June 6, 1944 the American troops invade the shores of Normandy. After a brutal battle on the beach and heavy losses of life, the Americans get a foothold on the beach.

During the invasion it is discovered at the Pentagon that a family in Iowa named Ryan has lost three sons in the war. One is still alive somewhere in France and orders are sent to find this Private Ryan, played by Matt Damon, and bring him back home alive. The task is given to Captain Miller, portrayed by Tom Hanks, as he gathers up eight good men to search the countryside for a James Francis Ryan.

From the visually impaired point of view, this movie begins quietly with an old man and his family walking through Arlington National Cemetery. The old man stops at some graves and remembers. The next half hour is extremely difficult as the invasion of Normandy takes place. Great sound effects but you'll need a running description from your sighted friend or the whole scene will be meaningless. The middle portion of the movie is not so hard to follow as the eight soldiers scan the countryside to search for Private Ryan. I wasn't able to get clear images of each soldier in the group but thanks to the constant dialogue I was able to follow things pretty well for a long period of time.

The last half hour of this movie was like the first half hour. Very difficult. It was another battle that was filled with great sound effects but, once again, without a sighted assistant this scene would be pure chaos and very frustrating to anyone with a visual impairment.

"Saving Private Ryan" is a powerful movie and definitely worth attending, but I can only give it a 4. Take a good sighted assistant and take some long slow breaths before tackling this movie.