Analysis of the Methods Used to Make the Opening Battle Sequence of Saving Private Ryan Shocking and Realistic

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Analysis of the Methods Used to Make the Opening Battle Sequence of Saving Private Ryan Shocking and Realistic

Saving Private Ryan was directed by Steven Spielburg and was first

released on the 11th September 1998. The film runs for a total of two

hours and fifty minutes and it won five Academy Awards including one

for the Best Director in 1999. Steven Spielburg has directed many

award winning films such as Jaws in 1975, ET The Extra Terrestrial in

1982 and Minority Report in 2002 as well as Saving Private Ryan in

1998. Some of Saving Private Ryan’s leading actors include Tom Hanks

as Captain Miller and Matt Damon as Private James Ryan. Saving Private

Ryan is about the D-Day invasion killing the third of four brothers so

that only one was left alive. It then goes on to tell us about eight

men’s epic journey trying to save the last Ryan, Private James Ryan.

Saving Private Ryan breaks many of the traditional film conventions.

It shows emotions as well as battles, weapons and deaths. This is

normally left out of war film because it is deemed unnecessary. It

also is very realistic. This was, evidently, Spielburg’s intention

because he said, “I was looking for realism all the time.” I believe

that he was very successful in this cause. Spielburg also used

desaturated colour in this film to give a very thought-provoking

effect. This is especially prominent on the USA flag where red is the

obvious colour. This gives the effect of blood and doom and it is very

dramatic. The film hosts some very realistic battles, which help to

make the film shocking yet realistic. The use of hand held cameras

during the battle scenes help us to understand what...

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...than other war films because it broke many of the conventional war

film boundaries in that it shows the soldiers emotions rather than

just endless battle sequences. I also found it quite shocking because

it portrays the horrors of war very realistically. Most war films do

not do this so, for many of us, the film differs greatly to our

previous view of war. I thought that Steven Spielburg was very

successful in putting “chaos up on the screen”. He achieved this by

using fast cuts from one shot to the next. This gave the film a

chaotic feel because, at points, it was quite disorientating. His use

of a large amount of actors and props added to this chaos. I think

that Saving Private Ryan is a very good film because it gives the

audience a detailed insight into war and its effect on the people who

are immediately involved.

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