Saving Private Ryan

If Steven Spielberg hadn't already made "Schindler's List" and "Amistad," people would be shocked to see him listed as the director of "Saving Private Ryan." As it is, many unsuspecting audiences probably still will be.

That's not to say that the film is a disappointment. In fact, if anything, this exceptionally involving drama will probably be "the" World War II movie made during the '90s — it's certainly the finest movie made this year and a shoo-in for a bevy of Academy Award nominations.

But be forewarned that it is extremely vivid (i.e., graphic) in its portrayal of wartime violence, to an almost offputting degree.

Actually, it's possible that the first 24-minute sequence, which re-creates part of the D-Day invasion, could chase away some crowds because of the intensely realistic action.

However, those who stay and keep an open mind will understand why Spielberg chose to play things in that manner — war is a bloody, violent, chaotic event, which is not pretty or glamorous, despite the glossy version Hollywood filmmakers have put on screen for so long.

Besides, the violence isn't done to titillate or to give the film a more sensationalistic edge. And what follows that devastating opening serves almost as it counterpart (though it is almost as violent as the beginning), as the story slowly unfolds to emerge as a stirring ode to loyalty, sacrifice and devotion to duty.

It's also superbly cast and well-acted, with a series of performances that should and probably will receive their share of Oscar nods.

Chief among them is two-time Oscar-winner Tom Hanks, who stars as Capt. John Miller, the leader of a dangerous mission behind enemy lines to retrieve one man, Pvt. James Ryan (Matt Damon), a young paratrooper whose brothers were already killed in the war, so he can return home.

But the search isn't an easy one. Miller's small squadron — which includes wisecracking Pvt. Reiben (Edward Burns), steadfast Sgt. Horvath (Tom Sizemore), translator Cpl. Upham (Jeremy Davies) and sharpshooter Pvt. Jackson (Barry Pepper) — questions the sanity of the mission. And when the soldiers begin dropping like flies on their hazard-filled march through the countryside, Miller starts to do so as well.

Making things even worse, the cargo plane transporting Ryan and his fellow paratroopers to Europe wound up overloaded and off course, leaving many of them miles from where they were supposed to be dropped.

What ensues is memorable and moving, a testament to America's fighting men that doesn't oversentimentalize its subject or resort to jingoistic messages. "Saving Private Ryan" may not be an easy film to watch, but is ultimately rewarding for those who does so.