The Master: A Screenplay

by Paul Thomas Anderson

127 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Paul Thomas Anderson is a five-time Academy Award-nominated American filmmaker.

Reviews

[Emily]

All I do now is read screenplays from PSH movies, apparently.

[Nick Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

a hopelessly inquisitive man,
just like you

[Adelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect movie doesn’t exist- oh wait

[P_xxx((((090083) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easiest five stars of all time. Another user pointed out, that this is not really a screenplay to be read if one wants to learn how to write, which is true for almost all PTA screenplays, even the one he wrote when he was 17, so i don't really see how that could be a point of judgement here. Regardless, this is one of the finest written works of this century, and so is Phantom Thread, and Inherent Vice, and Magnolia, and everything this man ever decides to write, I've watched the film now almost 5 or 6 times, and read this 3-4( half read it twice) times, but the best way to describe this film would be "It's a puzzle, and every time you get close to completing and putting together all the pieces, it all falls apart, and that's exactly how you know it's complete" this is not confusing in the traditional sense(as some others like Primer/Tenet), nor is the screenplay in my opinion, but rather enthralling and with each word read or each scene that you've read/watched again, it feels like a completely different atmosphere or setting, and new interpretations start coming to your mind. That is all I'd say about it, and honestly it's for the better, cause i could go on and on for days talking about every single detail in this film and the written script.

[Pr · Rating 4 out of 5]

PTA sticks to his principle of following the characters and makes it an event for them rather than a forced attempt to fit it into the usual paradigms of screenplay formatting. It was surely an astonishing learning experience to see how the overall scene placement and even character traits have evolved from the script to the final cut, and there were a lot of scenes, monologues, and tracks that didn't make it into the film. There are two things: firstly, you get a unique experience from each material; secondly, you understand the edit choices a bit more, as both the script and the movie speak for themselves, perhaps in different voices emerging from the same source.

[Eloise · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're reading only because you like the film/author - Good for you.

If you're reading to learn how to write, this won't help.
The author is an already established writer/director, who has A Lot of liberty.
As a rule of thumb, those who wish to hone their craft should study works by screenwriters, who generally must pen very tight & tidy pages.
There are few directors who write as beautifully as they film. Jane Campion is at the top of my very short list.

Question to those who love the film and the screenplay - Tear-jerkingly-beautiful filmmaking, seriously. But is there a point to this film, really? If you think so, will you tell me?

[Therese · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disturbing tale of a charismatic cultish charlatan (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and a disturbed groupie (Joaquin Phoenix), a WWII vet. Neither here nor there in terms of importance but beautifully filmed and acted, and sort of mesmerizing because of that.