Analyse the Methods Used to Make
It followed a group of US soldiers who went behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action. The movies cast included Tom Hanks, who had the leading role in playing Captain Miller and numerous others. These other men included Tom Sizemore, who played Sergeant Horvath, Edward Burns as Private Reiben, Barry Pepper as Private Jackson, Adam Goldberg as Private Mellish, Jeremy Davies as Corporal Upham and Matt Damon who played Private Ryan.
This is not the entire cast, Just the leading actors who had a significant part in the movie.
Spielberg uses various techniques to make ‘Saving Private Ryan both more shocking and realistic. He uses very different techniques throughout the whole of the ilm to add realism and disbelief to the film, which made many audiences, want to watch the rest of the film. The movie begins with patriotic music during the opening credits. The camera first zooms into an American flag billowing in the wind.
By seeing the flag the audience understands that there may be a link between the music and the flag. In the opening scene, we see Private Ryan with his family in the present tense.
It is ironic that his family are behind him as if he had died in the war none of them would be there today. The camera angles begin relaxed as nothing much has really happened in the nd upwards to show all of the grave yard and the horrific side of war which is that of mainly death . As this is happening with the cameras, the music in this part is patriotic and proud, which gives an effect that he had taken part in something very important. While in the graveyard at the beginning, there’s no dialogue at all.
This is because it’s a respectful scene, and silence shows the respect.
It also adds more thought to the audience and lets the thought become bigger and wider. This gives the audience time to show respect by simply looking at all of the gravestones. During this entire scene, two diegetic sounds are used: a french horn and then violins. The French horn plays patriotic music as does the violin to show that the old man is in a cemetery in which the bodies of those who died for the country lie. Spielberg uses the music to make the cemetery and the old man seem very significant.
The music is also very sombre and sad.
It ties in with the fact that the man is getting very emotional himself and begins to cry. At first the french horn is very memorial like, but when the violins start playing they make a transition from memorial like music to personal, emotive music. The violins help the audience sympathise with the actor because at the same time at which the violins begin to play again and crescendo, Ryan breaks down. Also, throughout the entire first scene there is no dialogue at all.
The reason for this is because silence is respectful, and Spielberg wanted the opening scene to respect those that died in the Second World War.
But there’s a transaction between the respectful silences in the present, to the very harsh past. The present changes to the past as there is an extreme close-up of Ryan’s eyes while the music fades and the waves slowly begin to get louder and ouder. The camera shot goes from a close-up to an extreme close-up. This happens so that it looks as though the camera is going through his eyes and into the old man’s memories.
As he looks up the French horn changes into dark, menacing music. As the camera zooms in, the sound of waves crashing grows louder and louder.
The picture fades while the sound of the waves grows louder until the image changes, the point at which the second scene begins. Then the words June 6, 1944 appear. This confirms the viewers’ uncertainties that a transition from present to past has been made.
There is then a side shot of the sea is shown, and the audience sees a fleet of American U-boats. As the camera follows the boats, it shakes to create realism. The shaking makes the audience feel as though they are actually there. The image then changes and a hand can be seen trembling.
The camera then tilts upwards and shows that the face belongs to Tom Hanks. The quivering hand represents how fear-provoking the prospect of war was.
This is realistic. ‘Ninety-five percent of them hadn’t. It was complete chaos. ‘ This is a quote from Steven Spielberg himself. The ‘ninety-five percent of them’ refers o the fact that ninety-five percent of American soldiers had ever fought before.
because they get sea-sick but also because they are petrified by the prospect of going into battle. This is another realistic feature of the film. Miller barks a flurry of orders which are difficult to hear.
This is the point at which the viewers learn that Miller is important and that he is the captain. The camera then shows close-ups of the soldiers’ faces.
Some faces are nervous, but other faces are blank, as though they don’t fully understand what they have got themselves into. The close-ups of the men show how individual they each are. The audience then sees a man forming the shape of the crucifix on his chest and another kissing a necklace that has The Cross on it and praying. This shows how terrified soldiers were, and how they turned to God for help. The audience feels sympathy towards the men as many of them will die.
With the sound effects raising, such as the clanging of the bottle and the man being sick at the front of the boat, it adds the tension and makes the people feel the tension rising.
. What’s most effective about the scene where the soldiers are still on the engine boat is that as soon as the boat door opens, chaos has suddenly entered the film. As the first soldier is about to get off the boat and the rest of the soldiers on the boat get gunned down. The camera is behind the soldiers when this happens so that the audience can see the death of each and every soldier. As the men get shot the whizzing of bullets can be heard.
Also, the point of impact between the bullet and helmets of the soldiers can be heard. At the time at which the soldiers get shot, blood splatters onto the camera. This is an effect that makes the shooting seem more real. It makes the audience feel as though they are in the thick of the action. The audience inds this scene shocking because it is relatively gory. However, I find the fact the number of soldiers massacred in cold blood unbelievable.
The fact that so many perished without a chance to defend themselves or fght. The fact that young, innocent people were brutally murdered.
