10 Things You Didn't Know About Saving Private Ryan

On top of the extras, the gallons of fake blood, the hiring of real life amputees, and some intense behind the scenes boot camp, the crew of Saving Private Ryan had to make sure everything looked as realistic and true-to-life as possible.

During production, Spielberg and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski modeled the look of the film by watching newsreel footage from the 1940s. Converting their own modern cameras and technology to look more grainy and make the film look more like it was taking place in the war, they gave the picture a much more authentic feel.

But the authenticity also came down to the props used by the actors. Costume designer Joanna Johnson, for example, realised that using real-life WW2-era costumes would cost too much given the amount they needed, so she custom made over 3500 uniforms for the main cast and the various extras throughout the film.

Fake, historically accurate weapons were also made. For the D-Day sequence, 2000 of these prop weapons were used, with 500 of these shooting blanks and the rest shooting rubber bullets.