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The Age of Innocence: The Shooting Script
The complete script of the five-time Academy Award(r) nominated film, with a lengthy introduction with details on the behind-the-scenes production, photos, and a special section in which the authors discuss the 22 films that influenced them. 24 b/w photos.
The Newmarket Shooting Script(tm) Series features an attractive 7 x 9 1/4 inch format that includes a facsimile of the film's shooting script, as chosen by the writer and/or director, exclusive notes on the film's production and history, stills, and credits.
- GenresFilm
160 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 1996
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About the author
Martin Scorsese
117 books140 followersMartin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese is an American Academy Award-winning film director, writer, and producer. Also affectionately known as "Marty", he is the founder of the World Cinema Foundation and a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award for his contributions to the cinema and has won awards from the Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Directors Guild of America. Scorsese is president of the Film Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to film preservation and the prevention of the decaying of motion picture film stock.
Scorsese's body of work addresses such themes as Italian American identity, Roman Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption, machismo, and the violence endemic in American society. Scorsese is widely considered to be one of the most significant and influential American filmmakers of his era.[3] He earned an MFA in film directing from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.
Scorsese's body of work addresses such themes as Italian American identity, Roman Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption, machismo, and the violence endemic in American society. Scorsese is widely considered to be one of the most significant and influential American filmmakers of his era.[3] He earned an MFA in film directing from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 26, 2025
The Age of Innocence, based on the classic by Edith Wharton, directed by Martin Scorsese, with Daniel Day-Lewis
10 out of 10
- This will be a look at The Age of Innocence, as adapted for the big screen and Through a Glass…Brightly
- This note will be trying to consider the Signature Strengths of the characters and what we can learn from them, in terms of Positive Psychology
- The Age of Innocence is a resplendent story of love, fidelity and betrayal, perseverance, dedication and more
- It is surprising thought to find that the film, with an impressive acclaim form critics, did not win more than one Oscar
- Besides, it was not even nominated for Best Motion, Leading Roles, Director, which it deserved
- Even if this was the year of outstanding productions, like:
- Schindler’s List- the formidable winner for 1994- The Remains of the Day- another glorious masterpiece
- The Piano, with extraordinary performances from Holly Hunter and the very young Anna Paquin
- Winona Ryder, probably before her real life problems, has won a Golden Globe for her role as May Welland
- May is about to be married to Newland Archer aka the phenomenal Daniel Day-Lewis, who is alas retired now
- May Welland is not one of the main characters, although the apparent simplicity and lack of standing is just that:
- Smoke and mirrors
- I think I missed her maneuvers when I first saw this state of the art film and when I have read the novel
- When she becomes aware of the danger posed by her cousin, Ellen Olenska, the magnificent Michelle Pfeiffer, May acts
- As she presents an image of Innocence, the woman who loves Newland is not just Conscious of the threat, but moves to win
- Her Creativity, Persistence, Bravery, Social Intelligence, Vitality, Humility and Hope win the day
- These are all Signature Strengths that are not at all evident at first glance, indeed, as aforementioned I missed them at first glance
- Newland Archer is the hero of this story and he is torn between his duty towards May and his love
- He falls in Love with Ellen Olenska, a married woman who has to live away from her bad husband
- This situation makes her a sort of pariah in certain circles that blame her for a situation in which she suffers and for which she is not responsible
- This is where The Age of Innocence appears as an Absolute Irony since what Innocence is there?
- There is of course a tendency to glorify past époques and attribute to them qualities they did not really have
- In Midnight in Paris, the narrative concentrates around the hero who travels back in time, to meet the likes of Scott F. Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, Salvador Dali
- The protagonist is exhilarated, for he sees this as The Golden Age and yet, his girlfriend wants to travel to the 1890, because for her that is the real Belle Époque, which raises the question- where do we stop?
- With Kubla Khan?
- Newland Archer experiences the classic conflict between mind and heart, duty and passion, in the end keeping his promise
- He is at times Prudent, Kind, Hopeful, Grateful, Persistent, Open-Minded, Fair, Forgiving and Merciful
- Alas, all these Signature Strengths do not help him obtain the desired escape with Ellen Olenska
- The tragic thing is that the two are in love with each other and in this Age Without Innocence, they would just run away together
- In the “Age of Innocence” however that must not be and what the society says matters a lot and determines the outcome of this and multiple other love stories that ended in sorrow and disappointment
- It is also true that we could not really know if Newland and Ellen would have been happy together
- It could have been a passing infatuation, a strong sexual desire in an age that was so puritanical and pretentious
- One magic and elating aspect of this work is that it makes the audience think; imagine possible outcomes and variations of the plot…
10 out of 10
- This will be a look at The Age of Innocence, as adapted for the big screen and Through a Glass…Brightly
- This note will be trying to consider the Signature Strengths of the characters and what we can learn from them, in terms of Positive Psychology
- The Age of Innocence is a resplendent story of love, fidelity and betrayal, perseverance, dedication and more
- It is surprising thought to find that the film, with an impressive acclaim form critics, did not win more than one Oscar
- Besides, it was not even nominated for Best Motion, Leading Roles, Director, which it deserved
- Even if this was the year of outstanding productions, like:
- Schindler’s List- the formidable winner for 1994- The Remains of the Day- another glorious masterpiece
- The Piano, with extraordinary performances from Holly Hunter and the very young Anna Paquin
- Winona Ryder, probably before her real life problems, has won a Golden Globe for her role as May Welland
- May is about to be married to Newland Archer aka the phenomenal Daniel Day-Lewis, who is alas retired now
- May Welland is not one of the main characters, although the apparent simplicity and lack of standing is just that:
- Smoke and mirrors
- I think I missed her maneuvers when I first saw this state of the art film and when I have read the novel
- When she becomes aware of the danger posed by her cousin, Ellen Olenska, the magnificent Michelle Pfeiffer, May acts
- As she presents an image of Innocence, the woman who loves Newland is not just Conscious of the threat, but moves to win
- Her Creativity, Persistence, Bravery, Social Intelligence, Vitality, Humility and Hope win the day
- These are all Signature Strengths that are not at all evident at first glance, indeed, as aforementioned I missed them at first glance
- Newland Archer is the hero of this story and he is torn between his duty towards May and his love
- He falls in Love with Ellen Olenska, a married woman who has to live away from her bad husband
- This situation makes her a sort of pariah in certain circles that blame her for a situation in which she suffers and for which she is not responsible
- This is where The Age of Innocence appears as an Absolute Irony since what Innocence is there?
- There is of course a tendency to glorify past époques and attribute to them qualities they did not really have
- In Midnight in Paris, the narrative concentrates around the hero who travels back in time, to meet the likes of Scott F. Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, Salvador Dali
- The protagonist is exhilarated, for he sees this as The Golden Age and yet, his girlfriend wants to travel to the 1890, because for her that is the real Belle Époque, which raises the question- where do we stop?
- With Kubla Khan?
- Newland Archer experiences the classic conflict between mind and heart, duty and passion, in the end keeping his promise
- He is at times Prudent, Kind, Hopeful, Grateful, Persistent, Open-Minded, Fair, Forgiving and Merciful
- Alas, all these Signature Strengths do not help him obtain the desired escape with Ellen Olenska
- The tragic thing is that the two are in love with each other and in this Age Without Innocence, they would just run away together
- In the “Age of Innocence” however that must not be and what the society says matters a lot and determines the outcome of this and multiple other love stories that ended in sorrow and disappointment
- It is also true that we could not really know if Newland and Ellen would have been happy together
- It could have been a passing infatuation, a strong sexual desire in an age that was so puritanical and pretentious
- One magic and elating aspect of this work is that it makes the audience think; imagine possible outcomes and variations of the plot…
August 29, 2024
Without having read Wharton's source material, it's hard to know how much credit to give Jay Cocks and Martin Scorsese for the extraordinary words at play, but it is surely this script's great achievement. So many sentences that cut straight through the heart. Emotional quips that sent a shiver up my spine. Great stuff.
It's also just a fantastic, magnetic, addictive script. Great to get an insight into Scorsese's directorial notes on the page; seeing how fleshed out the shots already are when the film exists only on the page.
Can't wait to read Wharton's novel and be able to fully assess just now good this adaptation is. But as a script/film in isolation - it's an all-timer.
It's also just a fantastic, magnetic, addictive script. Great to get an insight into Scorsese's directorial notes on the page; seeing how fleshed out the shots already are when the film exists only on the page.
Can't wait to read Wharton's novel and be able to fully assess just now good this adaptation is. But as a script/film in isolation - it's an all-timer.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews