the director of Scent of a Woman;
featuring Anthony Hopkins, Brad Pitt, Claire Forlani.
Week 1
Read the transcript of the introductory scenes.
MEET JOE BLACK
(source http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Meet-Joe-Black.html)
--------------------------------------------------------------
EXT. ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - 4:00 AM
A patch of water. PULL BACK TO REVEAL more water. BACK
FARTHER TO REVEAL an expanse of river, up the bank to
massive lawn running up to a great, classic Hudson River
manor house; the country estate of William Parrish.
INT. PARRISH COUNTRY ESTATE - 4:00 AM
MOVE THROUGH French doors that lead from a wide terrace into
an expansive living room, DOWN wide corridors lined with
Bierstadt and Cole paintings, the Hudson River School, mists
and trees and small boats and distant humans.
INT. PARRISH BEDROOM - 4:00 AM
MOVE THROUGH the doorway to reveal a master bedroom furnish-
ed with exquisite simplicity, revelatory of its sleeping
occupant, WILLIAM PARRISH, 64, a warm but commanding face, a
man of maturity yet who exudes a glow of enthusiasm.
Although asleep, there is an uncommon restlessness to him.
Parrish grips his upper arm as if in pain. Now the severity
of the pain wakes him, he squeezes his arm. The wind comes
up, through the wind a VOICE is heard distantly, or is it the
wind itself:
VOICE (V.O.)
... Yes.
Parrish blinks, has he heard something, has he not, he is
not sure, he releases his arm, his grimace of pain fades,
the discomfort seems momentarily to have subsided.
He rises now, crosses to the bathroom. As he pees, a breeze
outside the window, the wind again, but then the Voice comes
up:
VOICE (V.O.)
Yes...
It is unmistakably a Voice, it is not the wind, Parrish has
heard something, he looks around, but no one is there. He
can't finish peeing, turns back to his bedroom. All bewild-
ered, Parrish looks around once more, climbs back into bed,
trying to trace the source of what he has heard or hasn't
heard; he is not sure.
He pulls the covers up now, not a SOUND, tries to close his
eyes.
VOICE (V.O.)
Yes.
Parrish sits up again, frightened, but still there is no one
there, he seems fraught with indecision, should he get up,
should he not, what is happening? He looks out: absolute
stillness and silence, CRICKETS chirp down by the river, a
light FLICKERS from a shadboat, Parrish closes his eyes but
then they flutter open, he glances up at the ceiling and
finally, exhausted, falls back asleep.
EXT. REAR TERRACE, PARRISH COUNTRY ESTATE - NEXT MORNING
The great lawn infested with workmen, planting stakes, un-
rolling a huge canvas tent, gardeners fashioning topiary and
adding landscaping of their own, crews setting up platforms,
speakers, lights. Ubiquitous is ALLISON, 35, Parrish's
older daughter, foremen competing for her attention and she
relishing every moment.
Print the script above and bring it to class. We'll analyze it while watching the introductory scenes.
-Is the film set well portrayed in the script?
-Are the emotions experimented by the character conveyed?
-Does the script depict details you hadn't observed in the film?
Watch the trailer.
-Which scene was the most stirring to you?
The impressive opulence of the set, the beauty of the art exhibited is described in "Behind the Scenes".
Click on the link above and read the most interesting information on Production Designer Dante Ferreti who created the Parrish mansion and offices.
Hi guys!!! One of scenes I liked the best in the movie is when Joe met the old Jamaican woman.
ReplyDeleteHere is the conversation:
Joe Black: Don't be feisty, sista.
Jamaican Woman: I not be feisty mista. You com' for me that's good news.
Joe Black: Can do no right by people. I com' to take you you want to stay - I leave you stay, you want to go.
Jamaican Woman: It nice it happen to you. Like you come to the island and had a holiday. Sun didn't burn you red-red, just brown. You sleep and no mosquito eat you. But the truth is, it bound to happen if you stay long enough. So take that nice picture you got in your head home with you, but don't be fooled. We lonely here mostly too. If we lucky, maybe, we got some nice pictures to take with us.
Joe Black: You got enough nice pictures?
In my opinion,the dialogue between them is simple but precious. The old lady is giving Death a real idea of what life is about: not easy “mista”… Joe is lucky to stay just for a “vacation” because if he stays longer life could become really tough on him with a lot of “mosquito bites”. Enjoy your journey, do your best and maybe you will take with you good memories. Lots of thoughts raised by reading this unique chat, don’t you think guys?
PS: They were talking in Jamaican creole:
Jamaican Patois, also known locally as Patois (Patwa), or simply Jamaican, and called Jamaican Creole by linguists, is an English/African-based language - This language is the descendant of a 17th century creolization process which, simply put, consisted of West and Central Africans acquiring and nativizing the vernacular and dialectal British Englishes (including significant exposure to Irish and Scottish varieties), with which their enslavement brought them in contact. Jamaicans themselves usually refer to their language as "patois", a term without a precise linguistic definition.(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaican_Patois)
Have a good one
Lala
Gee, Laura, thanks a zillion for your rich contribution.
ReplyDeleteThe dialogue is wise and timely.
I'm looking forward to discussing about it in tomorrow's class.
See y'all.