"What I See"

The film that for me uses many concepts we have discussed in class is Saving Private Ryan. To me movies that involve war encompass many angels, movements, and cinematography that greatly impact the emotion of the film. Saving Private Ryan is a movie about US soldiers who go behind enemy lines in Normandy, where a private named Ryan is pursued to be saved. Ryan’s mother received a telegram receiving news that three of her sons had died except Ryan, who was still out there on the battlefield.

The reason I chose this film is because it involves many scenes where close-up angles were used with snipers to unravel the pressure and viewpoint of said sniper. Another shot that was constant throughout the movie is the tracking shot. All through the movie these soldiers are moving, fighting, dodging grenades, and the way that the cameraman works with the actors to follow them through these horrific scenes really gives the audience a sense of relation, and an emotional tie as well. The cinematographer and Director Stephen Spielberg really utilizes the location of the scenes to establish a very realistic re-enactment of the soldiers, the blood being drawn in battle and the sounds surrounding the soldiers.

The overall look and feel of the movie is very dramatic, intense, and quick. During scenes were the soldiers emerge from behind there ‘cover’ area, to throw grenades and shoot the enemy is extremely intense to watch because the cameraman gets right next to the actors. You can actually se the despair in their eyes and desperation as they are forced to kill someone. There are many uses of close-ups in order to establish a personal connection between the viewer and the actor. You can see the sweat, the cuts and blood, the anger of the soldiers as a fellow comrade is killed. The opening scene involves the soldiers are stormed on Omaha Beach and are caught in a very intense battle scene. Here, the cinematographer and cameramen work together to follow soldiers from the time they are on shot, until the time they fall into the ocean left lifeless, full of blood, and then finally sink to the bottom of the ocean. The image of hundreds of bodies truly envelopes the viewer to a point of horror.
The cinematographer and Mr. Spielberg accomplish the story telling of such a tragic reenactment of a real life battle are met by the use of the close-ups, the framing, the quick camera movements from scene to scene and soldier to soldier. The camera work, lighting, color schemes, sounds, and framing are consistent throughout Saving Private Ryan, giving it a true imprint in my mind as far as choosing a specific movie that encompasses all of these subjects.