Saving private ryan analysis WW2

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The Second World War was a terrible landmark in the history of mankind millions of people were killed and injured. Frightening atrocities revealed a part of the human nature never seen before. The classic clash of the good allies and the evil axis occurred on a scale and a way never seen before. No wonder films about the Second World War are so popular. Since the last world war there have been many films produced on the subject and there will be many more to come. However many of them depict a honourable, patriotic, righteous crusade against the evil twisted Nazis where boys were made into men and men made into heroes. The true horror of war is never really revealed to its fullest extent. This is where 'Saving Private Ryan' comes into play. Its opening scenes show the gritty terrifying reality of the Second World War in a way never done before. It reveals the war not to be a righteous crusade, but a struggle for survival and victory that was carried out by normal men driven into being soldiers, and driven into killing, brought together and for a cause that was common and just, freedom. However for the soldiers this was only secondary to the longing for their homes and families and peace.

The opening is cut into two very different sections with very different scenes and pictures resulting in a powerful contrast between the peace and quiet, and the turmoil, pain, and despair. In both scenes camera angles, sound and music play a very important part in revealing the horror of war. The first scene is peaceful and quiet and it shows Private Ryan old and decrepit visiting the graves of his fallen comrades with his family. The emphasise on the American flag, the age of the man's body, what he is feeling, and the graves brings about a strong atmosphere to the scene and starts to stir emotions within ourselves, the audience. The cunning camera angles and deep patriotic sad non-digetic music is used to great affect to create the atmosphere and mood. In the second scene things appear very different. The pictures are much more harsh the sound and objects much more threatening and there is a storm brewing in the weather and in tension for the soldiers and ourselves. We are following the camera up the beach with the soldiers at their level and this makes us get a better picture of the beach invasion from their view, and it is a gruesome view indeed. There is no music in this part of the film, Steven Spielberg the non-digetic sound to digetic sound which is the loud dangerous sound of the battlefield. This part of the opening scene is what 'Saving Private Ryan' stands out for because it is so horrific and accurate.

In the first scene we start with a close up shot of the American flag. It is blowing in the wind, and we can hear it flapping in the background. The music for the first scene is just starting with the typical war sound with the trumpets giving a patriotic sound. This is a good opening shot because the film is based around Americans and the flag we are shown is American, it is a sign of what the men in the war fought and died for and believed in. It is subtle in colour and it is translucent with the sun shining through it from the other side. This shows that the flag is a sign of power, freedom and righteousness. The picture of the flag coupled with the quiet sad opening music reveals what is to come to an extent and what nationality the soldiers fought for.
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The next picture is one of Private Ryan walking along a path, him in front with his family behind him. This shows his pride and isolated feelings that his family do not feel as strongly for. He drags his feet, this shows us his age and that he has lived a long time. There is also a shot of his family and a close up shot of his wife who is pleased he is here and smiles and at the same time is feeling empathy towards her husband and what he must be feeling. We can hear the ...

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