How the Best War Movie of All Time Became Completely Different From Its Script

Over the years, there have been many great war movies. The genre typically draws on historical conflicts, often using verifiable sources to deliver engaging drama that captures the horror of war. While there are many underrated entries into the genre, the very best war movies of all time are able to enrapture fans for years, becoming timeless classics in their depiction of the dramatic toll war takes on its human participants. Steven Spielberg’s 1998 movie Saving Private Ryan is commonly cited as one of the greatest war movies ever made, perfectly balancing all the elements that have made the genre so consistently popular.

However, in a recent interview with Vulture, Saving Private Ryan star Tom Hanks revealed that the finished movie might have once been incredibly different from the film that Spielberg released. “If you were going to write out shot-for-shot, page by page, much of Saving Private Ryan was not in screenplay form,” he explained. “When the paratroopers and Ted Danson show up in the movie, that wasn’t in the script. We just got there, and it had all been jury-rigged, and we said, Okay, this is the way the boss works.” He went on to give another example of an iconic death scene, which Spielberg completely reworked on the fly due to the angle of the light. It’s an interesting detail, as it offers fans an insight into how Spielberg shaped the beloved war movie even as he was making it.

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How Saving Private Ryan‘s Changes Prove Spielberg’s Directorial Brilliance

While Saving Private Ryan is a war movie classic and an iconic film in its own right, it’s still only one of several outstanding Steven Spielberg movies. However, Tom Hanks’ comments outline just how exceptional a director Spielberg truly is, as they paint some of Saving Private Ryan‘s most powerful scenes in a whole new light. The revelation that much of the movie’s script wasn’t strictly adhered to on set by Spielberg is telling, as it demonstrates both the director’s movie-making aptitude and his confidence in his abilities.

Being able to rapidly adapt the filmmaking process to better suit the circumstances at hand is part of what makes Spielberg one of the greatest directors of all time. In taking a powerful war movie about D-Day and tweaking elements to fit the actors and the filming schedule, Spielberg made Saving Private Ryan a true classic. Had another director helmed the project, certain scenes might have been more directly adapted from the original script, and that could well have hurt the movie in the long run.

Steven Spielberg’s career has proven his supreme ability behind the camera, but Saving Private Ryan remains one of his most impressive movies. The latest comments from Tom Hanks about Spielberg’s spontaneous creative input only highlight the movie’s quality, as it’s such a perfectly crafted and powerful piece of cinema. Knowing that Saving Private Ryan was subtly changed and adapted on the fly not only makes the movie all the more enjoyable, but it helps cement Spielberg’s legacy as one of the most exceptionally gifted directors of all time.

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