film deconstruction (saving private ryan)

Film deconstruction

Saving Private Ryan

Release year: 1998

Director: Steven Spielberg

BBFO rating: 15

Genre: action

The start of the film opens with war music called hymn to the fallen this shows that dead soldiers are being remembered it has a sad tone on top of the directors credits this sets the mood for the location of the film. The second shot shows an American flag flying in the wind there is some diagetic sound of the flag rustling the American flag represents unification as well as freedom. In the next shot there is our first character this suggests he is the main character it then shows a family walking behind him this is a reference to him being the frontline as he was on the frontline later in the film. One of the family members takes a picture of the man walking this shows it is not just a normal day, they are doing something he wants to remember. As the man is walking the camera shows his face so you see that he is sad, also it shows a medal on his chest this shows he was in the army. He stops and looks up at the American flag this shows he is American then the camera jump cuts to a French flag this shows that he is in France. He walks along grass towards a grave stone but as he gets closer you see it is unmarked and that there is more he walks past a man in full army uniform with lots of medals this shows he is not the only war veteran visiting. He walks past some more graves as if he knows where he is going but you soon see as the camera pans out that there are thousands of graves this shows that lots of people died here and so many unnamed graves.