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Rating: 10/10 (18 March 2017)

Saving Private Ryan is the World War II story of a group of American soldiers who just after the invasion of Omaha Beach, France, are sent to find Private James Ryan (Matt Damon) and escort him home after all three of James Ryan's brothers are all killed in action, leaving him as the Ryan family's only living son. The movie opens with an older James Ryan visiting the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, where he falls to his knees when he arrives at the headstone of Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) as he is overtaken by the grief of remembering what Captain Miller and his fellow soldiers did for him. As the camera focuses on the grief in James Ryan's eyes, we are taken back in time to the story of Captain Miller and his fellow soldiers' actions in saving Private Ryan. The opening shot (establishment shot) of the movie shows the Omaha beaches with Captain Miller and his crew inside a Higgins boat just off the shore ready to make their landing. As the door to the Higgins boat opens we are taken on a twenty-five-minute ride through the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of Captain Miller, other soldiers, and even through the eyes of machine gun operating German soldiers. In this scene, our visual and aural senses are shocked with the horrific sights and sounds of war. In what is surely the most graphic, gory and violent war scene I have ever witnessed, viewers are exposed to the sounds of bullets whistling past our heads as hunks of flesh are being blown off our soldiers, bodies being ripped in half by machine gun rounds, which we can hear bouncing off the ground, and limbs being blown off and bodies being vaporized as bombs explode on the beach. This barrage continues until the landing zone is secure, at which time we are presented with the remnants of the battle, which includes hundreds of dead bodies washed up on the beach and many more strewn about the sand, which is now soaked with blood. To maximize the effect of the horror of this scene, and others throughout the movie, the filmmaker, Steven Spielberg, uses a mix of visual techniques to intensify battle scenes, such as the use of hand held cameras to create volatile movements. He also effectively uses sound effects, transitions, and leitmotifs to enhance the emotional elements of the film. In the opening scene at the cemetery, while an older James Ryan is on his knees and the camera is tightly focused on his agonizing eyes, Spielberg transitions to the establishment shot by dissolving this facial shot. This transition technique sets the tone for the rest of the movie and is used anytime there is deep reflection and strong emotional situations occur. Another technique he employs to evoke an emotional response is the use of leitmotif. During the film there are several instances when soldiers are about to succumb to their injuries and they produce a written note they request be sent to their families. This passing of the note is extremely powerful in that is shows each soldier was aware of their vulnerability and potential death. Throughout the movie, this passing of the note is repeated multiple times as members of Captain Miller's group are killed in various battles as they race to find Private Ryan. This is repeated all the way to the end of the movie when Captain Miller is killed in the final battle scene and his note is taken by one of the members of his group. Now, as the movie ends, the viewer is transitioned back to the cemetery where Ryan is on his knees and staring at the cross of Miller as the words of his letter are being read aloud by a narrator. This circling back to the cemetery brings about a sense of finality to the movie and draws a strong emotional response from the audience. Lastly, in addition to the sound effects used in the war scenes, like the sound of bullets hitting flesh, Spielberg uses other sound effects that have a profound effect on the movie. These include the use of typewriter keys being struck by the secretaries of the Army who were writing death notices to the families of the fallen soldiers. The sound of the keys striking the paper are very loud and are done using a quick pace to emphasize the number of dead soldiers. In another scene when Captain Miller's group are looking for Ryan they came across a bag of dog tags that had been removed from dead soldiers. After looking at each tag the group would drop them onto a makeshift table, which caused an extremely loud clanging. Both sound effects are well placed and add dimension to the film. In the end, Saving Private Ryan is a movie that not only expresses the horrors and the human cost of war, it also is details the journey of a group of soldiers whose mission it is to save the last living son of the Ryan family. To that end, Spielberg beautifully ties together with sight and sound the very graphic nature of war and the nature of man, who is willing to risk his own life to save that of another. A movie well done, indeed.