Saving Private Ryan [by Original Soundtrack, CD, 1998]

Saving Private Ryan was an unexpected masterstroke from Steven Spielberg -- a powerful, brutal film that didn't flinch in depicting the violence in World War II, managing to be an antiwar film that... more

Saving Private Ryan was an unexpected masterstroke from Steven Spielberg -- a powerful, brutal film that didn't flinch in depicting the violence in World War II, managing to be an antiwar film that was also pro-war. Even though it contained a dose of Spielberg's traditional sentimentality, it remained a complex, layered film scored by John Williams. The composer had less room in the film than usual -- many scenes, particularly the battle sequences, were designed to play without music -- yet he added sentiment wherever he could nonetheless. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide less