Potter presents the delightful script of the much-acclaimed BBC/PBS series. It is the unfolding tale of Philip Marlow, a bedridden writer of detective stories, whose real-life memories mix with pop culture fantasies as he lies in a London hospital.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By Howard Duck
Format:Paperback
The Singing Detective may be the best screenplay ever written. I have the video and the original text (including cast) which I obtained thru interlibrary loan and copied. Its richness derives, not only from its excellent production, directing and cast, but also from its similarities to Dennis Potter's own life. Am now looking for the soundtrack: The Other Side of the Singing Detective, BBC CD 708 or ZCN 708 (cassette). email address: hbduck@koyote.com
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
As the Designer responsible for producing the "prop" book to which the protagonist refers throughout the series, I can tell you it existed only as a cover pasted over an unrelated 1940's pulp novel. Extracts from the book, as read by Michael Gambon on screen, formed part of the original scripts written by Dennis Potter, a copy of which I am fortunate to hold. These are well worth the read for the rich visual imagery interwoven with dialogue. If this book exists, I guess it reproduces the same shooting script. If not, that would be a pity.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars
4 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Screenplay
April 5 2000
By Howard Duck
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
The Singing Detective may be the best screenplay ever written. I have the video and the original text (including cast) which I obtained thru interlibrary loan and copied. Its richness derives, not only from its excellent production, directing and cast, but also from its similarities to Dennis Potter's own life. Am now looking for the soundtrack: The Other Side of the Singing Detective, BBC CD 708 or ZCN 708 (cassette). email address: hbduck@koyote.com
8 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Is this a book?
Feb 6 1999
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
As the Designer responsible for producing the "prop" book to which the protagonist refers throughout the series, I can tell you it existed only as a cover pasted over an unrelated 1940's pulp novel. Extracts from the book, as read by Michael Gambon on screen, formed part of the original scripts written by Dennis Potter, a copy of which I am fortunate to hold. These are well worth the read for the rich visual imagery interwoven with dialogue. If this book exists, I guess it reproduces the same shooting script. If not, that would be a pity.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
More like a Cubist painting than a book
Mar 16 2009
By Jeff
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
The Singing Detective is the complete screenplay of a 6 part British TV series of the same name. I've not seen the TV series, but from reading the screenplay, I can tell that it is far more like a Cubist painting by Braque than it is any straightforward telling of a mystery story. If you liked The Usual Suspects and can imagine it as a screenplay, the result would look a lot like The Singing Detective.
The story follows a young man named Philip Marlowe through to his last days in a British hospital. It introduces us to his family, friends, wife through a series of flashbacks and scene shifts which happen chop-a-block throughout the tale. Reading this book, I'm reminded strongly of the protagonist in Vonnegut's Sirens of Titan, who got unstuck in time and is constantly shifted forwards and backwards along his time line for brief periods before he is off to another spot on his time line.
There's a murder, there's robbery, there's connivance, and there is most certainly deceit in this tale. In some sense, it is just a microsm of human foibles, told without any adornment.
At the end, I was glad I read the screenplay, but it made me realize that watching the series is likely to be far more rewarding.
The story follows a young man named Philip Marlowe through to his last days in a British hospital. It introduces us to his family, friends, wife through a series of flashbacks and scene shifts which happen chop-a-block throughout the tale. Reading this book, I'm reminded strongly of the protagonist in Vonnegut's Sirens of Titan, who got unstuck in time and is constantly shifted forwards and backwards along his time line for brief periods before he is off to another spot on his time line.
There's a murder, there's robbery, there's connivance, and there is most certainly deceit in this tale. In some sense, it is just a microsm of human foibles, told without any adornment.
At the end, I was glad I read the screenplay, but it made me realize that watching the series is likely to be far more rewarding.
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 4 reviews
4.8 out of 5 stars
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