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Books > Language & Literature > Literature: texts > Drama texts, plays > From 1900
These four early works by the internationally lauded filmmaking team deal with the subject for which they are best known: corruption and crime in situations that combine the real and the surreal with the hilarious.
Blood Simple deals with a cuckolded Texan bar owner who hires a slimy private investigator to kill his unfaithful wife and her boyfriend, but this is merely the start of a grisly chain of back-stabbings and murders.
In Raising Arizona, oddly paired criminal H.I. McDonnough and police woman Edwina marry, only to discover they are unable to conceive a child. In the name of parenthood, the couple kidnap one of the quintuplets of furniture tycoon Nathan Arizona. While trying to keep their crime a secret, H.I's convict friends, his boss, and even the Lone Biker Of The Apocalypse look to use Nathan Jr. for their own purposes.
Miller's Crossing, set in the era of Prohibition, focuses on Tom Reagan, the trusted lieutenant of irish crime boos Leo, endeavours to keeps the peace when Leo gets locked into a feud with rival mobster Jonny Caspar.
This edition also includes Barton Fink—an intense look at the psychological ruin of a New York playwright trying to make it in 1940s Hollywood—which is a masterful culmination of these themes.
The three-act structure is so last century! Unlike other
screenwriting books, this unique storytelling guide pushes you to
break free of tired, formulaic writing by bending or breaking the
rules of storytelling as we know them. This new edition dives into
all the key aspects of scriptwriting, including structure, genre,
character, form, and tone. Authors Ken Dancyger, Jessie Keyt, and
Jeff Rush explore myriad alternatives to the traditional three-act
story structure, going beyond teaching you "how to tell a story" by
teaching you how to write against conventional formulas to produce
original, exciting material. Fully revised and updated, the book
includes new examples from contemporary and classic cinema and
episodic series, as well as additional content on strategies for
plot, character, and genre; an exploration of theatrical devices in
film; and approaches to scriptwriting with case studies of prolific
storytellers such as Billy Wilder, Kelly Reichardt, Phoebe
Waller-Bridge, and Kathryn Bigelow. Ideal for students of
screenwriting and professional screenwriters wishing to develop
their craft and write original scripts.
Natural Born Killers is a disturbing and brilliant indictment of
violence in the media and American celebrity culture. Mickey and
Mallory Knox, outlaw lovers on the run, go on a killing spree of
startling viciousness -- and find themselves transformed into cult
celebrities by the tabloid media. The film, directed by Oliver
Stone, departed significantly from Tarantino's original screenplay,
so much so that Tarantino removed his name from the screenplay
credits. Now available in America for the first time, the original
screenplay offers fans and film buffs of all stripes the
opportunity to compare Tarantino's original vision with Stone's
version of the story of Mickey and Mallory.
On every level -- writing, direction, acting -- "Double Indemnity"
(1944) is a triumph and stands as one of the greatest achievements
in Billy Wilder's career. Adapted from the James M. Cain novel by
director Wilder and novelist Raymond Chandler, it tells the story
of an insurance salesman, played by Fred MacMurray, who is lured
into a murder-for-insurance plot by Barbara Stanwyck, in an
archetypal femme fatale role. From its grim story to its dark,
atmospheric lighting, "Double Indemnity" is a definitive example of
World War II-era film noir. Wilder's approach is everywhere
evident: in the brutal cynicism the film displays, the moral
complexity, and in the empathy we feel for the killers. The film
received almost unanimous critical success, garnering seven Academy
Award nominations. More than fifty years later, most critics agree
that this classic is one of the best films of all time. The
collaboration between Wilder and Raymond Chandler produced a
masterful script and some of the most memorable dialogue ever
spoken in a movie.
This facsimile edition of "Double Indemnity" contains Wilder and
Chandler's original -- and quite different -- ending, published
here for the first time. Jeffrey Meyers's introduction
contextualizes the screenplay, providing hilarious anecdotes about
the turbulent collaboration, as well as background information
about Wilder and the film's casting and production.
The details of the plot are a closely guarded secret, though Joss
himself has described it as "a straight-up, balls-out, really
terrifying horror movie", adding, "it is not just a slasher in the
woods. It's a little more complicated than that..." This exclusive
companion book features an extended interview with Joss and Drew,
the full script, and over 150 photos and stunning pieces of
production art.
Eighteen episodes from Eric and Ernie's BBC Radio 2 comedy series,
collected together for the very first time Between 1975 and 1978,
when they were at the peak of their popularity on BBC TV, Morecambe
and Wise also starred in their own radio series, with each episode
scripted by the one and only Eddie Braben. This feast of gags,
sketches and song and dance numbers - plus of course Ernie's 'plays
what I wrote' - features a host of special guests including Ann
Hamilton, Anita Harris, Gayle Hunnicutt, Richard Caldicot, Percy
Edwards, Nicola Pagett, Brian Wilde, Des O'Connor, Vince Hill,
Penelope Keith and The Nolan Sisters. So pull back the stage
curtain and settle down to nine hours of sparkling comedy, in the
company of 'the tall one with glasses' and 'the one with the short,
fat, hairy legs'. Honestly, you can't see the join. The Eric
Morecambe and Ernie Wise Show Written and adapted by Eddie Braben
Produced by John Browell The Best of British Laughs - Morecambe
& Wise Presented by Barry Took Produced by John Browell The
Entertainers: Morecambe & Wise: Two of a Kind Presented by
Frank Dixon Produced by Herbert Smith Please note: some of the
humour on this recording reflects the era in which it was first
broadcast The comedy in this release reflects the attitudes and
conventions of the era in which it was first broadcast Running
time: 9 hours approx.
Four more extended episodes from the award-winning BBC Radio 4
series, specially compiled by producer Jon Naismith 'ISIHAC is
still unmissable. It remains the most thrillingly anarchic panel
show in any media you care to name' Simon Mayo, Mail on Sunday 'The
funniest comedy quiz show of them all' Sue Arnold, The Observer The
antidote to panel games returns with this sixteenth glorious
collection, in which Jack Dee gives regular panelists Tim
Brooke-Taylor, Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden silly things to do.
Joining them in this compilation are special guests Rob Brydon,
Victoria Wood, Susan Calman and David Mitchell. Highlights include
Uxbridge English Dictionary, One Song to the Tune of Another,
French Monopoly, Swanee Kazoo, Sound Charades, Pensioner's Film
Club, Complete Cats, 84 Chicken Cross Road, Hirsute Film Club,
Unromantic Endings, Just a Minim, the delightful Add a Word, Ruin a
Film and, of course, Mornington Crescent. Get ready to chuckle
along with the gang as they deploy the finest wit and wordplay,
accompanied by Colin Sell on the piano and the lovely Samantha
keeping score. Duration: 2 hours 20 mins approx.
Much Ado About Nothing is a Comedy written by English playwright
William Shakespeare, who is widely considered to be the greatest
writer of the English language. Much Ado About Nothing is a play
about the relationship between Leonato, his daughter Hero, Cousin
Beatrice, Don Pedro, Benedick and the bastard Brother of Pedro, Don
John. Much Ado About Nothing is an important work of William
Shakespeares, and is highly recommended for fans of his works as
well as those discovering his plays for the first time.
The classic, with 316,000 copies sold to date.
"The Lost Weekend" swept the 1945 Academy Awards, with nominations
for Best Film Editing, Score, and Black and White Cinematography,
and Oscars for Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Screenplay. It
also received numerous awards at the Cannes Film Festival and the
Golden Globes. Based on the novel by Charles Jackson, a work that
many in Hollywood had thought unfilmmable because of its relentless
grimness, "The Lost Weekend" was one of the first films to explore
the devastating effects of alcoholism. Ray Milland was cast against
type as Don Birnam, a writer plagued by depression and self-doubt
who, as his alcoholism progresses, slips into a horrifying downward
spiral of lying, begging, stealing, and madness. Milland's riveting
performance won him an Oscar. Jane Wyman also delivers a powerful
performance as his faithful girlfriend, Helen St. James, whose
selfless love offers Birnam a hope of redemption.
This facsimile edition of "The Lost Weekend" not only reveals the
genius of the film but also illuminates how the script stands alone
as a rare, wonderful piece of writing. Jeffrey Meyers's
introduction looks at the transformation from novel to film and
examines Wilder and coauthor Charles Brackett's methods as
collaborators. Readers will gain important insights into the craft
of screenwriting, and the personality and methods of one of
Hollywood's greatest directors.
The first stage adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's famous crime
novelTom Ripley is a criminal with an ambiguous past. He is sent to
Italy by a wealthy financier to try and coax home the rich man's
son. In the process Ripley becomes both attracted and seduced,
finding the murder the only way to deal with the situation. From
that point Ripley tries to cover up his crime. Patricia Highsmith's
beguiling tale of morality and amorality is given a dramatic
rendering by contemporary dramatist Phyllis Nagy, who knew
Highsmith in her later years in Paris."Each play I see by Phyllis
Nagy confirms me in the belief that she is the finest playwright to
have emerged in the 1990s" (Financial Times)
A collection of five screenplays by this Academy Award-winning
writer. Includes: All the President's Men * Magic * Harper *
Maverick * The Great Waldo Pepper. Also features essays by Goldman:
"Getting Even or Creative Accounting," "Sneak Previews, or Why Did
She Have to Die?," "Hype or Consequences: A Brief History of the
Future," "Shooting from the Hip: Don't You Know Anything About
Screenwriting?," and "Nothing for Me to Steal: The Secret Life of
an Adaptation."
My Dinner with Andre is a passionate, volatile, and humorous
encounter between two friends who have not seen each other for a
long time, and decide to catch up on each others' lives over
dinner. Andre Gregory is an intense, highly experimental theater
director and playwright in search of life's meanings and spiritual
revelations. His friend, Wally Shawn, is an actor and playwright
living in New York who is more preoccupied with the search for his
next meal. As Andre recounts his global journeys involving esoteric
theatrical experiments and mystical adventures, Wally listens with
more than skepticism, as his attitudes shift among wonder,
puzzlement, admiration, and anger. What finally emerges is a
sensitive portrait of a friendship that survives and transcends
contransting assumptions about love, death, art, and man's
continuing quest for self-fulfillment.
A nine-and-a-half-hour documentary on the Nazi extermination camps,
"Shoah" (the Hebrew word for "Holocaust") was internationally
hailed as a masterpiece upon its release in 1985. Shunning any
re-creation, archival footage, or visual documentation of the
events, filmmaker Claude Lanzmann relied on the words of
witnesses--Jewish, Polish, and German--to describe in ruthless
detail the bureaucratic machinery of the Final Solution, so that
the remote experiences of the Holocaust became fresh and immediate.
This book presents in an accessible and vivid format the testimony
of survivors, participants, witnesses, and scholars. This tenth
anniversary edition, published on the fiftieth anniversary of the
liberation of the camps, is newly revised and corrected in order to
more accurately present the actual testimony of those interviewed.
"Shoah" is an unparalleled oral history of the Holocaust, an
intensely readable journey through the twentieth century's greatest
horror.
This is a comprehensive guide to writing the first draft of a
feature length screenplay. While it focuses on the college semester
(16 Weeks), it is also completely appropriate for anyone attempting
to write a screenplay within a timeline. The text breaks down
different approaches to designing a screenplay by providing
pragmatic guidelines enhancing your ability to use creativity
rather than focusing on rules. It highlights the skills necessary
to execute compelling visual language to achieve good story, plot,
dialog, dynamic characters, and help you put it all together. Think
of this as a companion tool as you write. The language is
simplified and yet academic, theoretically sound and yet pragmatic.
It also offers additional insight into the history of
screenwriting, the re-write process, and the specific skill sets
needed for adaptation. This book is easy to understand and provides
accounts for context from the author as a professional
screenwriter, as well as anecdotes from other professionals (David
Mickey Evans - The Sand Lot, and Vince McKewin - Fly Away Home, and
Jeb Stuart - Die Hard, The Fugitive, Dana Coen - JAG, NCIS, and
Anthony Tambakis - Warrior, Suicide Squad 2).
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