Saving Private Ryan- A literary Perspective

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Saving Private Ryan

Essay

Saving Private Ryan is about heroism, the sanctity of life and the tragedies of war. The film was made in 1998 by Steven Spielberg and is based on the true story of four brothers that are in the American Army in World War 2. The effect of desaturated colour helps to create a dark mood to the film and because it is not a happy film, the director (Spielberg) does not use strong vibrant colours. The film was completely different from any war film made previously and had a huge affect on how films in general are made today. In most films previous to Saving Private Ryan they are biased to one side and does not give the full picture. Audiences were not shown the full gore and horror of war and directors concentrated more on the heroism of a particular person or group of people. Steven Spielberg makes the scenes incredibly realistic by making the actors wear replicas of real uniforms and equipment from the time. He has also incorporated tactics and feeling to the soldiers to make the story feel more real. In the opening battle scene they use handheld cameras to make the audience feel that they are one of the soldiers on the beach and not just someone watching from the sidelines.

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At the beginning of the film the only thing we can hear is a military snare being played, but as the grandfather moves across the grass a violin and brass section are added. When the violins are added it suddenly helps to make the audience feel sorry for the man even though they do not know what has brought him here. As the man crouches at one of the graves the camera moves in for a extreme close up on his face and then just his eyes. When the camera moves in on his face the military music fades ...

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