Rating: R (intense prolonged realistically graphic sequences of war violence, and for language)
Length: 170 minutes

Widescreen 1.85:1 Color (Anamorphic)

ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 2.0
FRENCH: Dolby Digital 5.1

English, Spanish

After surviving the landing at Normandy, a Captain (Hanks) and his men are assigned to find a Private Ryan so that he can be sent back home; his other three brothers had been killed in battle in that same week. Follow them and their adventures as they search throughout the war zones in France hunting for this Private.

First off, it is "loosely" based on a true story. This film does not candy-coat war and what happens to people in battle; if you're the least bit squeamish you'll want to dodge this film. There's more blood/gore in the first 30 minutes of this film than any horror flick and there's almost two hours of the film left to go. Fortunately for us, Spielberg takes the time to develop the characters. The video is crisp and those of you with the capability, the DTS sound will rock your living room. They did not pinch any pennies to recreate the sights and sounds of WWII.

If you're looking for a glamorous rah-rah the U.S. is great and can do no wrong WWII movie, you're looking in the wrong place. And why do the creators of these DVDs not give the viewers the option to "VIEW ALL" of the documentaries at once as opposed to being forced to click on each one individually?

• An Introduction By Steven Spielberg
• Looking In To The Past: The Research, the Screenplay and the Vision
• The Making of the Platoon
• Boot Camp for the Cast
• Re-creating D-Day: Omaha Beach
• Music And Sound
• Parting Words

This isn't the standard war movie so you may not like it; I'm betting you will. You'll certainly want to keep small children out of the room. If you're a Vin Diesel fan, this is his first big movie role and let's face it, how can the combination of Hanks and Spielberg go wrong?

Steven Spielberg   [1941, Amistad, Artificial Intelligence: AI, Duel, Indiana Jones I/II/III, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park II: The Lost World, Schindler's List, War of the Worlds (2005)]

Dylan Bruno - Toynbe

Edward Burns - Pvt. Richard Reiben

[15 Minutes]

Matt Damon - Private James Francis Ryan

[The Bourne Identity/Supremecy, The Brothers Grimm, The Departed, Dogma, Good Will Hunting, Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, Rounders]

Ted Danson - Captain Fred Hamill

[Body Heat, Creepshow]

Jeremy Davies - Cpl. Timothy P. Upham

[Dogville, Solaris, Twister]

Vin Diesel - Private Adrian Caparzo

[A Man Apart, Chronicles of Riddick, The Fast and the Furious, Pitch Black, xXx]

Dennis Farina - Lieutenant Colonel Anderson

[Get Shorty, Manhunter, Snatch, You Kill Me]

Paul Giamatti - Sergeant Hill

[Lady in the Water, The Negotiator, Paycheck, Planet of the Apes (2001), Shoot 'Em Up]

Adam Goldberg - Pvt. Stanley Mellish

[A Beautiful Mind, Dazed and Confused]

Tom Hanks - Captain John H. Miller

[A League of Their Own, Apollo 13, Cast Away, The Da Vinci Code, Forrest Gump, The Green Mile]

Max Martini - Corporal Henderson

[The Great Raid]

Barry Pepper - Pvt. Daniel Jackson

[25th Hour, Battlefield Earth, Enemy of the State, The Green Mile, We Were Soldiers]

Giovanni Ribisi - T-4 Medic Irwin Wade

[Basic, Cold Mountain, Flight of the Phoenix, The Gift, Gone in 60 Seconds, Heaven, The Postman, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow]

Tom Sizemore - Sergeant Mike Horvath

[Black Hawk Down, Dreamcatcher, Furnace, Heat, Natural Born Killers, Pearl Harbor, Red Planet, True Romance]

Joerg Stadler - Steamboat Willie