Saving Private Ryan vs. The PatriotMoviemakers have the power to portray the world as they see it. Since there are so many different directors out there, we as viewers, are presented with a variety of interpretations. I am a gigantic movie buff, and have therefore watched every war movie directed. If one director views war as completely disastrous, while yet another sees glory in it, we would find ourselves viewing two contrasting depictions of war. Two recent films that clearly prove this point are Steven Speilberg's Saving Private Ryan and Roland Emmerich's The Patriot.Both movies are about a historic war. Both were released at approximately the same time, yet both create an entir ...view middle of the document...
Speilberg does not hesitate to plunge the viewer into the reality that in war, one is either killing or dying.In The Patriot, the story begins quite differently. We are first introduced to our protagonist, Benjamin (Mel Gibson), on his southern plantation as he comically fails to build a rocking chair. Like Ryan, we are introduced to the main focus of the film. However, unlike Ryan, the focus is a character not a war. Furthermore, The Patriot's main character is first presented as a father and carpenter; while we first meet Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) already involved in the war.The difference between these films is that one uses a character to tell the story of war while the other uses war to tell the story of a character. Characters are major literary elements. Hence, they alone illustrate the intent of each film.The British (bad guys) in The Patriot are either sinister or arrogant, while the Americans (good guys) are either witty or heroic. The definite line between good and evil persuades us to root for the spunky Americans.Ryan, on the other hand, makes an effort to depict its characters as realistic as possible. The soldiers mirror ordinary guys. Some likable, some not, most relatable, and all believable. While Benjamin "The Ghost" Martin is invincible, Miller, with his shaky hand, is homesick and fatigued.Take for example, Corporal Upham (Jeremy Davies) in Ryan. He, without a doubt, sees the war as we see it, as Speilberg perceives it, as is. The comfort he finds in talking to others about the fear he feels as he asks himself, "what is happening?" These are reactions that an everyday civilian would have to the war.In The Patriot we do not have a character such as Upham to relate to. Everyone is too valiant to hide. As soldiers enthusiastically defeat bad guy after bad guy we understand that they are destined to win. Yet in Ryan we come to learn that one survives by mere chance.There is one word in Ryan that accurately describes the dramatic elements. Gory. The bloody waves at Omaha, the sudden messy deaths, the slow agonizing ones, and the puking, crying, bleeding, gut spilling, armless, legless, lifeless soldiers are Speilberg's constant reminders of the inescapable tragedies of war. Emmerich, however, has his actors expire with a scream or groan and then it's on to the next; unless, of course, it's the star that is dying. Then the death must be drawn out.The scenes following the battle also dif...
