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Albena Gradeva

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Saving Private Ryan

Steven Spielberg& Robert Rodat

Plot Music Editing Cast Message to the Viewer

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Saving Private Ryan

Genre: Action Drama History 1998, Steven Spielberg Won 5 Oscars Mixture of history(loosely

based) and fiction Portrays WWII as it really was:

very realistic portrayal of war About brotherhood, courage,

sacrifice and leadership

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Steven Spielberg• Born in 1946, Cincinnati,

Ohio, USA• Most famous movies

• First movies :WWII • Jaws(1975)• Close Encounters of the Third

Kind (1977)• Raiders of the Lost Ark(1981)• E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) • Schindler’s List(1993)• Jurassic Park (1993)

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Steven Spielberg Very interested in WWII• Escape to Nowhere (1961), which

featured children as World War Two soldiers

• Battle Squad (1961)• Empire of the Sun (1987) • Saving Private Ryan (1998) Started the ‘summer

blockbuster’ concept with Jaws

Pioneered in special effects and product placement (E.T. And Reece’s Pieces: peanut butter flavored candy)

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Robert Rodat

Screenwriter Inspired to write the movie

Loosely based on moving story of the Niland brothers: 4 brothers , 3 killed in the same week, all in different units:1 alive

Sullivan brothers: 5 brothers killed in action All served on the same vessel

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Plot 4 out of 3 brothers KIA(killed

in action) Mother is going to be told of

the losses all on the same day A group of rangers sent to

find the only remaining Ryan brother

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Plot

Opening scene: American flag Old WWII veteran visiting a

cemetry in France (French flag)

The beginning and ending scenes of the film mirror each other

Start and wrap up the film very well

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toipOBs5oos : opening

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Music

John Williams: Military music Album Saving Private Ryan:

won Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television

Level of respect well portrayed by the music

Only 1hr of the movie has film ‘break’for the viewer: can soak up

what is happening(creates atmosphere)

None during battle scenes: sound editing made a realistic atmosphere with bombs and bullets flying at the viewer

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Many close ups + medium shots: show the suffering

Tracking shots mixed with long shots often used to follow battle scenes and the soldiers

Battle scene: Top 10 battle scenes of all time Omaha Beach D-Day, 6th June 1944 Shocked audiences: shaky, hand held

cameras, desaturated colour(grey,black,red), sea-sick soldiers, near suicidal assaults: documentary feel

Makes a cruel joke of the human body and spirit: what is human life worth?

“sickening sense of realism” (doesnt spare the viewer: gory, violent)

Spielberg terrifies the viewer: shows what happened in the past Could also be a warning for future

generations

Editing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFQIuF590B4&feature=player_embedded#! : battle scene

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Cast

Capt. John H. Miller

(Tom Hanks) Well

respected by his rangers

He is a good leader with a good heart, but closed about his personal life

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Cast

Great Leader: tactfully leads the men on during D-Day. Breaks up a fight between

Horvath and Reiben not by orders, but by telling something about his personal life

Admits Ryan is just a name,but if this mission gets him to his wife, then he will carry on

He is just as tormented by the war as the lower-ranked privates, but never shows it (weeps for Medic Wade in solitude)

Good heart:Upham convinces him not to kill a surrendered German soldier

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEzNY0SLUUM: I’m a school teacher

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Cast

Self controlled- required to make good decisions as a leader

Brave and honorable Human: sense of humor

weeps (although in solitude)

Multi-dimensional character: On the one hand is closed up as

leader(cant get too attached to him) Later on, he confesses to his men he

will do whatever it takes to get back home to his wife

Initially seems dedicated to his mission Later, he confesses he just wants to

get home: makes him a character the audience can relate to

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Cast Richard

Reiben (Edward Burns)

Survivor of D-Day Hand picked by

Miller for saving Ryan

Attempts to return to American lines: Miller convinces him to stay

Most vocal: cynicaland sacrastic about their mission Doesnt believe 8

men’s lives should be risked for one random stranger, no better than any of them

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Cast Private

Jackson(Berry Pepper) Talented sniper:

brave strongly religious:

religion is the only thing keeping him going – but even his religion doesnt save him

Contrast:very religious but nothing loving about him: ruthless

Irony: quoting the Bible, simultaneously slaughtering dozens

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Cast Mike

Horvath (Tom Sizemore)

Miller relies most on him to lead the crew

Horvath convinces Miller to stay and fight alongside the stubborn Ryan: this could turn a negative situation into something positive

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Cast

Timothy Upham (Jeremy Davies)

Translater: never been deployed in battle before

Viewer can identify with him: coward

Most soldiers were civilians not prepared for what combat would bring

War can turn people into monsters: turning point when he kills a surrendered German in cold blood (who just killed his comrade)

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Cast  Private

Mellish (Adam Goldberg)

Jewish soldier:fighting Hitler and the Nazi’ss

Is handed a Hitler Youth knife by Caparzo

Proclaims it a Shabbat(like the Christian Sunday: day of rest) challah cutter (Jewish Holly bread)

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Cast Adrian

Caparzo (Vin Diesel)

Has a tough guy act in the beginning

Killed first while trying to save a little French girl: she reminded him of his niece

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Cast

Medic Wade (Giovanni Ribisi)

Quiet and soft spoken: always eager to help fallen comrades

Tells his personal story: his mother; regrets avoiding her as a child: sends a message to be kinder to your family as you never know when you will be snatched away from them

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Cast Private

Ryan(Matt Damon) Brave and

courageous: refuses to leave behind his new and only ‘brothers’ at the Bridge

Will fight on and survives : the mission was worthwhile

He earns his rescue

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Although he doesnt become famous by “inventing a lolnger lasting light bulb or inventing something”, he fulfills a good life

Proof: Good husband, father and grandfather (his family loves him enough to go with him to see the fallens’graves in France all the way from America)

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Message What is a human life really worth?

8 men’s lives are risked for one, a complete stranger to all of them

Main protagonists do not beleive rescuing Private Ryan has anything to do with winning the war

Characters are multi-dimensional: many sides to a man(Upham the translater, Miller)

“Earn this… ”Ryan, and the viewers, must strive to be worthy of the sacrifices made by those who have suffered: make those losses worthwhile

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Message Personal identity (all characters

remain their own individuals)Title: “Saving Private Ryan”suggests that too

Family is importan goes with the old veteran to

support him; Try to spare the only son a mother

has left

Belonging to a group &brothership (dont care about Ryan; he’s not a part of the squad and hasnt earned his right to be saved)

Schindler’s List: humans are the villains, but here , not so much the Germans, but War itself

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Utilitarianism vs Non-utilitarianism

Non-Utilitarianism: Miller Just wants to end the mission so

he can get back home: only cares for himself and not about Ryan(a stranger)

Utilitarianism: Jackson, Reiben, Horvat and even Ryan Defend the greater good for the

greatest number of people Miller: Also argues the number of

men he loses during battle are to save 10, or 20 times as many

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Thanks !