Get screenwriting tips found in the greatest screenplays and films of all time. Script Sleuth is dedicated to helping screenwriters and filmmakers improve at the craft of screenwriting and storytelling. Created by Daniel Lee.
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"Sideways" can be interpreted in so many ways, and, because of the movies complexity, they would all be right. I lived in Solvang for ten years, so the movie holds a special place for me and the scenes have a personal texture to them. It was the best place I have ever lived. The characters represent the majority of the viewers so we can identify with each of them. One of the most poignant scenes is when Miles sneaks into the house to retrieve Jack's wallet and when he runs out there's Jack sound asleep. It speaks volumes for his character. Detached from reality.
The Apartment presents a unique twist on the structure of the classic romantic comedy. In a romcom, the two leads are perfect for each other. They may not know that, at least at the beginning, but the audience does. There's also an obstacle to them getting together. The plot focuses on whether they will be able to overcome that obstacle and live happily ever after. The Apartment is unusual in that it doesn't center the relationship between Jack Lemon and Shirley Maclaine until relatively late in the film. It also presents a unique obstacle that Lemon and Maclaine must overcome - Lemon's philandering boss, wonderfully played by Fred MacMurray. All in all, it's one of my favorite filsm.
Would Jack Vincenne's 'ghost' be his younger self? He can't make that change (after helping to set up Matt Reynolds) unless he hadn't been so self-serving and compromised earlier in his life and career.
Good question. Perhaps it's not so important that the audience knows exactly what the ghost is, but simply that one exists that drives the characters to make certain decisions.
@@ScriptSleuth Yes. And your point about Jack's personal armour being impenetrable is very valid. Spacey's acting (including his body language) is top class throughout the film and gives us all we really need to know: regret and being lost.
the woman TESTIFIED in open court she saw the boy..L train or not....I don't sleep with glasses but I know what I see...why then was the witness not charged with perjury
Cohen brothers is absolutely stellar at making characters feel real. Whether this come from Jerry being captured and acting like a literal baby or in No Country where Ed Toms charter is worried about new evils and how the times are changing
Sunset Boulevard is the platinum standard for motion pictures. Brittle and intelligent dialogue, mature character development, glorious cinematography and a haunting score from Franz Waxman. It's a film that will still be watched and revered 100 years from now. Billy Wilder was such a remarkable talent, equally adept at both drama and comedy.
Only recently did I realize Juror #3's was realizing he was defeating his own argument. I always thought he was realizing that he was trash talking an old man in front of Juror 9, an old man.
Sanderson told an interesting story about having to write the final act of a screenplay in 24 hours. The movie got made, he said, but you never asked him the title. ARGHHH! Otherwise, good interview. Thanks.
I love this film; have watched it many times. This analysis is very thought provoking. I usually work in the art department so don't go this deep. nicely done.
That was actually a point of contention when Towne first conceived of the idea. He argued with both Polanski and Robert Evans that Chinatown was not so much a place as it was a state of mind. It was a "place" where good intentions fall under the weight of corruptive reality. In fact, in the original srcreenplay, Towne didn't have a single scene in Chinatown. His plan was just to have Gittes reference it. Polanski, correctly, came the conclusion that you can't have a movie called "Chinatown" without having at least one scene there. Near the end of shooting, Polanski actually conceived of the ending of Evelyn Mulray dying in Chinatown. That ending also actually went against Towne's original conception, whereby Evelyn Mulray shoots her father and gets away with her daughter/sister.
It's a miracle that "Casablanca" turned out to be a masterpiece considering the entire scriptwriting process was a disorganized mess, with rewrites being given to the performers almost daily and a planned additional finale in which Rick and Capt. Renault were to be shown aboard a ship with Free French military men (the opposition to the Nazi-affiliated Vichy French puppet government). If the latter had occurred, the uplifting and amusing "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" ending would have been totally defused.
So many amazing performances in this film...I thought Miles's reaction to hearing about Victoria's pregnancy was oscar-worthy by itself: you can see on his face and hear in his voice the realization that the last thing he had left to hold onto, after a week of disappointments and disasters, some "hope" about "maybe" getting back with his ex-wife, is irretrievably gone. It just flows across Giamatti's face and we can feel the crushing final blow as if it was hitting us ourselves.
The one observation I might add is as a kid I didn't understand the point of Quint smashing the radio. All I registered was the tension it added to an already unbearably tense situation, with Brody now blowing up at Quint, calling him 'certifiable' and waving a bat. But as I saw more and more movies and TV I kept noticing screenwriters prolonging the running time by having an accident or some other coincidence ruining plans just when it looks like the hero is sailing smoothly toward their goal. I get now that breaking the radio is a way to keep the heroes stranded, but the fact that it doesn't happen by accident is wildly important: Quint smashes it by CHOICE. Plotwise this action accomplishes the same function as have it broken by accident, but accident doesn't reveal character! Others have probably been aware of this ages ago but that was a huge lesson for me.
The last great noire film of the 1900s. It starts with Jack, who sees the world as a crooked joke. He sees the world as Grey and couldn't give a shit about it. Then we come to Edmund, who sees the world a point blank, black and white, but walks between worlds. Come to Bud, who walks straight and only sees red, but he's literally Bud White, the hero of story. Every story needs a hero. Find a tall man looking down at a tall man. Edmund doesn't fire blindly. He finally sees the world he's in.
One interesting tidbit in the script that I didn’t notice until after many viewings: when Victor asks Rick why he won’t give him the letters of transit, Rick tells him to “ask his wife.” Although Victor does not react visibly, this must have been a bit of a shock to him, as their marriage was a very closely held secret. Rick understood that, so it comes off as a bit of a power play - “I know more about what’s going on than you think I do.” The point is reinforced later when Victor relates the story to Ilsa. He doesn’t just say that Rick told him to ask her; he pointedly clarifies, “He told me to ask… my wife.” It’s Victor’s own little power play, showing that he knows that only Ilsa could have revealed their secret, and thus her relationship with Rick must be very intimate and trusting, more than she had let on.
Well done, it is almost as if each one shared a little bit of themselves with us as the play goes on. Hopefully, I would never be in a situation (in the defendants place) of that nature but sadly now of days we are guilty until proven innocent. Thanks for bring it full circle. It is nice to know that one person in a jury can see beyond see beyond the bias and can make a difference. JSYK the Court System in France set this way....
@@ScriptSleuth I can somewhat agree with that, however it is impossible not to see the actors when reading the books… I saw the movies first… for me its not and either or, love the movie dearly… love books…
My entire life I heard about the film being a message against racism but when I watched it I was surprised that the accused appears to be an Italian white young man. Not a color of any kind. Is that correct?
I just watched the film and was absolutely amazed by it. The entire time I was wanting to read the screenplay. Absolutely phenomenal film by every aspect!
