Saving Private Ryan

1 Name First Last  Teacher Name Name Film Studies March 14, 2013 Saving Private Ryan: A Test of Human Character

Saving another man’s life in the face of death requires moral character (Gabbard 131). When soldiers give their lives for the sake of another they teach a silent lesson of morality and virtue. Their actions say that war is about “building character and not about brutality and stupidity” (Gabbard 132). Rather than putting the emphasis on death and dying, the hero puts the emphasis on virtue and life. Captain Miller fights for freedom and valor. In the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan virtue and heroism seem to be void of any meaning. Steven Spielberg paints war as ugly and horrific in the opening minutes of the movie. As the pressure of war sets in on the small group of soldiers led by Captain Miller both the virtuous and unvirtous characteristics of the soldiers are revealed. A sharp contrast is made between Captain Miller and Corporal Upham; while Captain Miller ultimately faces the enemy fire in order to bring down the enemy tank, Corporal Upham fails to pull the trigger on the enemy only an inch away. Captain Miller remains a stable model of determination and courage under fire while Corporal Upham shows an increasing growth of fear and lack of nerve in the face of death and ill treatment.

2 Name  These virtuous human characteristics were probably the result of one noted WW II historian whose name is Stephen Ambrose; Ambrose was the one person most responsible for the view of heroism in the movie Saving Private Ryan (Gabbard 132). Ambrose is an author of around 200 hundred works on World War II. Ambrose has a unique style when dealing with World War II stories. He obtains his war facts by interviewing WW II veterans and shares there “anecdotal accounts” (Gabbard 132). Ambrose also shares the “catalogue of horrific and the antiheroic aspects of war” (Gabbard 132). Captain Miller and the small group looking for Private Ryan reveal the human side of being a soldier. These war stories sometimes reveal the “criminal incompetence of those who made command decisions” (Gabbard 132). WW II veterans base Ambrose’s style of writing about WW II on private recollections of WW II events. Ambrose is noted for characterizing the “industriousness of American soldiers” (Gabbard 132). Abrose is a highly respected WW II historian and was asked to a private screening of Saving Private Ryan by Steven Spielberg. Ambrose was “so affected by the films realism he crawled under the seat and asked the projectionist to shut down for a minute” (Gabbard 132-133). Ambrose says Saving Private Ryan is “the greatest because it rings the truest” (Kaltenbach). Ambrose served as a consultant on the movie. Ambrose was given “veto power by Spielberg over any scene he found objectionable” (Kaltenbach) but Ambrose never needed to use it. Ambrose’s greatest comment about Saving Private Ryan is:

3 Name In 1964-'65, we sent young men off to Vietnam with images of John Wayne in their minds. The next time we send young men off to war, they're going to have images of Tom Hanks in mind, and they're going to have a much better idea of [what combat is]. There is not an experience like combat. It is not glorious; it is not romantic" (Kaltenbach).

War presents an ugly face of death, terror, destruction, and hatred; on the other hand war can also be the cause of heroism and bravery. While all soldiers fight in a war, some choose to fight it heroically. One of the unique contributions of Steven Spielberg’s movie Saving Private Ryan is that it creates a longing for “guilty nostalgia” (Gabbard 135). Saving Private Ryan shows War has sad consequences. A “guilty nostalgia” for the war years is awakened when people like Captain Miller, give their lives to save the life of  private Ryan. Nostalgia is not a bad thing when it calls to mind inspiring examples of heroic living. Contemporary society is constantly being inundated by inspiring examples of people like Captain Miller. Private Ryan’s life was rescued in order that he wouldn’t undergo the fate of his three brothers. War brings out the worst and best in a soldier. Heroic and selfless acts like Captain Miller express values that go beyond war and the hurt of war. Those same values are lived and celebrated by future generations. While Spielberg chose to show the graphic brutality of  war, he also chose to temper the horrific brutality by outlining the spirit of  the soldiers who fought that war. He showed this so that the choices of those soldiers who faced war with heroic attitude could be recognized in contrast

4 Name to those who were cowards. Saving Private Ryan “reassures us that war is in fact a test of manhood and courage and that a warrior aristocracy will naturally emerge” (Gabbard 136).  There are questions that emerge when family and friends view photo albums or visit the cemeteries of those same heroic soldiers who fought in WW II. The mediation of truth thru the images is under greater scrutiny today (Benson-Allott 39). “The truth value and communicative value of the image” is part of a long-time debate. (Benson-Allott). This debate questions how effectively the still image can carry forward the truth that it represents. It is unclear what the still picture of a soldier carrying a gun means. When those same photos are extended in a short film and show the soldier falling on a bomb in order to save his platoon, his intention is revealed. In the same way the still photographs of WW II soldiers lined in formation take on a different meaning when it becomes part of a sequence of events that lead those soldiers into the thick of battle where there lives are at stake. The depiction of WW II soldiers in the movie Saving Private Ryan form a true story based on the research of the screenwriter Robert Rodat, memories of WW II veterans as understood by historian Stephen Ambrose, and choreographed by the producer Stephen Spielberg.  The screenplay was written by Robert Rodat and was inspired after Rodat saw a monument in Putney Corners, New Hampshire (Wikipedia) dedicated to “eight siblings killed in the American Civil War” (Wikipedia). Rodat came up with the idea for Saving Private Ryan inspired by soldiers in

5 Name the American Civil War and transposed it to World War II. Rodat’s Saving Private Ryan screenplay went thru eleven revisions before it was accepted (Wikipedia). High concept screenplays have to move millions of people before big studios will accept them for production.  Jeffrey Katzenberg explains to Hollywood studio executives the high concept idea: “In the dizzying world of moviemaking, we must not be distracted from one fundamental concept: the idea is king...If a movie begins with a great, original idea, chances are good it will be successful, even if it is executed only marginally well. However if a film begins with a flawed idea, it will almost certainly fail, even if it is made with “A” talent and marketed to the hilt”

(Calvisi 334-337). When the producer Mark Gordon read Rodat’s script his initial response was that Saving Private Ryan had the sound of a high concept movie, but he required Rodat to do eleven rewrites before it was finally accepted for production (Wikipedia). The inciting incident in Saving Private Ryan, which moves the story forward, is when “The ramp is dropped on the landing craft and Tom Hanks’ men are mowed down” (Calvisi 1566). The Saving Private Ryan screenplay gives classic examples of the high concept movie (Calvisi 1528-1818). High concept movies are based on stories that people can be inspired by, identify with the heroes and are many times life-changing moments for the moviegoer. Saving Private Ryan was an epic war film, which broke the conventional mold for war films (Kaltenbach).

6 Name  That doesn’t mean that the story is not based on a true story. It means that the story is based on fact and fiction. People find war distasteful but the lives of heroic soldiers who fight those wars give inspiration. (Toplin 5) War heroes inspire generations of other soldiers just as political heroes inspire new political movements. In Saving Private Ryan there is a melding of fact and fiction: “Saving Private Ryan, like most cinematic history of today, is what I call faction, and we cannot hold faction up to the traditional standards of authenticity. In faction, the history familiar in our textbooks is in the background, but the stories of people in the foreground--the narratives featuring lead characters--are pure fiction” (Toplin 5). Faction in Saving Private Ryan focuses on values that are held universally by mankind. In focusing on significant values that universally inspire it portrays these values in ways that require the curtailing of  smaller details (Toplin 6). That is why a war movie about war heroes is more inspiring than a war movie  just about facts. People need models to live by and the war hero gives people a model to inspire their own actions. In the case of Saving Private Ryan the details of the WW II choreography was accurate, while details of characters remained fictional. Though the characters were partly fictional, they were real heroes based on what real heroes say and do. It is always a great moral act to give one’s life to save another from dying, even when the person giving himself is fictional. The brutal and horrific opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan are juxtaposed against the evolving human qualities that mold individual soldiers to fight for their country and give their life in the service of  compassion. In Saving Private Ryan the stark reality of war becomes an opportunity for heroic persons like Captain Miller to reveal to others the reason for their courage and bravery. Captain Miller’s courage and bravery were one of the only reasons why Private Ryan could be saved. Saving Private Ryan shows how enduring qualities of soldiers who have to face the enemy in a death struggle can still choose to carry

7 Name forward deeper values that make their remembrance inspiring and uplifting to others. In short, saving another man’s life under the circumstances of war requires the greatest human character and morality.

Works Cited

Benson-Allott, Caetlin. "Standard Operating Procedure: Mediating Torture." Film Quarterly 62.4 (2009): 39-44. Calvisi, Daniel P. STORY MAPS: How to Write a GREAT Screenplay. Kindle AZW file. Redondo Beach: ACTFOURSCREENPLAYS, 2011. Gabbard, Krin. Saving Private Ryan Too Late. Ed. Jon Lewis. New York: New  York University Press, 2001. Kaltenbach, Chris. "Historian praising 'Private Ryan' Movie: Stephen Ambrose thinks Spielberg’s war epic is terrific -- because it is true.." Baltimore Sun [Baltimore, Maryland] 31 July 1998, Online n. page. Web. 14 Mar. 2013. .

 Toplin, Robert Brent. "Hollywood's D-Day from the perspective of the -1960s and the 1990s: The Longest Day in Saving Private Ryan." Film & History 36.2 (2996): 25. Wikipedia. "Saving Private Ryan." Wikipedia. 13 03 2013 .