Once more we go back to the well of the Top 101 Screenplays as voted by the Writer’s Guild Of America. As with the first two times we visited this list, I will find a famous scene from each script, then find the corresponding scene on YouTube. You can roll the video and the scene to see what was changed, what was kept, how both dialogue and action lines are laid on the page, if they used CUT TO’s….
Ah, yeah, kidding on that last one…
These scripts could have been hand-written in purple Sharpie or submitted in 20-font Comic Sans MS– they still would have got bought. Story trumps and triumphs, as it always does.
Vamos!
- #90: SIDEWAYS: The Life Of Wine
Great subtext scene. Seduction and nothing but, yet they are talking wine and nothing but. Shows that the way to write a love scene is to talk about everything but the lovers. It’s a toss-up between two monologues that happen back to back. Miles and Maya (hey, two characters with short M names — a definite no no!) sitting, drinking, mellow, talking about their love of wine. Before this, Miles talks about Pinot (brilliant stuff by Paul Giamatti). Then follows this one, about the life of wine. I like the script over the final movie scene, it ends faster, tighter….
Miles laughs.
MAYA
No, but I do like to think about the
life of wine, how it's a living thing.
I like to think about what was going
on the year the grapes were growing,
how the sun was shining that summer
or if it rained... what the weather
was like. I think about all those
people who tended and picked the
grapes, and if it's an old wine, how
many of them must be dead by now. I
love how wine continues to evolve,
how every time I open a bottle it's
going to taste different than if I
had opened it on any other day.
Because a bottle of wine is actually
alive -- it's constantly evolving
and gaining complexity. That is,
until it peaks -- like your '61 --
and begins its steady, inevitable
decline. And it tastes so fucking
good.
Now it is Miles's turn to be swept away. Maya's face tells
us the moment is right, but Miles remains frozen. He needs
another sign, and Maya is bold enough to offer it: reaches
out and places one hand atop his.
MILES
(pointing)
Bathroom over there?
MAYA
Yeah.
Miles gets up and walks out. Maya sighs and gets and American
Spirit out of her purse.
- #76 RAGING BULL: It Was You, Charlie…
With all due respect to Shakespeare In Love at #28 or Sullivan’s Travels at #29, what the hell is Raging Bull doing at #76? Near impossible to pick just one scene. There’s a YouTube channel with 12 great clips, check them out. Back to the wall, let’s go with a riff off another Top 101 film, On The Waterfront. Here’s the script:
INT. BARBIZON DRESSING ROOM - NIGHT Same as Scenes One and Eighty-One. JAKE is alone preparing to go onstage. He rehearses. JAKE You know, I'm not a philosopher or anything like that but I been around a little and the way I look at it is -- We're, all of us, lookin' for the same thing: a shot at the title. No matter what you wanta be... you wanta shot at bein' the best. Well, I had mine and it'll always be in the record books... it don't make no difference what happens to me from here on in -- I got my shot and that's a fact. Some guys weren't that lucky... like the one Marlon Brando played in "On the Waterfront" -- an up and comer who's now a down and outer. You remember... there was this scene in the back of the car with his brother Charlie, a small-time racket guy, and it went somethin' like this -- "It wasn't him, Charlie. It was you. You 'member that night in the Garden you came down my dressing room and said. 'Kid, this ain't your night. We're going for the price on Wilson.' You 'member that? 'This ain't your night!' My night -- I coulda taken Wilson apart! So what happens? He gets the title shot outdoors on the ballpark, and what do I get? A one-way ticket to Palookaville. I never was no good after that night. It was like a peak you reach. Then it went downhill. It was you, Charlie. You was my brother, Charlie. You shoulda looked out for me a little bit. You shoulda taken care of me just a little bit so I wouldn't have to take them dives for the short end money... You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody -- instead of a bum, which is what I am. Let's face it. It was you, Charlie." A shadow goes by the frame; it's a STAGEHAND. STAGEHAND (O.S.) Hey Jake, how you doing? The shadow exits. JAKE How long do I have? The shadow pops in again. STAGEHAND (O.S.) About five minutes The shadow exits. JAKE OK. JAKE pauses, then starts to shadow-box in his dressing room. His breath comes in quick gasps. His feet pop up and down like they were on canvas. His tiny fists jerk forward with short bursts of light. Still alive. Still a contender. A 42-year-old man fighting for his shot. The CAMERA DOLLIES into a FULL SHOT of his fists as they hit the empty air -- in and out of the frame. This quote appears: (Music in) "Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, He can not enter into the kingdom of heaven..." John 3-3 The CAMERA goes into DARKNESS. The END CREDITS roll up. THE END
- #10: GODFATHER II
Same deal, no idea where to start here. I’m Sicilian so why not just go back to the old country for the killing of Don Francesco. Once again, it’s Robert DeNiro in another classic moment from the #10 movie.
EXT. THE IMPRESSIVE ESTATE OF DON FRANCESCO - DAY We see an old car approach. Its driver is the young Tomasino. Sitting in the car with him is Vito. The car stops at the gates, and an old guard sees and recognizes Tomasino, opens the gates allowing them to enter. MED. VIEW on an almost decrepit DON FRANCESCO. He must be in his early nineties, sitting as powerful and as impressive as ever, in his throne-like chair from which he manages the power as the Mafia Chieftan of this village. Young Don Tomasino is speaking. We notice in a little distance in the rear, there are some younger shepherds with shotguns thrown over their shoulders. TOMASINO (Sicilian) Don Francesco, if you will honor me, by allowing me to introduce my associate in America, in New York. His name is Vito Corleone. The old man and his eyes glance up at a notion of a man who has taken the name of this town as his name. TOMASINO We will supply him with olive oil exclusively in the town of Corleone. His company is called the "Genco Olive Oil Company." Here we have brought you an indication of how he will sell the product. Tomasino respectfully puts a can of olive oil where the old man can look at it. The old man nods, accepting the notion of this business. TOMASINO (Sicilian) We have come to ask your blessing and permission to continue this enterprise. DON FRANCESCO (Sicilian) (in a shrill, high, raspy voice) Where is this young man? TOMASINO He is right here, standing next to me, Don Francesco. DON FRANCESCO (Sicilian) Have him come closer, I can't see very well. Vito takes those several steps, so that he is standing right in front of the old man. VIEW ON DON FRANCESCO looking up, squinting against the sun. DON FRANCESCO'S VIEW Strangely backlit, almost blurry image of the young man from America. DON FRANCESCO (Sicilian) What is your name? VITO (Sicilian) Vito Corleone. DON FRANCESCO (Sicilian) You took the name of this town, eh? What was your father's name? VITO (Sicilian) Antonio Andolini. CLOSE VIEW ON THE OLD MAN The recognition of the name throws a shudder through him. It is as though he recognizes that this is the boy; the son of his old enemy, whom he had killed, and whose sons he had tried to wipe out. The old man raises his feeble hands signalling his guard, and in his weak voice, he shouts: DON FRANCESCO (Sicilian) Kill him! Kill him! But he is too late; Vito steps forward. VITO (Sicilian) In the name of my Father, and my Brother... And uses the knife, ritualistically plunging it into the old man's belly, and then up to his throat, which is severed.
- #3 THE GODFATHER: Never Take Sides Against The Family
Or, “You don’t buy me out. I buy you out!” Or, “Mike, you don’t come to Las Vegas and treat a man like Mo Green like THAT!(not in the script)” Great scenes are about the power dynamic, the ebb and flow, who controls the beat. This is such a character reveal for Michael, showing the killer as businessman side, then crossing swords with Fredo. For Fredo it’s another brick in the wall, diminished once again in his own endeavors, neutered, perpetually in Michael’s shadow. Mo Greene doesn’t end up very well and this scene seals his fate. He resembles Bugsy Siegel, but as Wiki points out, it’s not him:
Morris “Moe” Greene is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzo‘s 1969 novel The Godfather and movie. The character’s name is a composite of real Las Vegas mobsters Moe Dalitz, or possibly Moe Sedway, and Gus Greenbaum. However, Greene’s personality is based on Bugsy Siegel.[1] Greene is portrayed in the movie by Alex Rocco.
Here’s the scene:
There is knock on the door. NERI rises, looks at MICHAEL, who nods. NERI opens the door, and MOE GREENE enters, followed by TWO BODYGUARDS. He is a handsome hood, dressed in the Hollywood style. His BODYGUARDS are more West Coast style. MOE Mike, good to see you. Got everything you want? MICHAEL Thanks. MOE The chef cooked for you special; the dancers will kick your tongue out and you credit is good! (to his BODYGUARDS) Draw chips for all these people so they can play on the house. MICHAEL Is my credit good enough to buy you out? MOE laughs. MOE Buy me out?... MICHAEL The hotel, the casino. The Corleone family wants to buy you out. GREENE stops laughing; the room becomes tense. NERI eyes the BODYGUARDS. MOE (furious) The Corleone family wants to buy me out. I buy you out. You don't buy me out. MICHAEL Your casino loses money. Maybe we can do better. MOE You think I scam? MICHAEL (the worst insult) You're unlucky. MOE You goddamn dagos. I do you a favor and take Freddie in when you're having a bad time, and then you try to push me out. MICHAEL You took Freddie in because the Corleone family bankrolled your casino. You and the Corleone family are evened out. This is for business; name your price. MOE The Corleone family don't have that kind of muscle anymore. The Godfather is sick. You're getting chased out of New York by Barzini and the other families, and you think you can find easier pickings here. I've talked to Barzini; I can make a deal with him and keep my hotel! MICHAEL (quietly, deadly) Is that why you thought you could slap Freddie around in public? FREDO (his face turns red) Ah Mike, that was nothing. Moe didn't mean anything. He flies off the handle sometimes; but me and him are good friends. Right, Moe? MOE Yeah sure. Sometimes I gotta kick asses to make this place run right. Freddie and I had a little argument and I had to straighten him out. MICHAEL You straightened my brother out? MOE Hell, he was banging cocktail waitresses two at a time. Players couldn't get a drink. MICHAEL rises from his chair, and says in a tone of dismissal: MICHAEL I have to go back to New York tomorrow. Think of your price. MOE You son of a bitch, you think you can brush me off like that? I made my bones when you were going out with cheerleaders. FREDO (frightened) Tom, you're the Consigliere; you can talk to the Don and advise him. MICHAEL The Don has semi-retired. I'm running the Family business now. So anything you have to say, say it to me. Nobody answers. MICHAEL nods to NERI, who opens the door. MOE exits angrily. MICHAEL Freddie, you're my older brother. I love you. But don't ever take sides with anybody against the Family again.
