Analyse the methods used to make the opening battle sequence of Saving Private Ryan both shocking and realistic, and how effective you find it as an introduction to the film.

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Analyse the methods used to make the opening battle sequence of Saving Private Ryan both shocking and realistic, and how effective you find it as an introduction to the film.

Saving Private Ryan takes place in 1994 Europe and starts off with the battle of Normandy Beach.  It was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat, this film received five Oscars, and a whopping 52 wins and 53 nominations for various awards. Saving Private Ryan is an action film based around World War II and was released on July 24, 1998 in the United States. The all star cast starring Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore and Edward Burns brings to life the horror of war. As the allied forces begin to get a foothold of Omaha, Captain James Miller is ordered to take his squad behind enemy lines on a dangerous mission to find and retrieve one man, Private James Ryan. The youngest of four brothers, Ryan is the last survivor; the other three get killed in combat. As the squad push deeper into enemy territory they question themselves about their orders. Why are eight men risking their lives to save just one? The film lasted two hours and fifty minutes. Steven Spielberg wanted make the film and the battle sequences realistic as possible because he wanted to make the audience watching the film get the reality of how terrifying the real war really was.

The Longest Day was released in 1962, only seventeen years after the World War II. This film also tells the landing of Omaha beach and the invasion of Normandy on the 6th June 1944. The film was directed by Ken Annakin and is two hours and forty eight minutes long.  Some of the actors starred in the film were Robert Mitchum, John Wayne and Henry Fonda. The Longest Day had won two Oscars because of the special effects it used in the film. The film was based on a book written in 1959 by Cornelius Ryan.  

In ‘Saving Private Ryan’ when the boats were heading towards Omaha beach all the soldiers looked really anxious and terrified because they thought they were going to die. The soldiers were being sick and terrified. The camera had zoomed into a close up of Captain Miller’s eyes showing the fear in his eyes. Then there was a long shot of the boat heading towards Omaha Beach. While Captain Miller was waiting on the boat there was an extreme close up of his hand shaking. This had showed us how nervous and frightened he was going into battle. There was also a medium close up shots of other frightened soldiers. This was shown to emphasise how terrifying it must have been for all the soldiers.   The sounds effects play a part as we hear the waves getting louder and the sounds of the boat engines as they approach the beach. Then everything goes silent. All this adds to the terror and hope for the start of the battle.

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In ‘The Longest Day’ when the boats were heading to Omaha beach the soldiers looked very proud and confident about going to war. This is a contrast to the fear shown by the soldiers in ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and this compares the two films to one another.  In ‘The Longest Day’ there was a long shot of a soldier looking ready for war. This shows and tells the audience how confident the soldiers were to go to war. There was also a long shot of the boats heading towards Omaha beach. We hear victory battle music at the beginning of ...

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