The first scene is the transition from present to past. .At the start of the film we see an old man walking towards the graveyard with some people behind him. The graveyard that we see in the film is situated in Normandy which is a part of France. The name of the graveyard is ‘ Colville-Sur-Mer ’. Then we get a close up on the American flag and the French flag. As the old man walks into the graveyard his eyes begin to shed tears then he kneels in front of a tombstone which has the name ‘John Miller’ engraved on it. The film starts in the present day and then as we get an close up on James Ryan’s face the film flashes back to the past which was the Battle grounds of the war at Omaha Beach. This takes us to June 6th 1944 which was D-day. Then he uses a long distance shot so that we the audience could see what is there along Omaha beach. Then we hear the calm sounds of the waves gushing against the hedgehogs and the corps along the long stretch of the beach. This movie is obviously set against the backdrop of World War II, beginning with D-Day and the battle of Omaha Beach.
Then in the second scene we see and hear the Higgins crafts approaching the beach through the thick mist. As the boats approach nearer to the beach the commander in charge of each unit of each boat shouts out orders. As the doors role down we see chaos as the German soldiers open fire on the soldiers that are trying to get out. The killing appears to be overdone as the young men step off the transport boats only to be killed one after the other, but when consulting the history of this battle, it is almost exactly how this battle took place. The beaches were indeed covered with bodies, and the water was red with the blood of the slaughtered soldiers. The recreation of this battle by Steven Spielberg has succeeded in bringing this war, this battle in particular, out of the history books and into larger than life on America's movie screens. The over the soldiers shot makes the audience see from the German’s perspective of how the Germans had a clear advantage. As the U.S soldiers try their hardest to approach the battle field most of their attempts are in vain their. This due to heavy fire from the German soldiers that massacre most of them even before they get out from the boat. As captain Miller attempts to get all his soldiers out of the boat most of them at the front die. Then he orders them to jump from the corner of the boat. Then as the soldiers attempt to swim ashore most of them drown or get shot. The Steven Spielberg use the water to create the sound effect. As the soldiers go under water the sound is muted and as they rise their heads above the water the sound of gun shots reappear. The various amounts of perspectives give this scene an overview of carnage. Camera works are so good that they brings the audience closer to action to see from the Germans perspective and make the audience think that the U.S. mission was hopeless.
The third scene is about Captain Miller’s confusion. In this scene we see that Miller dragging a soldier onto the beach. At this point the dramatic influence kicks in. as he saves the soldiers from downing and brings him onto the beach the soldier gets shot. As he takes cover behind the hedgehog you could see the confusion in his face. He doesn’t seem to hear what the soldiers are requesting for. As well as his hands keep shaking through out the film. This shot is in slow-motion to increase the realism. Captain Miller’s perspective shows the death of the soldiers on the beach head. The sound hear is muted but the explosions could still be heard vaguely. Then we get a close up on Captain Miller’s helmet and as he puts it on the blood that was collected from the water starts dripping on his head. The sound then returns and Captain Miller begins to give out orders. The effect that this scene has on the audience is similar to the effects of the last scene as it makes the audience feel apart of the battle field. This scene shows a lot of blood shed, death and horror. The number of people dead is of a violent nature.
In scene four of the film it is when the bloody battle ends. In this scene we see Captain Miller sits down and rests on high ground, Sergeant Horvath Says “that’s quite a view” and Captain Miller agrees. Then the vast numbers of dead soldiers are shown along the beach. The first shot is the close up of Captain Miller’s face and his shaking hands. The camera then zooms in on the captain’s eyes to show the emotion. This shows the scale of the battlefield, the camera then pans to the left showing one dead soldiers backpack with the name Ryan.S. The sound in the scene is the gentle music in the background. Th music fades out and we hear the sound of waves, these waves sound calm than they were at the beginning of the film battle scene. Its comforting somehow in a strange way. This scene is a relief at the end of the battle because the audience is shocked by the number of dead people. The final shot of Ryan’s backpack establishes the link between what we have just seen and title plot of the film.
In conclusion I would say that the opening battle sequence prepared the audience for a great adventure which was to come ahead, the sequence went into details of the gruesome war and the way the soldiers fought in the battlefield. It is clear that above all else, Private Ryan is intended to create an awareness of the sacrifice of the soldiers that gave their lives during World War II. In doing that, Steven Spielberg very successfully in brings out intense emotions in the spectator. While this movie had a great deal of violence that was sometimes difficult to watch, the sheer sentimentality behind the mission of the soldiers who have to find Private Ryan and bring him back was heart wrenching to say the least. It would take a cold-hearted individual indeed to feel no sorrow for the pain of the mother of Private Ryan when the military officials arrive at her home to tell her that three of her sons have been killed in battle. The way she falls to her knees on the porch and begins sobbing at the sight of the military vehicle is without a doubt a mirror of any mother's reaction to the same situation. Simply said, the moviegoer feels her pain. Even the hard-core attitude of the soldiers during the capture of the German soldier that has just shot their friend, the medic, brings on conflicting emotions. The German, while digging graves for the dead American soldiers, pleads for his life, insults Hitler, and praises America all in one desperate breath. The viewer also feels a reluctant sense of pride in the young translator's sense of right as he repeatedly tells his fellow soldiers that to kill this man after his surrender would not be right. Saving Private Ryan could arguably be called one of the most bloody movies ever produced. But it is not a pointless violence as is the case in horror movies that people go see everyday. It is true that the violence in this movie is meant to shock, but is also meant to educate, and to make the viewer appreciate the patriotism of all the American soldiers that have died to protect the United States of America from madmen like Adolph Hitler. Steven Spielberg has chosen a different angle in the making of this movie than is normally taken. He chose not to portray the crimes against the Jews, but rather to applaud the brave efforts of the soldiers that essentially won the war and destroyed the Nazi government. He reminds every American that many men have died protecting the rights that they often take for granted every day. Saving Private Ryan is a movie that should make every American realize that Memorial Day is more than a day off. Steven Spielberg used the newsreel camera technique to make the scene come to life and so that the audience could really feel that they are a part of what is going on. The special effects in the scenes made everything seem real, this could be seen when the bobs go off and the soldiers lose their limbs you could see them flying around in air. A range of computer graphics were used to make the atmosphere look effective on screen and the computer graphics were used to show the soldier with their arm or half the body missing. I think that Steven Spielberg succeeded in putting “chaos up on screen” because he used the elements of film making which were never see before seen on screen. He used sound and camera work to make the film look as realistic as possible. I thought that the film was directed really well as a whole but the opening battle sequence had an enormous effect on the audience as it prepared them for what was coming next.
