Saving Private Ryan War

Saving Private Ryan (Spielberg, 1998), is a unique war movie that has changed the way this genre is depicted and filmed. The movie does not boast some heroic, Rambo like, soldier that attempts to stop the war and get the girl. It shows the soldiers sense of duty and sacrifices made for the country on such a tragic time. Spielberg’s film lacks “censorship” (Basinger, P. 7) when showing the brutality and casualties of war. He captures the mentality and the image of the common war hero. Spielberg’s representation of war and ability to make his audience relate to the film is the true uniqueness of the film and what separates it from the others.
Basinger breaks down the traditional format of a World War II into three categories: “hero, group and

The simple task is to retrieve and save Private Ryan. There is no heroic tale or any glory to be gained from their task. The men come together because of their duty and obligation to their country. Movies such as Enemy at The Gates (Annaud, 2001) have a clear hero and motive to end the war. Vasili Zaitsev is a soviet snipper, who finds himself becoming a hero and is single handedly killing the German troops. Unlike this we do not see John Miller performing such acts, in fact he hates killing other men and states that every time he kills a man he feels further away from home. One could argue that the sacrifices these men mad to try and save Private Ryan are in fact an act of heroism, but the context must be remembered. These men are not helping Ryan because they want to but rather because it is just another assignment and it puts them one step closer to going home. These men are far more complex than the typical war hero seen on the screen. They do not live for the fight but rather for the trip home.
The concept of a soldier in the 1940’s was the common man wanting to enlist in the military out of a sense of duty. Many of the Hollywood films have shown this sense of patriotism. Movies such as Captain America: The First Avenger (Johnston, 2011), correctly depict this sense of duty. It shows every boy in the town wanting to enlist and join the militia to save their country. Where

The opening minutes of the film are an overwhelming reenactment of total chaos and brutality. The constant movement of the camera puts us right in the middle of it all, it disorients the audience and gives the viewer a sense of anxiety. Certain scenes even feel as if they are shot in the first person point of view which further intensifies this experience. Many films up to this point never actually used shaky camera movement. Every bullet, scream, and bomb is heard in the scene, which further immerses the audience in the movie. This groundbreaking visualization of war changed the way many felt about it because it brought back the human aspect to the violence. Many argued that we, as Americans, have become desensitized to violence. This movies opening scene was able to make its audience cringe because Spielberg was able to capture and make the audience fear for their own mortality and