Director Steven Spielberg's World War II tour de force chronicles the journey of a GI squad on a
dangerous mission behind enemy lines. Led by Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks), the unit is
under orders to track down a soldier, Private Ryan (Matt Damon), so he might return home to his
mother in America, where she is grieving the unimaginable loss of her three other sons to the war.
The first unforgettable 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan realistically and horrifically
depicts the Normandy invasion as Miller; his second-in-command, Sergeant Horvath (Tom
Sizemore); and the others in the unit land at Omaha Beach. Before the film began shooting, Hanks
and the actors in his squad went through a one-week boot camp in the woods. All the actors, except
Hanks, wanted to quit, but Hanks rallied their spirits by reminding them of the incredible
tribulations endured by the real veterans of World War II. Production designer Tom Sanders
found a beach in Ireland that perfectly matched the landscape of Normandy’s. Spielberg gave great
credit to the Irish army who helped re-create the Omaha Beach scenes.
Directed by Steven Spielberg - Rated R
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