English/Media Coursework - Saving Private Ryan

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Media Coursework – Saving Private Ryan                                             

Analyse the methods used to make the opening battle sequence of ‘Saving Private Ryan’ both shocking and realistic, and say how effective you find it as an introduction to the film.

‘Saving Private Ryan,’ of a war film genre, was directed by Steven Spielberg. The film was released on September the eleventh, 1998. In 1999, it won five academy awards including best director.  Steven Spielberg has directed many great films in the past, including ‘Jaws’ and ‘Jurassic Park,’ each of which have a cast full of famous actors and actresses.  Saving Private Ryan is no different, with its lead actors including Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore and Matt Damon.  Spielberg once said about the film “I was looking for realism all the time,” and he uses this realism he mentioned to make the film so gripping and realistic to the audience.  You would expect the film to build up to the war from the beginning, but Spielberg sets the film off with an exciting battle scene.  The battle scene is very realistic, as well as the rest of the film, because of the use of desaturated colour, which makes it seem like you are at the battle scene, and your sight has been blurred by blood or rain.  Also, the use of handheld cameras makes the audience feel as if they are running around the battle field with the characters.  Finally, the realistic nature of the film shows the audience what the war was like, and gives them a window into the mind of a soldier.  This gives us empathy for them.

At the start of the film, the audience is shown the iconic image of the American flag, flapping in the wind with the sun shining through it.  This shows that it is an American film, and that there will be an American victory because of the light shining through it.  It is obvious that Steven Spielberg wants the audience to notice it, because it is a long shot.

When the audience is first introduced to the main character, they see him from behind, and his feet come into view to show he is limping.  It then pans upwards to his body, and the audience then see him walking ahead of his family, which shows him as isolated and alone in his thoughts and knowledge of the war.  As he walks alone, the mis-en-scene shows he is a few meters ahead of his family, and they are looking at him warily.  He walks into a grassy area, and the camera focuses on the man’s face as his expression shows great emotion towards where he is entering.  The audience are shown some headstones, indicating that it is a war memorial site.  As he approaches a headstone, he breaks down, and this is when the audience is shown the strength of his family, and the support they have for him as they all rush to comfort him, but they don’t seem to need to say anything, just to be there is good enough for him.  This all shows the reality of the war in that only a soldier knows how it feels to have been in a war and only a soldier has those images in his head.  He may have support of his family, but only he can feel the emotional trauma caused by the war, and as we move into the second scene, there is an extreme close up and as the camera moves closer, he is isolated from his family, and they become out of sight.  This is a good introduction to the film, because it shows the audience that there has been a great war, and prepares them for the deaths and pain to come in the film. It also shows the audience that they are about to see things through the eyes of a survivor.

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The setting of the memorial site tells the audience a lot about the war to come, as it shocks the sheer reality of the number of deaths caused into the audience’s mind, as there is a shot of the memorial headstones in their large quantity.  The audience sees the man walking through the masses of headstones, and as he slowly walks, they are shown from a low angle shot, which shows the respect and importance of them.  This low angle shot also shows us how dominant they are.  This has a sympathetic effect on the audience, as they have ...

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As an analysis of a film and the consideration of the choices made by a director this is a very sound essay. It addresses all of the relevant aspects that come together to create a production and shows considered understanding of choices made by Spielberg. 5 Stars