'Saving Private Ryan' Returning To Theaters To Commemorate Anniversary Of D-Day
One of Steven Spielberg's biggest achievements, Saving Private Ryan, will return to theaters to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. Spielberg's 1998 World War II movie earned widespread acclaim, and won the filmmaker an Academy Award for Best Director. Fathom Events will bring the movie back to theaters for two days in June.
On June 2 and June 5, Fathom Events will bring Saving Private Ryan back to the big screen. Per Forbes, the movie will play 600 theaters nationwide, screening at 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm on both days. This falls in line with the 75th anniversary of the June, 1944 D-Day invasion. D-Day is vividly, and graphically, recreated in a lengthy opening scene in Saving Private Ryan, in which Tom Hanks and other soldiers dodge bullets, blood spray, shrapnel and more. It's a harrowing sequence, and a major technical milestone for Spielberg. With these opening minutes alone, Spielberg almost immediately cemented that Private Ryan would go on to become something of a modern-day classic.
"It's easy to point out a couple of shots that are obviously very graphic, but it's the accumulation of the sequence on Omaha Beach that's supposed to help the audience understand the physical experience of combat," Spielberg said in an interview with Roger Ebert. "I didn't want to do something I've done with many of my other movies – allowing the audience to be spectators. Here I wanted to bring the audience onto the stage with me and demand them to be participants with those kids who had never seen combat before in real life, and get to the top of Omaha Beach together."
In Saving Private Ryan, "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."
Seeing Saving Private Ryan on the big screen again might be a must-attend affair, simply to experience the stunning visuals and impeccable sound design Spielberg and company employed to fully immerse viewers in the world of the movie. Then again, Fathom Events aren't exactly known for the highest quality presentations. Hopefully there are protocols in place to make sure the big screen return is presented properly.