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Running Head: ANALYSIS OF THE MOVIE “SAVING PRIVATE RYAN” 1

Analysis of the Movie “Saving Private Ryan”

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ANALYSIS OF THE MOVIE “SAVING PRIVATE RYAN” 2

Analysis of the Movie "Saving Private Ryan"

Introduction

Saving Private Ryan is a film manifesting struggle through blood to bullets, bombs to

bones, and from tanks to rifles. Thousands of soldiers were massacred to liberate their country.

Besides, the film covers the most gruesome events known to a human being until this day. To

understand the production of the film more accurately, it is necessary to investigate various

dynamics employed.

Part 1

Contextual Information

The film Saving Private Ryan was produced in May 1999. It was written and directed by

Robert Rodat and Steven Spielberg respectively. Additionally, the film is categorized as an epic

war drama since its plot depicts the invasion of Normandy during the Second World War. Saving

Private Ryan is a notable work due to its graphic portrayal of war throughout the film. It includes

a scene of intense battle at Omaha beach during the Normandy invasion. Essentially, Saving

Private Ryan is within the genre of war films with captivating and memorable battle scenes. The

main actors include Tom Hanks (Captain John Miller) and Matt Damon (James Francis Ryan).

Plot

The story dates back on June 6, 1944, in Normandy, Omaha Beach, where Captain Miller

together with his squad lands on a shoreline in an all-out war. Many soldiers were killed on the

beaches, and anyone who survived the war took shelter on the dunes. At that time, it was difficult

for the soldiers to retaliate since they were severely injured and few in numbers to be able to defeat

the German defenders. However, with the help of the Bangalore torpedoes, they managed to

penetrate across various hindrances and ultimately eliminate the last surviving German soldiers.

ANALYSIS OF THE MOVIE “SAVING PRIVATE RYAN” 3

During the time of war in England, three of the four brothers belonging to Ryan’s family

were massacred in the battle. Moreover, one of the brothers was killed in the territories of New

Guinea; the second and last brother was executed on Omaha and Utah beach respectively.

Consequently, a rescue operation is planned to search for Private Ryan who was the last brother

surviving. The rescue squad under the command of Captain Miller, parachuted behind the German

camp the day before the attack. Captain Miller together with his elite team comprising of eight

men, sets off to a rescue mission but the squad gets confused and begins to doubt the effectiveness

of the mission by arguing with each other (Sarkar, Bali & Sharma, 2018). However, the doubt

fades when one of the squad soldiers is shot by a German sniper.

Ryan search intensifies notwithstanding the attack from the Germans. Later by chance

Captain Miller finds Private Ryan. Moreover, Captain Miller declares that he has lost his three

brothers in warfare and was willing to go back home. Ryan is reluctant to leave his friends who

protected the bridge with the same passion as he did. Finally, Miller agrees to stay a little with his

brother waiting for the American reinforcement. Luckily, Miller gets to know that the German will

raid before the arrival of the reinforcement. Therefore, the troop decides to fortify their territories

to have a good view of their enemy.

The Germans attack and conquer the Americans forcing Miller's men to retreat and allow

Germans to cross the bridge with their armoury. Of the eight men who went for the rescue mission,

only two survived. Private Ryan is then repatriated home at Iowa, United States. It is evident that

Ryan lives to honor the sacrifice made by all those men who were massacred to save him.

Aesthetic Choices

The film is chronologically planned, from landing on shores to moving across the various

field and finally rescuing Private Ryan. One of the aesthetic choices used in this movie is

ANALYSIS OF THE MOVIE “SAVING PRIVATE RYAN” 4

desaturation, changing the color of the film to make it seem older (Binns & Ryder, 2015).

Additionally, desaturation makes the movie dull including the explosions and gunshots. This style

makes the movie to be more real in the absence of high color contrasts. The movie was filmed

from a crane which allows the audience to see and understand more of what is going on in the

squad. This angle keeps the audience interested in all the characters rather than concentrating on

one.

The costume included uniforms and troop boots with identical pattern design. Costume

design in Saving Private Ryan was necessary to unveil the historical credibility of the events.

Uniforms and weapons were seemed to be worn out; this was supposed to complement the aging

factor of the film.

The sound heard from the film is "thunderstorm” like noises from distant battles. The scene

begins with peaceful sounds of the shoreline, but the ambient sounds intensify as the scene

progresses (Binns & Ryder, 2015). The sound of the aircraft becomes less noticeable as the sound

of the battle increases. As the soldiers escape to the shore, bullets penetrate into the water with a

zipping sound. However, the sounds of gunshots tearing human flesh are scary and make the

viewers feel despair, wondering how these men can be saved.

Editing. The scene is encompassed of fifty separate cuts expertly spread over four minutes of the

film (Fisher, 2017). Among the phenomena of the editor's immense contribution is the

professional timing of the gun placements shooting upon the passengers of the landing jet and

the sequence of the cuts made to shots of the carnage within the jet. This part of the scene unveils

more information about the condition of the battlefields, and it also leaves the audience with

suspense.

ANALYSIS OF THE MOVIE “SAVING PRIVATE RYAN” 5

Technology. Steven Spielberg has incorporated special effects throughout the film. For example,

the images are desaturated and slightly foggier but still maintaining the sharpness. Battlefield

sanity is achieved by adjusting a camera shaker to the cameras allowing the image to jostle and

strobe. Technicolor's ENR process reduces the brightness of the shots. The film incorporates

combat violence in a manner that it remains unnoticed by viewers. The film manages to capture

past experiences evoking both fictional realities and historical truths.

Social/ Personal Impact

The film is firmly grounded on the tenets of patriotism. This was the sole purpose for the

production of Saving Private Ryan. Additionally, what remains a fundamental question is what

our mandate to those who have suffered and sacrificed their lives for the sake of our country. The

film has a positive impact on the society since it highlights that war is no longer an art to find

solutions. Additionally, unity is a critical component of all nations that aim to achieve political,

social, and economic growth.

Part Two

Analyzing film is a way to understand the editing, technology, and Mise en scène among

other components of the film. Hence, one will be able to comprehend various dynamics of the film

such as whether the film is portraying positive or negative impact on individuals and society at

large.My personal view of the film has changed since I cannot watch a film without analyzing

some essential parts of it such as costume, casting, lighting, cinematographer, and the storyline as

well. Moreover, gaining knowledge on the film theory and its true meaning of criticism can assist

in unleashing out the main storyline, genre, and the theme of the film among others.

ANALYSIS OF THE MOVIE “SAVING PRIVATE RYAN” 6

This study has changed my mindset about the relationship between movies and the society.

I have never tried to understand the impact of films on the community. It can be explained by the

fact that I have never tried to analyze a movie and find out lessons that the society can gain from

watching it. It is a remarkable experience to be able to examine all the dynamic that revolves

around the production of a film through a critique essay.

Conclusion

In conclusion, patriotism can be undermined though it is easier to display the flag then

defend it. Saving Private Ryan depicts the struggles and bloodshed that World War II soldiers

encountered to gain the freedom. Therefore, it reminds us the responsibility that we owe to our

fallen heroes. As citizens, we can only unite to build a prosperous and peaceful nation.

References

ANALYSIS OF THE MOVIE “SAVING PRIVATE RYAN” 7

Binns, D., & Ryder, P. (2015). Re-viewing D-Day: the cinematography of the Normandy landings

from the Signal Corps to Saving Private Ryan. Media, War & Conflict, 8(1), 86-99.

Fisher, J. (2017). Film and Affect, Theories Entwined: The Case of the War Genre in Saving

Private Ryan (Steven Speilberg, 1998). In The Palgrave Handbook of Affect Studies and

Textual Criticism (pp. 513-541). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Rassell, A., Robinson, J., Verhagen, D., Pink, S., Redmond, S., & Stadler, J. (2016). Seeing,

Sensing Sound. Making Sense of Cinema: Empirical Studies into Film Spectators and

Spectatorship. Bloomsbury Academic.

Sarkar, D., Bali, R., & Sharma, T. (2018). Analyzing Movie Reviews Sentiment. In Practical

Machine Learning with Python (pp. 331-372). Apress, Berkeley: CA.

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