'Saving Private Ryan' at 20: How Spielberg's D-Day Film Changed War Movies Forever

Twenty years ago, director Steven Spielberg released a war movie that changed Hollywood forever. 'Saving Private Ryan' came out in July 1998 and starred Tom Hanks as Captain John Miller, a soldier leading a small group of men through World War II. The film's opening battle scene — showing American soldiers landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day — was so realistic that it shocked audiences around the world. Today, it is considered one of the greatest war movies ever made.

Spielberg was not sure the film would be a hit. In early test screenings, some people told him the movie was too intense and hard to watch. He worried that the violent first 25 minutes would drive audiences away. 'I didn't anticipate the success of the movie,' Spielberg said years later.

The Omaha Beach scene became famous almost immediately. Spielberg used every filmmaking tool he had to show American soldiers fighting through German defenses. No major filmmaker had ever shown so much of the chaos and horror of World War II combat before. Audiences were stunned by how real and frightening it looked.

'Saving Private Ryan' went on to influence almost every war film that came after it. Movies and TV shows like 'Gladiator,' 'Hacksaw Ridge,' 'Dunkirk,' and 'The Pacific' all borrowed from Spielberg's style of putting the viewer right in the middle of the action. His fast, up-close filming approach set a new standard for action movies everywhere. Even superhero blockbusters owe something to the way he filmed the D-Day landing.

Spielberg had a personal connection to World War II. He grew up hearing stories from his father, who served in the Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1945. His parents also often talked about the Holocaust. 'I was born knowing this,' Spielberg said, explaining why he felt so strongly about telling the story.

Tom Hanks also grew up deeply interested in World War II. As a teenager, he watched a documentary series called 'The World at War' on a local TV channel in Oakland, California. He and Spielberg both felt that Hollywood had ignored realistic war films for too long. Hanks noted that the last big World War II combat film had come out more than 20 years before 'Private Ryan.'

The film brought together a group of actors, many of whom were not yet well known. Ed Burns, who played Private Reiben, called the experience 'probably my greatest professional experience.' Vin Diesel was working as a telemarketer when Spielberg saw his short films and personally called him. That one phone call launched Diesel's career as a major movie star.

Other cast members had interesting stories too. Adam Goldberg, who played Private Mellish, learned that his character was not fully written when he was first cast. Tom Sizemore had to choose between this film and another war movie being shot in Australia — and he picked Spielberg. Canadian actor Barry Pepper described landing his role as 'like being invited behind the curtain of Oz.'

To make the Omaha Beach scene as accurate as possible, Spielberg spoke with real veterans who had fought there. Historian Stephen Ambrose helped him get in touch with men who had actually stormed the beach on June 6, 1944. One veteran described remembering every grain of sand against his face as he took cover from enemy fire. Those first-hand accounts made the scene feel honest and true.

On the final day of filming, Tom Hanks gathered the cast behind a church — the film's only indoor set. He poured everyone a shot of whiskey and told them he had seen early edited footage of the movie. He said he had both good news and bad news. The good news was that they were making something that 'will live on long after we're all gone' — and he turned out to be absolutely right.