Exercise: Describing a film
In the following text, Simon and Rebecca are talking about and giving their opinions about the
film 'Saving Private Ryan'. From the context, try to guess what the meaning of the words/phrases
in bold are. Then do the quiz at the end to check if you are right.
Rebecca:' One of my favourite films is Saving Private Ryan. I know it's a war film, but I love
it.'
Simon: 'It's a classic. It's got a brilliant cast, there are so many excellent actors in it like Matt
Damon, Vin Diesel etc... And of course, there is Tom Hanks as the main character Captain
Miller. It's one of his best films.'
Rebecca: 'Plus there are some very good cameo roles. The famous actor Ted Dansen is in the
film for about 3 minutes. It's a shame that he wasn't in the film for longer. Also, do you know
that although the film is set in France during the D-Day invasion, it was actually filmed in the
south of England?'
Simon: 'Yeah, I read it somewhere. I think it was one of the best films directed by Steven
Spielberg. I love the opening scene when they are landing on the beach on D-Day. That scene
has some of the best twenty minutes of action in the whole history of cinema for me. The special
effects are excellent, with the explosions and the people being blown up. It looks so real.'
Rebecca: 'It's an excellent scene, I always remember the stunt of the men on fire. But for me, I
like the scene when the men are walking in the countryside and talking about why they have to
save Private Ryan. The dialogue is excellent, I can imagine that I would say that if I were in a
similar situation.'
Simon: 'The film has an excellent plot. How they have to go and save a soldier whose 3
brothers have all died fighting and how they have to go behind enemy lines to do it.'
Rebecca: 'I think it's a real story, although they probably changed some things. To be honest, I
can't remember the film's score. Can you remember the music in the film?'
Simon: 'Not really. I think there was some music with trumpets at the beginning in the
graveyard. But apart from that, I only remember the Edith Piaf song at the end. But that's not part
of the score. Did I tell you that when the film came out in 1998, I was living in Madrid? So, the
first time I saw it, it was dubbed into Spanish. I didn't speak much Spanish then, so I didn't
understand a lot. It's a shame that it didn't have subtitles, so I could have read the dialogue.'
Rebecca: 'Dubbed films are strange. The voices are always very different to the original voices
of the actors. Oh, by the way, have you seen the TV series Band of Brothers?'
Simon: 'No I haven't.'
Rebecca: 'Well, it's very similar to Saving Private Ryan. It's set during the second world war
and it follows a group of American soldiers. It stars a lot of unknown young actors as the
soldiers.'
Simon: 'I'll have to watch the series
Quiz
1. The words/lines that actors say in a film, are called _________________
2. The music in a film, is called the _________________
3. A verb that is used to say which actors/actresses are in a film, is _________________
4. The most important role/character in a film, is called the _________________
5. When the voices of the actors in a film are replaced by those of other people, it is
_________________
6. A verb that says where the story of a film is located/based, is _________________
7. An individual part of a film, is often called a ________________
8. When the dialogue is written on the screen, the film has _________________
9. A verb that says who the main person who made a film is, is _________________
10. A noun that means all the actors in a film, is _________________
11. A part of a film which isn't normally done by an actor because it is too dangerous, is called
_________________a
12. The basic story of a film, is called the _________________
13. A verb that means when a film was first shown in the cinema, is _________________
14. A verb that is used to say where a film was actually made, is ________________
15. Computer generated images in a film, is a type of ________________
16. When famous actors/actresses are in a film for a very short time, they are called
_________________
