ثلاث تمثيليات للتلفزيون

by Paddy Chayefsky, بادى تشايفسكى, صلاح عز الدين (ترجمة)

A collection of six television plays by this brilliant writer: "Holiday Song," "Printer's Measure," "The Big Deal," "Marty," "The Mother," and "The Bachelor Party." Includes an introduction and notes for each play by the author himself.

Genres: Fiction, Plays

223 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Sidney Aaron "Paddy" Chayefsky , was an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for Best Screenplay.

He was considered one of the most renowned dramatists of the so-called Golden Age of Television. His intimate, realistic scripts provided a naturalistic style of television drama for the 1950s, and he was regarded as the central figure in the "kitchen sink realism" movement of American television.

Following his critically acclaimed teleplays, Chayefsky continued to succeed as a playwright and novelist. As a screenwriter, he received three Academy Awards for Marty (1955), The Hospital (1971) and Network (1976). Marty was based on his own television drama about a relationship between two lonely people finding love. Network was his scathing satire of the television industry and The Hospital was considered satiric.

Chayefsky's early stories were notable for their dialogue, their depiction of second-generation Americans and their sentiment and humor. They were frequently influenced by the author's childhood in the Bronx. The protagonists were generally middle-class tradesmen struggling with personal problems: loneliness, pressures to conform or their own emotions.

Chayefsky died in New York City of cancer in August 1981 at the age of 58.

Reviews

[Adrian Alvarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredibly useful set of lessons from one of the finest writers Hollywood has ever employed. In fact, I think this is the only way one should read this book, as a set of lessons. The individual plays are a little dated (though not their internal dramatic mechanisms), and some of the commentary Paddy gives at the end of each script may not apply today, but that doesn't prevent this book from being a masterclass in writing technique.

[Radwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first knew Chayefsky by the wonderful movie (Marty 1955)

The Thing about Chayefsky's characters that you can always find them around you, the main characters and even the side ones.

The desperate father in (The Big Deal) who felt so useless and still trying to prove himself.

Marty himself and the old ladies who scold him for being single (Now, who didn't find himself in the same situation in each family gathering).

The Mother who's trying too hard to get a job to support herself even though she's over 60 and couldn't get the work done properly.

And many other examples.

That's why I love the Paddy Chayefsky's plays.

[Greg Heaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books about writing I’ve ever read. The Mother is particularly good and Marty is a delight too.

[Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chayefsky's comments on his plays are very interesting.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plays are better than the stupid intros/notes. "I don't like to theorize about drama"...yeah right!