>>213552227 (OP)
I've always thought Saving Private Ryan had an inconsistent tone. There are at least two serious moments in the film that feel straight out of a television sitcom. The first is in the opening invasion, when Tom Hanks gives instructions to the guy with the telephone and then rolls away only to roll back a few seconds later and see that the guy was blown away. Hanks makes a cynical "are you fucking kidding me" face before picking nonchalantly taking up the phone himself. The other instance is later in the movie when they are in a combat situation and the mother starts begging them for help. It's not that these situations are inherently funny, but these scenes seem to be intentionally filmed to look very flat while most of the movie has a very dynamic visual style. These two scenes look flat like a television set and the characters behave like they're in the third act of an episode of Cheers.
