In 1998, cinema-goers flocked to see Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, which featured arguably the most realistic and harrowing depiction of the D-Day landings ever captured on celluloid – then went on to tell the tale of a small unit on a mission to rescue a single soldier whose brothers had all been killed in action. This documentary tests the historical accuracy of the opening battle scene, talking to one of the first men to make it off Omaha Beach on D-Day and testing the science behind some of the bullet and mortar shots. It also reveals the background to the US military’s 1944 sole survivor policy, which inspired the movie.

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