01. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)
Saving Private Ryan is one of those films that had such an impact upon its release that it will forever remain one of the most significant pieces of 20th century cinema. The graphic nature of the narrative lends a horrific sense of realism to the film, an achievement that has only been afforded to a few equally remarkable war films. The fact that Steven Spielbergs incredibly moving magnum opus was denied the accolade for the dull-fest that is Shakespeare in Love (1998) is surely the Academys greatest mistake. Ryan remains one of the best war films around and continues to speak to audiences over a decade later. The same cannot be said about Shakespeare in Love! An overstated rom com in period costume, its a piece of forgettable fluff that made far fewer waves than Ryan and lends itself less well to repeat viewings. Both obviously have historically set narratives, but where Shakespeare in Love is an entirely fabricated piece of near nonsense, Ryan bases itself in a lot of fact and builds fiction upon this. Allowing contemporary audiences to actually feel something of what their relatives were put through the war is uncomfortably realistic here, but the film is all the better for this uncompromising sense of realism. In all aspects, Saving Private Ryan is by far the superior production and infinitely more deserving of the Best Picture Academy AwardIm just glad that it was rightfully voted the accolade in
OWFs 1999 Oscars retrospective!