Different Depictions of Warsaving Private Ryan and The Patriot
Moviemakers have the power to portray the world the way they see it. And because there are so many different directors out there, we as viewers, are presented with a variety of interpretations. If a director sees love as a game, then it is so (at least until their hour and 45-minute tale of two playful lovers comes to an end). If he or she believes society to be corrupt then we will see it as such on her or his recorded picture of the world. And if one director thinks of war as completely disastrous while another sees glory in it then we would find ourselves viewing two contrasting depictions of war. Two recent films that exemplify this circumstance are Steven Speilberg's Saving Private Ryan and Roland Emmerich's The Patriot. Both movies are about an historic war, both were made around the same time, and yet both create an entirely different image of war. With the use of dramatic, literary, and cinematic aspects, Speilberg and Emmerich present their opinions, as well as emotions, on the screen. Ryan takes place during World War II. Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) is given a mission to save Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), whose three brothers were killed in action. The Patriot is the story of
a father of seven and veteran of the French and Indian War. Although he shows disapproval of the current American Revolution, personal vengeance makes him a hero in the war. The setting in Ryan's opening scene is a veteran cemetery where we are immediately reminded of the result of war: death. The second scene takes place on Omaha Beach, the battlefield of the tragic D-Day. Right off, we are shown that thousands died in World War II as well as what it was like. We hear soldiers praying for their lives and others praying for an accurate shot to end the life of another. Speilberg does not hesitate to plunge into the reality that in war one is either killing or dying. In The Patriot our story begins quite differently. We are first introduced to our protagonist, Benjamin (Mel Gibson), in his home as he comically fails to build a rocking chair. Like Ryan, we are introduced to the main focus of the film, but unlike Ryan, the focus is a character not a war. In addition, The Patriot's main character is first presented as a father and carpenter, while we first meet Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) already involved in the war. The difference between these films is that one uses characters to tell the story of a war, while the other uses a war to tell the story of a character. The scenes following the battle also differ with the movie. Once The Patriot soldiers are at their base camp it's almost as if the war is on pause. The atmosphere is actually cheery as the actors have their characters enjoy time-out from The American Revolution. In Ryan we hardly reach this giddy mood. When the soldiers are not fighting Speilberg creates a thick atmosphere of tension. The actors subtly play their characters with the feeling of anticipation. Unlike in The Patriot, we never feel at ease. Although the screenplay could account for a film's viewpoint, it is the dire
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Approximate Word count = 1256
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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