Favorite Films of All Time, No. 32

 


In 2022 I'm revisiting my favorite films of all time, doing a countdown of the Top 50 throughout the year. Check back each Friday for the latest installment in the countdown of films, which include releases through 2019. Agree? Disagree? Have a thought on the choice? Be sure to share in the comments below!

Captain Miller:  I'm a schoolteacher. I teach English composition... in this little town called Adley, Pennsylvania. The last eleven years, I've been at Thomas Alva Edison High School. I was a coach of the baseball team in the springtime. Back home, I tell people what I do for a living and they think well, now that figures. But over here, it's a big, a big mystery. So, I guess I've changed some. Sometimes I wonder if I've changed so much my wife is even going to recognize me, whenever it is that I get back to her. And how I'll ever be able to tell her about days like today. Ah, Ryan. I don't know anything about Ryan. I don't care. The man means nothing to me. It's just a name. But if... You know if going to Rumelle and finding him so that he can go home. If that earns me the right to get back to my wife, then that's my mission.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Starring: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel, Ed Burns, Tom Sizemore, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, and Giovanni Ribisi
Director: Steven Spielberg
About: I remember seeing this film the first time. The D-Day landing scene was unlike anything I'd seen. The action, the events and the raw emotion shook me. That was the experience of many WWII veterans who saw the film as well. But it's the story and the performances, especially from Hanks, that have stuck with me and many others over the years. It's a powerful experience and beautifully told, part of a set of WWII themed projects that Spielberg has been a part of creating. Amazingly, it didn't win Best Picture. But it's undeniably the best film released in 1998 and one of the best films ever made. It's one of several Spielberg films in this countdown, and one that everyone should see at least once. It's not an easy watch, but it remains one of my favorite films of all time.

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