Critical response
Saving Private Ryan received critical acclaim,[27][79] and audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[80] Critics generally agreed that Saving Private Ryan presented the grim and brutal reality of the "Good War" in a way previously unseen on film.[r] Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan described the film as darker and more pessimistic than any of Spielberg's previous works, dispelling the mythos of WWII as staunchly good heroes fighting against evil forces, to depict the reality of combat where, "American soldiers mock virtue and shoot surrendering Germans, where decent and altruistic actions tend to be fatal, where death is random, stupid and redeems hardly anything at all".[81][84] Some reviewers said this exploration of the limitations of morality in combat asked audiences to consider that the lives lost during the conflict were as valuable as those saved by their sacrifices. Writing for the Chicago Tribune, Gene Siskel lauded the film's ability to discuss the "brutality and madness" of war while "believably" celebrating the sacrifices and courage of those fighting it.[83][58][85] Salon.com's Gary Kamiya concluded, "it will forever change the way people imagine the most important event in 20th century history. That is no small achievement."[81] In The New York Times, Stephen Holden said "it's a safe bet that Saving Private Ryan, a powerful but flawed movie, will be revered as a classic decades hence."[76]
Many reviewers focused on the film's two major combat sequences, particularly the opening on Omaha Beach.[s] Focus was on the "horrifying," "visceral," "brutal," "shocking," and "fierce" violence present in the opening battle, described by Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman and Schickel as one of the most revolutionary film sequences ever made.[86][85][58][81] Ebert and Schickel compared it with the energy and dread of similar scenes in the Vietnam war film, Platoon (1986), but with a grander scope depicting masses of men killing each other from afar, drawing the "horror" out of a lengthy, sustained sequence, without the audience being allowed to become desensitized.[58][87][57] Some reviewers believed that the scene was so impactful and thought-provoking that it overshadowed the rest of the film.[85][81] Although there was some criticism toward the realistic violence and gore, Turan believed it was done purposely and dispassionately, conveying the chaos and despair experienced by the soldiers, and not done for the sake of entertainment.[84] Spielberg rejected this criticism, affirming he wanted the audience to understand what real combat was like and what the soldiers experienced, not observe it from afar as spectators.[38][82] Some reviewers believed the concluding battle in Ramelle was more violent than Omaha Beach, particularly the slow death of Mellish as he is stabbed through the chest.[81][86] The New York Observer's Andrew Sarris criticized the "pornography of violence and cruelty" depicted in severed limbs and rivers of blood.[88]
Turan and Jonathan Rosenbaum found that, outside of the combat, the script was effective but uninspired and derivative of war films by other directors, such as Oliver Stone, Stanley Kubrick, and Francis Ford Coppola.[84][81][89][88] Others criticized "manipulative" over sentimentality, particularly in the modern day framing device featuring the elderly Ryan.[84][88] Even so, Kamiya described it as "enormously moving, it serves as a kind of redemption, a necessary if eternally fragile answer to the hell he witnessed".[81]
Hanks's performance was generally praised, with some reviewers calling it the best of his career to date.[81][85][83][57] Many reviewers agreed that his everyman persona allowed him to portray Miller with a gentle weariness, empathy, and vulnerability beneath a surface of strength and decency, but also cynicism toward the war.[81][83][84][85] Ebert and Schickel wrote that he offered a quiet reserve "hinting at unspoken competencies" that convince his men and the audience to follow along with him.[83] Turan believed that Hanks's "indelible" performance represented how the audience would hope to be when confronted by the same situations.[84] The other main cast also generally received positive reviews, particularly Davies, with Ebert saying that his transformation from inexperienced interpreter to soldier was the conclusion to "Spielberg's unspoken philosophical argument".[t] Gleiberman and Turan also highlighted the performances of Pepper, Ribisi, and Sizemore, who Turan believed delivered his career's "best, most controlled" performance.[84] Ebert praised the cast for not devolving into cliché or "zany" archetypes and effectively portraying the bonds between them.[81][58] However, Kamiya wrote that Damon's performance was "jarring", believing both his more cinematic aesthetic and speech about his brothers to be artificial. The review concluded that Ryan was not very compelling, which made it difficult to care about the mission to save him.[81]
Accolades
At the 56th Golden Globe Awards in 1999, Saving Private Ryan won awards for Best Drama and Best Director (Spielberg), and was nominated for Best Drama Actor (Hanks), Best Original Score (Williams), and Best Screenplay (Rodat).[90][91] At the 71st Academy Awards, Saving Private Ryan won awards for Best Director (Spielberg), Best Cinematography (Kamiński), Best Film Editing (Kahn), Best Sound (Gary Rydstrom, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, Ronald Judkins), and Best Sound Effects Editing (Rydstrom and Richard Hymns). The film was nominated for Best Actor (Hanks), Best Original Screenplay (Rodat), Best Music (Williams), Best Production Design (Sanders and Lisa Dean Kavanaugh), and Best Makeup (Lois Burwell, Conor O'Sullivan, Daniel C. Striepeke).[92] Saving Private Ryan's unexpected loss of Best Picture to Shakespeare in Love is seen as one of the biggest upsets in the awards history and led to DreamWorks executives accusing its producers, Miramax, of "overly aggressive campaigning".[u] A 2015 poll of Academy voters suggested that, given another opportunity, they would have voted Saving Private Ryan as Best Picture.[98]
For the 52nd British Academy Film Awards, Saving Private Ryan won Best Special Effects and Best Sound, and was nominated for Best Film, Best Direction (Spielberg), and Best Actor (Hanks).[99] At the 25th Saturn Awards, it won Best Action, Adventure, or Thriller Film.[100] The 3rd Golden Satellite Awards also earned the film Best Editing (Kahn), and a nomination for Best Supporting Actor (Sizemore),[101] as well as Best Director (Spielberg) and Best Actor (Hanks) at the Empire Awards.[102][103]
Saving Private Ryan also won awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement (Directors Guild of America, Spielberg),[104] Motion Picture Producer of the Year (PGA Awards, Spielberg, Bryce, Gordon, and Levinsohn),[105] Best Casting (Casting Society of America, Denise Chamian),[106] Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture (Grammy Awards, Williams),[107] Best Sound Editing for Dialogue (Motion Picture Sound Editors, Hymns, Rydstrom, Sandina Bailo-Lape, Ethan Van der Ryn, Teresa Eckton, Frank Eulner Karen Wilson, Larry Oatfield, and Bruce Lacey), and Sound Effects (Hymns, Rydstrom, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Larry Singer, Ewa Sztompke Oatfield, Sara Bolder, Denise Whiting, and Thomas Whiting)[108] and Best of Show - Audiovisual (Key Art Awards).[109] In 2014, the United States Library of Congress selected Saving Private Ryan to be preserved in the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[110]
