"Saving Private Ryan": Matt Damon & Ben Affleck Talk The Opening Scene

Which is your favorite Matt Damon & Ben Affleck film? 'School Ties'? 'Good Will Hunting'? 'Dogma'? 'Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back'? 'Air'? Or is it their new film 'RIP'?

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were on the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast where they talked about the opening scene of 'Saving Private Ryan', which Damon starred in as the title character. Here is the transcript.

Joe: You guys have been in some absolute bangers, man. Saving Private Ryan, that opening film, the storming of the beach. Unbelievable. That might be the most realistic depiction of war that’s ever been made.

Matt: I remember reading the script and there was all this dialogue written—tons of stuff. But I came in late because he shot it chronologically, and I’m only in the last act of the movie. So I asked Steven on set, “How did the beginning go?” You know, all that dialogue with them on the boat coming in. And he just goes, “I cut all of that out. No talking for the first 27 minutes of this movie.”

Joe: Whoa.

Matt: That’s when I was like, “Oh my god, this movie is going to be unbelievable.”

I think Tom says something like, “I’ll see you on the beach,” and he’s screaming. Guys are puking.

Ben: Yeah—“Look at the man next to you.”

Matt: Right. “Remember, he’s not going to live.” That was in the script. It was like, “Look to your left, look to your right. Two out of three of you are going to die. Feel bad for those two sons of bitches, because they’re not going to make it.” And Steven was just like, “Nope. No, no. These guys are puking.” You hear the metal, the boat, everything shaking—and then boom, you’re into it.

Joe: Yeah.

Matt: And then there was all that cinema-changing stuff.

Ben: Opening the shutter all the way, motion blur, skipping the bleach process when developing the film.

Matt: I don’t even know if they went to 22 or 23 frames in places. Maybe. But I remember the open shutter.

Ben: It just means that instead of the motion blur is what makes something that moves across the frame quickly. If you look at each frame, it's like a blurred thing. And when you roll those 24 frames, it gives you this illusion that it moves across fluidly. And if you basically open the shutter up so you get much more light, each frame takes a super sharp picture. And when you run those together like the piece of dust goes..."

Matt: The explosions go—and you feel adrenalized. Like your senses are overloaded.

Nobody had ever done that before.

Ben: That’s a master who understands the tools, combined with a great idea. That’s just how you do it. There’s nobody who directs movies who doesn’t look at that and go, “Yeah… it’s Spielberg.” That’s how you do it.

Which actor has made the better films? Comment below with your thoughts.

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Source: The Joe Rogan Experience

Photo Credit: Evan Mulling/Paramount Pictures/Touchstone Pictures