`Saving Private Ryan' won't be confused with `The Thin Red Line'.

First came the dueling volcano movies. Then came the dueling asteroid movies. Now, in a theater near you, come the dueling World War II movies.

Oh, it may seem as if there is no real dueling going on between ``Saving Private Ryan'' and ``The Thin Red Line,'' because the former opened way back in July, and the latter opens Christmas Day. Enough time has passed, one might assume, that the two projects need not be compared.

Yeah, right. And I've got a movie I'd like you to invest in.

Trust me, these two movies are going to be compared until the end of time, or Oscar night, whichever comes first.

So why delay the inevitable; let's see how they measure up against each other. And …