The 8 Greatest Improvisations in Popular Cinema
My favorite ones anyway
Spoilers for Avengers: Endgame, Cobra Kai, Harry Potter, and some older movies you should’ve seen years ago.I love learning about iconic movie moments that were a result of spur-of-the-moment ingenuity. Is it any coincidence that many of these moments are the best parts of their respective films?
I compiled this list to share some my favorites. Drop a comment and tell me yours.
Han Solo is a complete baller
If you know of me at all, it’s probably something to do with Star Wars. So let’s just get the most obvious one out of the way first.
The scene in The Empire Strikes Back where Han and Leia finally express their true feelings — right before he’s turned into the world’s largest popsicle — was originally written quite differently, and it sucked.
Leia: I love you. I couldn’t tell you before, but it’s true.
Han: Just remember that, ‘cause I’ll be back.
It’s certainly better than a pat ‘I love you, too’, but it’s clearly lacking something. While talking it over with director Irvin Kershner, Harrison Ford came up with the iconic line. And solidified Han Solo as the coolest dude ever in the process.
I mean, come on. I wish I was a tenth as cool.
Sweep the leg
I can guarantee you won’t find this Karate Kid scene on any other such list, which just goes to show that those other lists are probably compiled by the same stodgy people who decide which films are Oscar-worthy.
Karate Kid holds a special place in my heart, alongside Back to the Future and Goonies, as a quintessential 80s movie. The best part of the film is clearly the All Valley Karate Tournament, in no small part due to Joe Esposito’s rousing You’re the Best Around, which plays over the tournament’s initial rounds.
And then we come to the moment we’ve all been waiting for — Daniel vs Johnny, winner take all. Midway into the fight, Johnny sweeps Daniel’s wounded leg, prompting this hilarious outburst from Tommy, one of the Cobra Kai students that chums around with Johnny.
The line was actually delivered after the fact, in post-production.
My famous line, I never said that while filming. I looped that in two months later. I was in the recording booth with John [Avildsen] and he said he needed two seconds of something. I said, ‘Get him a body bag!’ on the first try. John said ‘That’s going to be a classic. You’ll never be forgotten because of that line.” ~ wikipedia
Sadly, the actor that played Tommy passed away in 2019, but not before briefly reprising his role in the Cobra Kai series, as an on-his-last-days Tommy. The episode ends with him being zipped up in a body bag, a fitting if depressing tribute.
I sure am hungry
Let’s follow-up the most unconventional entry in this list with one of the most universally recognized, from one of the greatest films ever made, The Godfather. I’m pretty sure Paul Combs would disown me if I left this one off the list.
The dialogue was originally just “leave the gun”. Richard Castellano, who played Clemenza, added “take the cannoli”, which paid off an earlier scene where his wife asked him to bring back dessert.
What I really love about this one is it shows just how cold-blooded these guys are. Paulie is laying slumped over the wheel, dripping blood and brain matter, and Clemenza is so unphased that he’s thinking about his husbandly errands. They knocked off a guy but that’s just a Tuesday to them.
Bruce Wayne hasn’t the balls
The epilogue of the first Iron Man film sees Tony Stark holding a press conference to address all the chaos caused by the Iron Man vs Iron Monger climax. As originally written, Tony Stark was going to spin some PR bullshit that SHIELD gave him and continue moonlighting as Iron Man.
But then Robert Downey Jr said nah, screw that. Instead of reading off the script, he dropped the mic and owned up to Tony’s alter ego. And it works because that’s exactly what Tony Stark would do. Much like with Harrison Ford, this just goes to show that really exceptional actors often know the character better than the writers.
Somewhat lost in that revelation was just how much of a complete game changer this was. The world of comic book heroes is one of secret identities and alter egos, and walking that line has always been part of the deal. Marvel embracing such a sea change right off the bat, in the very first MCU film, was absolutely monumental. They sidestepped a lot of faux drama and let the films be more about exploring the characters, which remains Marvel’s secret sauce to this day.
Don’t go back in the water
The boat sequence is my favorite part of Jaws. The drunken revelry, Quint’s blood-chilling story about the USS Indianapolis, and then that climax.
Brody is throwing chum in the water (or is it just called chumming?), the shark pops up to say ‘thanks bro’, and we finally get our first real look at how big the shark really is. It’s freaking huge!
Nearly catatonic, Brody stumbles backward into the cabin and succinctly breaks it down for Quint: You’re gonna need a bigger boat.
The line was frequently used behind the scenes during production. The barge used to carry all the equipment for filming was steadied by a small support boat much too small to manage the task. Everyone kept telling the stingy producers, ‘you’re gonna need a bigger boat’.
So the line probably wasn’t far from actor Roy Scheider’s mind, but he chose the perfect time to break it out with this ad lib.
Ain’t nobody got time for that
Oh look, it’s Harrison Ford again.
You’ve probably heard the story behind this hilarious scene, but in case you somehow haven’t: Ford came down with dysentery while shooting Raiders of the Lost Ark. Here’s a direct quote from him on the issue:
I was suffering from dysentery, really found it inconvenient to be out of my trailer for more than 10 minutes at a time. ~ Harrison Ford AMA on Reddit
As written, the complicated fight scene would take 2–3 days to complete. In a bit of ingenuity born of desperation, Ford just proposed he shoot the guy. I mean — he’s got a freaking gun! Why wouldn’t he just pull it out and plug the dude, and get out? And thus, the greatest moment in all of the Indiana Jones films was born.
It also solidifies Harrison Ford as our greatest living actor, for the simple reason that if I was crapping my brains out, my first and last thought would probably be for my sore ass.
You are full of surprises
Unlike the other improvisations on this list, which had some degree of foresight, this next one was done completely on the fly. While shooting Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Tom Felton (who plays Draco Malfoy) completely spaced on his line. And from that stumble, genius.
The script:
Draco: Crabbe, Goyle. Where have you been? Pigging out in the Great Hall all this time?
And what are you doing down here, Weasley?
The scene:
The movies spend most of their runtime exploring Harry’s relationships, so it was cool getting this glimpse into how the other half lives. This scene says everything about Draco and his friends and I love it.
It’s so hard to say goodbye
The first time watching Infinity War was a real mother. Once Thanos got all the intergalactic jewels, he didn’t hesitate to snap half of everybody out of existence. Thanos may be a sociopath, but he knows how to set SMART goals.
We are then left to watch as a bunch of our heroes literally turn to dust. There are some surprises — Black Panther had me shook — as well as some cosmic retribution — dammit Quill, they nearly had the gauntlet! — but none of the blows fell as hard as the last one.
The directors said that Spider-Man was the last to go because he’s so strong, and was able to hang on a bit longer. So instead of just sort of drifting away like everyone else, we get this ballbuster of a moment.
The dialogue was improvised on the set by Tom Holland, and it is absolutely brutal. In this moment, he’s no longer Spider-Man. He’s just a scared kid, clinging to the closest thing he has to a father, begging for his life.
Damn.
Eric writes about pop culture at Medium and is President of the Harrison Ford fan club. Craving even more? Check this out.