Saving Private Ryan ( 1998 US) Steven Spielberg brings us this classic WWII film starring Tom Hanks and Matt Damon. Hanks has orders to retrieve Private Ryan and send him home because he is the sole surviving child of his dear mother considering his three brothers were killed in action. We sure have spent a lot trying to save Matt Damon. In fact Time magazine calculated the cost of all the rescues his characters needed. $900 billion. That’s a lot. This is a fantastic film that has been well regarded for a long time and won many awards. One thing I like to do is compare and contrast. For Spielberg I like to contrast him to Kubrick. Theses two are just so opposite. I like to say that Kubrick works in the headspace and Spielberg works in the heart space. Kubrick stuck that camera in the ground and made you watch the horror in a matter of fact way. Spielberg moved that camera around like nobodies business creating a feeling of chaos. Spielberg loves inciting a feeling. Kathryn Bigelow used the same technique in Hurt Locker for her battle scenes. The difference was that Bigelow was working with a low budget and did that to hide the lack of sets, extras, etc. Spielberg did that cuz that’s his thing. He certainly filled the spaces behind the actors with a lot of expensive mis en scene. Spielberg also used audio more than Kubrick to create a feeling. Kubrick is very minimal and realistic. Spielberg had audio of actors screaming in terror which really gives you chills. Kubrick had more silence. Hanks was a good choice for conveying the heartfelt emotion in the story. Watch Full Metal Jacket and Saving Private Ryan back to back and just imagine that Spielberg directed Full metal Jacket and Kubrick directed Saving Private Ryan. Wow those films would be sooo different. Imagine switching the lead actors too. Find this film on Amazon, Paramount plus and for rent on most streaming.
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