SAVING PRIVATE RYAN: A 25th Anniversary Oral History

Introduction

In a decade that saw him direct Jurassic Park (1993), Schindler’s List (1993), and Amistad (1997), Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan (1998) may be his best film of the 1990s. It also makes the claim as being the greatest war film of all time. Like so many great films, it changed the genre for the better. One of the most technically proficient films ever made, every war picture that came down the pipe in the subsequent twenty-five years, owes a debt to Spielberg’s classic. Its themes of duty, sacrifice, as well as the value of human life, still resonate with viewers twenty-five years after its release.

The brutally realistic opening sequence depicting the harrowing Omaha Beach landing remains one of the greatest things ever committed to celluloid. In a testament to the true power of storytelling as well as the mastery of filmmaking, Spielberg and legendary cinematographer Janusz Kamiński plunge the viewer into the harrowing chaos of war with a visceral intensity that had never been seen before. The authentic battle sequences. The stunning cinematography. The top-rate acting performances by Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, and the rest of the cast. All of this adds to the brilliance of Saving Private Ryan.

In the tradition of telling a good story, entertaining the masses, and provoking thought long after you have left the theater, Cinema Scholars celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of this landmark and groundbreaking film by presenting an Oral History of its conception, production, and release, as told by the people who were there.

Beginnings

Director Steven Spielberg is no stranger to World War II. He had danced around it for decades with such films as 1941 (1979), Empire of the Sun (1987), and Schindler’s List (1993). He even had it portray an important role in the first three Indiana Jones films. However, as a tribute to his father, Arnold, the director wanted to make a film that would focus on the horrors of combat. He also wanted to focus on the brotherhood and bonds that are formed during untenable situations. Arnold Spielberg was a WWII veteran who saw combat in Burma in the South Pacific. 

Steven Spielberg spoke with The Los Angeles Times in 2018 about the genesis for wanting to make Saving Private Ryan and how deeply personal the film was for him:

“I picked World War II because, growing up, it was the seminal conversation inside my family. My parents talked about the Holocaust and they talked about World War II. And I was born knowing this. My dad was a veteran — he’s still with us, thank God, 101 years old — he was in the Army Air Corps from 1942 to the beginning of 1945…He had many veterans over to the house, and I became absolutely obsessed with the Second World War, based on my father’s stories, recollections and also based on all the World War II movies that eventually began playing on American television”

Robert Rodat, the screenwriter of Saving Private Ryan did not have an easy go of it. While Oscar-nominated, his script was rewritten an astounding eleven times. Much of this was at the request of the studio. Rodat’s script was inspired by the historical books of Stephen Ambrose as well as countless stories from families who lost multiple sons on the battlefield. This included the Niland Brothers and the Sullivan Brothers. The foundation for Spielberg’s film is based on the U.S. War Department’s “sole survivor” policy. This was adopted in 1942 after the four Sullivan brothers had been killed during the sinking of the USS Juneau during the Battle of Guadalcanal. The policy exempted the sole surviving son of a family where one or more sons had been killed in action.

Spielberg and Hanks

At this point, Spielberg was entering new territory. Saving Private Ryan was the first film that the director hadn’t developed on his own. Spielberg had received the script via his Agent. Not so coincidently, Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks had also been sent the screenplay. Hanks, who was red-hot at the time, was very interested in making the film. The future long-term partners (Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal, Bridge Of Spies, The Post, Band Of Brothers, The Pacific), got in touch with each other and decided that the time was right to finally collaborate with each other. Additional rewrites to the script were made by acclaimed writer/director Frank Darabont, based on research and interviews with WWII veterans.

Tom Hanks spoke with The Deseret News in 1998 about his lifelong friendship with Steven Spielberg and how it almost led him to turn down the lead role in Saving Private Ryan:

“I’ve seen friendships that ended because of a bad moviemaking experience, and I was really reluctant to do it because of that…Sometimes I’m just astounded that I know this great guy and that I’m friends with him. So it hasn’t been worth it to risk our friendship until now…We would have regretted not making this film. This was really important for both of us…Yes, we’re still speaking…There were a couple of tense moments when we might have questioned each other’s judgment, but we got through it”

While producer Mark Gordon, a fan of Rodat’s writing, had spearheaded Paramount Picture’s initial interest in Saving Private Ryan, once Spielberg had signed on – and brought his DreamWorks Pictures in for financing – Gordon began to have less and less influence over the production. Amblin Entertainment, Spielberg’s production company also came on board, basically supplanting Gordon from producing duties. Gordon and his Mutual Film Company would end up getting a production credit, as well as an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

Mark Gordon spoke with The Los Angeles Times in 1998 about his experience developing and producing Saving Private Ryan, working with Steven Spielberg, and having no regrets:

“Steven and I have always wanted to work together…So, we had the good fortune of being able to call Paramount and say, ‘OK, you have Arnold on one project and Bruce Willis on the other. How about Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg?’…The movie is one of the most impressive pieces of work I’ve ever seen…Steven was inclusive and gracious and enormously solicitous in terms of the development of the screenplay…If we hadn’t been there with the script, the movie wouldn’t have existed. So, we feel very proud of that”

Casting

Spielberg was determined to break the mold of the cliche war film. As such, he wanted to cast actors that looked the part. The director felt that people looked different during World War II as compared to how they might look in the 1990s. Spielberg wanted to accurately portray what he had seen in those newsreels all those decades ago. Subsequently, he set out to assemble a cast of actors that would reflect the stresses and horrors of war. This incredible cast includes – Tom Hanks. Matt Damon. Edward Burns. Tom Sizemore. Jeremy Davies. Vin Diesel. Adam Goldberg. Barry Pepper. Giovanni Ribisi. Dennis Farina. Bryan Cranston, and many others.

Not wanting his star to be an action hero, Spielberg felt that Tom Hanks would be the ideal choice to play the “adult” leader of the group of soldiers who search for Private Ryan so that he can be sent home to his family. Hanks delivers the perfect amount of gravitas in his portrayal of Captain Miller. However, he was not Spielberg’s first choice. Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, and Pete Postlethwaite were all considered for the role of Captain Miller.

Spielberg had initially wanted Edward Norton to play the titular character of Private James Francis Ryan. However, Norton turned down the role in order to star in the Oscar-nominated American History X (1998). The studio also considered Noah Wyle for the part. When Wyle turned the offer down due to his contract to star in the wildly successful television show ER, Matt Damon was offered the part. The late Tom Sizemore, who portrayed Captain Miller’s right-hand man, Sergeant Horvath, had a very public battle with substance abuse. As a result, Spielberg had Sizemore drug-tested daily, threatening to fire him on the spot if he failed a test. He didn’t.

Matt Damon spoke with GQ Magazine in 2021 about how his experience working with Robin Williams on ‘Good Will Hunting’ helped him land the titular role in Saving Private Ryan:

“Robin took Ben and me to meet Steven [Spielberg] because he knew it was never a bad thing to meet the greatest filmmaker of all time and how much we’d appreciate that. I had put myself on tape and I had read for Private Ryan and I hadn’t been cast. He met me in person and said ‘I think I know you from somewhere,’ and I said ‘Well I did this movie called Courage Under Fire,’ and he goes ‘That’s the one, you know it’s funny, I said to my wife that’s the exact type of person I want to play Private Ryan, but he’s too thin.’ Because I’d lost 40 pounds, I was playing a heroin addict in Courage Under Fire. And so it was only because Robin introduced me to him that he went ‘Oh OK, no you’re the kind of guy I’m looking for for that job”

Edward Burns, who plays the cocky Brooklyn-born Private Reiben is a talented filmmaker in his own right. Burns stated that working with Spielberg and the rest of the cast was the greatest learning experience of his career. Another aspiring filmmaker, Vin Diesel, had just completed two low-budget films. Amazingly, Spielberg had seen them both. Diesel had been auditioning for roles in film, stage, and television roles for years. With little success. The A-list star had turned to filmmaking as a last-ditch effort to try and ‘make it’ in Hollywood. Spielberg called him and changed his life. Almost overnight.

Boot Camp   

In keeping with the realism that Spielberg was going for, he felt that his actor/soldiers should undergo some sort of military training. The director’s ‘boot camp’ was so the cast could bond with each other and learn how to properly hold and use a weapon. Spielberg wanted the cast to know what it felt like to be a soldier during wartime. Enter Captain Dale Dye. Dye, a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps, saw combat in Vietnam and Beirut. He also worked with fellow veteran Oliver Stone, as a consultant, on Platoon (1985). Dye soon formed a company, Warriors Incorporated, that was dedicated to projecting combat realism in film and television.

Spielberg, Hanks, and Dye all agreed that the main cast should have to somewhat endure what the WWII veterans had gone thru over five decades earlier. Consequently, a six-day boot camp was set up for the main cast. Put together by Dye and his fellow marines, the actors stayed in character while being put through simulated attacks. They also had to perform five-mile runs in full gear. Military exercises. Weapons training. Extensive push-ups and calisthenics. Being reprimanded on a near-constant basis. Little to no sleep and cold and rainy conditions. This is what bonded the men and made them function like a well-trained unit.

Dale Dye spoke with the National WWII Museum in 2018 about putting the actors through rigorous training, the brutal British weather, and how Tom Hanks was a true believer:

“He (Spielberg) said, ‘I want you to work ‘em out, shake ‘em out, make ‘em feel it,’” Interestingly, a big supporter was Tom Hanks, who really is a true believer. We had some people who did not want to do what I was putting them through. And we had this absolutely horsecrap British weather—cold, misting rain all the time. Everybody was soaked, they were living in the mud. (Hanks) was the kind of kid…He’s got that kind of mind. I gave him a Thompson submachine gun, and I had to sit with him for an hour and go over every little part so that he knew exactly how that Thompson worked. And then I had to teach him land navigation—this is map-and-compass stuff…Tom wanted to know all of it. He has that kind of mind-set. Among plenty of phonies in Hollywood, he’s not. He’s the real thing” 

Edward Burns recalls his time spent during the six-day boot camp as one of the worst experiences of his life. Adam Goldberg stated that all of the actors were forced to ‘go method’ whether they wanted to or not. Captain Dye went so far as to refer to his actors/soldiers as ‘turds’ with Tom Hanks being ‘Turd Number One.’ With tensions running high, after three days of hell, the actors threatened to quit altogether. However, it was Hanks who convinced them to stick it out. It should be noted that Matt Damon was not a part of the boot camp and did not have to endure the rigors of the other actors. This was done on purpose, to create animosity between the squad/actors and Damon/Private Ryan. It worked.

Filming and Music

The filming of Saving Private Ryan took place from June to September 1997. The shoot took place, almost entirely on location in England and the beaches of Ireland. The opening Omaha Beach battle is widely considered to be one of the greatest filmed scenes in cinema history. It also was one of the most demanding and expensive, costing $12 million to film over a four-week period. Spielberg also employed over fifteen-hundred extras. In addition, the director wanted to film in chronological order. As a result, the Omaha Beach scene would be the first scene shot. The actors were getting thrown into the fire right out of the gate. 

Turning a calm Irish beach into one of the most famous scenes of both carnage and bravery was an awesome task. Just the construction of the service roads to haul in the materials was daunting. The bunkers and now iconic-looking x-shaped metal structures (nicknamed Czech Hedgehogs) were painstakingly recreated and placed in the exact locations as per actual video and photographic footage of the Normandy invasion. Ballinesker Beach was then carefully restored back to its original condition. This meant reseeding all the destroyed grass, removing all of the newly built service roads, and bringing in fresh sand by the truckloads.

Janusz Kamiński spoke with the American Cinematographer podcast in 2018 about how working on Saving Private Ryan changed his career and how in his youth he took chances:

“I would be a different caliber cinematographer — naturally. Steven would still be Steven, the most successful and best director in the world, but Saving Private Ryan is a very unique movie for my career…I’m not sure if I would have the same bravado, or if I would be as ballsy now as I was then…Youth has a lot of attributes, and one of them is that you take chances. Certainly, from a visual standpoint, we took chances on that film.”

Spielberg shot most of Saving Private Ryan with handheld cameras. He also was sure to keep the cameras as low to the ground as possible. This would create the effect that the audience was immersed in the battle and were viewing it from the soldier’s perspective. As a result, the shoot was brutal for lead camera operator Mitch Dubin and Steadicam operator Chris Haarhoff. Running through explosions while trying to keep the camera as low to the ground as possible was a daily occurrence. In some instances, the camera was so close to the action that fake blood would stick to the lens of the camera, thus adding to the film’s realism.

Spielberg’s long-time musical collaborator, composer John Williams produced the score for Saving Private Ryan. As could be predicted, the director wanted little musical accompaniment for the battle scenes. He preferred the realistic sounds of war and death to score this section of the film. The pair watch a rough-cut of the film together Williams scored fifty-five minutes over three days, using the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Williams, purposely, delivered an understated and somber score for the film. Williams more than made up for the lack of music throughout the film as his closing piece ‘Hymn to the Fallen’ is a moving tribute to those who never made it home from the beaches of Normandy, and beyond.

Release and Legacy

Released on July 24, 1998, Saving Private Ryan grossed over $480 million. A critical and commercial success, despite its long runtime and grim themes and storyline, the film could not be stopped at the box office. Spielberg’s masterpiece was too visually stunning not to see on the big screen. It was also released in the middle of Summer, a time reserved for blockbuster comedies and action films. It didn’t matter, as the draw of Spielberg, Hanks, and a big-budget war film was too much to resist. Pulling in over $30 million on its opening weekend, it beat out The Mask of Zorro and There’s Something About Mary. Spielberg remained king as Saving Private Ryan was the highest-grossing film of the year, ahead of Michael Bay’s Armageddon.

At the 71st Academy Awards, Saving Private Ryan won a well-deserved five Oscars. This included Spielberg for Best Director and Janusz Kamiński for Best Cinematographer. The film also won Oscars for Best Film Editing, Best Sound, and Best Sound Effects Editing. Hanks was nominated for Best Actor. Rodat was nominated for Best Original Screenplay and John Williams’ musical score was also nominated. In addition, the film earned Oscar nods for Best Production Design and Best Makeup. In one of the great travesties in Oscars history, Saving Private Ryan LOST the Best Picture award to Miramax’s Shakespeare In Love. DreamWorks would accuse Miramax and Harvey Weinstein of ‘overly aggressive campaigning.’

Widely considered one of the greatest war films ever made, Saving Private Ryan was a game-changer. It also spearheaded a renewed interest in WWII as we approached the 21st century. Hanks and Spielberg also weren’t done as they would again collaborate in 2001 as creators and executive producers on the influential and incredible HBO limited-series, Band of Brothers. The ten-part WWII series was based on the history of “Easy” Company, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. Easy Company essentially parachuted into occupied France the night before the Normandy invasion. The pair would also executive-produce The Pacific in 2010. The HBO limited series was a brutal and stunning portrayal of the US Marine Corps’s actions in the Pacific Theater of Operations during WWII.

Tom Hanks spoke with NBC News in 2019 about Steven Spielberg’s intentions when making Saving Private Ryan and how its legacy must never be tarnished:

“What Steven wanted to do from the get-go was to use all of his magic, and all of the tools that existed in cinema as of 1997, and make a war movie that was going to break every one of the tropes, visually and cinematically, that all war movies had…I think the danger is that it enters into some sort of mythological place…If we ever forget that it was a bunch of individuals that went over, and they all had names like Ernie, and Buck and Robert — that’s when we’ve done a bad job of being citizens of the world, I think”

Check Out More Oral Histories From Cinema Scholars!:

HEAT (1995): A Cinema Scholars Oral History (Click Here)

BOOGIE NIGHTS: A 25th Anniversary Oral History (Click Here)

The Hollywood Vampires – A Drunken Oral History (Click Here)

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