Four Screenplays: Studies in the American Screenplay |  | Author: Syd Field
Publisher: Delta
List Price: $17.00
Buy Used: $2.73
as of 11/22/2009 17:36 CST details
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Seller: motor_city_books
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 126067
Media: Paperback
Edition: First Edition first Printing
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 0440504902
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.43750973
EAN: 9780440504900
ASIN: 0440504902
Publication Date: August 1, 1994
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
An analysis of Thelma and Louise, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, The Silence of the Lambs, and Dances With Wolves provides tips on script writing for original productions, sequels, novel adaptations, and adaptations by original authors.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
 Story-telling for movies May 12, 2009
Fred Tomasello Jr. (Cheektowaga NY)
Mr. Field provides an excellent analysis as to why these four screenplays are so different and yet so successful. Any writer telling a story and contemplating a future screenplay will discover why books adaptations are so difficult and challenging. Perhaps reading "Four Screenplays" before making a final revisions to the story will enhance the process and make the screenwriter's job easier. The analyses were outstanding!
Yeah, I like it November 5, 2007
Nicholas Christie (Jacksonville, Florida)
I guess I've drank enough coffee this morning to write a review about a book - you know this isn't your regular book, it's like this portal into the world of scriptwriting. I was assigned to purchase this book for my scriptwriting course here at the Art Institute of Jacksonville and I feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity - ok, so if you think i'm still full of crap, just know that this book is an interactive book. I can easily read a section of the book and watch the movie after finish reading it. It really follows the story and explains how the writer and director worked together to make the movie. Well, thanks for reading this - If you're on this page then you should probably click add to cart because it gets to your house super fast if you buy it new and no - i am not a representative for amazon - just a film student.
thx
 Learning to write but also learning to ferociously edit your work March 25, 2007
F. R. Nickles Jr. (Stevens Point, WI)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I think what throws everyone off is that they think they can learn the creative process of writing from Syd Field. I don't think you can. In my mind writing is two activities. Learning to create/write (which is not something you are going to learn from any of syd field's books) and learning to edit your work into a format where it makes sense and you can edit it. He comes entirely from the perspective of an editor. The problem is that he's marketing his services to people who are writing, and if you read all the complaints they are people who aren't getting what they need on the creating end of the deal. I think if you buy his books keep in mind that is only for the editing part. A lot of writers don't like the editing part, but it is necessary. I also write poetry for instance, and there are so many poets who just create and never edit what they do, and they just leave it like they created it but it isn't fine tuned. It's not like a snapshot. All Mr. Field is really trying to say is that there are firm rules by which this process operates and they expect to see x happen on y page, or back it goes. That's an important thing to keep in mind, and I'm thankful he's shared his perspective. Even if a person may not like him, that doesn't matter. He offers an important perspective, and without it a lot of writers wouldn't have the firm guidelines that they need. They need to know the rules. i don't think we like rules, but it's good to know what they are. Like it or not. Hopefully that clarifies things a little. For the creating part get books from someone else, for the editing part, Mr. Fields books are helpful.
 don't be fooled January 2, 2003
19 out of 35 found this review helpful
The reason Mr. Field uses other writers' screenplays as examples is basically because he doesn't know how to write a screenplay himself. Considering that, how can anyone take this guy seriously? This type of so-called advice will only fill your head with bad ideas and ruin you for years to come. Instead, I suggest, you look up writer/directors like Joe Carnahan and find out how they did it and what they have to say. Listen to talented and accomplished filmmakers who are actually doing it (and then devise your own system), but stay away from guys like Syd Field who has never written anything that was produced. I truly believe this guy's misguided advice will only derail and hurt the novice movie writer.
 Disappointing April 10, 2002
32 out of 37 found this review helpful
...The main thing that bugs me about Syd Field is that he writes from the point of view of the story editor, not of the screenwriter. He focuses on how to evaluate, not on how to create. Which is fine, but not how his books are marketed, and not what i'm looking for.I'm a novice screenwriter, just starting my first screenplay. I've read a number of books, including Keane, Field, and Trottier and found little new or interesting here. Field even repeats a fair bit from his other books, rather than showing how his other books principles would apply. What little there was might be marginally helpful if I want to be a story critic, but not at all helpful if i want to write and create. He basically gives a rehash of plot and shows some scenes intended to illustrate principles. Since I've seen all the movies, about 60% of what he writes is redundant. His example of showing good screenwriting were simplistic and his analysis of why it works were, from my view, just plain wrong. Look at Trottier's book for a better example of how to create a scene using the good screenwriting principles, and as a better example of why a scene was created the way it was.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
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