How does Steven Spielberg make the opening battle scene to Saving Private Ryan both shocking and realistic?

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How does Steven Spielberg make the opening battle scene to Saving Private Ryan both shocking and realistic?

     Saving Private Ryan is an epic war film directed by the world-renowned Steven Spielberg. The movie received several awards including five Academy Awards for best cinematography, best director, best effects, best film editing and best sound, it also picked up other prestigious awards. The first twenty-five minutes are a flashback to the storming of Omaha Beach on D-Day. Through his unique uses of proxemics, camera angles, costumes, special effects, editing, sound, colouring, props, events and characters Spielberg has made a shockingly graphic and unflattering war movie. During the visceral first twenty-five minutes Spielberg does his best to de-glamorise and twist our opinions of war, in order to shock us and make the whole experience realistic.

     When the movie begins we see Private Ryan, years after D-Day, slowly walking through the memorial graveyards, then the camera zooms in on his eyes and we see the D-Day landing at Omaha Beach. In this battle Spielberg makes it shocking by going into graphic detail of the slaughter of thousands of soldiers. Throughout the battle we follow Captain Miller as he storms the beach, Miller shows signs of extreme courage and leadership qualities; for example when he drags a comrade along the beach, leaving himself more exposed to enemy gunfire. When we see this leader of men as nervous as everyone else, shown by his shaky hand, it gives us a real insight into how terrifying the war must have been. Thousands appear to be dying everywhere and a significant sense of realism is accomplished.

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     Proxemics are an important way in which Spielberg sets the scene and creates an atmosphere; approaching the beach in the boats as men spew up sick from rattled nerves, the men are very close together which illustrates the sheer number of men who are about to attack, but as soon as they actually get on to the beach and the machine guns and mines tear through them, the men seem few and far between which gives the feeling that the Americans forces seem to be being rapidly depleted and really emphasises the amount of men being killed. Men ...

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