Awesome / Saving Private Ryan

• The cinematography of the battle sequences are astonishing; not only do they capture the chaos and brutality of the fighting, but a lot of complicated sequences are shot in long, single takes, a perfect orchestration of cast and crew making something immersive come to life.
• The storming of the beach, when not Nightmare Fuel.
  • Especially the long shot where Miller leads several men up to the Seawall.
• Jackson shoots the sniper right at his eye, a moment after the sniper spotted Jackson aiming at him.
• Mellish taunting captured German POWs by proudly flaunting his Jewish heritage.
  Mellish: (pointing to himself as the POWs march past) Juden! Juden! Juden!
• After Wade's death, Reiben decides he's had enough and prepares to abandon the unit. Horvath gets angry at this and draws a gun on him, threatening to shoot him if he doesn't get back in line. Reiben shows no reaction, giving a You Wouldn't Shoot Me by daring Horvath to "put your money where your mouth is".
• Captain Miller reveals his background to the squad he's a school teacher, and uses it to explain why he wants to complete the mission to save Ryan.
  Miller: So, I guess I've changed some. Sometimes I wonder if I've changed so much my wife is even going to recognize me, whenever it is that I get back to her. And how I'll ever be able to tell her about days like today. Ah, Ryan. I don't know anything about Ryan. I don't care. The man means nothing to me. It's just a name. But if... You know if going to Ramelle and finding him so that he can go home... If that earns me the right to get back to my wife, then... that's my mission.
• The eponymous Ryan, when encountered, is expected to be some detached, delusional rich and/or momma's boy wanting to play soldier. When the squad finally meets him face to face, they find anything but. Let's go through the list, shall we?
  • A subtle note for how the squad encounters Ryan. Cpt. Miller hears a German halftrack in the distance, and orders his squad to take cover in the tall grass and let it pass. While they are hiding, a bazooka round knocks out the halftrack out of nowhere, surprising everyone. After Miller guns down the surviving German infantry dismounting from the vehicle, they encounter the paratroopers who launched the ambush, and ask them their names; Ryan is the man holding the bazooka.
  • At first, he's confused by the order to bring him home, even upon learning about the deaths of his brothers—all of whom it should be added, he grew up with. And yes, it's very clear that he's conflicted and broken up by the news. You would be, too.
  • Second, he immediately begins bringing up everything he can muster to mind in regards to military protocol—not to aid his escape from the war, but to prevent it.
  • Third, and one of the hard-hitting moments: his tirade about how he shouldn't have to leave this whole mess is interrupted by Reiben (one of the squad sent to retrieve him) stating that two of their men have already died trying simply to find him...upon which he doesn't sulk, nor lash out. He simply turns away from Captain Miller to ask what their names were—even Miller at this point realizes he's become a third wheel in the conversation, and it shows.
  • Fourth, upon hearing those names, and fully processing everything being told to him, Ryan walks away from everyone present, and just breathlessly utters to no one in particular, "It doesn't make sense." He then proceeds to rant about the whole mess; he points out the other present members of his unit, stating that every single one of them has fought as hard as he has, and by proxy deserves this chance to go home and wash hands as much as he does. The film gives brief, but poignant shots of three or four other members of the unit, all whom are silent, but their emotions clearly mixed: on the one hand, they all clearly think Ryan deserves this reprieve on some level. On the other, they all clearly think they do, too. That speaks both for Ryan himself as a soldier and friend, and for the situation in general.
  • Fifth, after all of that, Miller takes the one card he has left: appealing to Ryan's sense of family. "Is that what they're supposed to tell your mother? When they send her another folded American flag?" To which, after only one second or less, Ryan flatly and firmly states the following:
    Ryan: Tell her that when you found me, I was here. And I was with the only brothers I had left. And there was no way I was going to desert them. I think she'll understand that.
• The final battle sequence. When Miller's squad finally finds Ryan in the town of Ramelle, he point-blank refuses to abandon his mission to defend a vital bridge from a German advance. Forced to accept that Ryan won't desert his post until his mission is finished, the squad instead decides to join Ryan's vastly outnumbered paratrooper detachment as they Hold the Line against the Germans, planning to fight to the last man. Cue 40 minutes of unbroken action, where a little more than a dozen American soldiers hold their ground against 50+ German soldiers and four tanks with nothing but guns and improvised munitions. It really says something that it manages to be a truly awe-inspiring sequence while not sugarcoating the harsh reality of war in the slightest.
• Upham executing Steamboat Willie in cold blood after the latter shot Miller. Before that Upham had a Death Glare upon seeing that to show how furious he is at Steamboat Willie for essentially spitting on their mercy that they gave him earlier in the film and as soon as Upham has him at his mercy again, Steamboat Willie recognizes Upham and says his name thinking he could be spared again. Upham pulls the trigger without hesitation.

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