Steven Spielberg, the man behind the masterclass Saving Private Ryan, has given us many opportunities to cherish. And just like us, Christopher Nolan, one of the greatest filmmakers of our generation, has also reserved his admiration for Spielberg.
Nolan also made one WWII drama Dunkirk, which has garnered much appreciation from fans and critics alike. However, before filming Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan once revealed that he reached out to Steven Spielberg for advice as he was successful in making Saving Private Ryan.
And, Spielberg also shared some advice with Nolan, one of the visionary directors of our time. Dunkirk grossed $527 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing World War II film, until it was surpassed by Nolan’s Oppenheimer (2023).
Christopher Nolan Discussed With Steven Spielberg Before Making Dunkirk
Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan and Christopher Nolan‘s Dunkirk – it’s right that both the movies vary in their style, though both are war movies. The two acclaimed filmmakers also have a different approach to making movies. However, Nolan took the initiative to consult with a torchbearer like Spielberg before moving forward with Dunkirk, and that’s something people loved about them.
Nolan told Variety:
“The film has lost none of its power. It’s a truly horrific opening, and there are later sequences that are horrible to sit through. We didn’t want to compete with that because it is such an achievement. I realised I was looking for a different type of tension.”
“I needed suspense, and the language of suspense is one where you can’t take your eyes from the screen,” Nolan added.
“The language of horror is one where you hide your eyes. You’re looking away. It’s a different form of tension. We constructed our set-pieces not around violence, not around blood, but around physical jeopardy.”
He told Variety magazine: “I didn’t view this as a war film. I viewed it as a survival story.“
Nolan’s Dunkirk talks about the battle between German soldiers and the Allied troops that lasted for ten days in 1940, which eventually led to the evacuation of more than 330,000 allied troops.
Dunkirk received eight nominations at the 90th Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Nolan, and won the Best Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Sound Editing awards.
Steven Spielberg Did Not Hesitate to Give Advice to Christopher Nolan
Steven Spielberg welcomed Nolan and shared a piece of advice with him.
“Knowing and respecting that Chris is one of the world’s most imaginative filmmakers, my advice to him was to leave his imagination, as I did on ‘Ryan,’ in second position to the research he was doing to authentically acquit this historical drama,” Spielberg told Variety.
Saving Private Ryan, the American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat, became an instant classic in the 90s upon its release.
The movie also went on to win 5 Oscars for its harsh portrayal of war and received a high rating of 8.6/10 on IMDB and 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Tom Hanks starrer is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S. Watch Dunkirk on Prime Video.
