Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Reality. The harsh, dreadful but true reality of war, is what this World War II Steven Spielberg epic consists of, and is the reason why it is an absolutely astonishing film throughout. When people say that Spielberg is one of the greatest directors/writers ever, this iconic war movie shows why he is known as such.   It begins with a group of USA military soldiers sent out to find a young man called James Francis Ryan played by Matt Damon whos brothers have died in warfare. These men led by Captain Miller played by Tom Hanks - whos performance is absolutely extraordinary, as he displays every little gory and upsetting detail of war- set out thier journey through enemy territory. Each and every small detail of war is met, the truth about death, the pain, and how close even the most experienced soldier comes to death. Although of the fairly basic story line, the brilliant screenplay in this film makes this a world-class movie. Following on, the accuracy and detail of the screenplay defines why this movie is - not just one of the best - but I think is 'the' best war film ever. Each place Miller and his crew go too they find a new threat, which sounds like a ordinary plot, but no, the portrayal through the screenplay is perfect, it makes the story absolutely fantastic. Overall, I think that this is a highly commendable piece of work. Not just for it's realistic screenplay but it's story line too, which involves a great ending. The acting from Matt Damon, Vin Diesel, Paul Giamatti and especially Tom Hanks is superb which sums it up, without any doubt, to be the greatest war movies of all time.