At the beginning of the film you see an American flag and it represents the nations embalm and makes the people of America proud to be American but the flag is see through as if the flag has worn away with time.
Spielberg prepares us for the film with a scene set in modern day France, in the war memorial garden. Where there were rows and rows of war graves. This is an effective way of showing us the effect of war because it shows just how many people died at war fighting in France
Next we see a man who we see being followed by his family. This man is looking for the grave of Private Ryan. This man is the man who saved Private Ryan. The scene ends with endless pictures of graves and then the camera zooms in on the man’s eyes.
After this close up the film flashes back to the war. It takes us to the scene where the soldiers who are on the boat are ready to get off then you see the soldiers are afraid, you can see this because they are throwing up and shaking. At the end of this scene the director builds up the moment by slowly opening the doors on the boat and you get to watch the soldiers being killed by the Germans.
Then the director shows some excellent underwater footage of men being shot and killed. This is supposed to make you feel shocked and feel sorry for the families of the men who died.
The scene on the beach reveals horrific images of men getting their arms and legs blown off and there guts coming out and others getting shot in the head.
The director then changes the action by making everything slow motion and making the sound and colour dull and when the sound is dull it has an echo affect shaky which looks like the camera is shaking. This gives us Tom Hanks perspective as he goes into shock.
We occasionally see things from the Germans point of view, when they are looking through their telescope or from behind German guns.
The effect of the opening scenes on the audience is shocking, sickening and worrying. It is very realistic and had a dramatic opening.
The film is made even more realistic by the shells and bullets. The screams of the men how have been shot and the blood of men how died.
In conclusion, I think that the film was very realistic and Spielberg knows how to make a film so effective by showing the real affects of war.
