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Best American Screenplays: First Series: Complete Screenplays
Cinema buffs take note: Best American Screenplays is a collection of 14 screenplays.
538 pages, Hardcover
First published March 30, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 28, 2019
AWARD WINNING SCREENPLAYS.
For lovers of film and especially admirers of the screenplay behind the film, this collection of 12 complete, award winning scripts is highly recommended.
Five of these: 'Casablanca' (1943); 'Miracle on 34th. Street' (1947); 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969); 'The Candidate' (1972) and 'On Golden Pond' (1981) all won writing Oscars while five -see below- were all nominated for Best Screenplay whereas the other two: 'Meet John Doe' (1941) and 'Rebel Without a Cause' (1955) were each nominated for Best Motion Picture Story.
There's a wide variety of subject matter covered from the 1930 adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's anti-war novel 'All Quiet on the Western Front' to another type of youth film, the rebellious teenagers of the classic 'Rebel Without a Cause' (1955) penned by Stewart Stern, from a Nicholas Ray story. Other films represented are 'The Graduate' (1967); 'Bonnie and Clyde' (1967); 'Sounder' (1972) and 'Arthur' (1981).
The editor has provided a fine introduction and informative notes to each film. As in Crown's Best American Plays series, the screenplays are reproduced in double columns.
Reading the screenplays will undoubtedly enhance your viewing pleasure of these fine films.
For lovers of film and especially admirers of the screenplay behind the film, this collection of 12 complete, award winning scripts is highly recommended.
Five of these: 'Casablanca' (1943); 'Miracle on 34th. Street' (1947); 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969); 'The Candidate' (1972) and 'On Golden Pond' (1981) all won writing Oscars while five -see below- were all nominated for Best Screenplay whereas the other two: 'Meet John Doe' (1941) and 'Rebel Without a Cause' (1955) were each nominated for Best Motion Picture Story.
There's a wide variety of subject matter covered from the 1930 adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's anti-war novel 'All Quiet on the Western Front' to another type of youth film, the rebellious teenagers of the classic 'Rebel Without a Cause' (1955) penned by Stewart Stern, from a Nicholas Ray story. Other films represented are 'The Graduate' (1967); 'Bonnie and Clyde' (1967); 'Sounder' (1972) and 'Arthur' (1981).
The editor has provided a fine introduction and informative notes to each film. As in Crown's Best American Plays series, the screenplays are reproduced in double columns.
Reading the screenplays will undoubtedly enhance your viewing pleasure of these fine films.
July 23, 2018
This is a collection of 12 screenplays, published in 1986. Many of the films made from the screenplays have stood the test of time and are considered classics. It also strangely includes one (Sounder) that I've never heard of somehow. It's not a bad screenplay, though hardly one of the all-time greats, either.
For the curious, the screenplays included are:
All Quiet on the Western Front
Meet John Doe
Casablanca
Miracle on 34th Street
Rebel Without a Cause
Bonnie and Clyde
The Graduate
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Sounder
On Golden Pond
Arthur
The Candidate
The more recent screenplays are markedly easier to follow as a reader, as they include less camera direction, film jargon, etc. As virtually all the other reviews mention, the format of the book leaves a lot to be desired. Multiple columns and tiny print conspire to make you squint to read. I'm sure they saved a bunch on printing costs but it's hard on the eyes.
I already mentioned Sounder as an outlier in the group, and I'll add the the Graduate feels like a weird reading experience in the #metoo era. Hard to see what is likable about Ben, who behaves non-stop like an ass and a creep, yet still somehow sweeps his crush off her feet. Some of the same dynamics happening in Arthur, though to a much less troubling extent. Probably the best reading experiences for me were Bonnie and Clyde and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Anyway, I could quibble with this or that in several of the screenplays, but on the whole if you're a film fan, it's an interesting experience to read the screenplay without the visuals there to help tell the story.
In the forward, the editor makes an argument that we ought to treat screenplays like novels, appreciating their artistry in and of themselves. I have to say I do not find this to be a convincing position. Though it was a fun experience to read these, I certainly wouldn't recommend reading screenplays all the time. The primary difference between a screenplay and other types of art (like a novel) is that the screenplay, by unanimous agreement, is not a finished product. In the same way you wouldn't make a habit of reading only first drafts of novels, you wouldn't really want to make a habit of reading screenplays, which are only a part of what is ultimately supposed to be the product consumed in the end.
For the curious, the screenplays included are:
All Quiet on the Western Front
Meet John Doe
Casablanca
Miracle on 34th Street
Rebel Without a Cause
Bonnie and Clyde
The Graduate
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Sounder
On Golden Pond
Arthur
The Candidate
The more recent screenplays are markedly easier to follow as a reader, as they include less camera direction, film jargon, etc. As virtually all the other reviews mention, the format of the book leaves a lot to be desired. Multiple columns and tiny print conspire to make you squint to read. I'm sure they saved a bunch on printing costs but it's hard on the eyes.
I already mentioned Sounder as an outlier in the group, and I'll add the the Graduate feels like a weird reading experience in the #metoo era. Hard to see what is likable about Ben, who behaves non-stop like an ass and a creep, yet still somehow sweeps his crush off her feet. Some of the same dynamics happening in Arthur, though to a much less troubling extent. Probably the best reading experiences for me were Bonnie and Clyde and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Anyway, I could quibble with this or that in several of the screenplays, but on the whole if you're a film fan, it's an interesting experience to read the screenplay without the visuals there to help tell the story.
In the forward, the editor makes an argument that we ought to treat screenplays like novels, appreciating their artistry in and of themselves. I have to say I do not find this to be a convincing position. Though it was a fun experience to read these, I certainly wouldn't recommend reading screenplays all the time. The primary difference between a screenplay and other types of art (like a novel) is that the screenplay, by unanimous agreement, is not a finished product. In the same way you wouldn't make a habit of reading only first drafts of novels, you wouldn't really want to make a habit of reading screenplays, which are only a part of what is ultimately supposed to be the product consumed in the end.
August 30, 2017
(Did not read all - moved away from place where this was in the library. I plan to read most of the remaining screenplays from other sources).
A great collection of a variety of screenplays.
A note for screenwriters: the formatting is multi-column to fit in a book; it is not the "correct" format for screenplay submission. But there are PLENTY of other resources for that.
As long as you're looking for the writing, you should be well satisfied.
A great collection of a variety of screenplays.
A note for screenwriters: the formatting is multi-column to fit in a book; it is not the "correct" format for screenplay submission. But there are PLENTY of other resources for that.
As long as you're looking for the writing, you should be well satisfied.
August 1, 2011
What can I say, I love reading plays and screenplays and the ones included are no exception. But I was a little disappointed by the 2-columns per page formatting. I actually had hoped for presentation of screenplay the way it's supposed to look. For students of the craft it would have been helpful. This said, I got what I was looking for, early multi-location transition, from the beginning of "On Golden Pond", a movie I loved and recognized so much in and couldn't put down, even though I've got deadline for script looking me in the eye.
Frank Capra's foreword, short, sweet and to the point. Quote: Scriptwriting is the toughest part of the whole racket... the least understood and the least noticed.
Frank Capra's foreword, short, sweet and to the point. Quote: Scriptwriting is the toughest part of the whole racket... the least understood and the least noticed.
August 21, 2011
This includes some of the best screenplays written - Casablanca, Butch Cassady & the Sundance Kid. Some of movies that I've seen in a while, like On Golden Pond and Miracle on 34th Street, were more pleasurable than I remember. The anthology also shows how the form has changed over the years - from the thoroughly detailed descriptions of each camera angle in the early years to the sparse directoral details in the modern scrips. Overall, this is a great collection of extremely well written screenplays. The only negative comment is the formatting of the book. With small font and two columns on each page, this book would be over 1000 pages if it were printed normally.
January 24, 2010
Excellent collection of screenplays. Too bad they aren't formatted correctly. Even so, it's marvelous to read these classic films as they were originally written (including some stuff left out of the the finished product).
February 24, 2010
Four stars only because of the terrible formatting; the screenplays are five-star material. Casablanca is a particular pleasure to read.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews