Saving Private Ryan is the most authentic war film ever made. It is an absolute game-changer in its visceral and intimate portrayal of combat and the men who find themselves in such a hell.

Saving Private Ryan’s strong suits are its authenticity to WWII and to combat itself. Veterans of D-Day have vouched for how strikingly realistic it is.

The Thin Red Line (1998) - The other Academy Award Nominee-heavy World War II film of 1998. Its marketing focus was on the huge cast of named actors. Also, it was different from Private Ryan in its content and intent: TRL focused on humanity within the war.

Shakespeare in Love (1998) - Winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture over Saving Private Ryan (questionable justification). While TRL and Private Ryan focused on war, Shakespeare in Love was a unique romantic comedy with a host of named actors showing a twist to "the greatest love story almost never told."

Life is Beautiful (1997) - The third Oscar-laden film of that year. As a foreign movie, its audience was immediately smaller but the optimistic and light-hearted focus amidst the terrible backdrop of the holocaust certainly drew eyes away from the intense war film of Spielberg and Malick.

Saving Private Ryan is Steven Spielberg's masterful representation of the visceral and tragic realities of warfare. Built around the Normandy Invasion of World War II, the story follows Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) and his squad of eight men through the hellish landings on Omaha Beach and then onto a mission to save a Private James Ryan (Matt Damon) who's three brothers have all been killed in the war. The film is an intensely gut-wrenching exposure to real war and the courage of the men who must suffer through the terrible experience.

Official Trailer

Official Movie Website:
http://www.rzm.com/pvt.ryan/index.html

Yes I have seen the film.

No, the movie did run the festival circuit as it received a wide theatrical release.

Dir: Steven Spielberg

Producers: Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon, Gary Levinsohn

Cast: Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Matt Damon

Review Links

Roger Ebert:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19980724/REVIEWS/807240304/1023

ReelViews.net:
http://www.reelviews.net/movies/s/saving.html

TotalFilm.com:
http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/cinema/saving-private-ryan

Marketing Strategies

Saving Private Ryan, prior to release, was marketed off two things: 1) the realism which it is now so famous for and 2) the success and popularity of Steven Spielberg.

The film changed the way war movies were made and the filmmakers were aware of this. Market it as more than just the next gung-ho heroic war movie and it will appeal to a vastly larger audience than simply the young male crowd or the old sophisticated film club bunch.

Spielberg himself was famous for his commercial success of Jurassic Park and its sequel The Lost World, as well as critical and awards success with his heavyweight Schindler's List. Pushing this as his next major feature film was an easy way to get audience's flooding to the theaters. Also, the immediate reaction the film had kept its popularity up and made the job of marketers quite easy.