Saving Private Ryan
Movie, 1998, The '90s, Set in Hymn to the Fallen
Saving Private Ryan is #16 of 29 in release order and #16 of 29 in chronological order in the John Williams.
The story
As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.
Saving Private Ryan recap
Saving Private Ryan (1998) sends Captain John Miller and his squad across Normandy to find a paratrooper whose three brothers have been killed. Steven Spielberg directs this war film, written by Robert Rodat. It opens with the landing at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, where Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) leads survivors off the sand. In Washington, General George Marshall orders that Private James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon) be found and sent home to his mother. Miller takes a squad that includes Sergeant Mike Horvath (Tom Sizemore), Private Richard Reiben (Edward Burns) and the translator Corporal Timothy Upham (Jeremy Davies), new to combat. Two of the men die on the way, one to a sniper and one attacking a machine-gun nest. Upham persuades Miller to free a German prisoner, and Miller reveals he was a schoolteacher to stop a mutiny. Williams writes little music for the battles; the brass and choral Hymn to the Fallen plays over the end credits as a memorial. In this list the film follows Schindler's List and precedes The Phantom Menace.
Saving Private Ryan ending explained
Saving Private Ryan ends with an elderly Ryan at Miller's grave in the Normandy cemetery, asking his wife to tell him he has been a good man. Ryan refuses to leave his unit at a bridge in Ramelle, so Miller's men stay to defend it. In the battle, most of them die, Upham freezes on a staircase as Mellish is killed, and the released German prisoner shoots Miller. Upham then kills the prisoner. As aircraft and reinforcements arrive, the dying Miller tells Ryan to earn this.
Post-credits scenes
No. Saving Private Ryan has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is streaming on Paramount+, Peacock, Kanopy, and Hoopla in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 8.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 94%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Schindler's List, before Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
- Chronological order: after Schindler's List, before Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
Cast
- Tom Hanks as Captain Miller
- Tom Sizemore as Sergeant Horvath
- Edward Burns as Private Reiben
- Barry Pepper as Private Jackson
- Adam Goldberg as Private Mellish
- Vin Diesel as Private Caparzo
- Giovanni Ribisi as T/4 Medic Wade
- Jeremy Davies as Corporal Upham
- Matt Damon as Private Ryan
- Ted Danson as Captain Hamill
- Paul Giamatti as Sergeant Hill
- Dennis Farina as Lieutenant Colonel Anderson
Directed by Steven Spielberg.