Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Let's talk about those initial twenty five minutes of "Saving Private Ryan". What a masterful depiction of the horrors of war and the courage and sacrifice of those who fought in it. Both heart-wrenching and inspiring, one of the most intense and pragmatic portrayals of war ever captured on film. Spielberg does not shy away from showing the gruesome aftermath of the battle, with soldiers missing limbs, bleeding out, and crying out for their mothers. Visceral and realistic, Spielberg reproduced perfectly the gritty and chaotic nature of all the madness around the battlefield. From the desatured color palette to the remarkable sound design - bullets whizzing past the viewer's head and explosions rattling the ground -, it's almost thirty minutes of cinematic excellence. I would even dare to say, the best cinematic opening sequence of the nineties. Damn it, wait. Of all time. Done.