Saving Private Ryan poster
Saving Private Ryan

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

Mother in doorway; men crossing field; heads over hill; men on steps; helmet death; handheld combat; crossing tank; underwater landing

Flex pick · Chris Ryan

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:48Read transcript
  • The mother framed in the doorway as the car approaches, followed by her collapse onto the porch, is a selected cinematic image.
  • The men walking across the field and heads appearing over the hill are offered as other striking compositions.
  • The wide shot of the men on the steps listening to the record player, apart from Hanks and Damon, is praised as poster-like.
  • A soldier surviving a shot that hits his helmet, removing it, and then being shot in the head is singled out as a brutal visual moment.
  • The intricate handheld battle shots are praised for coordinating several moving actions within one shot.
  • The tank crossing the opening in the final battle visually shows that the planned defense must change without explanatory dialogue.
  • The underwater imagery during the landing is praised, including the realization that soldiers can be shot underwater.