How did they do it?
Spielberg’s visual storytelling has always been his strength. By now, it’s obvious when he’s treading water compared to when he actually has a vision, and when his mojo is working no other director can touch him. There are maybe five directors who could pull off the Omaha Beach sequence that opens Saving Private Ryan. Spielberg tosses off more incredible moments in this one sequence than other filmmakers manage in their entire career. Individual shots or sounds that fold into the larger scope of the sequence to create something that is undeniably thrilling in the moment while also horrifying, sickening and grueling.
We say that great movies are made by Crew and here that includes longtime Spielberg collaborators Janusz Kaminski (Dir. of Photography), Michael Kahn (Editor) and Gary Rydstrom (Sound). While Spielberg is known for working almost exclusively with the same crew again and again this isn’t true when it comes to the Production Designer. His recent films have been with Rick Carter and his 80s films were with Norman Reynolds, but for this he went with Tom Sanders (Apocalypto, Crimson Peak) who was previously the Art Director on Hook. Sanders was chosen because for his historical accuracy and grounded realism he brought to Braveheart.
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