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Example research essay topic: Saving Private Ryan Tom Hanks - 965 words

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Saving Private Ryan Oh my god! Thats really about all I can say about Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg's new World War II epic. Im afraid I wont be able to do justice to this movie in my review. My senses are still numb from experiencing the film. Not watching, experiencing. Because Spielberg throws you right down there in the middle of all the action, and you have no choice but to experience it.

You are there, on Omaha Beach, as you watch thousands of civilians, with homes and families, get mowed down in an instant by the carnage of war. You witness the nausea, the insanity, the total death war brings. It is one of the most powerful antiwar statements ever put on film. After the carnage at Omaha Beach, we find out that one of the men who died on the beach, Daniel Ryan, also had two other brothers, Sean and Matthew, die in the same week. This leaves Private James Ryan (Matt Damon) as Mrs Ryan's only living son. General Marshall (Have Presnell), who is not down there experiencing the bloodshed, decides that he must do the proper thing, and sends a platoon off its course from Normandy, with the sole intent being to bring Private Ryan home alive.

The platoon, led by Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks), includes his faithful right hand man, Sergeant Horvath (Tom Sizemore), the sarcastic Private Reuben (Edward Burns), terrified French/German translator Corporal Upham (Jeremy Davies), and Privates Jackson (Barry Pepper), Mellish (Adam Goldberg), Caparzo (Vin Diesel), and medic Wade (Giovanni Ribisi). As they make their way through German held territory, they wonder, as do we, whether the lives of an entire platoon of men are worth risking just to save one, for what looks to be a public relations stunt. Thankfully, the film doesnt answer these questions. Saving Private Ryan is a brilliant film, possibly one of the best ever made, certainly the best of the 1990 s. It is also one of the hardest to watch.

Its images of horror linger in the mind far longer than those of any John Carpenter or James Cameron flick. A wounded man on the beach tries to stuff his entrails back into his stomach. A soldier gets his arm completely shot off, then stands there in a dazed stupor, exposed to all sorts of fire, before coming to and picking the lost arm up off the ground as if hell be able to use it later. A bullet hits a young soldiers helmet, which shields him from the brunt of the blow. He takes off the helmet, smiles, and looks up as if to thank God as another bullet shatters his uncovered skull and chunks of his brain matter are spattered onto the camera. War has never been portrayed this devastatingly, and, I assume, realistically, before.

The human scenes are just as engaging. One beautifully directed scene, miles away from all the action, consists of no dialogue, and very little light. Mrs Ryan is in the kitchen doing the dishes, and looks up to see a car. She looks back down again, then realizes its a military vehicle. She goes to the door to hear the news, perhaps one of her sons was injured. In the same shot in which we see her collapsing to the ground, sobbing, we also see a photo in the bottom-right side of the screen of the four brothers when they were in the same unit.

Very subtle, but devastatingly effective. Much of the credit for this scene must also be given to director of photography (and Spielberg regular) Janusz Kaminski. His shooting of the battle scene is dazzlingly chaotic, very newsreel-ish, and one of the stars of the picture. If he does not WIN the cinematography Oscar, it will be a grave miscarriage of justice. Editor Michael Kahn, also a Spielberg regular, did an amazing job editing not only the Omaha Beach scene, but the scene by the bridge, where we knew what was happening, but didnt have a clue at the same time. Production designer Tom Sanders recreations of rubble are amazingly precise.

John Williams score, while a bit melodramatic at times (especially in the present-day book ending sequences), is sparse for the majority of the film, and while not one of his best works, is heads over tails better than the majority of film scores. Spielberg chose wisely in not allowing music to intrude on the gruesome sounds of war. As for the actors, Tom Hanks gives another solid performance as a man on the verge of a breakdown who keeps it all together for the sake of his crew. Edward Burns suprised with a strong performance as the private whose apparent cynicism masks a man truly frightened at heart. Giovanni Ribisi is also strong as Medic Wade. Especially impressive, however, is Jeremy Davies as Corporal Upham.

A translator whos never experienced actual combat, he is afraid of war, scared of pulling the trigger on a fellow human being, and above all, scared of being shot. The scene on the stairs where his psyche completely evaporates is touching and horrifying at the same time. Saving Private Ryan is just as harrowing as Schindler's List, and just as great a film as Spielberg's holocaust epic. Both of them are amazing films, but are too numbingly realistic to be considered enjoyable. It was originally supposed to be rated NC- 17 because of all the carnage, but Spielberg used his influence to convince the ratings board otherwise.

This is a movie that should be seen by everyone, especially younger men and teenage boys, who oftentimes think theyre invisible. This film definitely proves otherwise. Saving Private Ryan is a powerful, disturbing look at war, and is arguably the greatest film of the 1990 s.


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Research essay sample on Saving Private Ryan Tom Hanks

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