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Best American Screenplays 2
A collection of 10 complete screenplays.
612 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1991
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November 30, 2023
A bumper collection of ten great, award-winning screenplays which were all adapted into classic movies.
"CITIZEN KANE" (1941) - "blazed like a brilliant meteor upon the movie screens of the world in 1941."
Screenplay by Herman J. Mankiewicz & Orson Welles. (Winner: Academy Award for Best Writing -Original Screenplay)
"SOME LIKE IT HOT" (1959) - "bristles with wit and verve." Screenplay by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond
(Nominated for Academy Award for Best Writing - original Screenplay/ Winner of Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Comedy.)
"THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE" (1948) - John Huston's adaptation of B. Traven's novel displayed his "outstanding skills as a writer and were particularly demonstrated in the script, as he molded a plot and characters with imagination and ingenuity that played effortlessly well." (Winner: Academy Award for Best Writing (Screenplay) and nominated for Screen Writers Guild Award.)
"MY MAN GODFREY"(1936) - "a supremely fine example of comedy, with a pungent style and meaningful social comment." Screenplay by Morrie Ryskind & Eric Hatch; based on the latter's novel. (Academy Award nomination for Best Writing - Screenplay.)
"JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG" (1961)- "is powerful in its scope and treatment of one of the most important international trials in the history of political jurisprudence." Abby Mann adapted and expanded his own television play which had aired on CBS in 1959. (Winner: Academy Award for Best Writing - Screenplay, based on material from another medium/ Winner New York Film Critics Best Screenplay Award/ and nominated for Writers Guild Best Written Drama.
"THE LION IN WINTER" (1968) - adapting his own stage play, James Goldman "has given us a fascinating historic study of a warped, power-driven family headed by King Henry II, a double-dealing, brilliant monarch." (Winner: Academy Award for Best Writing - Screenplay based on material from another medium and Winner of Writers Guild of America Award.)
"TERMS OF ENDEARMENT" (1983) - "a fine example of a mother's close relationship with her daughter and the men in their lives." Screenplay by James L. Brooks from the novel by Larry McMurtry. (Winner: Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Writers Guild of America Award, Golden Globe and Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award.)
"JULIA" (1977) - "portrays the close relationship of two women against the background of early Nazi criminality in Austria." Lillian Hellman's story of "Julia" first appeared in her masterpiece "Pentimento: A Book of Portraits." Alvin Sargent adapted the source material in his acclaimed screenplay. (Winner: Academy Award for Best Writing - Screenplay based on material from another medium and Writers Guild Best Drama Adaptation.)
"HOLY MATRIMONY" (1943) - "a witty depiction of the comforts of old age and the need for companionship." Screenplay by Nunnally Johnson, adapted from the novel by Arnold Bennett. (Nominated for Academy Award for Best Written Screenplay.)
"THE STING" (1973) - "a razor-sharp plot that unfolds into a monumental scam." Screenplay by David S. Ward. (Winner: Academy Award for Best Writing - Story and Screenplay/ nominated for Writers Guild Best Drama Written for the Screen.)
Great films. Great screenplays. Entertaining read for movie lovers. An instructive guide for all would be screenwriters in analyzing the finished script and its translation to the screen.
612 pages.
"CITIZEN KANE" (1941) - "blazed like a brilliant meteor upon the movie screens of the world in 1941."
Screenplay by Herman J. Mankiewicz & Orson Welles. (Winner: Academy Award for Best Writing -Original Screenplay)
"SOME LIKE IT HOT" (1959) - "bristles with wit and verve." Screenplay by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond
(Nominated for Academy Award for Best Writing - original Screenplay/ Winner of Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Comedy.)
"THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE" (1948) - John Huston's adaptation of B. Traven's novel displayed his "outstanding skills as a writer and were particularly demonstrated in the script, as he molded a plot and characters with imagination and ingenuity that played effortlessly well." (Winner: Academy Award for Best Writing (Screenplay) and nominated for Screen Writers Guild Award.)
"MY MAN GODFREY"(1936) - "a supremely fine example of comedy, with a pungent style and meaningful social comment." Screenplay by Morrie Ryskind & Eric Hatch; based on the latter's novel. (Academy Award nomination for Best Writing - Screenplay.)
"JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG" (1961)- "is powerful in its scope and treatment of one of the most important international trials in the history of political jurisprudence." Abby Mann adapted and expanded his own television play which had aired on CBS in 1959. (Winner: Academy Award for Best Writing - Screenplay, based on material from another medium/ Winner New York Film Critics Best Screenplay Award/ and nominated for Writers Guild Best Written Drama.
"THE LION IN WINTER" (1968) - adapting his own stage play, James Goldman "has given us a fascinating historic study of a warped, power-driven family headed by King Henry II, a double-dealing, brilliant monarch." (Winner: Academy Award for Best Writing - Screenplay based on material from another medium and Winner of Writers Guild of America Award.)
"TERMS OF ENDEARMENT" (1983) - "a fine example of a mother's close relationship with her daughter and the men in their lives." Screenplay by James L. Brooks from the novel by Larry McMurtry. (Winner: Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Writers Guild of America Award, Golden Globe and Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award.)
"JULIA" (1977) - "portrays the close relationship of two women against the background of early Nazi criminality in Austria." Lillian Hellman's story of "Julia" first appeared in her masterpiece "Pentimento: A Book of Portraits." Alvin Sargent adapted the source material in his acclaimed screenplay. (Winner: Academy Award for Best Writing - Screenplay based on material from another medium and Writers Guild Best Drama Adaptation.)
"HOLY MATRIMONY" (1943) - "a witty depiction of the comforts of old age and the need for companionship." Screenplay by Nunnally Johnson, adapted from the novel by Arnold Bennett. (Nominated for Academy Award for Best Written Screenplay.)
"THE STING" (1973) - "a razor-sharp plot that unfolds into a monumental scam." Screenplay by David S. Ward. (Winner: Academy Award for Best Writing - Story and Screenplay/ nominated for Writers Guild Best Drama Written for the Screen.)
Great films. Great screenplays. Entertaining read for movie lovers. An instructive guide for all would be screenwriters in analyzing the finished script and its translation to the screen.
612 pages.
Displaying 1 of 1 review