I have a special place in my heart for films that prioritize authenticity as much as creativity. When talking about films that are rooted in reality, missing out on Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan almost feels like a cinematic sin. Shot in documentary style, featuring shaky hand-held camerawork, Saving Private Ryan is widely regarded as one of the most authentic war films ever made. One of the most praised aspects of the film is its sound design by Gary Rydstrom, which elevated Spielberg’s visual language with vigorous authenticity. But what did Rydstrom do differently in Saving Private Ryan?

Well, not many know that the Foley in Saving Private Ryan, especially the sound of the weaponry, is not pre-recorded stock sound effects, but was created by recording the sound of real World War II weaponry.

In this article, we’re exploring how Spielberg and Rydstrom induce a sense of raw destruction and war trauma through the use of authentic sounds of real World War II weaponry.

Story

Just a quick recap, set against the gruesome backdrop of WWII, Saving Private Ryan centers on Captain John Miller and his squad, who are on a mission to bring Private James Ryan home safely after three of his brothers were killed in combat. Alongside the deaths and destruction, the central plot also explores the moral and emotional dilemmas through Miller and his men, as they navigate war-torn France in search of Ryan. The film reaches its peak emotional and moral complexity when the group grapples with the question of whether it is justified to risk so many lives for one. Ultimately, they do find Ryan alive, still defending a critical post on a bridge, refusing to abandon his duty, despite learning about his brothers’ deaths. The reinforcement platoon joins Ryan in defending the post, leading to a fierce climax and subsequent deaths, including Miller’s. Ironically, Ryan is one of the three survivors out of the six who came looking for him. On his last breath, Miller says, “Earn this”, urging Ryan to a life worthy of the sacrifices they made for him.

If you haven’t teared up at this scene, is that heart or stone inside that ribcage?

World War II Weaponry And Its Sounds In Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan uses background music sparingly but intentionally. Before diving into the sound of weaponry, let’s first quickly tap into a little bit about how the background music was curated (because I’m too tempted to not share it with you!).

In an interview, John Williams shared that the symphonies for the background music were recorded in Boston with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The intention was to use music to strike the emotional chords, specifically in the quieter scenes.

Williams shared how Spielberg, Tom Hanks and others were in the hall, listening to the orchestra playing the piece when Williams called in a brief break, asking Hanks to read Lincoln’s letter that General Marshall read in the film, to the orchestra, to give the musicians an idea of what was actually happening to the scene, behind which their music would play.

Talking about the creation of the Hymn to the Fall, Williams shared that he didn’t follow his usual style of work while creating music and sound for Saving Private Ryan. The Hymn to the Fall was created as a set piece: a homage to the people who lost their lives in film.

Avoiding music in the battle scenes was a deliberate creative choice. Undoubtedly, pairing combat scenes with raw, authentic Foley allowed it to be both visceral and an immersive experience. Rydstorm, in an interview, shared how eliminating background music from battle scenes blurred the line between reel and real for the viewers, immersing them deep into the chaos of war.

Reportedly, Spielberg was very clear that he didn’t want the sound to be “Hollywood,” implying that he strictly didn’t want any clichés or shortcuts, like using stock sound effects. In fact, he was hellbent on being as authentic as possible when it came to sound. “He wanted it as true as possible, true to the memories of what battle was like for people who were in it,” said Rydstrom.

To achieve Spielberg’s vision, Rydstorm (who hardly knew anything about weaponry or ammunition back then) did extensive research, especially talking to veterans, which revealed to him how much people remembered the war through sound. He was amazed how sound was more than a major part of their memory, as the veterans could distinctly recognize the weapons by their sounds. For instance, how the distinctive ping of the empty cartridge out of the M1 rifle had become an internalized signal for both German Soldiers and the soldiers of the Allied Forces, in their own ways.

Extensive battle scenes, like the Omaha Beach sequence, were broken down into smaller bits to categorize and pair the sounds distinctively with different pieces of arsenals. Especially firing and bullet impact sounds were crucial, as realistically, a soldier hears the sound of the bullet whizzing towards him more prominently than any other sound around him.

The process of mixing the sounds of bullet impacts was painstaking, as every impact was separately recorded from the particular weaponry (mind you, there were hundreds of guns, of different varieties, in the scene), then edited by hand, and finally mixed with the visuals.

Rydstrom and his team mixed thousands of individual sounds, one by one, to create intense realism for every combat scene.

And in the end, it all paid off. Saving Private Ryan is one of a kind in both its visual storytelling and sound design, and bears its own legacy.

While imagination and fictionalization have their own place in storytelling, Saving Private Ryan demonstrates the power of authenticity in any narrative. Because truth be told, films have taught me a lot, and I am forever indebted. I still remember being the only second-grader who could pronounce “yacht” correctly (and then flaunted it proudly); thanks to hearing it in a movie dialogue.

Would you choose such tedious post-production for your film?