There’s a reason that Steven Spielberg has the reputation that he has. For decades, Spielberg has been considered one of the best directors in film history, and he’s got the movies to back that assertion up.
Opinions are, quite naturally, going to differ on which movies of Spielberg’s are the best. One movie that often winds up near the top of the list is Saving Private Ryan. The film, which follows a group of soldiers in the aftermath of the D-Day invasion as they are given a mission to receive a fellow soldier in France, is considered one of the greatest World War II epics ever made. Here are three reasons you should watch the movie on Peacock this May.
The opening sequence is iconic for a reason
Although Saving Private Ryan may or may not be Spielberg’s best film, almost everyone can agree that the opening sequence, which is an extended look at what the beaches of Normandy were like on D-Day, is among the most riveting and harrowing things he’s ever made.
That opening sequence is the most important part of the film, a reminder that the men fighting were just regular people and that they were faced with the kinds of horrors that they would carry with them forever. It’s not easy to watch, exactly, but it is among the most awe-inspiring sequences ever put to film, not least because it feels so raw and visceral.
It’s anchored by an unusual premise
The question of whether it’s even possible to make an anti-war movie has existed for as long as war movies have, but Saving Private Ryan uses its premise to emphasize the pointlessness of all the death it depicts. The soldiers at the center of the mission have been asked to put their lives at risk to rescue a single man, and many of them lose their lives along the way.
Because of this, we come to understand that the soldiers on the frontline have almost no control over their own fates. The movie wants you to wonder why so many people should die for a single man and whether any of this was worth the cost.
It features a roster of great performers
On top of being the first time that Spielberg and Tom Hanks collaborated on a movie, Saving Private Ryan is filled with great actors from top to bottom. Matt Damon’s Ryan feels like the kind of man worth saving and does a lot with a relatively small amount of screen time.
Jeremy Davies, Adam Goldberg, and Tom Sizemore are also standouts, as is a young Vin Diesel, who had not yet become an action icon. It’s an indelible cast, expertly chosen so that they don’t look like movie stars but instead like an actual platoon of young soldiers who are fighting for their country.
You can watch Saving Private Ryan on Peacock.