Q: What was causing Captain Miller's hand to shake?
A: A reaction to the stress of combat undoubtedly. His character had been in combat for two years, as revealed by the discussions between him and Sergeant Horvath. He'd seen combat in such places as Kasserine Pass in North Africa and Anzio in Italy. As an infantry officer, Miller has beaten the odds so far just by still being alive. The First Ranger Battalion had been decimated in Anzio and removed from the U.S. Army's order of battle. In other words, Captain Miller has been under intense pressure for two years. He also suffers intensely from the deaths of each one of his men and he has lost many.
Q: If Miller's squad was in such a hurry, why did they take the time to bury Wade and those dead paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne?
A: In real life, they probably wouldn't have. After making all that noise, they would have been anxious to get on down the road before enemy infantry or artillery came calling. They're supposed to be behind enemy lines, after all. But remember, this is a movie. We would have missed all that drama with Steamboat Willie. Events have to be compressed to tell the story.
Q: Where was the movie filmed?
A: The D-Day invasion scene was filmed at Wexford, Ireland. The remainder of the movie was filmed in England. The village of Ramelle was created at a former British Aerospace factory.
Q: Where were the opening and closing scenes filmed?
A: At the U.S. Military Cemetery at Ste. Laurent-sur-Mer, France, which is on the bluffs above Omaha Beach.
Q: Is the film based upon a true story?
A: Yes but rather loosely. The real Private Ryan was Private Fritz Niland of the 101st Airborne Division. Two of his brothers were killed at Normandy and a third was reported missing and presumed dead in Burma. The Army issued an order to bring Private Niland home but nobody was sent looking for him because nobody knew where he was. He was found two weeks later, unaware of what had transpired. His brother in Burma later turned up alive.
Q: How accurate are the weapons and uniforms in the film?
A: Considering the production company is trying to reproduce equipment that is over 50 years old, the weapons and uniforms are very accurate. Every uniform for the cast and extras had to be manufactured and then made to look worn. An example of the trouble Speilberg went to is the soldiers' boots. His costume director found the company that made the U.S. Army's combat boots in World War II and got the exact instructions and patterns. Then she had 2000 pairs of boots made and aged for the actors.
Q: Plastic bags didn’t exist in 1944. How come the soldiers landing on Omaha Beach are shown with weapons enclosed in plastic bags?
A: Those weren’t plastic bags but bags made from a substance known as PLIOFILM. American soldiers at Normandy used such bags.
Q: Did it only take 30 minutes to get off the beach at Omaha?
A: No, it took more than half a day and cost thousands of casualties, even more than depicted in the film. But nobody would want to sit through four or five hours of carnage waiting for Captain Miller and his men to get off the beach.
Q: How accurate is the geography of the film?
A: Well, Normandy really does exist, as did Omaha Beach. Neuville also is a real village. The Merderet River is real. Other towns mentioned in the film, Caen, Vierville, St. Lo, Volognes, and Cherbourg are also real. But Ramelle is fictitious.
http://www.scruffles.net/spielberg/movies/spr6.html
A: A reaction to the stress of combat undoubtedly. His character had been in combat for two years, as revealed by the discussions between him and Sergeant Horvath. He'd seen combat in such places as Kasserine Pass in North Africa and Anzio in Italy. As an infantry officer, Miller has beaten the odds so far just by still being alive. The First Ranger Battalion had been decimated in Anzio and removed from the U.S. Army's order of battle. In other words, Captain Miller has been under intense pressure for two years. He also suffers intensely from the deaths of each one of his men and he has lost many.
Q: If Miller's squad was in such a hurry, why did they take the time to bury Wade and those dead paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne?
A: In real life, they probably wouldn't have. After making all that noise, they would have been anxious to get on down the road before enemy infantry or artillery came calling. They're supposed to be behind enemy lines, after all. But remember, this is a movie. We would have missed all that drama with Steamboat Willie. Events have to be compressed to tell the story.
Q: Where was the movie filmed?
A: The D-Day invasion scene was filmed at Wexford, Ireland. The remainder of the movie was filmed in England. The village of Ramelle was created at a former British Aerospace factory.
Q: Where were the opening and closing scenes filmed?
A: At the U.S. Military Cemetery at Ste. Laurent-sur-Mer, France, which is on the bluffs above Omaha Beach.
Q: Is the film based upon a true story?
A: Yes but rather loosely. The real Private Ryan was Private Fritz Niland of the 101st Airborne Division. Two of his brothers were killed at Normandy and a third was reported missing and presumed dead in Burma. The Army issued an order to bring Private Niland home but nobody was sent looking for him because nobody knew where he was. He was found two weeks later, unaware of what had transpired. His brother in Burma later turned up alive.
Q: How accurate are the weapons and uniforms in the film?
A: Considering the production company is trying to reproduce equipment that is over 50 years old, the weapons and uniforms are very accurate. Every uniform for the cast and extras had to be manufactured and then made to look worn. An example of the trouble Speilberg went to is the soldiers' boots. His costume director found the company that made the U.S. Army's combat boots in World War II and got the exact instructions and patterns. Then she had 2000 pairs of boots made and aged for the actors.
Q: Plastic bags didn’t exist in 1944. How come the soldiers landing on Omaha Beach are shown with weapons enclosed in plastic bags?
A: Those weren’t plastic bags but bags made from a substance known as PLIOFILM. American soldiers at Normandy used such bags.
Q: Did it only take 30 minutes to get off the beach at Omaha?
A: No, it took more than half a day and cost thousands of casualties, even more than depicted in the film. But nobody would want to sit through four or five hours of carnage waiting for Captain Miller and his men to get off the beach.
Q: How accurate is the geography of the film?
A: Well, Normandy really does exist, as did Omaha Beach. Neuville also is a real village. The Merderet River is real. Other towns mentioned in the film, Caen, Vierville, St. Lo, Volognes, and Cherbourg are also real. But Ramelle is fictitious.
http://www.scruffles.net/spielberg/movies/spr6.html