Saving Private Ryan

Genre

Saving Private Ryan is an American epic war film set during the Normandy D Day landings of World War II.

Narrative

The narrative in the scene comes from the characters. We feel we are in the scene. There is the normal interaction of the family and the commands issued by the officer.

Character

The old man in the cemetery is immediately seen to be a key character in the film. As he walks into the cemetery he is seen to be anxious and distressed and swallowing hard. Concern is showing on the faces of his family as they approach the graves. The man is unaware of everything around him. He almost collapses and is beside himself with grief. His family try to comfort and support him. As he kneels at the grave we know there is a history between him and the dead man.

There is a close up shot of the man and we see right into his eyes and this takes us to the pain of the war.

In the scenes in the boat and on the beach, one man is singled out. Initially there are close up shots of his shaking hand showing his great fear. When giving orders he is clear and confident, showing attributes of a good leader. There are close up shots of his face. We see right into his eyes and we feel how dazed and confused he is.

Atmosphere

The opening atmosphere in the cemetery is quiet and peaceful, but we soon realise by looking at the character of the man that all is not well and we have a sense of dread from his face.

When the scene switches to the boat the atmosphere shows fear and a sense of dread – these are real people in an horrific situation and they are scared.

As soon as the gunfire begins the atmosphere is of horror and chaos. It is noisy and out of control. No one knows what is happening.

This chaos is contrasted by the eerie silence under the water.

Themes

We are immediately aware that this is going to be a war drama and we feel it will centre around the horror of war and the human loss.

There is going to be a real exploration of how war affects the people involved in it.

Setting

The film opens with an establishing shot of a World War II cemetery. A family group is walking up a long entrance road to the cemetery. It shows normality in this shot which will contrast strongly to the chaos of the war scenes.  An old man is walking unsteadily ahead of the rest of the family. This immediately raises the question as to who he is and why he is in the cemetery.

There is a shot of both the French and American flags which links the character to the Allied forces.

There are rows and rows of stark white gravestones. We get the sense of the enormous number of casualties. The gravestones appear to be endless.

The scene switches sharply to show the D Day landings on a Normandy beach. The landing craft are approaching the beach and there is an initial high angle shot to show all the landing craft. The shots then change to come from inside the hold of the boat and we feel we are in the boat with the soldiers. We see the shoreline and an overcast sky giving a sense of dread. The beach is strewn with man -made obstacles. We also see a concrete bunker and there is the feeling that this will play an ominous part very soon. There is a real sense that this landing will never be successful.

Once the order is given the scene changes to total chaos. The soldiers try to run up the beach but they are faced with blasts of gunfire coming from the Germans in the tower. The Germans are firing from a high angle shot which shows their supremacy. The Germans have the advantage and real power here. The scenes that follow show chaos, and are full of noise, mud, water, blood and death. The audience are thrust immediately into the horrors of war. There are horrific scenes of soldiers being shot down. There is one horrific shot of a soldier whose arm has been blown off. He is dazed and stops to pick it up in a trance.

Some scenes take place under the water. Above the water there is noise and chaos. Under the water there is an eerie quiet. The soldiers struggle to get off their equipment before they drown.

Sound

The sound of the opening changes with the scenes.

As the boats approach the beach there is the peaceful sound of the surf lapping the shore. As the moment of landing approaches, the ambient sounds gradually increase and we are aware of the noise of the diesel engines. The volume continues to increase.

 We hear the sounds of the bullets and the din of battle. Underwater the sounds become strange and muffled, much quieter.

We see how the main character’s mind tries to block out these sounds as he tries to understand.
Throughout the beach scene there is no non-diegetic music, this creates a very realistic atmosphere and immediately throws the audience into the world of D-Day

Titles

The titles are in stark white letters similar to the gravestones.

June 6 1944 sets the date in history.

Dog Green Sector, Omaha Beach D Day World War II shows us the place and the conflict. They are clear and direct.