a lesson in gratitude to Christ...
Saving Private Ryan has but one chief message. We know, because it is at the end. And it is marvelous. After seven men willingly die to save one (who then gets an immediate ride home to peace and freedom) the dying words whispered to him are, "Earn this." A tremendous debt is laid upon the man. Could he (or any man) live his life in a worthy enough manner to "earn" the lives of eight men? Could you ever live up to that debt? Fifty years later, viewing their graves, he must turn to his wife and plead, "Tell me I'm a good man!" In other words, "Tell me I didn't waste those men's lives! Tell me I lived up to them! Tell me I didn't fritter away my years bought with their blood!" We Christians speak of "owing" Christ for what He did for us, as we sing songs of unworthiness and feigned sorrow, yet live lives of amazing selfishness and unthankfulness. A fictional movie has taught me to number my days and to thank the One who bought me better than all the sounding brass of modern Christian television and "seeker sensitive" churchianity combined.
Dan Koblosh

Christian soldiers under-depicted...
"Saving Private Ryan" will be one of the top five films of the year. The film is not particularly encouraging for Christian viewers. In fact, Christian soldiers, of which there were many, are under-depicted in this film. And when Christians are depicted, there is no evidence that they embody Christ-like qualities. The film's message appears to be that warfare turns all humans into beasts to some degree. One day I would like to see a war film where Christian soldiers are gathered together in a Bible study. All of the characters depicted had a negative, sarcastic, and non-Christ-centered view of life. Apparently, as a result of their war experience, they become cynics. There is bad language and abundant violence, and no nudity. Nevertheless, despite my Christian criticism, film is a form of art, and characterizations are invented to suit the needs of the artist, in this case Spielberg. From a secular viewpoint, this is the best war film in the past nine years. Spielberg brilliantly depicts the horrors experienced by the first wave of the American invasion forces at D-Day during World War II. Probably the only aspect he did not, and could not depict, is the horrible stench of warfare. The action is intense and unsettling. The acting is incredible. The film is a Spielberg masterpiece and I recommend it. On a scale of 0-10, I give the film a 10, and predict that it will be the #3 best film of the year, foreign and domestic.
Jonathan, age 31

My husband and I went to this movie knowing that it was going to be a great one. The comments we had heard from friends, we were prepared for the graphic nature and reading this review also helped. This movie instilled in me that it was only by the Grace of God that any solider was able to make it onto Normandy beach that day. This movie brought the realization to me of how much I did not know about the battles of W.W.II. Steven Spielberg & his crew did an excellent job of showing the view how "real" war is. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone, other than children. We all need to be enlightened on the sacrifices made for our freedom.
Rene', age 29

This film was the most intense experience I have ever had in a theater. The images of human beings callously slaughtered will stick in my mind for a long time. Interestingly enough, the most emotional scenes to me were not the scenes of fighting. Those shocked me to the very core, but they hit like a freight train. I have never cried at a movie, but I did twice during this one. The brief, wordless scene where Mrs. Ryan receives the news of the death of her children is very painful to watch. To receive such horrific news in triplicate is unimaginable. Then there was the final scene of the film, where the elderly James Ryan stands before the graves of the men that died so he could live to see home again. He turns to his wife and says "Tell me I've lived a good life." It is a shattering film. A man who feels undeserving has worked his whole life to earn the honor that was bestowed him by the deaths of those men. If only we had such a realization of the debt we owe to Christ for laying down his life for us, not just so that we could live, but could live forever with Him. The freedom we enjoy as Americans and the freedom in other nations was bought at a severe price. Every apathetic American should see this movie to realize the debt we owe to those who died to preserve our freedom and that of others. They were scared, fragile, often vengeful, but ultimately human beings who died so that we could live free of tyranny. Let us never forget.
Tyler Johnson, age 20

If you want to know why we have what we have today, as a country, then I suggest you view this film. This marvelous film isn't about war or death or even victory. No, it's an individual story. We see the pictures of hundreds of huge ships, dirigibles, and thousands of troops on Omaha Beach preserved forever on faded black-and-white photos. But how many of us have ever thought how they got there. Some young man from some little known town had to step out of a troop carrier and take the first barrage of fire power from what seemed an invincible German war machine. Many of those men never saw another day and still more can never forget the horror and the absolute terror of that day. And yet Hollywood has done little to honor their memory. A clean white beach soon to be deep red. We all have done little to honor that memory. That is really what "Saving Private Ryan" is about. It's about honor. It's about bravery and it's about time. This movie does nothing to lower movie making. No, it finally raises it to where it should be. Over 50 years has passed since the longest day and how many of us really appreciate that sacrifice? If you can't feel a deep sense of gratitude then perhaps you never will and for that I feel deeply sorry for you.
Robert J. Churchill, age 38

Saving Private Ryan is without doubt the greatest war epic ever filmed and the most loving tribute to the 400,414 American men who died to defend the basis of human freedom. As a Christian who's family military lineage dates back to the Revolution, I was moved beyond tears to the asking of God's great grace upon the memories of these heroes. Steven Spielberg has shunned money on this work, devoting it instead to those causes which will reflect memorial and memory in the name of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. It has brought Generation Xers to embrace and cry for those veterans who served during that great time of testing. Last night, a veteran of the 101st Airborne was lovingly surrounded by a flock of people as he sat crying at the end of the showing. Spielberg has not given us a movie, he has given us a way to cry unashamed for our war dead, he has given of his heart and soul in memory of his own father who fought in World War II and for all fathers and grandfathers of those who live today in the peace bought by their gallantry.
Daniel Rush

I am a devote christian and I cannot believe what I am reading. People who believe that this movie is too violent scare me. They scare me because they forget. When you forget what happens during war you may very well end up back in another. This movie is as real as we can fathom. The blood and destruction happened. That is real and when we forget what happened in the past we are doomed to repeat. Yes I agree there are movies out there not worth the film they are recorded on let alone the millions of dollars wasted on production but Spielberg has shown me what my grandfather could never talk to me about. I consider it a ray of light and truth to what happened and if forgotten may happen again.
Anon.

While there were many other aspects of the film that I will dwell on for a long time, the theme of "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for a friend" is shouting at me now. Captain Miller doesn't lay his life down for a friend; he lays it down for a stranger. His motivation is not to die for Ryan, but to get back home to his wife. However, for Ryan, the act of Miller is one of sacrifice. At the end of the movie, he tells Miller's memory that he tried to do his best; he seeks assurance from his wife that he has lived a good life, that he is a good man. Miller's sacrifice has placed a burden on Ryan. So has Christ's sacrifice placed a burden on us; we should live with the ever-present thought that we are bought with a price.
Pat Patterson

I am 16 years old. After I saw the movie, I wished that I had a driver's license. I wanted to drive to the nearest Memorial site and lay flowers upon the graves of those whose pain I did not understand.
Joyce Zhou, age 16

This movie moved me so strongly. My whole family, father, uncles, grandfather, brothers, are all military. As a child, I sat and listened to my grandfather tell stories of D-Day and battles he fought in. After seeing this movie, I think of my grandfather in a far different light. They were just stories as a child but now I have a far greater appreciation for what my grandfather and every other soldier went through. They were all men of courage and sacrifice and stood in the face of death to ensure freedom for future generations. I think of the Vietnam soldiers and what they went through and most of all, how they were treated when they returned home. War is Hell and I pray to God that we never forget the sacrifices made by our vets, both old and young and the price they and their families paid. I have to ask myself. . . . have we earned it? Have we lived up to the price paid? Pray for our land and our leaders. Pray for God to heal our land. I think it should be required viewing for everyone in Senior High on up, just as Schindler's list should be required viewing. We must learn from the past to keep from repeating it.
Joanne Valadez

This movie is so realistic I had to see it twice to remind myself that this was just a movie. Spielberg has done an excellent job of recreating what happened on that section of beach on D-Day. The violence is horrible, but that is just the way it was. I found that the movie served to re-sensitize me to the horror of war. The pictures we see on TV of today's "video game" warfare don't show what really happens at the other end of the explosion. We see the rocket hit the tank and we are glad. We don't see the bodies burnt to a crisp inside. This picture serves let us know what it is really like. Why is it important for us to see graphic violence like this? Because we need to know that every time we send our troops in harms way we are subjecting them to possible horrors like this.
Alex Chaney, age 34

Agree with your comments. I saw a deeper meaning in the movie, which was touched on briefly in the church. What these men and the other tens of millions of men and women were doing during the war was that they were all trying to save Private Ryan. Not the Private Ryan in the movie, but the hundreds of thousands of Private Ryans still in elementary school. That's why they stopped and fought when they really didn't have to. Every Christian should see this movie, so that if the situation presents itself again, we with God's direction will know what to do.
Scott B. Thompson, Sr.

This was a powerful movie until I heard Private Ryan ask his wife, as he stood in the cemetery with his family, "Was I a good man?" Then it became clear to me that earning the respect of other soldiers meant that some soldiers were better than others. And maybe that is why war is hell. The notion that each of us has equal value in God's sight, is not true in our human activities such as war, sports, education. Our society gives me enough messages that some people are more valuable than others; I don't need another reminder of how society values people.
Wendel Thompson, age 62

Here is a partial list of the numerous Christian themes in "Saving Private Ryan." (a) The movie opens and closes in a sea of hundreds of tombstone crosses. (b) The premise of the movie is related to a question posed by Christ. ("If one be lost, does not the shepherd seek out that one lost sheep?") (c) One important character always quotes Bible verses as a prayer as he fires his weapon with sharp-shooter accuracy. (d) The candlelight and tone of dialogue stress the importance of the church-refuge scene. (e) As the boats approach Omaha beach on D-Day, rosaries and prayers of the soon-to-be slaughtered are prominently shown. (f) One character gives his life for another and instructs him to "be good" and to remember the sacrifice made for him. The saved one remembers this for the rest of his life, feeling unworthy. Very seldom does one see so many Christian themes in a big-budget Hollywood movie treated in a serious manner... I see a tendency to dismiss tough issues from the real-world at this web-site, and an un-Christ-like turning away from the sin and the sinner. This is precisely the attitude that drives people away from Christian upbringings. Pete Mitchell, age 40

This comment is more aimed at the person(s) who actually wrote the review than the film itself. Having just seen the film, I was amazed at how your review had completely encapsulated my feelings. I cannot consider the film to be entertainment, it was more of a education in the severity of war. To date, most war movies have heroic actors doing heroic things, yet this film had ordinary people trying to survive another minute on the battlefield and their every action is more heroic than anything John Wayne had ever done. I think back to the stories My father and my Grandfather have told me over the years about the war, and no matter how they describe their own personal experiences, nothing has ever been able to contextualize what war is like. Not with this force, not with this emotion. I have always been fascinated with the military and how it has shaped our world for thousands of years. I will never be able to think of the military the same way again. This is reflected in your review of this movie. It is perhaps the first time I have ever come across a movie review that completely reflected my thoughts on a movie. I came across this site by chance as I am not a Christian, but I will be sure to visit regularly for nothings else, if not to read future reviews. Thanks.
Brian Roeseler, age 27

I was compelled by the image of an aged Private Ryan, weeping over the thousands of crosses at the Normandy Memorial. His plea to his wife to tell him that he had led a good life, that he had been a good man in light of the sacrifice of those who came to 'save him'. I wonder how many of us stand before a lonely cross on a hill called 'Calvary' and weep for the sacrifice of the One Man who was perfect to save all of us?
Rob Murphy, age 30

AN AMAZING PIECE OF WORK. DEFINATELY BEST PICTURE MATERIAL. INCREDIBLE REALISM. ABSOLUTELY RIVETTING. A MUST SEE ON THE BIG SCREEN. From a technical viewpoint, the directing and acting are superb, and the war realism is beyond description. But this movie goes much deeper than just great filmmaking. Saving Private Ryan profoundly gives justice to the men who fought and died for our freedom. Finally, we can understand what thousands of WWII veterans (including my uncle) could never fully express ... the supreme sacrifice they were called to give is vividly portrayed. Unlike in the movie Platoon, the soldiers in Saving Private Ryan are fundamentally good men with solid moral beliefs. Turn the clock back 50 years and it could have been me, or you, in that setting. Concerning the violence (and there's lots to it), Saving Private Ryan SENSITIZED me to violence, not the other way around. Spielberg puts the reality of violence back into true perspective. All those action movies where people are so innocently wiped out with a clean cut explosion or gunshot now seem so absurd, even insulting. This production will give you intimate encounters with the tears, the courage and the horror of the soldiers who gave everything in a fight against tyranny. It will also leave you with many moral questions to ponder. As a final point, I think Saving Private Ryan puts references to God and christianity in a positive light.
Todd Adams, age 31

I agree with the comments that this should have been NC-17. Yes, this is certainly an "A"-quality movie, but it speaks volumes about Hollywood politics any other director would've been slapped with an NC-17 for violence. (By 1998 standards, "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" is socially redeeming, too.) And while it's a good script and the cinematography is top-notch (the only two aspects that I think deserve Oscar noms), the casting of Tom Hanks in the pivotal role was a *BAD IDEA* because (a.) it gives the audience an easy escape out of the terrible environment, and (b) he's such a Jimmy Stewart-ish, non-aggressive father figure it's nauseating. What's so anti-war about that? Thanks, but I think I'll stick with "Apocalypse Now."
Brian, age 25

war depicted like it really is...
Hats off to the cast members, director, and to all the soldiers who fought in all our wars. Those John Wayne movies of the past had glorified war and had made it fashionable. After seeing this true-to-life movie one can only think twice before going off to war. Yes, for the price of freedom, it is the price we all must remember. I and my family have never taken freedom for granted. My family of Chinese ancestry believes when our country calls we go without questions. We owe this country for the freedom. I have seven brothers and my brothers and I served in the Army, Navy, and Air Force. We took part in WW II, Korean War, and the Vietnam Conflict. My oldest bother was seventeen when he went into the army and was at the Normandy invasion (UTAH Beach. Like most D-Day soldiers, he fought all the way throughout France and awarded many citations along with the Purple Heart. My brother never talks about the war, but after seeing this movie, I see him in a different respect now. God Bless America and Freedom!
Paul Gan

our freedoms were gained by men like these...
Every American adult should see this film because we need to be reminded that the freedoms we now have were gained by the men portrayed in this movie. These soldiers were scared, young, far from home & faced terrible danger yet fought bravely. This is a disturbing film with graphic battle scenes but to quote Tom Hanks "that's the way it was". Mr. Spielberg deserves our thanks ...I wish he would produce a Biblically correct film on the life of Christ with a graphic portrayal of what He suffered at Golgotha for us.
Tom Hinson, age 42

a painful movie...
I saw the movie with my parents and I cried almost the whole movie. I am a Christian and I didn't like all the language but I expected language in a war movie. My advise is if you see the movie you should sit close to the top because the camera moves very fast and you could get sick. I saw many elderly people walk out because it was to painful for them. It is so real and I never learned in school about how real it actually was.
Crystal Moore, age 14

a new appreciation for veterans...
My recent viewing of Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan has changed my life. I know this is a strong statement but I've developed a new appreciation for all the veterans of every war, friend or foe. The graphic violence depicted in this movie has been attested to by veterans and historians alike. The movie has inspired me to learn more not only about the strife of our country but that of our foreign counterparts as well. After all all of the lives lost were children of God. Until my viewing of this movie, my awareness of what our holidays to commemorate our veterans was seemingly distant and and incomprehensible to me, a member of a younger generation with no real idea of the content of war nor the severe suffering endeavored by seemingly everyone involved. I'm very grateful to the men and woman whom fought for my freedom, it's as if they knew the tyranny our nation could have seen had they not in some cases made the ultimate sacrifices. I'm not condoning war, but not having an understanding of our past is definitely a recipe for disaster. On a more trivial note, The movie is very graphic and probably not for the faint of heart, but it will defiantly change lives and should be viewed with and open mind and a sentimental heart. I've been inspired to learn all I can about our history and to maybe show my respect in a different light, one of sincerity and heart felt compassion.
Mindy Salyer, age 18

extreme horror and gore will desensitize society further...
While this movie is a truly realistic portrayal of what war is really like, I'm afraid it has shattered the utmost boundaries of decency and will "lower the standard" of movie making to a new rock bottom. I'm afraid the extreme violence of this film will be quickly imitated and reproduced in numerous new Hollywood movies. Most people do not go to the movies to be sensitized by a good dose of realistic history, rather they go to be entertained. I believe that this extreme horror and gore, no matter how well intended, will in fact serve to desensitize and harden many people's hearts and minds and will lead to the further depravity of our society. A society that considers movies such as this to be "great entertainment" is sick. As a Christian, I do not have to actually go to Hell to believe that it exists and that it is horrific. Before seeing this movie, I already knew that war was Hell. And now, after going to this movie, I wish I hadn't seen it. I feel like my mind has been poisoned and my heart seared. For those who say that we must see this graphic movie in order to fully understand how horrible war really is, I have some food for thought: What if the next Hollywood producer, in order to show just how horrible the crime of rape is, decides to make an extremely graphic, realistic and historical movie about a real serial rapist. Of course, in order to be truly realistic it would have to show the act of rape in a graphic (X-rated) manner. Would such a movie be sensitizing and edifying for the viewers?
David Johnston, age 38

...There was some (okay, a bit more than some but not a lot) foul language in the movie, but you really don't notice it because of the action in the movie. The D-Day sequence is very graphic (about like Schindler's list), so very young people should not see this movie. I don't usually react to movies and things, but I wept at the end of this one. It really gets you right in the heart, because you see what a soldier in WWII had to go through. I would recommend that anyone who, for some strange reason, does not respect our armed forces, go see this movie! You will learn a new respect for our soldiers as you see what they went through to keep us free.
Wesley Gladden, age 17

...A reason that one of Spielberg's other WWII dramas, "Schindler's List" was filmed in black and white was to allow the audience some relief from the stark horror being presented. Mr. Spielberg is not so kind this time. Although the entire film is presented with a desaturated color scheme, the viewer is repeatedly assaulted by the truly obscene and viscerally shocking tableau. Scenes of a soldier, using his one remaining arm to pick up his other arm which is laying on the beach; another soldier trying desperately to hold in his intestines as they spill out on the sand; chaplains praying for the dying and for the dead. The violence of the battle scenes is relentless, appalling, and entirely justified. The movie continually emphasizes the recurring theme of the conflict between principle and purpose. Miller is terribly ambivalent about leading his men to slaughter and views the mission of saving Pvt. Ryan as a "public relations gambit". He is confronted repeatedly with the specter of sacrificing the battle to save the war, sacrificing his men to save the battle, and sacrificing his identity to save his men. ...While there is nothing overtly "Christian" about this film, it is nevertheless a Christian movie. As it is said, "One does not truly respect life until one confronts death." And this movie is nothing if not respectful of life. While some may find the trivialities of its language offensive, such gnat-like considerations are irrelevant in the face of its moral strengths of courage and self-sacrifice. One leaves the theater with a deep admiration for the men who fought in WWII, and a profound sense of humility and shame. Humility in the face of such courage, and shame that Christendom has become such a very poor legacy.
Douglas A. Sirman, age 33