Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan Review There have been many war films produced over the years, but not many have been able to provide an accurate visual representation of war and offer details of the horrific reality it entails as does the film, Saving Private Ryan. War, whether presented in film or in print, has predominately been depicted through a hazy lens of heroic themes, denoting the tremendous courage and dedication of soldiers in the face of insurmountable odds, yet war in reality is not a truly a glamorous campaign. War, as seen in Saving Private Ryan, is a brutal carnage of human life that necessitates the dependence on military structure and leadership to endure the chaos and unforgivable atrocities that permeate war. This epic war drama,

All wars are fought, won or lost, by the success of the hierarchy within the military. A chain of command, as seen in this classic film conveys that dependence on leadership, in war or in life, does not denote negativity. Through the graphic realism of the settings and strong, dependable leadership portrayals of the actors, Saving Private Ryan, ensures that audiences are aware that war necessitates a dependence on leadership, but does not detract from the brutal reality that all wars facilitate loss of life. “Which means that for the men engaged in combat, the actual experience of war is often nothing more than a battle to the death, independent of right and wrong” as stated by Caldwell. Leadership provides the structure necessary, in which to overcome the fundamental chaos of war and enable the success of missions, which knowingly may lead to the death of those involved. The premise of Saving Private Ryan is that soldiers, although questionably, will still willing give their lives for the sake of the mission, which becomes brutally apparent with the deaths of most of the soldiers in the unit trying to save Private Ryan. A wars success cannot rely on the morality of the war, nor a human beings ability to overcome an aversion to flee or kill, it relies on the abilities of leaders to inspire and lead. The gruesome reality is as Ehrenhaus states, “War is a moral chaos”