Summary
Saving Private Ryanhas become a streaming hit 26 years after its theatrical release. Directed by Steven Spielberg,Saving Private Ryanstars Tom Hanks as Captain Miller, a man tasked with leading his squad on a mission across occupied France during World War II to rescue the last remaining brother of the Ryan family. The film, which is widely regarded as one of the best war movies ever made, holds an impressive 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, speaking to its favorable critical reception.
Now, a new streaming popularity chart fromReelgoodreveals thatSaving Private Ryanranks as the seventh most popular movie on streaming in the U.S. for the week of June 6 – 12. The film, which is available to watch on Apple TV+, beats outOppenheimer,The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, andThe Boys in the Boat, but loses out to titles likeAtlas,The First Omen, andUnder Paris. Check out the full top 10 movies list below:
Saving Private Ryan Still Holds Up Today
Steven Spielberg & Tom Hanks' WWII Collaboration Remains A Powerful Watch
AlthoughSaving Private Ryanis now 26 years old, it still remains one of the kings of the war movie genre.The film was nominated for eleven Oscars and won five, including Best Director, though it infamously lost out on a Best Picture win toShakespeare in Love. To accompany its strong 94% critics' score, the film currently holds an audience score of 95% onRotten Tomatoes. It was also a box office hit at the time, earning $481.8 million worldwide.
Spielberg and Hanks would later reunite to bring additional World War II stories to life on the screen. Both teamed up to produceBand of Brothers,The Pacific, and most recently, thewell-reviewedMasters of the Air.
One of the main reasons why the film has stood the test of time so effectively is its visceral and harrowing depiction of World War II combat.Saving Private Ryan’s openingD-Day scene is still widely considered one of the most realistic depictions of war ever put to the screen, but the ending battle is also bloody, shocking, and unwaveringly intense. The D-Day sequence, specifically, was so powerful that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs set up a hotline for Veterans who experienced PTSD after watching the film.
The Most Realistic D-Day Movie Came Out 23 Years Before Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is praised for its graphic and realistic rendition of the D-Day landings, but another movie tells the story more accurately.
Spielberg’s direction is key to the film’s success and, due to the time in which it was made, he relied on practical effects to depict the action, ultimately giving it a timeless quality. TheSaving Private Ryancast, too, is full of recognizable faces, including Tom Sizemore, Vin Diesel, Matt Damon, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, Ted Danson, and Paul Giamatti. Even thoughSaving Private Ryanis now almost three decades old, it’s placement on the streaming chart above suggests it hasn’t lost its impact on audiences.
Saving Private Ryan
Cast
Saving Private Ryan: Directed by Steven Spielberg, this World War II drama follows Captain John Miller, portrayed by Tom Hanks, as he leads a group of U.S. soldiers on a mission to rescue Private James Ryan, the sole surviving brother of four, from behind enemy lines in German-occupied France.
