Saving Private Ryan

The 24-minute sequence at the start of Steven Spielberg’s Second World War drama is one of the greatest pieces of combat cinema yet made.

An old-fashioned war picture to rule them all - gripping, utterly uncynical, with viscerally convincing and audacious battle sequences.

The visual masterwork finds Spielberg atop his craft, weaving heart-pounding action and gut-wrenching emotion that will leave viewers silently shaken... If words occasionally fail the picture, the images speak indelible volumes.

[Saving Private Ryan] accomplishes something I had been taught was most difficult -- making an action-filled anti-war film or, at least, one that doesn't in some way glorify or lie about combat.

Steven Spielberg's film is not perfect: it plays its strongest card first, the middle section is slightly uneven, and there are sallies into sentimentality. But it is a modern war classic.

Saving Private Ryan is a masterpiece. It cements Steven Spielberg's reputation as one of the seminal filmmakers of the era.

Who knew the pairing of Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks would result in three well-produced limited series on WW II? The opening scenes are thrilling but the script's structure relies on an interpreter and that should make us question other war films.

Not for the squeamish, “Saving Private Ryan” is a film that does not shy away from realistic violence and paints the most vivid portrait of war on film that I’ve seen.

Saving Private Ryan’s most impressive and lasting feat remains its ability to remind us about the soldiers we lost — and more importantly, who they were as human beings.

Arguably Spielberg's most visceral and inspired work, Saving Private Ryan speaks to devout patriotism, sacrifice and unflappable camaraderie. Sadly, these might be ideals our currently politically-divided country might never see eye-to-eye on again.