Matt Damon’s WWII Masterpiece Is Still His Greatest Movie 28 Years Later

Steven Spielberg’s *Saving Private Ryan*, released in 1998, remains a landmark war film and a defining entry in Matt Damon’s career. Its story follows Captain John H. Miller and his men as they search wartime France for Private James Ryan, after three of Ryan’s brothers are reported killed; the mission reflects the policy of sending surviving siblings home.

The mission is fictional but draws on the experiences of the Niland brothers, and Spielberg prepared much of the cast for their roles through military-style boot camp. The roughly 24-minute Omaha Beach opening depicts the chaos of D-Day, while the film focuses on the soldiers’ individual experiences and the cost of their mission. Damon plays the young soldier at the centre of the story, which closes by reflecting on sacrifice and remembrance.