29. Omaha Beach wasn’t Omaha Beach
It’s a director’s dream to be able to shoot in the location where the film is set.
The memorial at Omaha Beach
But this can’t always be the case. Omaha Beach, for one, has serious filming restrictions.
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This meant that the opening D-Day sequence of Saving Private Ryan had to be filmed elsewhere.
‘Omaha Beach’ (not really)
Can you guess where? No? Well, it was actually Ireland – in particular, Ballinesker Beach.
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This was determined to be an almost exact match with the appearance of Omaha Beach – and perfect for filming.
Ballinesker Beach
This meant that over 2,500 of the extras were in fact Irish Reserve Army troops who were based nearby.
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