Films with a beautiful, literate script

[Emil Miller]

I thought that while Redford's Gatsby didn't work extremely well, the pairing of him and Waterston was excellent.

Despite my lack of faith in the director I am getting my hopes up for de Caprio as Gatsby.

I think Redford and Waterston did as well as could be expected in their scenes together but Waterston seemed rather mannered and reticent and not as I imagined him to be in the book. Of course, it's difficult to play the outsider within a close-knit group of people and I suppose allowances should be made for that. I'm afraid the director of the forthcoming version doesn't inspire confidence in me either.

[KCurtis]

I do think that film has certain characteristics which make it distinctly British: the love of weird, eccentric, almost grotesque characters; the class distinctions and tensions; the bleakness of the ending. But the central message of the film (life's a ***** and not worth it, but keep laughing anyway) gets to the essence of the British national character (if such a thing exists). Add into the mix an upper class homosexual and a central character who is a raging alcoholic, plus the grey skies and drizzle, and you have Britain in a nutshell!

Oh, and it ends with him quoting Shakespeare!

Okay, now I want to see it. I like it already. If it is British, I will watch it.

[Desolation]

but I would also put on the list most Charlie Kaufman films (Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Synecdoche, New York etc)

I love Kaufman...I can't believe I forgot to mention him.

Synecdoche, New York was one of the biggest mind-****s I've ever seen in cinema. It had a real impact.

I'd also add:
Million Dollar Baby
Taxi Driver
2001: A Space Odyssey (very little dialogue, but pure cinematic poetry nonetheless)
Apocalypse Now

[KCurtis]

Gatsby was directed by Jack Clayton who had spent all of his working life in cinema and had a distinguished career in British films before landing the plum job of Scott Fitzgerald's novel. The production values were exceptional and the period feel couldn't be faulted, but you are right, Robert Redford was at odds with the part as was Mia Farrow with hers. Bruce Dearn was the only character who fitted the bill as Tom, and Wilson and Myrtle Wilson were also spot on. The scenes in Wilson's garage are exactly as described in the book but Clayton was handed a poisoned chalice because the book is really unfilmable on account of Fitzgerald's highly developed prose style. That's why all extant versions have failed but, having seen the others, I would say that Clayton's comes nearest as a cinematic portrayal of one of America's greatest novels.
I haven't seen Call of the Wild but I remember reading it as a boy on the recommendation of a school teacher.

You are right about the book being unfilmable due to Fitzgerald's writing. I don't think the characters of Gatsby and Carraway can be captured on film - and unless Leo DiCaprio and Toby McGuire give more than brilliant performances, I am skeptical about the version coming out in December of 2012.

[Emil Miller]

Okay, now I want to see it. I like it already. If it is British, I will watch it.

Forget it or check out the videos on YouTube, it's like all 'cult movies', designed to appeal to those under the age of thirty and usually forgotten thereafter. For a film that really reflects the UK character of its time, just watch Tunes of Glory which has terrific performances by all concerned under the careful direction of Ronald Neame. No pseudo quirky dramatics but a straightforward story about real people, as opposed to phony 'eccentrics' whose behaviour is obviously contrived and is neither amusing or interesting.

http://youtu.be/weBJNrj6g-E

[WICKES]

Forget it or check out the videos on YouTube, it's like all 'cult movies', designed to appeal to those under the age of thirty and usually forgotten thereafter.

That is really unfair. It's not a studenty comedy glorifying drinking; it's a profoundly moving and deep tragedy (with lots of comic moments) about a man on a downward spiral. Withnail also has just about the most beautiful, poetic language of any film I know. Add in the haunting music and you have a film which leaves me so emotionally drained that I can only bear to watch occasionally.

[Darcy88]

I also have to mention the film Brick, written and directed by Rian Johnson. And not just because I have a total man crush on its star, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The dialogue in that movie is superb. Combined with its lovely visuals and haunting score its quite a sensual treat.


Brad Bramish: Hey! What are you doing here?
Brendan Frye: Just listening.
[long pause while Brad stares at him]
Brendan Frye: All right, you got me. I'm a scout for the Gophers. Been watching your game for a month, but that story right there just clenched it. You got heart kid. How soon can you be in Minneapolis?
Brad Bramish: Yeah?
Brendan Frye: Cold winters, but they got a great transit system.
Brad Bramish: Yeah?
Brendan Frye: Yeah.
Brad Bramish: Oh, yeah?
Brendan Frye: There's a thesaurus in the library. Yeah is under "Y". Go ahead, I'll wait.

[Varenne Rodin]

I love Brick! The juice in the country glass. All of it.

[mortalterror]

Brick was just awful. The characters were all broken down, world weary cynics who lived in the suburbs and hadn't finished high school yet. Humphrey Bogart was the real deal in The Big Sleep or The Maltese Falcon and these kids were pale imitations. The writing was out of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Micky Spillane and it just doesn't work if the characters haven't seen anything of life. It was silly, almost good, but at turns just ludacris and silly.

[Darcy88]

Brick was just awful. The characters were all broken down, world weary cynics who lived in the suburbs and hadn't finished high school yet. Humphrey Bogart was the real deal in The Big Sleep or The Maltese Falcon and these kids were pale imitations. The writing was out of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Micky Spillane and it just doesn't work if the characters haven't seen anything of life. It was silly, almost good, but at turns ludacris and silly.

I don't know. The music was stellar. Some of the shots were picture perfect. In aesthetic terms I found it amazing. Some scenes were just brilliant and I think the main character was interesting and compelling. I've met a few people who hated it, so I know where you're coming from. I for one loved it. Its not original, but compared to most of the stuff to come out of Hollywood in recent decades it sure does create the impression of originality. Its not a profound movie, most of its merits lay on the surface. But that surface shines brilliantly in my opinion.

[MarkBastable]

Shakespeare in Love
The Princess Bride
Manhattan
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Goodbye, Mr Chips
The Railway Children


I don't think that Withnail is quite the work of genius that it's cracked up to be, though it is a very good comic evocation of a specific way of life at a specific time in British recent history (take my word for it). It'd be interesting to know whether it would have been as successful had someone other than Richard E Grant been playing the lead - and it's significant that that's almost impossible to imagine.

[Jack of Hearts]

Crimes and Misdemeanors- Not very many films deal in a comparative study of moral nihilism and maintain a semblance of wit about it.

Of course, all the classic Woody Allen films are literate and good to watch. One that doesn't get mentioned a lot is Sweet & Lowdown, which borrows elements from another beautiful/literate film from the 1970's, Paper Moon.

Would also recommend Louis Malle's Souffle au Coeur and another French film that everybody knows, Les Quartre Cents Coups.

It's all just a matter of taste, though.






J

[PoeticPassions]

I love Kaufman...I can't believe I forgot to mention him.

Synecdoche, New York was one of the biggest mind-****s I've ever seen in cinema. It had a real impact.

Yeah, I agree. It was probably also one of the most depressing films I have ever seen. I couldn't stop thinking about it for a long time...

[Emil Miller]

Crimes and Misdemeanors- Not very many films deal in a comparative study of moral nihilism and maintain a semblance of wit about it.

Of course, all the classic Woody Allen films are literate and good to watch. One that doesn't get mentioned a lot is Sweet & Lowdown, which borrows elements from another beautiful/literate film from the 1970's, Paper Moon.

Would also recommend Louis Malle's Souffle au Coeur and another French film that everybody knows, Les Quartre Cents Coups.

It's all just a matter of taste, though.


J

Are we talking about the script of these films here? I have seen The Four Hundred Blows but couldn't say whether the script was particularly literate as it was translated into sub-titles.

[Jack of Hearts]

Well, the dialogue certainly was. The script itself was translated into visual imagery and sound, so to speak.









J