When they get on the beach it focuses again on John Miller who appears mesmerised by the chaos and bloodshed. The scene follows in slow motion with muffled sound which allows the viewer to focus visually on the images so they can take them in better. The injuries are depicted very graphically with no concern for shocking audiences as Spiel burgs aim is not to glorify war but to show its effects realistically, to show war is not an easy option. Technology had also advanced since ‘The Longest Day’ allowing injuries to be depicted much better. It shows a man whose arm has been ripped off, who then picks it up and carries it with him, it shows men burning and numerous close ups of dead bodies . He snaps out of his daze whilst the younger soldiers bombard him with questions-this is one of the many ways the confusion is portrays. ‘Move fast and clear those murder holes’ is John Millers order, which increases the tension.
As they start moving further up the beach, John Miller starts to drag an injured soldier with him but after an explosion he turns around to find he has lost half of his body. These images are shown in slow motion again to allow the viewer to take it on. It focuses on numerous other injuries but the most graphic is of a man lying on the floor screaming for his mother, while his intestines are in a pile next to him. These images do not portray war as a glamorous or easy option. The camera also switches to the German perspective whilst they struggle to get up the beach to show how they were at an advantage and at what the soldiers are up against.
The medics are shown trying to help but what they are up against makes it really difficult. The use of language shows their frustration and feeling of uselessness, ‘Give us a fucking chance’ puts across to the viewer how difficult their task was. The medics also show that in their situation there is no time for sentimentality as they use a dead body to shield themselves. This is also portrayed when the soldiers are sent to collect ammunition of dead and dying soldiers.
While the men are running, the camera shakes up and down as if you are running with them and there is also blood splattered on the camera, this allows the viewer to become drawn in and feel involved.
Throughout the scene, mayhem and confusion are apparent and put across in many different ways. The soldiers are constantly asking what they are supposed to be and who’s in charge. Sometimes, the film is so loud it’s difficult to hear what is being said, mirroring the soldiers’ situations. At points throughout the chaos the scene slows down and becomes quieter as it focuses on individual soldiers. When the soldier is about to pull the trigger at one of the Germans the camera zooms right up to him to hear him praying, it also zooms on the trigger which increases tension.
When the Americans see the Germans on fire they say, ‘Don’t shoot, let them burn,’ which shows that even thought it isn’t in the spirit of warfare to make them suffer they have been through so much they wont show remorse. When they see the surrendering Germans they shoot them and laugh, portraying just how much they have been put through and that they are done playing by the rules.
When Dog 1 is secured the reality begins the settle in and the slow music begins. The soldiers react in different ways, handling the situations separately either by collecting sand, crying or shaking. This shows that they are just normal men who have been put through so much. One of the soldiers looks over at the French countryside and says ‘what a view’, John Miller looks over to the beach littered with bodies and says ‘Yes it is.’ This then gives the viewers a chance to finally look at the entirety of what has happened.
Even though both films begin slowly, ‘The Longest Day’ differs to ‘Saving Private Ryan’ in that it doesn’t jump straight into the action and begins by showing the build up to D-Day, including German army perspectives and the French resistance. ‘The Longest Day’ was filmed in black and white, despite colour being available; this was maybe used to create a more accurate sense of the era the war took place in. It could also have been that Darryl Zannuck felt that due to the amount of war survivors and their families still living at this time, sensitivity towards a too graphic display or death and injury would have needed to be shown and depicting these in colour may have caused offence to those linked to the war.
‘The Longest Day’ portrays many characters stereotypically and in very contrasting ways. The Germans are shown as unprepared, arrogant and slightly hysterical showing that Zannuck may still have felt resentment toward them. This is shown when German generals are too scared to wake Hitler and inform him of the invasion; when they finally do wake him he throws a tantrum which shows him as unstable and unreliable. The American and English however, are shown as cool, calm and collected throughout the mayhem and confusion of the day. They come out as the real heroes which again leave viewers feeling patriotic towards their country. The Stoical manner is conveyed in many ways, for example, the American general cigar smoking through the whole of the landing. He doesn’t panic and calmly informs the men that ‘the only men staying on this beach are the dead and those who are going to die’, showing the realistic and clear approach they had towards the situation. Another depiction of their collected approach is Lord Lovarrts need for a piper, even when going to battle and one generals concern for his dog Winston, despite the mayhem surrounding him.
As there are so many characters in ‘The Longest Day’, real life characters are introduced in captions, e.g., Rommel, Eisenhower, and the viewer feels no attachment to any of the soldiers, making it quite impersonal. This is a contrast to ‘Saving Private Ryan’ in which Spiel burg’s aim allows the viewer to feel more sympathy for them. It only shows dialect from the American soldiers view which is opposite to the many perspectives given in ‘The Longest Day’. No stereotypes are used at Spiel burg uses a few individual characters to make it more realistic; this is a way of Spiel burg portraying that thousands of normal soldiers died in this way, no historical figures are shown.
In the Omaha scenes, there are many differences in how the battle is portrayed. Most of the men arrive at the beach intact and getting there doesn’t seem like so much of a struggle as it does in ‘Saving Private Ryan’ for example, the water they have to get through is only knee deep. Few injuries are shown and those that are die ‘neatly’ with no graphic realism, that may offend or distress those associated to the war. The camera takes a much more detached view, which again is a way in which the audience feels disconnected from it and less sympathetic toward the men. It is made to be quite impersonal, therefore the amount of casualties are depicted through figures instead of visually. Zannuck uses reports of ‘1000 dead’ during the very first moments in ‘The Longest Day’, to spare the audience of the grisly details. After this, the Captain is shown deciding whether or not to send the next wave of soldiers to go to Utah instead, as it is seemingly impossible for them to win. This shows what a challenge they were up against. Both films show that they are both at a great disadvantage and during war there isn’t time to be sentimental, things have to be done. This is shown by them collecting the dead ammunition again in ‘The Longest Day’. The film also shows that even when the Germans are surrendering they have been through so much that rules of war do not count and they are shot anyway.
Both films give effective recreations of the events of D-Day and the directors achieve there separate aims. In ‘The Longest day’, Zannuck wants to show an overview of the entirety of what happens and give the viewer an insight into the events without emotionally involving them. Spiel burg in ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ instead aims to give a narrow slice of D-Day, concentrating on a few soldiers attempts to win over Omaha Beach. He wants to personally involve the viewer and does not worry about sensitivity towards the deaths and injuries, wanting to show to the viewers that war can never be seen as an easy way out or in any way glamorous.
In my opinion, the most effective film was ‘Saving Private Ryan’, because it showed war so realistically it allowed the viewer to feel like they were there. Spiel burg aim was to draw in the viewer and to become involved and in this way it shows the landings with much more precision. This also is down to the technological advances since ‘The Longest Day’, but the scenes were much more powerful in showing the real cost of war.