Saving Private Ryan may have come out before big-budget special effects were the after-thought they are today, but the film remains a stunning technical achievement for any era of filmmaking. What Ribisi portrayed T-4 Medic Wade in Saving Private Ryan. Wade is one of the men selected to search for Private Ryan, but — spoiler – he's killed early in the mission. Although Ribisi might not Saving Private Ryan is Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece. Forget the sentimentality of the plot; the brutality of war is encapsulated in mind-blowing intensity from the onset, as American GIs are Saving Private Ryan (1998) is arguably one of the best war movies ever released, thanks to director Steven Spielberg’s expert eye and attention to detail. The film, starring Tom Hanks and Matt Damon, continues to be a favorite of many, but there’s one detail that many missed – and it was an intentional move on Spielberg’s part. Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 film set during the Invasion of Normandy in June 1944. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Tom Hanks and Matt Damon. It won 5 academy awards and a Golden Globe Award for best motion picture. It has been praised for the realistic way in which it filmed the battle scenes. Saving Private Ryan 1998 Director: Steven Spielberg Stars: Tom Hanks , Matt Damon , Tom Sizemore , Edward Burns , Barry Pepper Genre: Action , Drama , War Rating: R (Restricted) Runtime: 169 minutes A Shell-Shocked Face. With no establishing action, Saving Private Ryan starts with a bang. The first rows of soldiers die as a living shield, making it possible for those following to advance, step by step, row by row, onto the beach peppered with mines and fencing. The troops push onto the land, while the individual soldiers, tattered and shot Saving Private Ryan captured $215 million in U.S. theaters in 1998. Now Steven Spielberg’s World War II epic has been honorably discharged to home video. And while the gore factor of its 24-minute opening scene on Omaha Beach will be less intense on the small screen, bullet-riddled bodies, severed limbs, disemboweled torsos, spurting arteries 3gs6.