Saving Private Ryan (1998)
He better be worth it. He better go home and cure a disease, or invent a longer-lasting light bulb
Also known as Depression: The movie, which is apparent from the very first scene of the movie(what a tear jerker),
Steven Spielberg brings us a damn near perfect war movie. In the beach scene alone we get to see the most unpolished, tenacious, and gritty action accompanied by this underlying sense of just absolute dread from the soldiers. We see looting of their still breathing wounded comrades, heart wrenching cries from the dying, soldiers with what I can only call priest helmets, offering salvation to soldiers while they lie choking on their own blood while medics are trying to help them, in vain, it's really not for the squeamish or weak of heart. The movie doesn't go out of it's way to glorify the American soldiers as heroes, which I can commend, it's really kept grounded in reality. They don't take children, they shoot Czech prisoners because they can't understand that they're not Germans, then joke about it, they choose to let Germans burn alive rather than waste a bullet to end their misery. The character dynamic is so strong throughout, this marks the only war movie where I've really savored the slower transitional periods for the way the characters exchange with one another, because they're just so human its a perfect contrast to the inhumane setting and circumstances they find themselves in. Tom Hanks especially, he gives one of his best performance since Forrest Gump, which is saying allot considering his talent.
One of my favorite scenes though, is where Adam Goldberg is flaunting around his star of David to the German POW's as they walk by, so good. I was worried going back to rewatch this to see if it'd hold up or if it would be boring and drawn out incoherent mess. So glad that it holds up. The movie is such a grim and harsh look on the life of soldiers during WW2 and it uncompromisingly sets out and does its job of not only entertaining but giving the audience a different perspective on the ways of war. It's no doubt the best
war movie of all time to take place in a World War 2 setting for me, and maybe my personal favorite of all time.
Also its always fun seeing A-list talent pop up in a movie you don't remember being in the movie, like Bryan Cranston and Paul Giamatti.