Saving Private Ryan [Blu-ray] [4K UHD]

I picked up the Sapphire BR SPR a month ago and finally got around to watching & hearing it. First I still have the DVD DTS version so I was currious as to the upgrade in the video but also how the two audio tracks compared; DTS vs DTS-HD. The video transfer is an excellent upgrade over the DVD though it still retains some of that so-called documentry grainess in some areas as it was intended. The colors are as they should be in the pallete of War....greens, browns, greys, blacks and yes red. It's going to make you say...Wow in the sense like seeing Monsters,Inc or Avatar. But the details throughout in uniforms, buildings, people, weapons brings the realism of war closer than ever. Probably too close especially in the famous "Beach Scene" where the reality of what rel war probably was with body parts flying and exposed. The audio portion didn't disappoint and frankly will rock your house and senses. There are many forums and topics that are always asking,"What Blu-ray to show off your HT" and about every poll and answer will have Saving Private Ryan on that list.Even when it came out on DVD with the DTS format it was considered one of if not the best sounding movie to make use of you HT sound. The new DTS-HD track does deliver a more fuller and open sound than the normal DTS track which is no slouch itself. To me it was like comparing D.D 5.1 to DTS 7.1. I felt I could detect just more sounds in the lower and higher fequencies with just better details. The first 20-25 minutes of the movie is a must for audio fans. The movie itself is flat out good but it's no typical war movie like Patton, Battle of the Buldge, Tora-Tora-Tora or Midway. While those were of historical happenings they didn't deal with the real brutality and emotions of what War can bring. In Saving Private Ryan you see and feel it and it hits you squarely between the eyes. If no-one comes away with some gut check, heart wrentching, or a slight tear in the first 25 minutes of this movie they're either dead or comatose. Tom Hanks as Capt. John Miller, is given orders to go deep and locate one Private Ryan and bring him back when it's learned three of his brothers were all killed in one week. During their mission they encounter others caught up with war itself, the uncertainity and just trying to survive. They lose a few of their own while seeing the effects on both soldiers and cilvans. While the Beach Scene is as emotional as you can see the one with Wade the medic getting shot is just gut wrentching. Laying bleeding from several bullets the entire groupsitting around Wade, is scrabbling to plug the holes and stop the blood flow while asking Wade for directions on what to do. You can sense their hope fading and helplessness as their friend crys out for his Moma and doesn't want to die for several minutes which seems longer. They finally find someone who knows Ryan and about where he is. After locating Ryan and giving him the news they expect he'll follow but Ryan refuses saying he has orders to protect one of two bridges left and his current platton buddies are now "his only brothers". Facing lack of ammo, soldiers and against all odds, Miller (Hanks) takes control and decides on protecting the bridge. The ensuing Last Stand of the Alamo type battle in the town is close and brutal with several losing their lives in the process. Miller, always keeping Ryan out of harms way is shot while trying to retrive the detonator for the bridge. At the last minute everyone is saved by a pair of P-51's along with reinforcements. Hanks wound is fatal but not before telling Ryan,"earn this...Earn It". As the film returns as it did in the beginning the older Ryan asks his wife has he led a good life and been a good man while standing in front of Capt. Millers tombstone. It's hard to imagine those saying anything bad about this movie are calling it "over-rated". They probably have a negative outlook on anything military and war itself as it's a waste of money first and lives second. While it was a movie veterans praised the film as the most realastic depiction of war especially the Normandy landing. Truely they were America's Best Generation but so sad todays doesn't appreciate them or their sacrifice.

Always a winner! Outstanding WWII film with a great amount of action and a family story too. Highly recommended!

Everyone knows this is a great movie, in 4k it looks really good, and sounds amazing, I was watching with a friend and they asked me if it was raining outside, I said no, that's the amazing Dolby Atmos sound track coming from the movie, no need to talk about this movie, just get it...This is a very good 4k release...

I think this is the most accurate and magnificent war movie of all time. It begins with the Normandy invasion on D-Day. The sets are unreal. The action is nonstop. And the cast give intense, believable performances. Steven Spielberg’s directing is over the top. Spoiler alert! This movie is EXTREMELY violent and there is some coarse language. Also, there is one scene that is so intense, that you will, as I did, have tears in your eyes.

Great for a collection that really brings what is like to be in war, to life! Great acting and cinematography!

This film always reminds me how fortunate my family is that our father, a US Army combat engineer with the 1st Special Engineer Brigade landed on Utah Beach under fire on D-Day, 6 June 1944. If he had landed on Omaha Beach in the first wave as graphically depicted in this film, he would have likely been lying there dead when Tom hanks and his Ranger company arrived. The combat engineers were largely slaughtered on Omaha. The first 30 minutes of this film are unusually sobering to watch, just like they were in the theater when I first saw this film when it was released. I wept just like most folks did in the theater but I did so since someone that I loved dearly had to, in reality, walk and run into the German machine gun and artillery buzz saw as Tom Hank's CPT John Miller did. I had asked my Dad, who passed away ten years before this film debuted, a million times "what was D-Day like Dad?" when I was a kid and I felt ashamed of myself for doing so since every time I did he had to let go of the memories he was trying so hard to suppress and not give into like all combat veterans do. After seeing those first thirty minutes of this film, I didn't really need an answer anymore. if there is a flaw in this film it is the seen where Vin Diesel's character Caparzo is killed by the German sniper while they are having a screaming match over the little French girl. I used to watch the TV show "Combat" as a kid with my dad and he would always tell me how they would do things in the show that would get you killed or at least wounded if you had done them in real life during the actual war, like walking down a road or across an open field - you would always hug the tree line and roads were likely mined, and on and on. I can only imagine the ferocity of his reaction to that particular scene in this film, since I thought of him during it and his combat gained technical advise immediately. other than that gaff, and it is a gaff, this is an excellent film as has been stated thousands of time since 1994. I just wish my Dad could have stuck around a little longer so he could have seen it for himself. By the way, GEN Omar Bradley did a great but unintentional disservice to all of those brave men who landed on Utah Beach by describing it as a :"cake walk". It wasn't. Fortunately, the pre-invasion aerial bombardment of the beach and the German positions behind it was more successful than it was on Omaha but they still took a lot of casualties, both KIA and wounded. Utah Beach was also the one that "Ike" worried about the most due to its relative isolation from the others. Fortunately the men of the 101st Airborne, in particular the 507th PIR whose storied accomplishments were chronicled in the Ambrose book and the HBO Series with the same name ,"Band of Brothers", saved my Dad and the lives of lots of other GI's by spiking the guns that were shelling them. Those guys are big heroes of mine and I actually sent their Regimental Association a thank you email that basically read..."On behalf of my two sisters, my brother, and myself, I would like to thank you all for allowing us to be born". They reply I received from them, since they had apparently never received a message like mine before, made me weep. This film set a whole lot of good things in motion, including Tom Hank's incredible "The Band of Brothers" series, that email from me that resulted from my seeing it, the response to it I received that apparently warmed the hearts of some elderly "Screaming Eagles", and even greater admiration for my own Dad and the thousands of other Dads that came to not to conquer, but to liberate Europe from Nazi tyranny 69 years ago. God bless each and every one of them and thanks again Steven!!!!

This is one of the greatest movies ever made. I’ve seen it many times in DVD, Blu-ray, and television networks. I decided to buy this 4K UHD Blu-ray because I built my system with the latest components to play this content. Here is the issue... It has the branding on back label showing both Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision. It did not display the Dolby Vision on my Onkyo 6100 receiver. It did display the Dolby Atmos 7.1 on receiver and performed true to that. Now I will say that the picture in 4K UHD is still incredible. It’s still very high-quality output and stood out remarkably over any other format I've seen. I was able to see so much more detail and clarity than ever before. Also, the Atmos performance was exceptional and ROCKED my system and the whole house. Excellent mix and true surround channel separation. It was well worth the $18 bucks. But I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't sure if I was seeing Dolby Vision as advertised on packaging. I have a very good setup at mid pricing. I played the disk through Xbox One X. I have tested all the content from the Dolby app and even streamed Dolby Vision over Prime and MAX. Everything played and performed as it should as far as all the formats. This movie advertising Dolby Vision did not indicate to me that the feature was actually, technically working correctly. I am not an absolute AV expert nor am I a super nerd at this stuff, but this might make a difference to those who are purists. I don't have but a few 4K disks for referencing, but now am skeptical at spending a premium price on something that isn't going to work as advertised. Still this movie being a reasonable price, I would hate dropping $35 on something that fails to fully perform as expected. If it is something in my equipment then I will research that and correct the problem. But I won’t go out and drop a few more $ thousand dollars on components so it will play a few glitchy movies. As a kid growing up and only seeing 3 or 4 fuzzy channels using aluminum foil taped to an antenna, I don't think I'm too picky. So please let me know your experience regarding your results. Did the Dolby Vision work on your system? What other disks have you bought that have not played the way you expected? Thanks for reading. Larry

Great movie