One of the best movies of all time, Saving Private Ryan, can now be seen on the best that the format has to offer. To mark the 20th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s Oscar winning World War II emotionally charged epic, Saving Private Ryan is bowing on a stunning 4K Ultra HD that is the utter definition of must-own movie.
Tom Hanks stars as Captain Miller, a leader in so many ways whose aptitude as the commander of his troops is put to the ultimate test on D-Day and then in the ensuing weeks as they are given a mission that has his charges questioning their role in the war, and that is simply scratching the surface of all that goes on throughout Spielberg’s masterpiece. Miller and his brave soldiers’ reward for surviving the landing at Omaha beach is finding their way through Europe in search of the titular warrior (Matt Damon), whose brothers were killed. That fact has left Ryan’s parents with only one child alive and that is why the military has decided that it is of the utmost priority that Private Ryan is found and brought home to help his grieving parents come to grips with their children making the ultimate sacrifice.
Saving Private Ryan scored five Oscars, including Best Director, and was tapped by AFI as one of its 100 greatest American films of all-time. The all-star cast is led by Hanks, who is joined in the acting excellence by an ensemble that finds each producing the best performance of their career. Matt Damon portrays the title character, while Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, Ted Danson, Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Barry Pepper and Paul Giamatti bring their brilliance to new levels under the guidance of one of the best directors of all time (if not the best).
As much as the drama is riveting, emotionally and physically with battle sequences that are beyond sizzling, the imagery of Saving Private Ryan giving us Spielberg’s longtime cinematographer’s most raw and revolutionary work. Janusz Kaminski won an Academy Award for his stunning camera work that delivered a visual representation of World War II that has never before possessed such haunting beauty coupled with the devastating despair that is the horror of modern warfare. The reason we mention Kaminski’s work in this particular review is that the 4K transfer comes through in the most extraordinary of ways. Sure, the colors pop, but in this instance, it is what Kaminski does with greys and the darker hues that is so mesmerizing. It is bodacious in its beauty, as brazen as it is to describe war footage as gorgeous.
Also, as spectacular as the 4K Saving Private Ryan is to witness with one’s eyes, the ears are going to find the Dolby Atmos soundtrack remix a herculean effort of excellence.
On the 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo pack we received, it includes the iconic film on both 4K and Blu-Ray, a digital copy as well as a second Blu-Ray that finds over three hours of bonus features that were all on previous releases of Spielberg’s flick.
It is difficult to find one bonus feature to salute as the finest as the home video release for Saving Private Ryan has possessed some of the most compelling making-of and background information providing featurettes of any home video release in recent memory. It arrives in two parts, Saving Private Ryan and Shooting War. The latter is a documentary narrated by Hanks that clocks in at almost an hour-and-a-half and is brilliant on so many levels. Given the fact that World War II is the first war to have camera technological advances be at the point where it truly brings the horrors and heroics of battle to life as no other militaristic clash has had captured. It is as much a historical masterclass in the nitty-gritty of World War II as it is an enlightening experience that enhances the moving nature that is witnessing Spielberg’s masterpiece.
The Saving Private Ryan bonus features tab starts with An Introduction and it is from the master himself, Spielberg. It even includes several looks at World War II films that the icon filmed as a child!
Among the best of the rest of the bonus features is an almost eighteen-minute look at how Spielberg and his crew achieved the impossible, Re-Creating Omaha Beach. When the film first landed in theaters two decades ago, the headline was that no other cinematic representation of war had captured the raw reality as Spielberg had with that opening sequence of D-Day. This featurette takes us inside how that was accomplished and simultaneously does the uncanny: Has our appreciation of the supreme talents of our greatest living filmmaker increase to levels we never thought possible.
Film Grade: A+
Bonus Features: A+