The first thing audiences think of when ing Saving Private Ryan is undoubtedly the graphic and immersive D-Day sequence, but although many refer to it as the movie's opening, Spielberg actually begins the film with a framing device. Having already established himself as a titan of the industry by 1998, Spielberg's return to the WWII era earned widespread acclaim upon release. Though the reputation of the film and the D-Day sequence are, essentially, synonymous in the discourse, the actual opening scene bears mention, as it functions in concert with Omaha Beach to achieve a specific effect.
Five years after Schindler's List, his return to the arena of WWII received similar acclaim. Saving Private Ryan, a massive and harrowing portrayal of the fighting in and around D-Day, was the top domestic box office grosser of 1998. It garnered 11 Academy Award nominations, winning five, including Spielberg's second statuette for Best Director. The film seared itself into the canon of war cinema, in no small part due to its 24-minute second scene, which places the audience squarely in the middle of the graphic storming of Omaha Beach. But the film opens not with this action centerpiece, but instead with a quieter, 5-minute scene following an elderly man in a military cemetery. Why, then, do audiences so frequently recall the D-Day sequence as being the film's opening?
In short: because it's that impactful. A tremendous amount of work went into recreating this monumental operation in all its graphic splendor. Spielberg and company enlisted the help of Dale Dye, a retired and decorated Marine veteran, to lend authenticity to 1917 and continues to be the most memorable piece of Saving Private Ryan's legacy.
But the actual opening scene follows an elderly man and what appears to be his extensive family of descendants. The man, correctly assumed by many first-time viewers to be the titular Private Ryan, collapses at a grave as he is overwhelmed by the memory of his service, a memory in which the audience soon finds themselves immersed. Spielberg's decision to begin his massive war epic such a subdued and reminiscent scene may appear perplexing at first, but there's a reason.
By showing Ryan and his progeny at the outset, the film demonstrates to the audience the gravity of what they're about to see. It says to the audience that his family and Ryan's future itself would not exist were it not for the heroic actions about to unfold. This notion underscores the rest of the film, a constant reminder that the extreme violence and heroism here shown had a purpose—life, family, and future.
Still, audiences can be forgiven for missing the distinction between the "first" and "second" scenes of Saving Private Ryan. This phenomenon, after all, is a testament to the enduring strength of this iconic sequence of war cinema. Roger Ebert wrote on the inclusion of the sequence, recounting that Spielberg wanted to "demand [the audience] to be participants with those kids who had never seen combat before in real life, and get to the top of Omaha Beach together." Perhaps that's ultimately why audiences D-Day as the opening to Saving Private Ryan.
