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The books focus on Bonnie and Clyde begins with Robert Benton and David Newman slow and gradual formation of the Bonnie and Clyde Treatment in 1963. Their positions at Esquire Magazine afforded them sufficient time to leave work and visit the museum of Modern Art where they incessantly watched Hitchcock films in the museums retrospective. The two wrote the treatment with every intention that it would break down the norms of current cinema in the U.S. and establish a more European, art oriented style. The two writers were heavily influenced by the French new wave, and modeled their treatment and script after that style, targeting Francois Truffaut as their ideal director and almost part of the very script.
Truffaut however had his eyes set on Fahrenheit 451 as his first American project and turned it down, but recommended it to Jon Luc Godard, another one of Benton and Newman’s New Wave idols. Godard, however, had an entirely different vision for the project and was subsequently removed from the project, both of his own will and the production team’s. After Godard’s disappointing departure, Benton and Newman seemed to lose hope in their project and started to write Broadway musicals together.
The book then switched to following Warren Beatty after 1965 when he bought the option for the Bonnie and Clyde screenplay for $75,000. After trying to get Truffaut and Godard to direct the film failed yet again for Beatty, he finally convinced Arthur Penn to agree to the project in 1966, after the director had previously turned it down three times already.
The book provides valuable insight into the birth and assembly of Bonnie and Clyde and shows the inner workings of the films production. From Benton and Newman’s American French New Wave dream, to Beatty and Penn’s reworking of the script and groundbreaking final project that eventually led to the Oscar Nomination in 1967 and years of influence.
tagged beatty bonnie clyde godard production realization screenplay script treatment truffaut writers by mrsilva ...on 10-APR-08
Lehman, Ernest. "Screen Writer's Recipe for 'Hitch's' Brew." New York Times 2 Aug. 1959: X5. Proquest Historical Newspapers. University of Pennsylvania. 7 Apr. 2008.
This article appeared shortly after the initial release of the film. It was written by the screenwriter, Ernest Lehman, who would later be nominated for an Oscar for this screenplay. Of particular interest is the way in which he describes his goals before writing the script. Usually, he says, scripts are written without a particular director in mind. With this film however, he knew the finished product would be given life by Hitchcock, who had already reached fame by this point as an unconventional director. Because of this, Lehman said a screenwriter "will try never to be dull; one will try not to shun the bizarre or the macabre or the surprising; one will try to give one's characters a certain amount of sophistication... and one will try never to forget that murder, as well as love-making, is sometimes committed with tongue in cheek".
Knowing what type of film Hitchcock liked to create undoubtedly changed the formulation of the script. In essence, Hitchcock was already exerting control in the film when it was just in the idea stage, before anything had even been written. Hitchcock's critics often deride his work as being too outrageous and relying heavily on chance happenings, and of course the fact that Lehman was writing the script to please Hitchcock no doubt exacerbated these criticisms. Because the script was written specifically for Hitchcock, it offered him an unusual level of control over it. Lehman also notes that Hitchcock and he worked together closely to revise the script, up until 20 minutes before shooting scenes in some instances. This close collaboration offered a sense of continuity and eliminated friction sometimes observed in film due to conflicting ideas of two of the artistic talents, the writer and director. It is clear in this article that Lehman considered himself very fortunate to work with such an esteemed director even though he realizes that Hitchcock sometimes modified his work. He is pleased with the outcome of the project, declaring that "Hitchcock has made a silk purse out of a writer's ear."
Call#: 868 B932
Call#: [z] Lost copy. PN1997.C352 K6 1973
Released to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Casablanca’s release, Casablanca: The Script and the Legend commemorates the film by containing complementary film reviews, an essay on the film’s influence in the cinematic world, and the film’s complete script. Although the script is undoubtedly influential to the film’s analysis, it is the film reviews that provide interesting (and rather strange) theories regarding the film. One of theories portrays Casablanca as a political allegory in which Rick is President Roosevelt, Lazlo is Winston Churchill and Casablanca is the White House. In this reading, Rick’s decision to close the casino and go to war is thought to be an allegory of Roosevelt’s decision to give up patrician politics and (inspired by Churchill) enter the war on the side of right (aka the Allies). Another theory that is proposed by the review states that Casablanca represents a repressed homosexual fantasy in which Rick rejects his past love for women (Ilsa) in favor of a furtive affair with a man (Renault). Although the evidence for this reading seems rather suspicious, the homosexual theory nonetheless opens interesting questions regarding the Production Code and Casablanca’s true meaning. All and all, Casablanca: the Script and the Legend provides not only a document to analyze but also controversial theories that expand the boundaries of interpretation beyond the norm. These elements of the book make it a good resource for through and controversial analysis of Casablanca.