Saving Private Ryan 4K UHD Review

Moral Reality

Saving Private Ryan’s greatness comes from confronting war’s cruel lethality. It’s not only gore or the cinema verite camerawork. In among the multitude of expertly threaded small stories, Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) exchanges words with another soldier. After an American is pinned down, Miller notes, “We’d do the same thing.” Emphatically, almost breaking down, the response from Miller’s squadmate is, “No we wouldn’t!” Belief propels war. Belief in what’s right, but also belief with blinders over the reality.

Glossy, cinematic blinders receded after Spielberg’s war film. The Normandy beach landing isn’t depicted with a deified John Wayne marching on German emplacements. Limbs, legs, and entire bodies shred from bullet impacts.  Saving Private Ryan is hideous and cruel, even onto its 20th anniversary – and it’s only a fraction of the reality these soldiers witnessed.

Cinemaphiles can argue whether this or Thin Red Line is the better film. More people saw Saving Private Ryan; the influence carries wider range than Terrence Malick’s own WWII masterpiece. What followed Saving Private Ryan was a torrent of war films, all loaded with inhumane images. Saving Private Ryan notably brought that into the mainstream. No other war film of the era carried such an influence.

Quiet, contemplative moments matter as much as those ferocious combat scenes

In the way Saving Private Ryan depicts violence, it’s searing. Every gory blow, every manic attempt to save a dying soldier – they last. Violence becomes caught in mayhem and panic, at times a brutal background event, treated without glorification.

This is a fictional story, surrounded by the events of D-Day. Even the premise is sketchy, sending a platoon on a glorified PR mission to rescue one Private. Saving Private Ryan presents a moral quandary, asking the value of a single life over another, or over many. The narrative entanglement creates a source of narrative tension, drama, and anger. This, all built on the backs of well-constructed characters, forming a battlefield brotherhood despite the divergent personalities.

Precision editing whittles Saving Private Ryan down to essentials, even when nearing three hours. Quiet, contemplative moments matter as much as those ferocious combat scenes. Although the opening D-Day landing marks Saving Private Ryan’s lasting imagery, the best scene occurs prior to the finale. US soldiers stand their ground, preparing to defend a bridge from looming German forces. Americans laugh, they share stories, they sing – anything to alleviate what they have experience and will. It’s sensational and natural, lifted by grand performances and the development prior.

Video (4K UHD)

Twenty years after debuting in a bulky, two VHS edition, Saving Private Ryan arrives on its fifth home video format. As technology moves forward, so does the quality of this presentation. From a full 4K master, Saving Private Ryan’s UHD produces stunning levels of fidelity. Seeing troops walk through grassy or leafy areas shows the benefits of added resolution. In close, helmets, uniforms, and facial definition stream in with unreal quantity. Watch for rubble and debris, expertly resolved even as the camera peers down streets.

Masterful encoding maintains a clean, organic grain structure, even when faced with a swell of smoke or debris. It’s a clean print without a spot of damage. Janusz Kaminski’s cinematography varies between hyper sharpness and beautiful haze. This disc handles everything with class.

Muted color, mostly sitting in green and blue, limits the dynamic zest of the film by design. Expecting the D-Day assault to astound with HDR effects is to prime yourself for disappointment. The gray skies and muted coloring holds everything back as intended. It’s not until the sun drifts overhead that exceptional range comes forward. Suddenly, those bursts of light and gorgeous black levels make their presence felt. Vibrancy and powerful depth fill in as needed. Shadow detail during a critical character scene inside a church at night shows off the expanded capabilities of UHD.

Audio

While using the phrase “crowd pleaser” in such a context is tone deaf, it unfortunately fits this masterful Dolby Atmos mix. The beaches of D-Day offer top-class LFE as mortar shells slam into the ground. Impact goes beyond a mild rumble; it’s an unnerving shake. Each blast keeps a torrent of sound surrounding men pouring out from transport boats.

Of course, this soundfield pushes bullets from every direction, piercing the stage with reference quality accuracy. Debris fields wash overhead, topping any Atmos mix currently on the market. Faultless balance manages to keep center channel dialog properly managed without losing any of the sonic chaos.

Small moments work too. Birds chirp for rear channel ambiance during downtime. Cows moo in the rears as the squad nears a radar post. Those touches matter too, filling in dialog scenes with activity, keeping the mix alive between firefights.

Growing bass as German tanks near the American position remains a stellar moment before the climax. Engine vibrations clatter rubble, which falls into the stereos and surrounds. Rockets and grenades equal the mortar blasts from earlier. Shouting pops from every channel, elevating the panic. Compared to the DTS-HD track of old, Atmos expands dynamic range and positional use. A small but notable boost.

Extras

Despite being the 20th anniversary, Paramount doesn’t offer anything new in terms of bonuses. The two-disc Blu-ray set is included inside the 4K package. Extras all reside on the second Blu-ray.

The first section is pulled directly from the original 60th Anniversary DVD, an eight-part making-of, including introduction. In total, these supplements run a bit over an hour, although sadly retain their SD roots. The deconstruction of how the Omaha Beach scene was done is especially strong, detailing the safety and intensity of the shoot.

The second section is Shooting War, originally a separate disc inside the World War II Collection DVD box set. This is a separate documentary, hosted by Tom Hanks, detailing the filming of the war itself. This piece runs 90-minutes.

Full disclosure: This Blu-ray was provided to us for review. This has not affected the editorial process. For information on how we handle review material, please visit our about us page to learn more.

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