"The Longest Day" "Saving Private Ryan" Write a study of how both films present the events of June

       As the clip goes on, we see certain changes occur such as the number killings and the beaches on which the events are taking place. It involved beaches like the Utah Beach and also the Sword Beach where the British troop-s were landing and also facing German opposition. As it gradually goes on, we realise that more killings are shown and in this scene, we encountered a little bit of German language as well. There wasn’t a great deal of music being played but the noise being made by riffles, shells, bombs and sea waves made the scene more lively. The commanders on the other side of the beach also showed very much courage as they were ordering their troops forward and they actually made some progress. Another beach involved or shown in this clip was the Gold-Juno Beach which involved a little bit of comedy where we saw a man playing the bagpipe as the war went on. The first appearance of a cycle, aircraft and armour cars was shown in the scene on this beach. This clip didn’t involve any colour and its opening sequence was as graphic as war footage. This clip shows the actions and events of the d-day landings in sections not as a whole scene that’s why we encountered different beaches as the scenes went on. We also see that, the soldiers are cheering as they come out of their landing boats to show their bravado and their enthusiasm. This also shows us how prepared they were for the events of the d-day landings but as they finally got onto the shore, majority of the soldiers lost that courage and bravery. We also realise that they’ve put everything behind them and are focusing mainly on what their in for and you’ll think they will make much progress because of the way and manner in which they started their attack.

     The extract “Saving Private Ryan” is next on my commentary. Unlike the first clip, this extract focuses much more on the individual aspects of the soldiers, which is the humanitarian side of the war. Once again as the fist one, the soldiers are cheering as they alight their landing boats to launch their attack and they looked very much like making much progress which they later did as the clip went on because of the courage and bravery with which they started their attack. The camera is more focused on the personal suffering of the soldiers. This extract shows horrific pictures like one of the men who has lost half of his leg and another soldier who’s going round looking for his arm which he finally finds and takes away as if he’ll need or use it again. Such pictures showed us how the soldiers were suffering and how they came to terms with them. The soldiers don’t take cover at the start of the extract and this gave the Germans who were up shore the advantage and began firing straight away. The beginning of the extract was a major blow to the British troops as they lost majority of their men when getting off their landing boats. This extract took place on the Omaha Beach and this one was more realistic. The camera showed the British troops looking at the Germans who had taken their positions up shore. The British troops took little time to settle down so for most of the beginning, the Germans did most of the firing and more people were dying as well. The soldiers made little progress but as the extract went on, they finally began to gain the upper hand. We could see that the British troops meant business as they even killed two of the German soldiers they had found in their trenches when they got there. The colour involved in this extract made us see the blood being shed by the wounded and dying soldiers which was in the water, their helmets and all over the shore. It was the first time an underwater scene appeared as some of the soldiers battled under the sea which showed very much blood. At one point in the film, every noise or sound being made either by the shells, bombs or riffles being fired or even the music being played, all went mute and for the next five ten minutes, the camera focused on the British commander, Tom Hanks showing his shock and disbelieve at what was really happening and what his men were going through. He was looking on as some of his men were hiding behind the ruins of wood on the shore to escape bullets while some were crying and shouting in pain saying things like “mama” while others were helping to carry their injured mates to safety. He also watched on as one soldier picks up his arm and as if he’ll need it later on. Tom Hanks saw all these things his men were going through felt bad about it. This very part of the play was in a slow motion form and I think it’s the most dramatic scenes of the two films because everything halts and all you could see was the firing and the wounded men and Tom Hanks realising what his men were going through. It was also the fist time we saw some of the men relying on their religion to help them through what they were going in for like one of the soldiers kissing his cross and another one murmuring some things on his lips as he slowly rolls a long bead in his hands. There are many casualties in this extract   as well as more dead and much more progress too. The camera lens and angles show extreme long shots and although the British troops suffered many casualties in the beginning stages, they showed very much courage and bravery as the scene moved on.

    The two scenes we experienced were different in the way they were presented, the activities in them and the progress of the troops. One extract showed different beaches along the same coast with attacks going on there as well while one showed only on beach where much of the attack was taking place.

                                                           Anthony .A. Abladey

                                                                  10 WD 1