A review by Mike Shea Movie Rating: ( * * * * * ) DVD Rating: ( * * * * * )
Buy Saving Private Ryan DTS from Amazon.com
Saving Private Ryan is probably one of the best overall transfers ever done. The movie is an instant classic war film, covering D-day like a news camera. It does a good job of showing the horror of the war but doesnt over do it to the point where you cant enjoy the movie. All the actors do a great job and the direction is of course top notch. Now for my Spielburg rant. It seems to me that since becoming a household name, Spielburg has thrown out the idea of making an enjoyable film and instead tries to bring messages to people. Instead of movies like Jaws, Close Encounters, Poltergeist and Raiders of the Lost Arc, we get Schindlers List, Amistad and Private Ryan. Now granted Saving Private Ryan is much more enjoyable strictly from a character perspective than Amistad and Schindlers List, but still it seems that since his popularity he is more concerned with teaching me a lesson about this evil world than making an enjoyable film. Then when he does make a strictly enjoyable film it turns into Jurassic Park 2. End of rant. The DVD is excellent. The DTS 5.1 sound is truly powerful and was a perfect way to reproduce the power of this film at home (provided you have the equipment and environment). I am not going to say it is better than the Dolby Digital version, but the DTS one is great. The 16x9 enhanced 1.85 to 1 transfer is just wonderful. Overall an excellent film and a true home theater staple provided you can stomach the gore.