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Actors and critics alike have praised Alan Ball's first feature film screenplay, which tells the off-kilter story of a midlife crisis suffered by Lester Burnham (played by Spacey). For fans of the film's dialogue--and there will be many--the screenplay allows Ball's words as well as the film's inventive imagery, from flying rose petals to a dancing plastic bag, to be savored.
Unfortunately for those wanting the inside scoop, this text is not the original shooting script but rather the screenplay of the final cut. But the script is so impressive, that's a minor quibble. The accompanying notes from Ball and director Sam Mendes are quite insightful, hinting at a different original ending and revealing Ball's odd inspiration for his idea: the tale of Joey Buttafuoco. Ball's TV background has made him an expert technical writer, and this book would serve as a great template for the fledgling screenwriter. It includes 20 black and white photos and a cast list. --Doug Thomas
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
***** for the text, * for production values of the book,
By MartinP "MartinP" (Nijmegen, The Netherlands) - See all my reviews
This review is from: American Beauty: The Shooting Script (Paperback)
If you have seen the movie, and were deeply touched by it, as seems inevitable, owning this screenplay is definitely worthwhile. Without having to put on the DVD, you can relive particular moments by just leafing through the pages. Alan Ball's script won multiple awards, and rightly so: it is a masterpiece of dramatic writing, merging the comical, the tragic and the spiritual in ways rarely seen in present day (American) film.Yet this book isn't all it could, and in my view should, have been. It really offers very little besides the literal text of the final movie version (including some of Annette Bening's and Kevin Spacey's improvisations). Other film scripts I own include in-depth information about genesis, casting, production etc., loads of good still and behind-the-scenes photography, as well as discarded scenes and earlier versions of scenes. None of that here, even though several parts of the film were drastically altered during the filming. There is a 2-page intro by Mendes that adds nothing to the information contained on the DVD, if you own that; and the same goes for the even shorter afterword by Ball (who, on the DVD commentary track, isn't able to get a word in edgewise with Mendes, and so remains something of an enigma). Then there are a few grainy black and white stills that are an insult to the brilliant cinematography of the movie - and that's it. For makers of a film so ostentatiously concerned with the relativity of material things, it does seem like a rather cheap way to squeeze some extra bucks from it...
4.0 out of 5 stars
Today is the first day of the rest of your life?,
By Gopinath Koneti (Hyderabad, India) - See all my reviews
This review is from: American Beauty: The Shooting Script (Paperback)
Today is the first day of the rest of your life? Yes.The amazing capability that we have to surprise ourselves and the surrounding life makes you to take control of every moment that you live. Live larger. Lester has this capability. He never died . He just smiled. before taking a pause. AMAZING BEAUTY. That's what I can write about this movie and the writer.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Look Closer...,
By Buddy (student, CH) - See all my reviews
This review is from: American Beauty: The Shooting Script (Paperback)
If you didn't like the movie as you watched it, then you'll gonna love it after you read this script!
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