Analyse the methods used to make the opening battle sequence of Saving Private Ryan both shocking and realistic. Saving Private Ryan is based on four scenes which are: The transition from present to past, the instant chaos, Captain Millers confus

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Hasan Khan

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

Saving Private Ryan was directed by Steven Spielberg and was first released on September 11th 1998. It won five academy awards and was one of the best films directed. Spielberg is a highly known director because of many other amazing movies that he makes, that are known around the world. These films include titles such as ‘Jaws’, ‘Jurassic Park’, ‘Schindler’s List’, and ‘Minority Report’, along with many other famous films.

 

Saving Private Ryan is based on four scenes which are: The transition from present to past, the instant chaos, Captain Miller’s confusion and the end of the battle. Steven Spielberg has used many conventions such as:  military, historical and drama. He has chosen these conventions to show the audience how life was like in a war. The film is based on a few soldiers such as Tom Hanks who had played Captain Miller and Matt Damon who plays Private Ryan and many more. Steven Spielberg uses different ways to show how the war was terrifying by using many techniques that add effects to the war. Spielberg aimed at making the war more realistic as he says, “The last thing I wanted to do in this picture was use the war simply as a springboard for action-adventure. I was looking for realism all the time”. This point is clearly right as he proved the war to be realistic and devastating. He uses the effect of the desaturated colour which reflects and shows the realistic and dulled effect of the war. This adds a negative atmosphere which shows the audience how it felt in war. He has also placed the usage of cameras in his film as he says, “I wanted to hit the sets much like a newsreel cameraman following soldiers into war”.  This tells us that he wanted  to use cameras in a way to show the audience the realistic effect of the war by letting the audience feel that they were following the soldiers. He has used these techniques to show the audience the realistic and dramatic effect of being in a war themselves.        

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The transition from present to past is linked the ending and beginning both. This shows us even within the first scene it prepares you to see what will happen. In the first scene, at the very beginning, it shows Private Ryan in the present tense with his family. As he walks to Captain Millar the camera pans its way to him and rises upwards showing all the graves in the graveyard. As this point, the music in this bit is patriotic and proud, which gives an effect that he had taken part in something do with the graveyard or ...

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