Why Saving Private Ryan remains the most endearing World War II movie

With another anniversary of the tragic, D-Day, it is time to revisit some classic war movies like Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg's incredible take on D-Day and beyond, which continues to be considered one of the greatest cinematic masterpieces of all time.

It is not uncommon to set movies around great wars like World War II or the Vietnam War, and many have done so. But there is something much more endearing about Saving Private Ryan that appeals to fans with something much more than any single-dimensional emotion.

Ahead of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, here is why Saving Private Ryan stood the test of time and will perhaps continue to be the most important piece of war cinema in the foreseeable future.

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Saving Private Ryan benefits from a lot of things but most of all it benefits from the beating heart at the centre of it all

While War movies are a genre that has produced a lot of content over the years and continues to do so in the present day, some films leave a more lasting mark compared to others. Saving Private Ryan, which is also among the finest works of Steven Speilberg, has a few elements, barring the incredible cast of Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, and Giovanni Ribisi, among others, that make it stand out.

It may be hard to point a finger at these elements while watching the very engaging drama, but they are present throughout the movie.

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A human story at the heart of the war

One of the reasons this movie is different from almost all war movies that came before it was because of the central conflict, which was not quite "winning a war." Instead, it was about a rescue attempt of a soldier, whose three brothers were already killed in the war, deviating the conflict away from wins and losses in war to a story of compassion and sadness.

Moreover, the movie also is quite accurate in its depiction of the horrors of war. This is especially impactful in its treatment of enemy characters, and the larger aspect of an overall loss whenever there is any war.

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The ordinary boys-turned-soldiers and the morally gray areas of a war

One of the things ordinary consumers tend to forget is that soldiers in wars like WWII are not merely soldiers but civilians who were thrust in front of bullets and tanks. Beyond the war, all the soldiers have lives that are not explicitly always linked with the preservation of the country.

This is time and again emphasized in Saving Private Ryan, allowing more compassion to flow through the screen as the characters become more relatable and more poignant.

It also often deals with the morally gray areas of war and how no side is right. This also adds a human layer on top of what we traditionally imagine as a war.

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Precise execution and adherence to reality

Few will forget the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan, which thrusts the soldiers into the infamous Normandy beach, in what would be considered one of the darkest days in American history. This sequence is a testament to how well-executed the movie was. Every hit, every shot, every cut, it all seemed so eerily real that this scene developed a niche fanbase of its own.

This is repeated several times throughout the movie, which also adheres closely to the real environment of the war. The realism has often been praised by critics and fans alike, giving the film an edge over many similar-minded ones.

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All in all, Saving Private Ryan is here to stay on the list of greatest war films ever made. It is worth a rewatch every D-Day Memorial Day and whenever anyone is in the mood for a war movie.