The effects of the camerawork and soundtrack in Saving Private Ryan all make it seem more realistic. The opening scene is the transition from present day to the past in which setting and mood are established and the main characters are introduced. During this scene an elderly James Ryan visits the graves of U.S. soldiers at Collesville-Sur-Mer in Normandy, France. He then Experiences a flashback that transports the audience to the 6th of June 1944, D-Day, as the U.S. army prepares to land at Omaha Beach.
Just previously to the flashback the camera slowly zooms in on James Ryan’s face to a big close up of his eyes. It then cuts to a deep focus shot of Omaha beach with the iron hedgehogs’ both in the foreground and stretching into the distance. It swiftly changes to a long shot of the boats as they approach the shore, ready to attack. This cuts to a recurrent image, a close-up of Captain Miller’s hand shaking before cutting to close-up shots of the soldiers terrified expressions.
The soundtrack is also very emotive. It starts with a trumpet solo before changing to the sound of waves that gradually increase in volume. At first, the soldiers are silent and there is no dialogue but instead the sound of boat engines. This is joined by the clear sound of vomiting and shouted instructions.
Hannah Smith May 2004
This opening scene establishes a clear connection between the elderly man in the graveyard and D-day. It also introduces the date and setting along with the creation of a mood of fear and tension. The audience is also given a cursory introduction to some of the main characters in the film.
The next scene describes the Instant Chaos, this being the name of the scene, caused as soon as the boats doors open and soldiers are shot and killed. This sequence is lengthy as soldier after soldier is killed within seconds of leaving the boats. The camera work and soundtrack in this scene adds to the high level of chaos caused by the large amount of soldiers and disorganisation on the screen.
The camerawork begins with many medium and close-up shots of soldiers on the boat already being attacked and killed before they even leave the boats. An over the shoulder shot of a German give the audience the German perspective of a sense of power and advantage over those on the beach. As soldiers plunge into the sea the camera follows giving the America soldier’s perspective as they struggle both below and above the water surface. These shots are followed by hand held camera shots that suggest that the audience are making their way up the beach.
The soundtrack is dominated by extremely loud gunfire during this sequence. The sound of bullets firing and hitting their targets and shouted instructions create an atmosphere of chaos and confusion. All sounds are muted as the cameras dip below the surface and we witness bullets zipping through the water, continuing to kill people. The muting of the sound gives the soldiers perspective so the audience can see and hear for themselves what the soldiers would have experienced.
All of these various perspectives give an overview of the carnage while the camerawork brings the audience close to the action. Spielburg’s giving of the German’s perspective suggests that the American soldiers are fighting a lost cause and it indicates the immense difficulty of the mission.
The third part of the sequence, Captain Miller’s Confusion, shows how he staggers out of the bloody sea before stumbling and falling. The audience witnesses his shock and confusion regarding the carnage around him from his viewpoint.
There is a large amount of varied camerawork during this scene. It begins with a close-up of Captain, Miller as he emerges from the sea before4 it cuts to jerky, sow motion shots of Millers shocked expression edited alternately with the horrors taking place around him. An over the shoulder shot gives the audience Miller’s perspective while a close-up of him as the tips the bloody water out of his helmet makes him look blood splattered.
The soundtrack is also arranged to give the audience Miller’s perspective. At first all sounds are muted except explosions that can still be heard but to a lower volume. A young soldier shouts silently for instructions until the sound returns noisily when we hears the soldiers words above the loudness of the gunfire and explosions.
During this scene the audience are plunges into the horrors of D-day alongside Captain Miller and we experience the senseless carnage through his eyes. Although he was not a raw recruit, we could tell that he was still shocked beyond belief at the events taking place around him. We finally
Hannah Smith May 2004
witness Miller returning to his senses and resuming his responsibility. In this scene we are given an insight into the true horrors of war and it is very shocking.
The final scene of the opening sequence is called, The End Of The Battle and it is where Captain Miller rests. Sergeant Horvath, played by Tom Sizemore, comments, ”That’s quite a view”, a sentiment that is echoed by Miller. During this short scene we are shown vast numbers of dead soldiers as the bloody sea washes over them.
The final scene begins with a second close-up of Captain Miller’s shaking hand. The camera then zooms into a big close up of his eyes then cuts to show the audience his perspective. We are shown a long shot of water washing in over the dead bodies. What is most remarkable is the colour the colour of the water, bright, blood red. This slowly cuts to a long shot of the beach where the camera pans slowly to the left before it zooms into the wording on one soldiers backpack. It says ‘Ryan’.
The sound is also very important in this scene. It starts with gentle music that quietly fades in before the peaceful sound of waves accompanies it. This is a welcome calmness after the prolonged noise, chaos and destruction. The melancholy music adds to the solemnity of the images.
The whole scene is so peaceful compared to the previous three. This is a relief for the audience after the exhausting tension and horror of the battle. During the scene, we are struck by the enormity of the event and the sheer number of deaths shock the audience. The final shot that shows the name Ryan on the backpack of one of the fallen soldiers establishes a link between the sequence we have just seen as well as both the title and plot of the film.
The opening sequence successfully transported the audience to Omaha Beach on the 6th of June 1944. The opening battle sequence led me to believe that the remainder of the film would be a continuous battle however I later found that this was not the case. I prepared me well for the few battles that followed but it did not give a great insight into what was to follow. I found Saving Private Ryan more realistic than other war films because it broke many of the conventional war film boundaries in that it shows the soldiers emotions rather than just endless battle sequences. I also found it quite shocking because it portrays the horrors of war very realistically. Most war films do not do this so, for many of us, the film differs greatly to our previous view of war. I thought that Steven Spielburg was very successful in putting “chaos up on the screen”. He achieved this by using fast cuts from one shot to the next. This gave the film a chaotic feel because, at points, it was quite disorientating. His use of a large amount of actors and props added to this chaos. I think that Saving Private Ryan is a very good film because it gives the audience a detailed insight into war and its effect on the people who are immediately involved.
