Tom Hanks has transformed himself from the party dude of Bachelor Party to the romantic lead of Sleepless in Seattle to the war hero of Saving Private Ryan to the six different characters he plays, amusingly, in Cloud Atlas.
With over 80 acting credits to his name, it’s hard to choose the best Tom Hanks titles. Today we take a look at the best Tom Hanks movies…
1. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
When we first see Captain Miller, his hands are shaking as he puts his canteen to his lips before beginning the D-day assault on Normandy. He’s scared, as would anyone be in that situation. The greatness of Saving Private Ryan can be measured in many ways — the harrowing brilliance of its opening battle sequence, the stunning desaturated images of war rendered by cinematographer Janusz Kamiński — but it’s ultimately a very human story, which is why Steven Spielberg cast Hollywood’s most reliable and relatable everyman star in the role. As the film pounds along and the body count builds, we learn that Miller was the kind of American hero World War II probably produced a lot of: an ordinary guy back home who turned himself into a leader of men because the fate of the planet hung in the balance. Hanks is as stripped-down as the landscape, hoping that rescuing Ryan will be enough to get him home and forget all this terrible killing. His death in the final moments haunts you long after the film’s over, with Hanks paying tribute to a lot of good soldiers who went off to safeguard freedom and never saw America again.
