DOUBLE FEATURE SUNDAY: WWII: STEVEN SPIELBERG & DAVID AYER

This weekend we have a two movies that take place in World War II, Spielberg wanted to demystify the Second World War, and The Greatest Generation, the result was a film that gave him the Oscar for best director, and it's seen by war veterans as one of the most realistic recreations of said war. Meanwhile David Ayer’s film likewise shows World War II in a realistic manner, he not only wants to show the heroics, but also the traumatizing events they went through. Both share similar characters, like the one hardened by war: Captain Miller in Saving Private Ryan and Don War Daddy in Fury; the rookie who has not seen combat: Upham in Ryan and Norman in Fury, and a third act which is quite similar between both movies.

Saving Private Ryan

What is it about?

After the landing in Normandy, a group of soldiers led by Captain Miller must go behind enemy lines to rescue a soldier whose brothers died in combat. 
   
Steven Spielberg wanted to capture the Second World War as realistically as possible, and from the opening sequence he succeeds by far, the landing in Normandy as recounted by Spielberg is both captivating and terrifying, from the beginning we see the nervous soldiers, some pray, others hold thier rifles with shaky hands, others puking, the sea breeze splashing their uniforms as the boats cross the waves furiously, is the calm before the storm. Once the doors of the boat open chaos breaks out, confusion, violence, death, it is  one of the most intense and visceral scenes in cinema and it  perfectly sets the tone of the film.

Fury

What is it about?

With Fury Ayer wanted to portray a story of loss of innocence and coming of age in the character of Norman, we see that Don has sympathy for Norman, but he wants to harden him, because he feels that is the only way he will survive the war, this is best expressed in the scene where Don forces Norman to kill a Nazi soldier who had already surrendered. In the time period in which Fury takes place the war is almost over and there is an air of decay, between officers who surrender and others who commit suicide, and even child soldiers. These aspects are well executed by the director of End of Watch and are the best aspects of the film, Ayer has a fascination with portraying people in their journeys to their destinations, whether it's a couple of cops patrolling the streets of L.A., or in this case a group of soldiers in their journey across Europe in the Fury their tank, Ayer finds privacy in these scenes and manages to develop his characters, but everything changes when we reach the third act, where the Fury steps on a mine and stops working, with our characters being stuck at a crossroad, then Norman spots a group of Nazis headed their way, here Don decides to stay with the Fury and fight, the rest of the team stays with Don, leading to a final battle.

Similarities/Differences

In Saving Private Ryan, most conversations, as in Fury occur when our characters are going to their destination, crossing long distances on foot, Spielberg takes this scenes to flesh out his characters so we actually suffer their loss when they die, but as their journey becomes more dangerous, and people start dying, some characters start doubting the objective of their mission in the end, Why is James Ryan more important tan any of them?, Is Ryan's life more worthy than theirs?, there are two crucial moments that I personally love, the first one is when they capture an enemy soldier, they make him dig his own grave, they want him dead because  he’s responsible for Wade’s death. Corporal Upham knows that not only is against the rules to kill a war prisoner, but it also is morally wrong to do so, but in the end it is Captain Miller who spares his life, and gives an emotional speech. The second is when they finally find Ryan (Matt Damon), who despite being offering a trip back home decides to stay and fight, and to fulfill his mission: Protect a bridge that has a strategic value for the Allies.

Captain Miller and the rest of his squad are understandably furious with Ryan, but they end up staying with him to fight, this is the third act of the film. As we can see, both films have a final confrontation that is very similar: a situation that puts them at a crossroads, a place to defend (a bridge in one and a literal crossroad on the other) and a final confrontation.

However, it is in the Spielberg’s film that this makes more sense, all that Captain Miller wants is to go home, throughout the film there is a bet to find out what was Captain Miller’s profession before the war, when they are going to execute the prisoner they took, Captain Miller reveals that he was a teacher and is concerned that the war has changed him to the point people no longer notice this, so he decides to forgive the life of their prisoner, who we can see in the end in the group of soldiers who end up killing Captain Miller, it is an act of kindness that ends up costing him his life, but that act of kindness had intrinsic value for Miller, because he felt that by not killing that man, somehow he would keep some of his humanity. While in Fury we have no such allegory, our characters end up becoming action heroes who live only to kill and this ends up contradicting the film’s main ideas.

Other scenes that I would like to compare are the ones that happen just before the final confrontation. In Saving Private Ryan our characters listen to Edith Piaf’s Tu es partout while they recall stories of their home, Ryan tells Miller about the last time all of his brothers were together, the song is nostalgic and sad, but mostly it reminds us that these soldiers are ordinary people. While in Fury Shia LaBeouf’s character, Bible, recites a verse from the Bible, the Book of Isaiah, chapter 6, which is about fate and courage, and all end up saying: "Best job I ever had" these are not people, these are action heroes, no matter how much conviction there’s behind LaBeouf’s performance, or for how long the camera lingers on Norman’s face, this decision establishes the characters as action heroes, which would be fine if the film hadn’t worked so hard in the first two acts to establish them as people.

I absolutely love this shot

This is where the casting becomes essential, while Spielberg chooses Tom Hanks as his main character, someone who has an everyman charm; Aye casts Brad Pitt someone who (despite a varied carrier, and being very talented) is usually perceived as an action hero. This simple distinction is fundamental, Spielberg wanted to show in Saving Private Ryan that the people who fought in World War II were ordinary people, Captain Miller was a teacher, while in Fury although Ayer has similar aspirations, and no matter how talented Brad Pitt is as an actor, in the minds of the audience is very difficult to perceive him as an ordinary person.

In the end the message in Saving Private Ryan is clear: "Earn this" that is not only a message directed to young Ryan, but is also directed to us, the audience: Earn this, earn the sacrifice that all these people did for you. On the other hand Fury’s message simply is: We killed as many Nazis as we could.

So, that's my opinion on this two movies, I personally love Saving Private Ryan, I think it's one of Spielberg's best works; on the other hand I really like some aspects of Fury, specially its first two acts, but I don't really like the ending.

What do you think about this weekend's Double Feature Sunday? What's your opinion on this movies? Make some noise in the comments section below!

Credits
Saving Private Ryan
Title: Saving Private Ryan
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Screenplay: Robert Rodat
Cast: Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Vin Diesel, Edward Burns, Matt Damon.
Year: 1998

Fury
Title: Fury
Directed by: David Ayer
Screenplay: David Ayer
Cast: Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Bernthal
Year: 2014

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