Normandy invasion. Captain John H. Miller leads his command, Company C, 2nd Ranger Battalion in a breakout from the beach. The staff at the United States Department of War learns that James Francis Ryan of the