Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan begins with a series of close up shots of soldiers showing the audience how scared they are, we do not know where they are going but can assume it is to a battle. We get a sense that something is not right by the camera angle because it is tilted and hand-held, making the atmosphere eerie. Another thing that adds to the atmosphere is the weather, it is violent and that also adds a sense that something isn’t right. It is a sudden change when the soldiers begin getting shot at and immediately there are deaths of dozens of men. Most of the scenes are shot with hand held, this puts the audience into the scene, this and other special effects such as blood on the lens almost makes you feel part of the action. The opening scenes to this film are filled with terror and this is portrayed a lot because of the use of the camera- there is a POV shot from a shotgun whom is the enemy. We see that they are higher up than all the men on the beach making us feel like the enemies are dominant in this case.