The new film directed by Oscar winner Steven Spielberg is a moving WWII action drama starring Tom Hanks and Matt Damon. The soundtrack was composed, conducted and produced by Grammy, Oscar and Emmy Award-winner John Williams, whose career includes scores for Jurassic Park, Jaws, E.T., and the Star Wars and Indiana Jones trilogies (Williams' work on the Star Wars soundtrack earned the album quadruple platinum status, more than any non-pop album in recorded history).
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