The opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan establishes the genre, narrative, and representation of the film. It begins with an elderly man crying at a WWII gravesite, then cuts to Normandy beach defenses on D-Day, establishing the genre as a WWII film. The narrative jumps between the modern day and D-Day on June 6, 1944. Soldiers are represented as young, frightened men to make the depiction of the Normandy Landings more realistic.

1. By Jack Jenkins
Saving Private Ryan Opening Sequence
Analysis

2. Setting
• The opening sequence of ‘Saving
Private Ryan’ establishes the
genre, ideology, representation,
narrative and the institution of the
film. ‘Saving Private Ryan’ is an
action-war film. The film begins
with an American family walking
around the Normandy American
Cemetery and Memorial, an
elderly man in the family then
walks over to one specific grave
and breaks down crying. The shot
then zooms into his face and then
cuts to a mid shot of the beach
defenses used during the
Normandy Landings, a text fades
into the shot reading, ‘June
6th
1944.’ The audience then
realise that this opening
sequence is all about the
Normandy Landings.

3. Paramount
• In this opening sequence the
institution of the film is
established straight away,
the company who made
the film is shown to be
‘Paramount’ this is a huge
film corporation who are
famous for making many
high quality films such as,
‘Forrest Gump’, ‘Titanic’,
and ‘The Curious Case of
Benjamin Button’ this shows
the audience that this film
will be of a very high
standard.

4. genre
• The genre is established when you see the elderly man walk through
the cemetery. The audience immediately know that the genre of the
film is based upon WW2 when the first gravestone is shown, the
iconography establishes genre as the WW2 gravestones are well
known so the audience will know that the film is based upon war.
Other iconography has been used to establish genre, when the
scene cuts to the Normandy Landings scene, the beach defences
shown at the beginning of this scene show the audience that this is a
war film as theses beach defences are also well known and closely
related to the Second World War. Another genre is established during
the beginning of this scene as well. The genre of ‘action’ is
established at the beginning of the Normandy Landing scene; when
the text appears, and the audience become aware of the date they
immediately think about the fighting the occurred during these
landings and the audience create a sense of danger as they know
that many American soldiers were critically injured and killed during
these landings.

5. Main character/protagonist
• The ideology is not very well
established in the opening
scene, as the main character
is not established very much in
the opening scene, so the
audience cannot get an idea
as to who the protagonist or
antagonist are. However,
when the main character is
introduced the audience
know that he is in fact a
soldier about to land on one
of the Normandy beaches so
the audience would usually
immediately identify him as
the protagonist.

6. narrative
• The narrative of the story is
established in the opening scene
as the film begins during the
modern day, the audience know
this as the characters are wearing
clothes that are quite modern
and the characters have modern
hairstyles and are using modern
technology/equipment (the
father is using a camera at the
cemetery). The scene then cuts to
the Normandy Landings, the
audience know this is in the past
as the text reads ‘June 6th
1944.’
The audience know this is in the
past as the props and costume
used at the beginning of the film
are more associated with modern
day.

7. representation
• The representation of soldiers is
established in the opening
sequence when the audience see
the soldiers in the armoured vehicle
going towards the beaches. The
soldiers are shown as being young
men who look incredibly frightened;
you know this by the way they
behave: the soldiers are shown
shaking, being sick and looking very
vigilant. The director has
represented them in this way to
show the audience that soldiers
during WW2 were not the
stereotype that most people
perhaps believed them to be, but
normal, innocent young men. The
director has perhaps done this to
make the Normandy Landings more
life-like and believable for the
audience.