Analysis of the short sniper
scene from the film: ‘Saving Private Ryan’.
Directed by Steven Spielberg
At the beginning of this scene we
are met with a horrible rainy day which creates large muddy puddles on the
roads alongside the rubble of the buildings helps to draw attention to the fact
that what was once here is gone, the buildings which stand tall reduced to
nothing but ash and dust alongside the barren and empty town solidifies the
idea that this is a warzone and that the only life in this place is the life of
a soldier.
The rain constantly tapping away
on their helmets serves as a reminder to both the audience and the characters
that the warzone is still raging on.
As we enter the sequence we see
American soldiers pouring into this small village, we know it is a small
village because the roads are not paved and there are farming objects in the
local area (apple cart/farming tools)
This could go on to show how even
the smallest things in war can go on to make a difference such as; a single
victory in a town, a single man surviving or their mission to bring Private
Ryan (Matt Damon) home to his mother.
When the French girl is passed to
Pvt Caparzo (Vin Diesel) he passes her his cross from around his neck, this
could foreshadow his loss of life and the passing on of a message which he does
later on in the scene.
Tying into this the removal of
his helmet could also foreshadow his vulnerable and exposed state, when he
presents himself to the sniper without his helmet or cross for protection.
When hit, Pvt Caparzo falls on an
old piano cast out in the street, the loud notes let off by the piano alert the
audience and the characters in the story to the fact that something bad has
happened, this is then followed by the sound of the gunshot.
Following this the sniper in the
group quickly identifies the tower far off in the distance as the location of
the shot, the tower is located in the right side of the shot but towers over
the field, during this scene his helmet is taking up a large portion of the
screen on the left. This shows the snipers dominance over the man in the tower;
it also foreshadows the coming events in which the sniper shown in the dominant
position of this shot is victorious.
The German sniper is shown to be
very bright and elevated, he dominates most of his close up shots and there is
very little shown other than him, this shows that he is very dominant over the
situation, based on his position from the previous scenes it also shows how he
towers over the vulnerable American troops.
The way he moves throughout the
scenes is very much like a low ranking male in a lion pack, he watches slowly
and creeps around looking for a weakness, he then sets up his scope like a lion
making ready to pounce and takes down the man in the tower with ease.
When Pvt Caparzo is laying on the
ground a puddle of blood flows out from and spreads out to form a cone shape,
this shows that the life is draining from him and as he is revisited throughout
the shots this puddle is getting larger and larger flowing towards his American
friends, also his movements are becoming less and less, as his movements and
time passes it also nears the eventual death of the German sniper in the tower.
Pvt Caparzo also speaks his last
words at the same time as the American sniper takes the shot at the German
sniper; this is used for juxtaposition as it creates a linking effect between
the pair’s lives, as the American dies so does the German.
The death of the two is also
placed in juxtaposition, the likeness of their deaths, bloody and violent with
little remorse.
There is great effect from
lighting and colour in this sequence, all the colours are dark and grey except
for the French family, the German sniper tower and the blood leaking out of Pvt
Caparzo’s wrist.
When the camera is taken in for a
close up of Pvt Caparzo we see his wrist and the pool of blood close up in the
shot, this draws away from him as the scene is dark and the red blood stands
out heavily.
Throughout this sequence before
Pvt Caparzo is shot the camera is placed high up above him, this shows that he
is constantly vulnerable and ‘weak’; once Pvt Caparzo is shot the camera angles
change to low angles facing upwards towards the characters, this shows that the
tables have turned and they are now in a position of power.
After the German sniper has died
the blood from Pvt Caparzo’s wrist washes away in a stream, this could
symbolise the loss of life and how he simply slipped away.
After the sniper sequence ends
the scenes return to much drier conditions, the rain seems to have thinned and
becomes less obvious in the shot and the characters are placed much more
central and in brighter lighting, this shows that the war is still on but that
the characters are free from danger for the time being.
To Summarise, There is a distinct
use of colour, lighting and character placement used to create great effect
throughout the sequence.
Spielberg uses juxtaposition of
lighting and colours such as the blood in the darkness and the Germans comfy
position in the tower compared to the American snipers position in the dirt.
He also uses juxtaposition in the
sense that the characters deaths are placed close together symbolising the
unified loss of war.
The characters are well placed
throughout the scenes and the cameras are placed well inside the angles used,
characters are made to seem less important or vulnerable thanks to this effect
and some characters are made to seem more important or dominant in the same
sense.
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