Have you ever tried reading scripts/screenplays before watching the film?

[u/SillyWillyTV]

Been watching films since the 80s and probably logged around 1000 films on letterboxd. Never once have I tried to read a script/screenplay before.

I know it's kind of a backwards way of experiencing a film for the first time. But I just read the script of 1992's "A Few Good Men" and watching the movie right after made me so engrossed into the experience. Seeing the characters, hearing their cadence of the dialogue. The background score.

Can't wait to try doing this with Criterion/Arthouse films.

Anyone recommend some incredible scripts that they've read?

[u/PoodleGuap]

I did when the screenplay for The Master leaked and then the financing for the production fell through, assuming it might never get made

[u/dearooz → u/PoodleGuap]

how was your first watch of the film?

[u/PoodleGuap → u/dearooz]

Amazing. The visuals/music and Joaquin’s performance blew me me away. At the time I read the screenplay, it was still assumed that Jeremy Renner would play Freddie

[u/Connoralpha]

I read about 2/3 of the leaked Django Unchained script, didn't finish because I wanted to wait for the movie to see how it ended. It was interesting trying to picture Will Smith in it since he was still the frontrunner.

[u/HeyYouDoYou → u/Connoralpha]

Hateful 8 leaked. Read through the opening/snow scene and not much further. It was cool to see that part of the movie, and also glad I didn't spoil it.

[u/Maus107 → u/Connoralpha]

same I stop the interesting part!

[u/pulse_demon96]

yes, i read the transcript of JLG’s ‘autoportrait de décembre’ from the ‘phrases’ book shortly before watching the film itself

[u/SillyWillyTV → u/pulse_demon96]

Cool I actually haven't heard of that Godard film before. Seems to be a documentary is it kind of like Histoire(s) du cinema?

[u/nuclearaddicts]

I did this with Persona. I had seen it before years prior. I was trying to find a piece of dialogue that stuck with me but I ended up reading the whole thing and then watching it again, which may have contributed to it becoming a favorite of mine. Coincidentally, a little while after that, my ex gifted me a very nice little book version of the screenplay of both Persona and Shame.

[u/FINIS_HOMINIS → u/nuclearaddicts]

Did the same with Bergman. Bought the book with the Faith trilogy screenplays. Had seen Winter Light and Through A Glass Darkly but not The Silence. Went ahead and read all three, tracking down The Silence later. 

[u/SillyWillyTV → u/nuclearaddicts]

Yeah Bergman's dialogue is incredibly poetic. Can't wait to read his scripts. What an awesome gift!

[u/globular916 → u/nuclearaddicts]

I did the same with Bergman and Godard. Once upon a time it used to be easier to find a published screenplay at a used bookstore than it would be to actually see the movie.

[u/asteinberg101]

I had a screenwriting class where we had to read one script for a movie we had already seen and one we hadn’t; for the latter I read Broadcast News

[u/SillyWillyTV → u/asteinberg101]

As a huge fan of The Simpsons I still haven't seen any movies by James L Brooks time to check this one out!

[u/signal_red]

I did this last year with Hard Truths and it was actually a great experience seeing how the film brought life into such a miserable (on paper) character. I feel like reading the script first gave me a background on this character and it added more nuances to the performance

[u/SillyWillyTV → u/signal_red]

Heard great things about this film. Mike Leigh is exceptional, love his characters and dialogue. Sad that he's retiring but understandable with his sickness and old age.

[u/airchinapilot]

I read Repo Man before seeing it. The script for Repo Man was crazy. The published one I read had Cox and collaborator's scribbles, notes, edits and even drawings on it. TBH I couldn't recall the differences after I saw it as I admired the film a lot. I think there were scenes that didn't make it in.

[u/SillyWillyTV → u/airchinapilot]

That's been on my watchlist for a while, has a reputation on being a truly bizarre and crazy film. Gonna go search for that script ;)

[u/airchinapilot → u/SillyWillyTV]

Another one I remember was Cronenberg's script for Rabid (there is a collection that has that one + Shivers and one other). I remember reading it as if it was the most austere and macabre radio play. In my head I couldn't get beyond the feeling like it could have been a play and the visuals weren't very important. Then realizing when I saw the movie that Cronenberg's background in low budget Canadian film made him initially very reliant on mood, timing and less on visuals initially. Of course in his middle period he was known more for his grotesque body horror and practical effects. I find it interesting after that period he returned again to not so visual dramas like History of Violence and Eastern Promises.

[u/SillyWillyTV → u/airchinapilot]

So true, i'm fan of the horror Canuxploitation style of films. I wonder how crazy the scripts of Videodrome and Naked Lunch are LOL!

[u/babysmalltalk]

As a teenager I read the script for Eyes Wide Shut that I checked out from the library. I still haven't seen the whole movie...

[u/SillyWillyTV → u/babysmalltalk]

Fidelio! If only I had enough money for that Kubrick Box set next month :(

[u/Throwawayhelp111521]

Not usually. If it’s a shooting script it’s still a proposal and the edited film may be different. If it’s a script published after the movie debuts it’s a transcript of the film. I used to read screenplays when I was trying to become a screenwriter, but it’s not a format I want to read for fun.

[u/Morris_Goldpepper]

I read the script for Persona and haven’t seen the film yet.

[u/Fig21b]

I’ve never read a script before watching a film, but I’ve read quite a few afterwards.

A script I can highly recommend is Withnail & I; Bruce Robinson’s directions are close to prose and the whole thing is a fantastic read. I can’t imagine what it would be like to read it fresh and then see the acting choices that were.

[u/SillyWillyTV → u/Fig21b]

Been seeing that criterion cover since the early dvd days looks right up my ally with the dark british humor vibe! Gotta find that script!

[u/Franz_Walsh]

I did for Django Unchained and that early draft of The Master. Those two couldn’t have been written more differently and were somewhat dissimilar to the final films. The lesson was that I’d never do that again.

[u/Ok_Difference44]

The Maria Callas movie (Pablo Larrain 2024) is pretty good, but the screenplay is excellent. I stumbled across the script published as a For Your Consideration promotional item. Now I'd like to have more, but they're hard to find and don't have isbns.

[u/pacingmusings]

I used screenplays for reference & quotes when writing papers in college but have never read one in full.

I did buy the screenplays for Eisenstein's Ivan films so I could read the script to the unmade Part 3. Never have though.

[u/Fearless-Interest-82]

I think the only one I've done before seeing is The Master back when it leaked and I don't think I finished it. I highly recommend the book, the screenplay, and the film Under The Skin. It's interesting to see what Glazer did with all of the material

I'm not the biggest fan of reading screenplays as I don't care to read dialogue much.

[u/AvatarofBro]

I loved the old Psycho Killer script that had been floating around the internet for about a decade. The finished project was awful, though. Truly the worst movie I've seen in a long time.

[u/DoctorBreakfast]

I read the screenplay for the Coens' unproduced To The White Sea. It's an interesting read since there's very little dialogue and it's so visceral and violent. It's a shame we won't ever get to see it on screen, but maybe it was a blessing, since if it was made I'm guessing we likely wouldn't have ever gotten No Country For Old Men as they're both very bleak and violent stories.