BSA106-Saving Private Ryan, Analysis and Review

Saving Private Ryan
1998
Directed by Steven Spielberg
War Film

An emotional start to the movie

To start off this review and analyses, I must say that I never really liked war films. There is something about them that is just all to real. Perhaps its the seemingly uselessness of war or how no one is spared. Despite my opinion on war films, Saving Private Ryan was a fantastic film. And here's why... 

Saving Private Ryan is a film about well, saving a Private James Francis Ryan, the last child of in his family. In order to save a mother more grief, Captain Miller is tasked with the extraction of Private Ryan.

Cinematically this film had it's true shining moments, with its wonderfully immersive backgrounds and camera shots. But it was the way that the story was told through the extensive character development that happens in the short span of 3 hours. Each characters had their quirks and attitudes that are shown equally on screen. The comrade-ship in this film really brings out the characters in this film, especially between Corporal Upham (Jeremy Davies) and the members of The Rangers. Their relationship starts out with everyone bullying Upham, closer to the end they begin to let him into their ranks. Captain Miller is the only one to have really accepted him before everyone else.

Spielberg has a knack for really making everything realistic, especially in Saving Private Ryan. This movie is especially gruesome, it really shows the injuries one would get in war. While I am not one for realistic gruesome(e.g limbs been blown off and guts spilling as well as copious amounts of blood) I can appreciate the effort that went into the special effects and FX makeup used to make such realistic portrays of the wounds of war.

From the explosions to the gunfire, this film was expertly directed and made to pull the audience into the world of the film. Through the use of camera angles and with a few First Person POV shots, one could really feel as if they were there. While the shaky camera made my head hurt, it did help with the immersion, it was if I was almost in the movie. An interesting style of camera work, but fit in well with the movie.

This movie is told through three different POV. The main being Captian Miller, then Corporal Upham and finally Private Ryan (Who, in a way, almost seems to tell this story) These different POV's make for an interesting way to tell a story.

The use of dreary and muted colours helps to create that old timely look and the dreariness of war time. During the scenes of war, all the lighting is low, even in the daylight. The uniforms for both sides of the war look very similar in colour depending on the light. It isn't until you can see the characters face that one can see which side is which. 

Spielberg uses muted colours such as grays and blues to communicate to the audience the sorrow and dreariness that war has. This use of muted colours makes the red of the blood  more prominent against the background. 

During the scenes where the audience gets to see war time in America. Where the colours are just as muted, but the colours are the opposite. The use of greens, browns and yellows contrasts the portrayal of war when compared to the battle field. These colours seemingly turn the meaning of war around. They show the ignorance of war. These colours are to bright and natural and signify how those not on the battle field do not know the true loss of war. It also shows how unaffected they are in contrast to the battle field which is devoid of almost every colour. 


Tom Hanks, who plays Captain Miller, is an amazing actor who shows the emotions and the character development through out the film. This is one of the best castings for a character that I have seen in a movie. Hanks is a well known and fantastic actor and this film shows just that.

I found it hard to get into, but I stuck with it for about 3 days.

This movie was fantastic and whether or not you like the war film genre, I would recommend this film if you like realistic portrayals and an emotional roller coaster ride. Although I wouldn't watch it again as I found it hard to watch in one sitting.