Old: The film starts out with a monologue by the main character, Swofford, “A story: A man fires a rifle for many years, and he goes to war. And afterward he turns the rifle in at the armory, and he believes he's finished with the rifle. But no matter what else he might do with his hands, love a woman, build a house, change his son's diaper; his hands remember the rifle”.

New: Swofford remarks in a monologue, “A story: A man fires a rifle for many years, and he goes to war. And afterward he turns the rifle in at the armory, and he believes he's finished with the rifle. But no matter what else he might do with his hands, love a woman, build a house, change his son's diaper; his hands remember the rifle”.

Old: Davidson and Lytle describe what they believe myth is through this quote, "And because myth deals with expectations rather than reality, Cimino obliged"(417).

New: Davidson and Lytle feel that "myth deals with expectations rather than reality" (417) and that is how they gauge a movie's "mythical" status.