'
Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Saving Private Ryan

Play trailer 2:09 Poster for Saving Private Ryan R Released Jul 24, 1998 2h 49m War History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
94% Tomatometer 149 Reviews 95% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) takes his men behind enemy lines to find Private James Ryan, whose three brothers have been killed in combat. Surrounded by the brutal realties of war, while searching for Ryan, each man embarks upon a personal journey and discovers their own strength to triumph over an uncertain future with honor, decency and courage.
Watch on Peacock Stream Now

Where to Watch

Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Anchored by another winning performance from Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg's unflinchingly realistic war film virtually redefines the genre.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (149) Critics Reviews
Wendy Ide Times (UK) The 24-minute sequence at the start of Steven Spielberg’s Second World War drama is one of the greatest pieces of combat cinema yet made. Jul 11, 2022 Full Review Peter Bradshaw Guardian An old-fashioned war picture to rule them all - gripping, utterly uncynical, with viscerally convincing and audacious battle sequences. Rated: 5/5 Jun 6, 2019 Full Review Michael Rechtshaffen The Hollywood Reporter The visual masterwork finds Spielberg atop his craft, weaving heart-pounding action and gut-wrenching emotion that will leave viewers silently shaken... If words occasionally fail the picture, the images speak indelible volumes. Jul 24, 2017 Full Review Jana Monji Age of the Geek Who knew the pairing of Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks would result in three well-produced limited series on WW II? The opening scenes are thrilling but the script's structure relies on an interpreter and that should make us question other war films. Rated: 3/5 Jun 21, 2024 Full Review Wesley Lovell Cinema Sight Not for the squeamish, “Saving Private Ryan” is a film that does not shy away from realistic violence and paints the most vivid portrait of war on film that I’ve seen. Rated: 3.5/4 Oct 4, 2023 Full Review Akos Peterbencze The Screen Saving Private Ryan’s most impressive and lasting feat remains its ability to remind us about the soldiers we lost — and more importantly, who they were as human beings. Jul 25, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (1000+) audience reviews
Hussein It's one of the Greatest War Films of all Time!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/18/24 Full Review Ben W Incredible! Absolutely breathtaking Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/21/23 Full Review Sara G Loved watching this historic movie on the big screen! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/20/23 Full Review Blobbo X Blobbo moved. Very well done. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/23/25 Full Review Audience Member This movie should be rated PTSD because you will need therapy after seeing this gritty in your face reality of war movie. I saw this in the theater, and no one was leaving or even moving when the credits rolled. I was the 1st one to snap out of the shock that the entire audience had just experienced. I looked behind me to see face after face staring at the screen with the looks of someone who had just been traumatized. What a great telling of a story in the genre of an epic war film. Not for the faint hearted! If you like war movies this is a must see! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/18/25 Full Review jason l The first 24 minutes take you as close to Omaha Beach in D-Day as you can get without actually having been there. It really sinks in what it must have been like waiting to jump off of those boats. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 05/12/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Saving Private Ryan

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
The Thin Red Line 80% 80% The Thin Red Line Watchlist Windtalkers 32% 50% Windtalkers Watchlist We Were Soldiers 63% 84% We Were Soldiers Watchlist To End All Wars 62% 85% To End All Wars Watchlist Flags of Our Fathers 76% 69% Flags of Our Fathers Watchlist TRAILER for Flags of Our Fathers Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) takes his men behind enemy lines to find Private James Ryan, whose three brothers have been killed in combat. Surrounded by the brutal realties of war, while searching for Ryan, each man embarks upon a personal journey and discovers their own strength to triumph over an uncertain future with honor, decency and courage.
Director
Steven Spielberg
Producer
Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon, Gary Levinsohn, Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter
Robert Rodat
Distributor
DreamWorks SKG, Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Amblin Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, Mutual Film Company, DreamWorks SKG, Mark Gordon Productions
Rating
R (Graphic Sequences of War|Graphic Sequences of Violence|Language)
Genre
War, History, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 24, 1998, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
May 27, 2016
Runtime
2h 49m
Sound Mix
Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
Most Popular at Home Now