Get screenwriting tips found in the greatest screenplays and films of all time. Script Sleuth is dedicated to helping screenwriters and filmmakers improve at the craft of screenwriting and storytelling. Created by Daniel Lee.
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I love this review. I just want to point out that Warden Norton did indeed violate the commandment, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” When Norton was in Andy’s jail cell after discovering the escape, Norton said, “ Lord it’s a miracle.” As an audience at this point, we know Norton does not believe in miracles and he said that with pure sarcasm and blasphemy.
@@crystalfoster9573 Thanks for the comment! ❤️
@@ScriptSleuthThanks for the reply and thanks for putting this awesome video together. It’s thorough, well-organized and enjoyable. As a huge Shank fan, or a Shankie as I call myself, I am delighted with your analysis. ❤❤
However, I AM WAITING FOR THE USUAL SUSPECTS
@@daredevil6145 Fantastic screenplay!
@@ScriptSleuth Indeed!! I think good screenplay just grips you regardless of how it is executed finally, and regardless the genre. Reservoir Dogs, The Usual Suspects, Matrix, Godfather, Hitchcock and Stanley's most movies have that, without presentation. Please and please consider that movie for your next video. I am waiting for it very much.
That sound section was AWESOME!!
The novel is a great read, has a few plot points that didn't make it into the screenplay. Sideways is brilliant on so many levels - perfectly cast, beautiful locations, the legendary Virginia Madsen's monologue ... a gem of a film . Thank you for the analysis, you have a new subscriber.
@@zenpanda25 I think the screenplay brought out a lot of wonderful humanity in the characters that felt a bit unexplored in the book. Thank you for joining the Script Sleuth gang!
Gittes sums up his experience working in Chinatown: GITTES: To me it was just bad luck. EVELYN: Why? GITTES: You can't always tell what's going on. (He turns to her). Like with you. EVELYN: Why was it bad luck? GITTES: I was trying to keep someone from being hurt. I ended up making sure that she was hurt.
Noah Cross explains himself: GITTES: Then why are you doing it? How much better can you eat? What can you buy that you can't already afford? CROSS: The future, Mr. Gitts. The future. Now where's the girl? I want the only daughter I have left. As you found out, Evelyn was lost to me a long time ago. GITTES: Who do you blame for that? Her? CROSS: I don't blame myself. You see, Mr. Gitts, most people never have to face the fact that at the right time and the right place, they're capable of anything. Take those glasses from him, will you, Claude?
Gittes has lunch with Noah Cross: CROSS: You may think you know what you're dealing with -- but believe me, you don't. (Gittes is faintly amused by this.) CROSS: Why is that funny? GITTES: It's what the D.A. used to tell me in Chinatown. CROSS: Yeah? Was he right? (Gittes shrugs.) CROSS: Exactly what do you know about me? Sit down. GITTES: Mainly that you're rich and too respectable to want your name in the papers. CROSS: Of course, I'm respectable. I'm old. Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last long enough.
Gittes visits the city morgue and gets Morty the coroner's take on events: MORTY: (a cigarette dangling out of his mouth): Jake, what are you doin' here? GITTES: Nothin', Morty, it's my lunch hour. I thought I'd drop by and see who dropped dead lately. MORTY: Yeah? Isn't this something? Middle of a drought and the water commissioner drowns. Only in L.A.
Here's Gittes with a metaphor on the limits of ethical behavior: CROSS: Would you call him a capable man? GITTES: Very. CROSS: Honest? GITTES: As far as it goes. Of course, he has to swim in the same water we all do .
YELBURTON: My goodness, what happened to your nose? GITTES: Cut myself shaving YELBURTON: Well, you ought to be more careful. That must really smart. GITTES: Only when I breathe.
Here's some well-crafted dialogue: GITTES: Mulvihill, what are you doing here? MULVIHILL: They shut my water off, what's it to you? GITTES: How'd you find out? You don't drink it, you don't take a bath in it, maybe they sent you a letter. Ah, but then you'd have to be able to read. (Mulvihill moves toward Gittes, angry.) GITTES: (continuing) Relax, Mulvihill, glad to see you. (to Yelburton) Do you know Claude Mulvihill here? YELBURTON: Hope so. He’s working for us GITTES: Doing what? YELBURTON: Frankly, there's been some threats to blow up the city reservoirs. GITTES: Any Particular reason? YELBURTON: It's this darn drought. We've had to ration water in the valley. Farmers are desperate -- but what can we do? The rest of the city needs drinking water. GITTES: Well, you're in luck, Mr. Yelburton. YELBURTON: How's that? GITTES: When Mulvihill was sheriff of Ventura County, rum runners landed tons of booze on the beach and never lost a drop. He ought to be able to hold onto your water for you. Any other favorite scenes in the script, anybody?
When it comes to wardrobe I always found the hair/hats most significant. As they de-girlify themselves more and more, they both 'let their hair down'. Louise abandons her 'tidy hairdo' and Thelma finally lets her hair get 'mussed up' and didn't care about it anymore. One of the last things they do is don their hats-- men's hats. They become sort of androgynous, having freed themselves from their oppressors (the men in their lives), gender roles, and social expectations that they had once even imposed upon themselves. When they are finally cornered by the cops, the hats blow off and the curly long hair starts blowing in the wind. It seems symbolic of the men trying to put them back in the place, to shove them back into their roles, to punish them for challenging those roles. T&L would literally rather die than go back to those roles, and in choosing to embrace death they choose to remain free, with their hair wildly whipping in the wind as they go.
@@positivelysimful1283 Yes! Excellent insight. Thanks for sharing! ❤️
Maybe someone has pointed out this before. For those into the craft of screenwriting, google "Chinatown script". The results will be at least a couple of pdf screenplay versions that reveal scenes never used and the evidence of a lot of detailed massaging of the dialogue. Pretty amazing if you're into that.
I always thought that Fredo sensed that he was a goner when Connie called Anthony away, and Fredo and Al Niri pushed off in the boat to fish --- alone.
@@shuroom57 Yeah I'm sure he pretty much knew at that point 😅
But HOW does "working girl" Ida sessions know about "one of those people" --- in the obits ?
One of the best short analysis of a movie and its directors I have seen in a long time.
Thanks for watching!
Or did none of this happen and it was just happening inside this,” crazed, Vietnam Veterans mind”? 😂😂😂 lol
Does it look like the guard at the border could have possibly been dead, and was about to fall over when it cut away from him? Almost as if chigurh came right before him and had to kill the guard to get by, but the audience doesn’t know??? Thoughts?
Yes
When I started driving and going "downtown" to see movies around 1965, a buddy of mine and I went to a double feature - - The Apartment and The Great Escape. How lucky was that? The Apartment is still in my "top ten of all time." The Great Escape is probably in the "top 20".
Wow, what a tremendous combo!!! 👏
"Sideways" can be interpreted in so many ways, and, because of the movies complexity, they would all be right. I lived in Solvang for ten years, so the movie holds a special place for me and the scenes have a personal texture to them. It was the best place I have ever lived. The characters represent the majority of the viewers so we can identify with each of them. One of the most poignant scenes is when Miles sneaks into the house to retrieve Jack's wallet and when he runs out there's Jack sound asleep. It speaks volumes for his character. Detached from reality.
Haha...the poor guy was also up all night, ran five clicks home, and took Vicodin 😄
The Apartment presents a unique twist on the structure of the classic romantic comedy. In a romcom, the two leads are perfect for each other. They may not know that, at least at the beginning, but the audience does. There's also an obstacle to them getting together. The plot focuses on whether they will be able to overcome that obstacle and live happily ever after. The Apartment is unusual in that it doesn't center the relationship between Jack Lemon and Shirley Maclaine until relatively late in the film. It also presents a unique obstacle that Lemon and Maclaine must overcome - Lemon's philandering boss, wonderfully played by Fred MacMurray. All in all, it's one of my favorite filsm.
Excellent insight, John! Thanks for the great comment.
Great interview! Very informative.
Thanks for watching!
Would Jack Vincenne's 'ghost' be his younger self? He can't make that change (after helping to set up Matt Reynolds) unless he hadn't been so self-serving and compromised earlier in his life and career.
Good question. Perhaps it's not so important that the audience knows exactly what the ghost is, but simply that one exists that drives the characters to make certain decisions.
@@ScriptSleuth Yes. And your point about Jack's personal armour being impenetrable is very valid. Spacey's acting (including his body language) is top class throughout the film and gives us all we really need to know: regret and being lost.
the woman TESTIFIED in open court she saw the boy..L train or not....I don't sleep with glasses but I know what I see...why then was the witness not charged with perjury
Cohen brothers is absolutely stellar at making characters feel real. Whether this come from Jerry being captured and acting like a literal baby or in No Country where Ed Toms charter is worried about new evils and how the times are changing
Insightful interview. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for watching!
Sunset Boulevard is the platinum standard for motion pictures. Brittle and intelligent dialogue, mature character development, glorious cinematography and a haunting score from Franz Waxman. It's a film that will still be watched and revered 100 years from now. Billy Wilder was such a remarkable talent, equally adept at both drama and comedy.
Only recently did I realize Juror #3's was realizing he was defeating his own argument. I always thought he was realizing that he was trash talking an old man in front of Juror 9, an old man.
That, too! The writing is just so deep and layered. Absolutely incredible.
@@ScriptSleuth I will be showing it to some people next Monday, can hardly wait.
Ленс Иисус Венец прощение... Вега Худший киллер в истории кино. Все из рук валиться... Я с мией на свидании 2.40 ночи Смотрю свое кино
How is Tommy racist? He was talking about some girl being prejudice against him
This movie is brilliant!
Agreed!
Fantastic breakdown - please do one of HEAT
Great film suggestion!
Sanderson told an interesting story about having to write the final act of a screenplay in 24 hours. The movie got made, he said, but you never asked him the title. ARGHHH! Otherwise, good interview. Thanks.
I know, I definitely need to work on my interview skills 😅
Give us more analysis 🎉
Brilliant analysis of all the important elements. Thanks.
Thanks for watching and commenting! Have a great weekend.
This video made me an offer that I couldn't refuse 👍 Subscribed😊
Thank you, and welcome to the gang!
Great video but god that jazz music…
I love this film; have watched it many times. This analysis is very thought provoking. I usually work in the art department so don't go this deep. nicely done.
Thanks for watching, and for the nice comment! 🙂
Most purely entertaining- Witness for the Prosecution (and not often mentioned-The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes)
Let's not underestimate Norma's creepy, clutching hands throughout . One of my favorites. I recommend it all the time.
Not sure why the movie's called Chinatown. How much of it actually takes place there ?? The very last scene ??
Good point!
That was actually a point of contention when Towne first conceived of the idea. He argued with both Polanski and Robert Evans that Chinatown was not so much a place as it was a state of mind. It was a "place" where good intentions fall under the weight of corruptive reality. In fact, in the original srcreenplay, Towne didn't have a single scene in Chinatown. His plan was just to have Gittes reference it. Polanski, correctly, came the conclusion that you can't have a movie called "Chinatown" without having at least one scene there. Near the end of shooting, Polanski actually conceived of the ending of Evelyn Mulray dying in Chinatown. That ending also actually went against Towne's original conception, whereby Evelyn Mulray shoots her father and gets away with her daughter/sister.
@@hodell82 It seems more like they just decided to create some backstory on the reason WHY it's called Chinatown, instead of just fessing up that the reason it's called Chinatown, is because it sounds cool, exotic & mysterious & no other reason beyond that.
What is it called when a film takes place in a single location?
I've always just heard "single location movies". Google also suggests "chamber pieces".
@@ScriptSleuth another one I like is called “sunset unlimited”. With Samuel L Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones.
Great, subbed
Awesome, thank you! Welcome to the family.
Tuco is the greatest 👌🏻🔥
It's a miracle that "Casablanca" turned out to be a masterpiece considering the entire scriptwriting process was a disorganized mess, with rewrites being given to the performers almost daily and a planned additional finale in which Rick and Capt. Renault were to be shown aboard a ship with Free French military men (the opposition to the Nazi-affiliated Vichy French puppet government). If the latter had occurred, the uplifting and amusing "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" ending would have been totally defused.
Charles Brackett wrote the script with Billy Wilder.
Very insightful review.
Thanks for watching!
Just a reminder, this lost to Return of the King.
Funny how we are living through something like this right now. We are waiting for the verdict. Wonder what it’s like in that deliberation room.