Painful, powerful 'Private Ryan' is a Spielberg masterpiece

* Starring: Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Jeremy Davies and Matt Damon.

* Director: Steven Spielberg.

* Screenplay: Robert Robat.

* Rated: R for prolonged, intense, graphic war violence, adult situations and profanity.

* Running time: 170 minutes.

* Playing at: Rancho Santa Fe 16, Century Orleans 12, Cinedome 12 Henderson, ACT III Sunset Station, ACT III Village Square, ACT III Boulder Station, UA Showcase mall.

Synopsis: In the summer of 1944, a mother receives word by messenger that three of her four sons have been killed in action. The U.S. Army is determined that her remaining son will survive and dispatches a squad of men to bring back Private Ryan.

Jeff: I have this eccentric ritual when it comes to watching certain movies. I only watch horror films in October. I prefer to watch westerns only on Sunday afternoon and holiday movies only at the end of November, right up to New Year's.

Every Memorial Day I take out five of my favorite war films and I'll have a marathon, thinking that on this day of remembrance, I'll do my part as a patriotic American, watching John Wayne have "The Longest Day" or Richard Burton going "Where Eagles Dare" or cheer Frank Sinatra commanding "Von Ryan's Express." This was a holiday that I think every American took for granted, unless you were a veteran. Steven Speilberg has changed all that for me with "Saving Private Ryan." Never again will I dismiss Memorial Day as just another weekend with an extra day off.

Dave: The film begins with a 30-minute re-creation of the D-Day invasion, which quickly establishes the horror that is about to unfold. Mixed in with the invasion of Normandy -- with continuous explosions, sounds of gunfire violently zipping through the air and cries and screams from every direction -- are regular human beings. As soon as the planks are dropped from behind the boats and the soldiers are to storm the beach, they are met with a barrage of bullets from the Germans and brutally massacred.

Men jump overboard to dodge the onslaught, only to be drowned by their own gear or pierced by a gunshot that made its way through the water. Finally, those who survive make their way to cover and bravely defeat the enemy. By then, you are awestruck by the misery, fear and chaos of the bloody massacre that just took place. From that point, the film takes on a realism that no other war film has captured.

Jeff: Rather than going through the standard process of recalling various scenes in the film, I would prefer to tell you how "Saving Private Ryan" made me feel and the profound effect it had on me. Being from the so-called Generation-X era, I have been fortunate enough to be part of a generation that has never experienced war. When I say war, I mean "war."

Spielberg has taken the reality and horror of warfare and thrown it right in my face. I was expecting some sort of Hollywood WWII epic, not the graphic realism portrayed in the film. During the battle scenes I was overcome with fear and anxiety. My stomach was in knots. I could feel my adrenalin pumping as they dodged Germans in and around bombed out buildings. The battle scenes lasted for such long periods that you actually felt you were in the very squad commanded by Tom Hanks.

They didn't die with anguished faces and arms spread wide as seen so often in previous war films. They died agonizing deaths. When the bullet came with their name on it, it came in a hailstorm of gunfire and they were snuffed out so fast, so rapidly, there wasn't any time to mourn.

Dave: Spielberg, who never ceases to amaze me, fills his movies with human drama. Oliver Stone may have cornered the film market on the 1960s and Vietnam, but Spielberg has capitalized on the 1930s and '40s and World War II ("1941," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Empire of the Sun," "Schindler's List"). Now in his latest effort, he assures the audience that WWII was as equally horrifying as Vietnam.

As Jeff described his expectations about going into "Saving Private Ryan," it shows how most people, including myself, viewed WWII as a glorified war. Certainly in our generation, we have been conditioned to the subject of Vietnam, leaving the second World War to the side. But now, we witness with great astonishment the tragedy that surrounded one of our country's greatest victories.

Jeff: It's become a cliche to claim that Spielberg is the greatest director of our time. It goes without saying. Still, every time a new film of his is released, you want to find the highest mountaintop and shout at the top of your lungs a collected praise for his filmmaking genius. The movie takes on a washed-out look during the battle segments, with Spielberg using a hand-held camera for that documentary, you-are-there experience.

"Saving Private Ryan" is more than a war film with realistic battle scenes. It's about the human condition. Spielberg uses the theme of finding humanity in all of the chaos surrounding this group of battle-worn soldiers. He explores the actions of men who, when faced with certain doom, ponder how they will act toward their fellow man under the most despicable conditions and circumstances.

Dave: And what better actor could one find to play the hero who leads a mission into the heart of the war and at the same time convince us that he is nothing more than a mortal human being than Tom Hanks? His sincerity and everyman demeanor are the very qualities that film-goers have identified with over the years, and his determination and leadership lend themselves to his convincing portrayal of the enigmatic Capt. John Miller.

Along with the talented cast, including Tom Sizemore as a brash sergeant and Edward Burns playing the wisecracking private, is the objective of the mission -- Private Ryan, played by Matt Damon. But to single out any one cast member over another would demean this ensemble. The same for the cinematography of Janusz Kaminski ("Schindler's List"), or the brilliance of the production design or even the meticulous care that went into the authenticity of the dialogue, costumes, art direction, etc. It is a collective effort that makes "Saving Private Ryan" a masterpiece.

MOVIE BUZZ

* 'Silence' broken on sequel: Will Anthony Hopkins soon reprise his role as the evil Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter from "Silence of the Lambs"? The London Sunday Times reports that original "Silence" author Thomas Harris is polishing a follow-up novel called "The Morbidity of the Soul." Original "Silence" star (and new mom) Jodie Foster and director Jonathan Demme are also believed to be on board for the sequel. Hopkins reportedly will pocket $24 million to play Lecter again. Mmmmmm ... we can smell the liver and fava beans cooking already. ...

* Pitt's pot part: Brad Pitt has signed to star in "Smuggler's Moon" for New Line Cinema. "Moon" depicts the true story of the drug-smuggling Shaffer brothers. Kris and Bill Shaffer ran a marijuana smuggling operation during the '70s and '80s out of Southeast Asia. The pair used their documentary film company, which purportedly specialized in capturing deep-sea diving treasures, as a front for their smuggling operation. No word yet on who will play the other brother. Based on his recent troubles with the law for his marijuana use, we suggest Bob Denver, TV's "Gilligan," for the role.

* "Spider" webs Freeman: Morgan Freeman will once again portray fictional detective/psychologist Dr. Alex Cross in "Along Came a Spider." The film will be a prequel to 1997's "Kiss the Girls." Based on James Patterson's 1993 novel, "Spider" is a thriller about a cunning serial killer who kidnaps two children from an exclusive private school in Washington, D.C.

VIEWPOINT

We have a bone to pick with some of you parents out there in Las Vegas. We attended the "Saving Private Ryan" screening Tuesday evening and, to our shock, we saw parents who brought their kids along. We're not talking teenagers. We mean kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. The movie was rated R and with all of the press about the violence of the movie (it should have been NC-17) parents still thought since it had the name Spielberg attached to it, it must be like "E.T." or something.

Once the movie started and the opening scene in which the battle of Normandy is under way, parents still didn't take their kids out of the theater. Here is a sample of what those kids saw in the first 20 minutes: a soldier who picks up his arm after it is shot off; a soldier's face blown off; a soldier lying on the beach, still alive with his bowels oozing out of his chest; countless bullets to the head and massive carnage. Words can't describe what they saw. With all the debates about violence affecting children, the scores of parents who brought their kids to "Saving Private Ryan" didn't seem to mind that adults were vomiting into their popcorn containers from the graphic violence.

Spielberg wouldn't even let his kids see "Jurassic Park." What kind of parents are you? Another beef: Spielberg packs an emotional wallop at the end of the picture, a moment that requires total quiet and respect from the audience. The moment was ruined for us when most of the audience wanted to leave five minutes early to beat the crowd in the parking lot. They missed the message. Please, if you are going to see this remarkable movie, give it the attention and respect it deserves and if you have to bring the kids, drop them off in "Mulan" while you search for "Private Ryan."

NAME THAT FLICK

When we left last week's quote -- "Dear Wheeler, you provide the prose poems. I'll provide the war" -- we waited for someone to guess the answer. Chris Derringer was the first to call and correctly guess that it was Orson Welles in "Citizen Kane." Way to go Chris!

Now, for this week -- Who said this and in what film: "English prisioners! Let us ask the question: Why does the bridge not progress? You know why: because your officers are lazy!" Does it sound familiar? If you think you know, call The Movie Guys Hotline at 225-9026 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Be sure to spell your name and leave a daytime phone number, and if you're the first correct caller/e-mailer, we will print your name right here in our column for the entire Las Vegas Valley to read.

See you next week!

THE MOVIE GUYS, starring Jeff Howard and Dave Neil, appears Fridays in the Sun (additional material provided by Thomas Feeney). You can also read their capsule reviews of movies in Scope magazine and watch their reviews every Friday on Channel 3's 11 p.m. newscast. Plus, check them out online at: www.lasvegassun.com/sun/sunlife/movies.

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