The movie Saving Private Ryan won best cinematography in 1998 when it came out. I decided to watch it over the weekend because I was sick of having my friends saying I haven't lived unless I've seen Saving Private Ryan and because I thought it must be pretty visually appealing if it won an Oscar for cinematography. Turns out my friends were right about it being a must-see. However, I did not think it had the best cinematography I have ever seen. Yes, it was an amazing movie with serious, valuable life lessons incorporated, but I didn't think it had anything special visually.
The movie was entirely about war and the majority of the filming was done during battles. This aspect of the movie was done stunningly. Each battle scene was shot so originally it was incredible. The camera angles used in the movie were one of the most interesting aspects. The scene never showed both sides shooting guns at each other, but rather an intimate shot of the men setting up their guns, awaiting the enemy, and firing the shot. As the men are about to fire their guns, the camera zooms in to show their eyes blinking as they take their aim, their lips moving slightly in a whispered prayer, and finally their finger slowly pulling the trigger. The entire movie was a more intimate look into what war is like than anything I have ever seen. Often times, the camera followed the soldiers as they ran into battle or ran from the enemy, and the camera was even placed right next to the soldiers so you saw exactly what they did. Once during a battle, the men are using machine guns and when the audience hears the staccato fire of the guns, the camera shakes simultaneously. The scenery of the movie is so important that the camera scans the battlefield frequently during the movie so you can soak up every detail of the war. In addition, the movie begins with the battle at Normandy when the U.S. troops arrive by water and charge the land. Frequently during this scene the camera goes below water to show injured and killed men sinking to the bottom of the ocean. The camera angle that struck me as the most significant was at the very end of the movie when Private Ryan is shown as an old man in Normandy at the cemetery for all the soldiers who were killed and his face is in the foreground and filling up the rest of the screen are rows upon rows of white, stone crosses that each represent a dead soldier. A dead soldier who suffered while Ryan did not. A soldier who was unlucky, when Ryan was. It really shows the significance of brotherhood between soldiers in war and how much they become like family to one another.
Another significant aspect of the movie were the colors used, both the bright and dull ones. Obviously war is not the brightest subject to film, but the colors used in the battle scenes were so significant and fitting to what was going on. The movie includes a scene in which the U.S. troops set up fort in a half-wrecked house that used to be the home of a German family. The house is clearly not in very good condition, except for the bright wallpaper that still remains on many of the walls. The significance of the wallpaper is how it must remind the men of their homes, so far away that it's hard to even think they may one day return. The majority of the scenes during battle consist of very dull greens, blues, and browns. All but one in which the men go into battle during a thunderstorm and the entire television screen became a see of misty blues as I was watching the film. It was so magical, yet eerie, just as I assume war must seem.
The movie was entirely about war and the majority of the filming was done during battles. This aspect of the movie was done stunningly. Each battle scene was shot so originally it was incredible. The camera angles used in the movie were one of the most interesting aspects. The scene never showed both sides shooting guns at each other, but rather an intimate shot of the men setting up their guns, awaiting the enemy, and firing the shot. As the men are about to fire their guns, the camera zooms in to show their eyes blinking as they take their aim, their lips moving slightly in a whispered prayer, and finally their finger slowly pulling the trigger. The entire movie was a more intimate look into what war is like than anything I have ever seen. Often times, the camera followed the soldiers as they ran into battle or ran from the enemy, and the camera was even placed right next to the soldiers so you saw exactly what they did. Once during a battle, the men are using machine guns and when the audience hears the staccato fire of the guns, the camera shakes simultaneously. The scenery of the movie is so important that the camera scans the battlefield frequently during the movie so you can soak up every detail of the war. In addition, the movie begins with the battle at Normandy when the U.S. troops arrive by water and charge the land. Frequently during this scene the camera goes below water to show injured and killed men sinking to the bottom of the ocean. The camera angle that struck me as the most significant was at the very end of the movie when Private Ryan is shown as an old man in Normandy at the cemetery for all the soldiers who were killed and his face is in the foreground and filling up the rest of the screen are rows upon rows of white, stone crosses that each represent a dead soldier. A dead soldier who suffered while Ryan did not. A soldier who was unlucky, when Ryan was. It really shows the significance of brotherhood between soldiers in war and how much they become like family to one another.
Another significant aspect of the movie were the colors used, both the bright and dull ones. Obviously war is not the brightest subject to film, but the colors used in the battle scenes were so significant and fitting to what was going on. The movie includes a scene in which the U.S. troops set up fort in a half-wrecked house that used to be the home of a German family. The house is clearly not in very good condition, except for the bright wallpaper that still remains on many of the walls. The significance of the wallpaper is how it must remind the men of their homes, so far away that it's hard to even think they may one day return. The majority of the scenes during battle consist of very dull greens, blues, and browns. All but one in which the men go into battle during a thunderstorm and the entire television screen became a see of misty blues as I was watching the film. It was so magical, yet eerie, just as I assume war must seem.
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