<P> The film's second scene is a 20 + minute sequence recounting the landing on the beaches of Normandy . Spielberg chose to include this particularly violent sequence in order "to bring the audience onto the stage with me" specifically noting that he did not want the "audience to be spectators" but rather he wanted to "demand them to be participants with those kids who had never seen combat before in real life, and get to the top of Omaha Beach together ." </P> <P> Spielberg had already demonstrated his interest in World War II themes with the films 1941, Empire of the Sun, Schindler's List, and the Indiana Jones series . Spielberg later co-produced the World War II themed television miniseries Band of Brothers and its counterpart The Pacific with Tom Hanks . When asked about this by American Cinematographer, Spielberg said, "I think that World War II is the most significant event of the last 100 years; the fate of the baby boomers and even Generation X was linked to the outcome . Beyond that, I've just always been interested in World War II . My earliest films, which I made when I was about 14 years old, were combat pictures that were set both on the ground and in the air . For years now, I've been looking for the right World War II story to shoot, and when Robert Rodat wrote Saving Private Ryan, I found it ." </P> <P> Spielberg wanted an almost exact replica of the Omaha Beach landscape for the movie, including similar sand and a bluff similar to the one where German forces were stationed and a near match was found in Ireland . The D - Day scenes were shot in Ballinesker Beach, Curracloe Strand, Ballinesker, just east of Curracloe, County Wexford, Ireland . Hanks recalled to Roger Ebert that although he realized it was a movie, the experience still hit him hard, stating, "The first day of shooting the D - Day sequences, I was in the back of the landing craft, and that ramp went down and I saw the first 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 rows of guys just getting blown to bits . In my head, of course, I knew it was special effects, but I still wasn't prepared for how tactile it was ." Filming began June 27, 1997, and lasted for two months . Some shooting was done in Normandy, for the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville - sur - Mer and Calvados . Other scenes were filmed in England, such as a former British Aerospace factory in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Thame Park, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire . Production was due to also take place in Seaham, County Durham, but government restrictions disallowed this . </P> <P> Saving Private Ryan has received critical acclaim for its realistic portrayal of World War II combat . In particular, the sequence depicting the Omaha Beach landings was named the "best battle scene of all time" by Empire magazine and was ranked number one on TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest Movie Moments". The scene cost US $12 million and involved up to 1,500 extras, some of whom were members of the Irish Reserve Defence Forces . Members of local reenactment groups such as the Second Battle Group were cast as extras to play German soldiers . In addition, twenty to thirty actual amputees were used to portray American soldiers maimed during the landing . Spielberg did not storyboard the sequence, as he wanted spontaneous reactions and for "the action to inspire me as to where to put the camera". </P>

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