As Garrett pointed out last week, Spielberg always makes movies that takes it's elements into the highest plain. In contrast to Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, I watched Saving Private Ryan. Although both movies are from very different times, and on very different subjects, Spielberg's touch is still evident in both movies. (Note: Many people made this movie great, but since we are analyzing Spielberg as an autuer, we will give him most of the credit.)
As Indiana had to make a choice between his mission, and Marion, the squad under Captain Miller (Tom Hankes) must decide whether to push forward with a mission risking the lives of the many to let one soldier home. Spielberg always has his characters fight internally over what is moral, and some other virtue or lack there of. This is somewhat similar to Akira Kurosawa and his themes of internal struggle. Spielberg shows the constant struggles of the soldiers. Throughout the film, the soldiers must decide on keeping their own lives, or protecting others.
As the movie opens, it seems as if it would represent D-Day as just another battle completely Americanized by Hollywood. Spielberg tricks the viewer into thinking that the battle will be shown as the Americans sweeping through the German armies, but as the first soldiers attempted to get off the boats, thousands were killed on the spot. By showing the amount of pain and anguish the soldiers were in, Spielberg shows the amount of bravery the soldiers had. This is apparently the film that Spielberg first showed the dark side of war. In fact, it was one of the first films to show the dark side of war. In this, Spielberg is obviously not the average director as he always strives for something new, something greater.
There are various similarities and differences between the Indy Series and Saving Private Ryan. While both movies have equally gory parts (considering one is a war movie), Saving Private Ryan isn't all "gung-ho" about it. In Indiana Jones, there are multiple gun wounds, and head explosions, but the viewer doesn't see it as a bad thing. On the other hand, the viewer genuinely feels the pain of the soldiers. In terms of character development, we see a lot more in Saving Private Ryan as this is a film that talks about character's growing as they experience more, while Indy just goes around owning up everybody. Yes, owning up.
I personally loved the film, and thought that it was a truly powerful film as it showed both sides of war. It is not a film like Schindler's List, and Saving Private Ryan actually shows the battle scenes. It is a must-see, unless you are squemish (I really mean this), but Roger Ebert gave the movie five stars, so trust me, its good.
2 comments:
Note to Mr. Klobuchar: This is Terry but on a different account.
Well I certainly feel that Speilberg has tries to sneak in various statements about morals. I mean, he even manages to do so in an action film like Indiana Jones. Even Jurassic Park! (Morals of cloning creatures and playing God) I don't know why he does this, but he does say that in Saving Private Ryan, he is going for a sense of realism. Throughout his life, he has viewed war as a glamourous thing because of his father's tales, and this in turn makes him want to show people that fact that people do die in war, and that it is horrific. He states that this simple fact is neglected in all the honor that romantics have grouped with soldiers.
Spielberg is definitely not your typical director. His influence and themes extend to all corners of the film industry. If you dream it, he has made, but he says that in all this, one must be able to differentiate genre's and what they can say. For example, he says that Saving Private Ryan is a war movie and in this must have a message about war, while Schindler's List is more of a biographic film and thus must give a different message and feeling. One must show growth, and the other revelation. This is very interesting in how he says.
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