By examining two movies, The Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) and Saving Private Ryan (1998), many similarities and differences can be found which can be linked to greater generalizations and concepts. Neglecting all differences in time period, perception, character depth, and special effects, these movies essentially are the same. They portray similar ideas of camaraderie, difficulties of war, intimate relationships, and importance of command. With the addition of technology and more realistic techniques in acting, Saving Private Ryan had the ability to go into more depth with every emotion that the audience felt. In contrast, The Sands of Iwo Jima missed out on many of the realities of war, but still inspired limited emotion in its audience. This difference is mainly caused by the development of setting and tone by the film's creators.
From the initial scene sequence, the creators of Saving Private Ryan set a tone of intense realism, which was to continue throughout the movie. While storming the Omaha Beach, scenes of decapitation, crying, vomiting, bleeding, and dying brought the viewer to a realization that war was no picnic. It could be grasped why a soldier's life would be forever changed by such an experience. Also, additions like a running camera view, intense dialogue, and gruesome sound effects put you directly in the scene, making the scene that much more realistic. But, this is not the only place where the truths of war come into play. Captain John Miller and his battalion show realities and tones of the war that couldn't possibly be written down. For instance, when exhaustion, memory, and comedy come together in the church, you can the bonds that are created between the soldiers in battle. The captain reaches out to his soldiers with comedy in place of openness for a period of time, joking about a $500 reward for finding out the captain's life story. After a period of time, this genuineness becomes a necessity when a soldier revolts and refuses to follow command.
