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Images of war are always haunting. The opening 24-minute sequence of SAVING PRIVATE
RYAN is memorable for its portrayal of the loss of human life as well as the magnitude of
the devastation of the D-Day invasion. Knowing it is 24 minutes helps a bit since the
action is disturbing and seemingly endless. As quickly as it rolls, it ebbs and then fires
back at you. There is chaos and there is fear. Both consume you.
Sitting in the theatre I thought about the vast number of books and movies which have been
written/made about this war. I thought about all the references in books --- fiction and
non fiction --- which have been influenced by this war. My own personal favorites have
always been THE WINDS OF WAR and WAR AND REMEMBRANCE. I recall devouring the books and
watching each of the mini-series programs with rapt attention.
Saving Private Ryan is something different. There is no romance. There is a constant
hardness to the film which makes it chilling; there is no relaxing during this movie. Shot
after shot is beautifully done, if such a thing is possible in a film so packed with
horror and loss. Constantly I was seeing the images as stark photos rather than just movie
images.
The companion book to the movie from Newmarket Press --- SAVING PRIVATE RYAN --- includes
historical references as well as background on the making of the film. Reading the
comments from Janusz Kaminski --- the movie's cinematographer --- explained a lot to me.
He defined the process which created the semi-documentary scenes that moved me. The photos
on the pages which accompany his remarks show the shots in both full color and then
desaturated about 60% --- the way we see them in the film. This desaturation process gives
the footage the burned-out bleary look which is so effective. It casts a pall. There is
not one shot of blue sky --- or hopefulness.
This is a story of human loss. The enormity of the loss is shown in the endless lines of
crosses and stars in the cemetery, in the dog tags that are counted by the soldiers like
poker chips, and the telegrams that are shuffled at the war office. The images in the book
intensify the experience. I poured over them as I had the photos from the making of
Titanic.
Yes, it is the story about delivering the Ryan brother who survived home safely. And
people will flock to the theatres just to see this played out. But fraternity and
brotherhood among men who are not blood brothers is the uplifting moment.
I wish I had seen this film with someone who had been in the D-Day battle. I would still
love to hear comments from someone who was there.
I purposely did not open the book till after I had seen the movie. Reading it enhanced and
clarified my experience which is exactly what one hopes from a work like
this. What went into creating the realism of the footage provided interesting
reading.
--- Reviewed by Carol Fitzgerald
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