
The main crew arrived on location on June 25, 1997. A storm destroyed some of the props just before filming, and were rebuilt overnight. Over eleven weeks were spent preparing Ballinesker for filming. Sanders, led construction of the concrete battlements, bunkers, Czech hedgehogs, and barbed wire, much of which was made by local metalworkers. Service roads were built for vehicles to reach Ballinesker. A segment adjacent to Blackwater, County Wexford, was considered, but the local nuns could not make the land available in time. I used wider lenses for geography and tighter lenses for the compression of action. I tried to use certain wide-angle lenses to extend the length of the flats on the sandy beach before the soldiers reach the shingle.

He said, "I was a bit disappointed that the beach we used wasn't as broad as the real Omaha Beach. Spielberg selected a 1 km (0.62 mi) segment of the beach, known as Ballinesker. One such location, the 7 mi (11 km) long Curracloe Beach, near Curracloe, County Wexford, offered the desired golden sands and sheer cliffs and nearby amenities.


Associate producer, Kevin De La Noy's earlier work on Braveheart (1995) in Ireland had developed contacts with the Irish Army and knowledge of local beaches. Beaches researched in England and Scotland lacked either the aesthetics or amenities required, such as housing for the crew, and the filmmakers needed a specific depth for the cast to leap from the landing crafts into the water. The real location was too developed for their needs, and many other French beaches were restricted by military or wildlife use Spielberg believed officials were difficult because they did not want him filming there. Three months were spent scouting for a location to portray the Normandy coast. The cast includes Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Adam Goldberg, and Jeremy Davies. Set in 1944 during the Normandy landings of World War II, it follows a group of soldiers, led by Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks), on their mission to extricate Private James Ryan (Matt Damon) from the war effort after all of his brothers are killed in battle. Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. The 'Beasts & Exploration' DLC adds several legendary locations. While less remote locations are usually safe, the ones further away from civilization are more dangerous and can involve challenging battles. They can be interacted with to get quests, information or items. Legendary locations are unique locations scattered over the world.
