Examine the different ways in which D-day landing at Omaha Beach is depicted in 'Saving Private Ryan' and 'The Longest Day'

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Examine the different ways in which D-day landing at Omaha Beach is depicted in ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and ‘The Longest Day’

‘ Saving Private Ryan’ was made in 1998 by Stephen Spielberg and gives a graphic depiction of the events at Omaha beach on D-day, focusing on a small section of the army and portrays it on a more personal level. ‘The Longest Day’ was made 17 years after the war in 1963 by director Darryl Zannuck. This gives us more of an overview of the entirety of D-Day depicting army, navy and air force as well as the German army and French resistance. Both films portray the landing as acts of heroism giving the viewer a strong sense of the Patrism however the director’s aims differ resulting in two very different recreations of the landings.

The opening of both films is similar. Their beginning scenes are very slow military music, ‘Saving Private Ryan’ shows two waving flags, American and French, before focusing on a man, walking alone. He appears almost on a mission seeming anxious and upset, looking for something in particular although you can’t see where he is. He is shown walking across a war cemetery with white crosses then falling in front of a particular grave. This portrays how, even after 50 years after the war, the memories are still painful and affecting him. The camera pans across the cemetery showing the immense crosses from many angles showing the enormity of death caused by war, including graves of the Star of David, to show war affects all races too. No dialect is used in the opening scenes as the visual images speak for themselves.

The opening scenes from ‘The Longest Day’ is similar in its slow start, beginning with a close up of a helmet on a beach, accompanied by Beethoven 5th, which as its used as Morse code for victory, gives a patriotic sense immediately.

Although both films begin slowly ‘Saving Private Ryan’ gets started a lot quicker and has a faster pace throughout the whole film.

After the man has collapsed to the floor the camera zooms into his eyes and the scene changes. It focuses on another mans face with the caption ‘Dog Green sector Omaha Beach June 6th 1944.’ This is a flashback and a complete contrast from the cemetery. It’s very loud and the colours are grey and dark. The camera then focuses on the man’s shaking hands and the men around him who are clearly nervous, praying or being sick; Spiel burg is determined to show from the start that the war is not glamorous or a game. You see how stormy it is and how many boats there are approaching the beach. Bullets start straight away and people are killed before they have even got off the boats. When they start going in to the water the camera does a number of underwater shots whilst bullets fire past them. It is as if the camera is seeing through the eyes of one of the soldiers, making you feel very involved in the struggle. The water becomes clouded with blood and at one point the camera bobs up and down in the water, seeming like a drowning man. All of this adds to making the viewer feel like they are right there with them making it quite personal.

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When they get on the beach it focuses again on John Miller who appears mesmerised by the chaos and bloodshed. The scene follows in slow motion with muffled sound which allows the viewer to focus visually on the images so they can take them in better. The injuries are depicted very graphically with no concern for shocking audiences as Spiel burgs aim is not to glorify war but to show its effects realistically, to show war is not an easy option. Technology had also advanced since ‘The Longest Day’ allowing injuries to be depicted much better. It shows a man ...

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