This Steven Spielberg hit is widely recognised as one of the greatest war films of all time and will be available to watch tonight. 

Saving Private Ryan is a devastating epic starring Matt Damon and Tom Hanks, adapted for the screen by Robert Rodat from the Stephen E. Ambrose’s books, and it is airing on BBC2 at 10pm.

The arresting film with some of the most period-accurate and horrifying combat scenes centre around Private Ryan (Damon) as he struggles through the bitter end of World War II in 1944 Normandy.

Saving Private Ryan also stars Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore and Jeremy Davies.

Captain John Miller (Hanks) leads his men on a grim and courageous journey to find Private James Ryan. Each of Miller’s men overcomes their own treacherous journey and discover themselves amid horrors of war.

This multi-award winning film was the second highest in 1998 and has a near-perfect rating of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Some say the film has the best shot combat scenes of all time. One viewer called the film a “masterpiece”, another added: “The opening beach assault sequences were the most violent, realistic, and upsetting filming I’ve ever seen; looked as though the thing was actual combat footage. The shushing noises of rounds cutting through the air was the most chilling part of all.”

One heartbreaking review on IMDb detailed the reaction of a man who fought in WWII, and how he was unable to finish the film because it was too accurate of a depiction.

He wrote: “My grandfather fought in WW2 somehow surviving D-Day. He was apart of Operation Neptune and stormed the beaches of Normandy. He told us a lot of war stories but rarely ever spoke about that day.

“Saving Private Ryan was a respectable “I can’t watch this” reaction. He said no movie has come that close to capturing what that day was like. He said it was too realistic. Whether or not the story is based on real or fiction, that intro was 100% realistic. I’m not sure if he ever did finish watching it but he appreciated it for capturing that chaos like no other movie has before.

“I watched the movie a dozen times now and keep it in my collection as a reminder of my grandfather. A scene he was technically in. Which makes me appreciate how strong of a person he really is.”

Another fan wrote: “I have never been affected by a movie the way Saving Private Ryan affected me. That movie really took me out of my seat in the movie theater and practically had me believing I was really in the battle with John Miller.

“When somebody was dying in that movie, it felt as if you could almost feel their pain. Spielberg did an unbelievable job of putting realism into this movie with the camera-work and everything else. Simply amazing. An all time great.”

Saving Private Ryan is on BBC2 at 10pm on Sunday, January 11.