The subconscious whistle indicates the beginning of the killing spree as the consequential instant overwhelming chaos, as within seconds men begin to drop in rows one by one in front of our eyes. The whistling of gunfire and flying specks of vibrant splatters of blood and flesh begins to dominate our senses as the bullets tear into the young soldier's bodies. Blood spatters appear on the screen, employed to create an authentic sense of vivid reality.
An over the shoulder shot gives us the German shoulders perspective, interpreting the sense of power and advantage over the American soldiers on the beach, evoking fear for the soldiers from the audience. The overwhelming rapid rattle of machine gunfire and incessant ricocheting bullets gives us the sense of the amount of powerful ammo that the Germans used.
The ramps of the boats drop and we suddenly find ourselves plummeting into the emptiness of the muffled sounds of water as bodies of limp soldiers plunge into the sea. This is when the use of a handheld camera is employed to give the soldiers perspective as we see life suddenly come to a halt and continue in slow motion, exaggerating and emphasising the context of the gory and visceral scenes as the bullets cut through the water and pierce deep into the soldiers flesh with an impact of the release of vibrant disperses of clouds of blood as they drench the sea, implicating the sheer intensity of these bullets power, emphasising the danger that these men faced and the harsh reality that there was no escape.
Spielberg took an almost documentary approach to filming by his use of the handheld camera and also the lack of storyboard prior to ''…hit the sets much like a newsreel cameraman following soldiers into war'. This gives the film more depth which contributes to the heightened sense of the realism quality.
Captain Miller staggers confusingly out of the crimson sea and we view his swarthy and blood stained face, with the wave of the disturbing muffled, droning sound, flooding and deafening the audience senses, making them in turn confused and able to experience Millers situation and be able to relate to him, creating a subconscious connection between them and his character. This also gives the audience time to react and feel the real horror of what they had just witnessed and makes them not become immune to the film and the harsh realities.
Attempts to helplessly try to hide and dodge the screaming bullets failed miserably, as soldier fall limp on the blood stained sand and inevitably die. The soldiers not only faced the fate such as death, but for many, the horror of shell shock developed and ingested their conscience and mind, dehumanising them, making them unable to control their own subconscious mind. Evidence of this is shown as we bear witness as a soldier with one arm, without a flicker of emotion, searches and picks up the discarded limp piece of flesh whom once was his arm, and walks away in a daze, not realising the horror of what had happened to him.
The scream of an incoming shell cuts through our thoughts as it gradually becomes louder as it hastily approaches closer, builds a crescendo as we see a terrified soldier shouting at Miller in a panic, but we are not able to hear his words due to the muffled droning, creating tension and suspense amongst the audience. As the muffled droning suddenly ends, chaotic resonance begins to overwhelm the audience's senses again.
A poignant depiction of a particular soldier who's lower abdominal has been disembowelled, desperately cries out 'Mama', over and over is shown. This certain image connects us to the emotional value of each of these individual soldiers, making us think about the lives and families who will either loose a father, a son, a brother or a grandson. This evokes deep emotions among the audience as they look on with shock, captivating them.
The return of the droning sound and slow motion depicts the damage these weapons of war have upon the tender and volatile human frame. This reminds us of the damage landmines, which are still used in the present day, cause. During the film we bear witness to many weapons of war and their consequential use, making the audience realise that the technology and capacity for impact since that time period has increased
The 104th Medical Battalions presence and purpose in the war was to save as many men as possible which becomes almost impossible due to the pressure and intensity of the chaos and the flying bullets, penetrating the soldiers before they were able to attempt to save them. Many soldiers' wounds were too shocking to be treatable, making the medical battalion have to prioritise the men due to their condition. Spielberg commends the bravery of these men who seem to be the only people in the war who ironically are trying to do whatever possible to save lives instead of killing these young men in these extraordinary circumstances. We see these men performing an operation on a hurt soldier and they seem to have succeeded, but their relief is short lived as the soldier becomes yet another victim to the deadly bullets. A puddle of scarlet blood flows freely, staining the pale sand around the fresh corpse.
As the soldiers approach the wall, the camera cuts to a close up shot of the medical battalion, as they perform another operation; trying to stop a violently spurting artery of a soldier; screaming in agony.
During the course of the film, many soldiers exert their frustration and anger through the use of expletive language, while during some scenes; weather intentional or not; dark humour is depicted. This is questionable as to weather Spielberg employed it as light relief for the audience, but reactions to this will vary.
Another ironic feature in this scene is a chaplain being shown giving the last dying rites to a dying soldier. Religion is a major component in this movie and is crucial to the soldiers whom during this situation; which could be described as hell on earth, turn to god for hope of survival of inevitable death and to give them strength in their time of desperate need. We see Jackson ironically praying to god for strength as he takes aim and kills a German soldier, one of god's creatures, a fellow human being.
As the U.S service men begin to gain power and authority, the audience become desensitised to the violence which is what many soldiers in the war have to evoke in order to survive and have enough emotional stability and courage to kill their foe, but gradually through time, the disgusting horrors in which they had to bear witness to have eventually taken effect upon the human conscious, changing them, making them inhuman and begin to loose their morality towards hate. This is deciphered when the German soldiers fall victims of the fire thrower, we see the American soldier shout ''Don’t shoot! Let them burn!''. The US servicemen want them to suffer in excruciating pain, as a relief for their desire for revenge and sadistic motives. Another appalling example of this is the violation of the war laws which does not allow a soldier to shoot a surrendering foe, considered a war crime, was committed before Captain Miller as he stands back and watches two American soldier from his own squad, shoot two surrendering German soldiers. Dark humour is then employed as the soldiers laugh over their scandalous actions. The camera cuts to a close up shot of Millers eyes and we see his shocked and disgusted reaction in his facial expressions.
After finding a Hitler's youth knife on the fresh corpse of young German soldier who had probably been groomed and brainwashed to fight and inevitably die, a Jewish soldier (presuming) has an aftershock reaction and breaks down and begins to cry.
Captain Miller picks up a water can and we see his hands tremble vigorously as he drinks from it. The camera zooms in on Millers eyes, making us subconsciously begin to presume a link between him and the elderly man at the beginning of the scene, making us assume that the elderly man standing in front of the grave is Miller.
The camera then cuts to a view of the crimson sea with the limp freshly dead bodies, while the waves of blood gently lap over the littered corpses. We bear witness to the many lives which have been lost during this outrageous manslaughter.
Saving Private Ryan is a block buster interpretation of the cruel realities of war. Steven Spielberg attempts to recount the horror of war, to diminish its glamorisation and reveal its shocking consequences. The controversial real life quality of this film has been disputed and criticised by critics, who consider it to be used as a glamorisation of war but in reality, Spielberg should be commended for the achievement that . The film and its characters create and evoke emotions which captivate the audience's attention. Spielberg's interpretation of the Omaha slaughter is aimed to ensure that future generations will remember and recognise the bravery of the U.S servicemen who fought to protect their country and ensure that the future generation is stable.