Saving Private Ryan

A closer look at the story

As American forces come ashore in Normandy, it emerges that three of one mother's four sons have been killed in the war. The fourth, Private James Ryan, is somewhere behind enemy lines. On orders from the very top, Captain John Miller and the small unit under his command are tasked with pushing into German-held territory, finding Ryan and sending him safely home. On a journey where death waits around every corner, the soldiers begin to ask whether it is right to put eight lives at risk to save a single man. Directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat, the 169-minute 1998 film stars Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns and Barry Pepper in a harrowing war drama.