Director:Steven Spielberg

Writer (WGA):Robert Rodat (written by)

Release Date:11 September 1998 (UK) more
Genre:Action Drama War more
Tagline:In the Last Great Invasion of the Last Great War, The Greatest Danger for Eight Men was Saving... One. more
Plot:Following the Normandy Landings, a group of US soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action. full summary full synopsis

After leading a company of Rangers in the battle for Omaha beach on D-Day, battle-hardened veteran Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) is sent on a risky WWII rescue mission. Leading a squad of elite soldiers, he is tasked with finding paratrooper Private James Ryan (Matt Damon) and bring him home safely. Ryan's three brothers have all been killed in action and the Army want him returned to his family. The paratroops of the 82nd Airborne are scattered far and wide though, and finding Ryan proves far from easy.

The hard-bitten Rangers (Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi) are joined by an interpreter, Corporal Upham (Jeremy Davies). Upham has no combat experience, and is held in contempt by the veteran soldiers on the mission. Several of Miller's men are killed in various incidents, but they do eventually locate Ryan -- who refuses to leave his unit! His squad of paratroops is tasked to hold a key bridge, and Ryan insists on doing just that. Capt. Miller and the surviving Rangers (plus the untested & shaky Upham) agree to help, and in a climactic battle scene, manage to hold off a German counter-attack.

Ryan, now seen as an old man revisiting the military cemetery at Normandy, visits the grave of Capt. Miller and tells his rescuer that he has tried to live a good life in exchange for the sacrifice of Miller and the rest.