Saving Private Ryan Soundtrack (CD)

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