I didn't read reviews earlier in my career, but I read them now as I'm older. I read them all.

Every time I go to a movie, it's magic, no matter what the movie's about.

I think that a movie can only be an adjunct or only a supplement to books, to different points of view, to scholars, historians and your own teachers.

With all the movies I've made about history, it's not really fun because you're trying to get it right. You've got history telling how it was, and then my imagination is telling me how I wish it had been, but I can't go there, so I have to censor myself. I'm very good about stopping myself from creating history that never occurred, but it's frustrating.

I've always wanted to tell a story about Lincoln. I saw a paternal father figure; I saw someone who was completely, stubbornly committed to his ideals, to his vision.

I made 'Saving Private Ryan' for my father. He's the one who filled my head with war stories when I was growing up.

So I try to re-invent my own eye every time I tackle a new subject. But it's hard, because everybody has style. You can't help it.