War Film Festival and Film Review Workshop

Mumbai 
On 7^th March 2013  Malini Kishore Sanghvi College Juhu witnessed a short sweet Film Festival of different kind. It was about the war movies specially organized for Mass Media student fraternity. The festival was jointly organized by the College and Freelance Media Journalists Combine (FMJC). The festival was combined with workshop on film review and film review writing competition.

Prof.Rajesh Dharawat addressing the participants 

A scene captured from The Longest Day 

Ms. Sandipta, Programme Coordinator addressing the audience 

The festival was opened by Professor Rajesh Dharawat,Vice Principal, Malini Kishore Sanghvi College who himself is a great lover of War Movies. 
Speaking on the occasion Pradeep Gupta, President FMJC, shared some  tricks of the trade with the participants, how to appreciate movies and how to write review. Chetan Mathur, General Secretary, FMJC shared the elements of the movie which make or mar a movie. Shri Manohar Thakur, Treasurer FMJC, Rajesh Shrivastava Editor Films Today and Ashwin Editor Bollywood Blog were the jury for the review writing.

On the dais Chetan Mathur Gen Sec FMJC, Prof Martin, Pradeep Gupta,President FMJC, MN Thakur Treasurer FMJC, Prof Rajesh Dharawat  

Chetan Mathur Gen Secretary FMJC welcoming Prof Rajesh Dharawat 

Now briefly about the movies shown in the festival :    

The Longest Day (1962)

It is a World War Movie. The events of D-Day, told on a grand scale from both the Allied and German points of view.

Directors: Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton 

Writers: Cornelius ryan (screenplay as well as book)

Plot : The Longest Day is filmed in the style of a " docudrama" 

 chronicles the D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 6th, 1944. It opens days before the invasion, with Eisenhower making the decision to go after reviewing the initial bad weather reports. The film concentrates on events on both sides of the channel. The Allies waiting out the weather in anticipation of the invasion, and the Germans on the other side divided on when the invasion will happen or what response to it should be.

Stars:  John Wayne, Robert Ryan 

Numerous scenes document the early hours of 6 June when Allied airborne troops were sent in to take key locations. The French resistance is also shown reacting to the news that the invasion has started. The Longest Day chronicles most of the important events surrounding D-Day. From the British glider missions, the scattered American paratroopers, the involvement of the French resistance, and even the confusion in the Wehrmacht  over whether the attack was a feint in preparation for the real crossing at the Pas de Calais .

Set piece scenes include the US  Ranger Assault Group's  assault on the Pointe du Hoc , the attack on Ouistreham by Free French Forces and the low-level straffing of the beaches by two lone Luftwaffe pilots.

The film concludes with a montage of scenes showing the Allies consolidating their beachheads before the advance inland begins to liberate France.

Saving Private Ryan

It is a 1998 American epic war film set during the invasion of Normandy  in World War II. It was directed by  Steven Spielberg  and written by Robert Rodat . Noted for its graphic and realistic portrayal of war, the film is especially notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944. The film follows United States Army Rangers Captain  John H. Miller (Tom Hanks) and his squad (Tom Sizemore , Edward Burns , Barry pepper , Vin Diesel ,Giovanni Ribsi, Adam Goldberg  and Jeremy Davies ) as they search for a paratooper , Private First Class  James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon), who is the last surviving brother  of four servicemen.

Rodat conceived the film's story in 1994 when he saw a monument dedicated to eight siblings killed in the American Civil War . Rodat imagined a similar sibling narrative set in World War II. The script was submitted to producer Mark Gordon , who handed it to Hanks. It was finally given to Spielberg, who decided to direct.

The movie  garnered considerable critical acclaim, winning several awards for film, cast, and crew as well as earning significant returns at the box office. The film grossed $481.8 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing domestic film of the year. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts  and Science  nominated the film for eleven Academy Awards ; Spielberg's direction won him a second Academy Award for Best Director.

Saving Private Ryan opens with a 30-minute war scene that is without a doubt one of the finest half-hours ever on film. This sequence, a soldier's-eye view of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, is amazing not only in terms of technique but in the depth of viewer reaction it uses. Spielberg doenst hold anything back to the viewer of the horrors of battle, using every way he can to show the chaos and lives that were lost.

After fighting in the battle of Omaha beach D-Day, veteran Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) is sent on a WWII rescue mission, he is supposed to find paratrooper Private James Ryan (Matt Damon) and bring him home . Ryan's three brothers have all been killed in action and the Army wants him returned to his family. The paratroops of the 82nd Airborne are scattered far and wide though, and finding Ryan proves far from easy.

Hard-bitten Rangers (Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi) are joined by an interpreter, Corporal Upham (Jeremy Davies). Upham has no combat experience, and is held in contempt by the veteran soldiers on the mission. Several of Miller's men are killed in incidents, but they do eventually locate Ryan -- who refuses to leave his unit! His squad of paratroops is tasked to hold a key bridge, and Ryan insists on doing just that. Capt. Miller and the surviving Rangers (plus the untested & shaky Upham) agree to help, and in a climactic battle scene, manage to hold off a German counter-attack.

The film's central question (When is one life more important than another?) is never really answered. For those who are willing to brave the movie's shocking and unforgettable images, Saving Private Ryan offers a singular motion picture experience. I will be surprised if another film tops it for the best of 1998.

Ryan, now seen as an old man revisiting the military cemetery at Normandy, visits the grave of Capt. Miller and tells his rescuer that he has tried to live a good life in exchange for the sacrifice of Miller and the rest.

The reviews were judged by jury consisting Shri Ashwini Shukla Editor Bollywood Blog and Rajesh Shrivastava, Editor Films Today. Results have been  announced  and the best review writers are as under :

Ist   :     Ms Shweta Sandeep 
IInd :     Ms Nupur Jhaveri

The winners will be honored in Annual General Meeting of FMJC scheduled on 24th March 2013.