The Talented Mr. Ripley: A Screenplay

Customer Reviews:

Good addition to the film(if you own it). However, this book.......2000-06-08

would be interesting only to people, who study scripts seriously, who love Minghella's art, and who love the film itself. This particular script was not meant to stand on its own, unlike some scripts from other great films. It was only meant to be Minghella's subjective and brief overview of what he is going to create for the screen. I bought it because I was curious to compare written word with what I have seen on the film. This book has lyrics of "Lullaby for Cain" and full cast list, though, which is a nice touch...

the talented mr ripley.......2000-03-09

The book was better than the movie. I think the movie was too soapy. The ending was not conclusive

A Masterpiece!.......2000-02-11

After seeing this film I was quick to jump to the conclusion that the screenplay would be just as good. I am pleased to report that I was correct!

As a read, Ripley is captivating and diabolical. The words finely link together the voices and faces that I loved in the film. Anthony Minghella has such a remarkable gift! First English Patient, now Ripley!

All I really have to say about this screenplay is that it is honey--rich, sweet, and easy to swallow. You'll love it!

There seems to be some confusion.......2000-01-04

Some people seem to be under the impression that this is a novel that has been adapted from the film, which it is not. This is Anthony Minghella's SCREENPLAY for his film which he adapted from the novel, and it is excellent. As a filmmaker I enjoy reading the screenplays for films that I like and anyone who enjoys reading screenplays will love this because it is a wonderful adaptation that proves the key to a great film is a great script.

Um...........1999-12-30

A novelization of a movie that was based on a book? Does anyone else find this to be an incomprehensible waste of trees? You'd do better to read the original - it's by Patricia Highsmith -, and here's hoping that the author makes no money out of this bizarre endeavor.

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The Final Draft
the screenplay
carefully crafted masterpiece
In the words of Almasy: "A Good Read."
A Love Only a Movie Can Give

The English Patient: A Screenplay
Anthony Minghella
Manufacturer: Miramax
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 078688245X

Customer Reviews:

The Final Draft.......2005-11-25

If you loved THE ENGLISH PATIENT, then you'll probably appreciate reading the screenplay. It matches the film so this is either the final draft or it's more of a transcript of the final cut of the film.

If you're really interested in seeing how it originally read, you can look for the "Revised Draft: 28th August, 1995" version at screenplay websites and read it there. It's obviously an earlier draft with some interesting scenes and sequences that didn't make it into the film.

For example, the order of some scenes have changed. A pompous rival named Fenelon-Barnes who insists on riding camels to explore (and keeps a young sex slave girl tied up in his tent) is cut. There is also an interesting scene where an enraged Kip draws down on the Patient with a rifle after hearing about the Hiroshima blast.

The published version is the film you see. Both are worth reading if you're interested in how Anthony Minghella adapted the novel. Or if you just loved that movie.

the screenplay.......2002-02-23

If you love movies and writing than the screenplay is an interesting companion to the movie and book. Read along to the movie or figure out what a character really said, you can take this along with you anytime and enjoy the movie all over again. Filled with photos from the film and comments by Minghella, Zaentz, and Ondaatje, this is an excellent addition to your English Patient collection.

carefully crafted masterpiece.......2000-05-14

Anthony Minghella has re-created one of the most remarkable screenplays of our time by giving a new dimension to the original work. It is more concise, but has kept the essence of the novel. It portrays a journey of several people; Hana, Kip, Caravaggio and Almasy who met each other perhaps by chance. But Minghella's work is not an outcome of a mere chance, but a carefully crafted masterpiece like the novel it is based on.

If you have enjoyed the book and the film, then you must somehow other read the screenplay to better understand and appreciate both the book and the film. I have read it over five times and will read it again and perhaps again!

In the words of Almasy: "A Good Read.".......2000-04-13

Although it is different from the original novel, this screenplay does round out the film quite well. The intense feelings of the characters are conveyed very well through the script. However, I have a feeling that this book only appeared as a result of the massive publicity given the movie. I recommend watching the film prior to reading this, or perhaps reading it while watching the film. Whatever you do, enjoy it!

A Love Only a Movie Can Give.......2000-01-04

Unlike most, I find this book intriging; something only a movie can provide. I've read the book The English Patient and have to say I like this much better. When I first saw the movive I instantly fell in love with it. It's about a man who is burned in a plain shot down by Germans in WW2. He is marked "English Patient" by the hospital caravans. Through his long journey he has flash backs of his life with Katherine; of his intimate and intense affair with the only woman he has ever loved. The one problem is, she is married. He carries with him always his book, The Histories, by Herodotus, the father of history. Through reading The Histories, and hearing the people around him speaking, bringing back memeories of a life he wants no one to know about, he finally reveals the sad and tragic end to his love that will make you wet the pages with your tears. I recomend this for all hopeless romantics. But, before you read the screenplay watch the movie. It will bring tears to your eyes even more seeing the actors playing the scenes out in your mind. Love, passion and tragic death. Great combinations!

Minghella Plays 2 (Methuen Contemporary Dramatists)

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Minghella Plays 2 (Methuen Contemporary Dramatists)
Anthony Minghella
Manufacturer: Methuen Publishing, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0413715205

Book Description

One of the best radio plays I ever heard...profoundly original.--Financial Times

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Just what it takes...
Differnt, but....
Cold Mountain not so Hot!
Bitterly disappointed in this screenplay
Anthony Minghella King of the Adapted Novel!

COLD MOUNTAIN: A SCREENPLAY
Anthony Minghella
Manufacturer: Miramax
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1401359426

Book Description

Based on Charles Frazier's National Book Award-winning novel, Anthony Minghella's screenplay is published to coincide with the Miramax Films release starring Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Renee Zellweger, Natalie Portman, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

Cold Mountain is the story of Inman (Jude Law), a wounded and disenchanted Confederate soldier who embarks on a lonely and perilous return to Cold Mountain, North Carolina, to Ada (Nicole Kidman), the lvoe he left years before. Inman undertakes this journey across the South and encounters a slew of colorful characters along the way, while Ada struggles to maintain the family farm with a drifter (Renee Zellweger). Set during the turbulent years that followed the Civil War, Cold Mountain is a sweeping adventure, a powerful love story, and a portrait of a country in turmoil.

Customer Reviews:

Just what it takes..........2004-03-21

Anthony Minghella is no stranger to film adaptations. He did the impossible when he translated the very poetic and cahotic The English Patient to the screen, and he did worders with a little gem called The Talented Mr Ripley (in my opinion, one of the best thrillers made during this last decade). Now Minghella tries his hands at translating the epic journey that is Cold Mountain to the screen and succeeds... somewhat.

To really appreciate a film like Cold Mountain, you need it all; the script, the actors, the set, the costumes, the locations, the score... Everything has to be balanced just right in order to achieve greatness. Some have complained that the movie is shallow because you never truly feel the love between our star-crossed lovers. But I think that's the whole point of the story. Inman is really in love with the idea of a woman he has known for a very brief time, and Ida loves the idea of that man. Is it true love? I don't think so. What these characters need is to cling on to each other in order to survive the ordeals they are facing.

Cold Mountain was a very big and busy book. Minghella needed to do choices when he adapted the story, cutting down what he deemed not as important. And I think the choices he made were the right ones. The story flows quite nicely and never stalls.

But the real thing that drives this movie are the performances. The script might seem a bit stiff on the page, but an epic story is about the whole of it all. Minghella did wonders with a book that must have been very hard to adapt for modern audiences, and succeeded quite nicely.

Differnt, but...........2004-01-18

Okay, I admit that when I first read this screenplay, I wasn't exactly thrilled with how it came out. I read the book when it first came out and feel in love with it. So when I read the screenplay, I was a little shocked by how different it was. But then I realized something- of course it's different! It's a movie! Films can never truly depict the emotions and feelings of the characters in a book. So its necessary to add different things in, and to find a way to show those emotions. Once I realized that, I began to appreciate the screenplay all the more....
Let's face it.. Cold Mountain can only be described as a descriptive book. Which is great, but when you make a movie about it, descriptions aren't going to cut it. You need to show action and dialogue to get the point across. Which is exactly what Anthony Mingella did when he wrote the screenplay. This was HIS adaptation of the novel and what he thought should be shown. And I thought it was great. Yes,he changed some things, but I don't believe that readers of the book should automatically think this is a bad thing. If you like movies, you have to realize that you need to show more than people's thoughts. You need to show their actions. Which I believe was shown very accurately.
Readers of books that are made into movies need to realize what I realized a long time ago:

NO FILM WILL EVER LIVE UP TO THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE BOOK!
You know why? Because everyone will interpret a book differently. Thoughts, feelings, emotions.... everyone experiences things differently when you read a book. So when someone does adapt a book to turn into a screenplay... of course it's going to be different from what you were expecting! Because no person is the same as you.
I thought this screenplay was amazing, as well as the movie. Sure it was different from what I was expecting, but what is wrong with that? To those of you who hate how it's different from the book, let me just tell you this:

Open your mind and heart and realize that no one is going to think the same as you. And try to appreciate that fact. Accept that for what it's worth and just enjoy that person's thoughts and hard work. Cold Mountain is an excellent screenplay and one everyone should read :)

Cold Mountain not so Hot!.......2004-01-17

I must admit that I enjoyed the movie (and thus the screenplay). The big problem is, the screenplay is hardly anything like the book. One must wonder if Minghella read the book! In some cases, the story is NOTHING like the book. For instance, in the screenplay, the immoral preacher is about to throw a slave girl in the river when in fact she was a dark-haired white girl. The way Inman and Ada meet is NOTHING like the book. Example after example can be given of how poorly the movie represents the book. If you haven't read the book, get it instead of the screenplay or seeing the movie. It is fantastic (why it won the Pulitzer). If you have read the book, keep in mind that the movie is hardly anything like it. Otherwize, it was a great film (although there were some "hot" scenes that were totally unnecessary, giving the movie an "R" rating when it could have easily been a PG13). In other words, if you can "pretend" that the movie is not based on the book, you may enjoy this screenplay. If you are a die-hard Cold Mountain fan, you are sure to be disappointed.

Bitterly disappointed in this screenplay.......2003-12-29

What I'm looking for is a way to contact Charles Frazier and chastise him thoroughly for allowing Minghella to completely TRASH his book. I sat in the theatre yesterday (a matinee, thank god) and watched a beautiful piece of art (Frazier's book) be transformed into utter hollywood garbage.
Did Minghella even READ Cold Mountain? He has no understanding of the characters, turning them into caricatures (Ruby, Ada) and completely missing what draws Inman and Ada (not their fabulous looks and some kind of war-time lust) but because they were different and understood each other.
So much was changed unnecessarily, that altered the characters completely. Ada was not a typical "Southern belle" announced in a voice over at the beginning, Inman and Ada were shy together because of their time, not because Inman was retarded (he nearly comes off that way) There is potty humor (Veasey) that wasn't in the book and is again un-needed, there are other ways to show he is an idiot, Ruby is some kind of hillbilly freak offering comic relief, not the wise woman, neighbors are brutalized (when in fact they were safer from these horrors) Teague becomes some kind of mustache twirling Lothario who's after Ada--Minghella throws slaves into the picture without showing the ir humanity (as in the book) plus the mountain people didn't own them...
WHAT GIVES HERE? Frazier should be outraged, and Minghella should be ashamed at what he's done. I can't believe Minghella didn't at least ask Frazier how to write the language so it sounded authentic (the awesome beauty of the book is due to this authenticity.) I couldn't believe the trite garbage that came out of the character's mouths after the poetry of the book.
You really see that when you gut the language of the book you gut the character development, Kidman and Zellweger careen sloppily through the whole thing, Law retains some dignity at least (perhaps because he doesn't have to mouth any of the terribly written dialogue); The love/sex scene is the worst-all the modesty, and intensity, was lost. You really have no idea why these people want to be together. Except of course that they look good.
I read reviews for this movie, re-read the book over the winter holidays, looked forward to it, and was utterly shocked at what trash they put out. What a WASTE.
The only thing that was kept successfully from Frazier's story is the upside down view of Inman in the well. That part was interesting to see on film, for the rest, stick with the book! Talk about the Emperor's new clothes-I can't believe the reviews so far, obviously none of the fancy reviewers have read Frazier's book either. Once again, Hollywood crassness trumps humanity and high art.

Anthony Minghella King of the Adapted Novel!.......2003-12-13

Anthony Minghella brings a rich prespective to his adaptation of the Charles Frazier novel "Cold Mountain". His screenplay is an adaptation true to the spirit and themes of the novel. The story involves Inman a Confederate soldier who has been injured in battle and decides he has had enough fighting. He begins his long journey back home to Cold Mountain and the woman he left behind there, Ada. Along the way he meets a bunch of characters looking to both help and hinder his journey home. Ada too is experiencing a journey of her own. The journey to survive after the death of her father something she is not accustomed to being a high society girl from Charleston. She must learn to care for her house and farm. One day a rural girl named Ruby shows up and ends up teaching Ada the survival skills to survive in a world where all the certainties of the past have been swept away.

Now, when I heard Minghella had optioned the rights to make this movie back in 2000, I immediately read the novel. I fell in love with the way it was written by Frazier and the themes he uses in the novel. I also, liked the idea of the Civil War as the setting. The amount of loss and destruction to the South during this period of American history is very intruiging to me.
After reading the novel I was interested in finding out how Minghella was going to translate this material to the screen. After reading the screenplay, I think he has accomplished a great feat of adapting yet another novel into a winning screenplay.

You will find some different things in the screenplay not in the book. For example, there are some very detailed scenes of Inman's fighting at Petersburgh. These scenes are mentioned in the book, but are fleshed out more by Minghella in the screenplay. I can't wait to see these Civil War battle scenes on the big screen! Also, if you read the book you probably noticed there is not a whole lot of dialouge in the book. I thought Minghella did a great job of fleshing out the dialouge in the screenplay. The exchanges between Ruby and Ada are very funny and it will be interesting how these characters are played by Zellweger and Kidman. Most of the key scenes and characters are in the screenplay and lovers of the book will be pleased to know that it stays true to the novel's spirit and tone. I am very interested to see the finished film on Christmas. It is receiving a lot of positive buzz from Peter Travers of Rolling Stone (#5 on his top ten list!), the Hollywood Reporter, Variety, and the National Board of Review (#7 on their top ten list). From reading the screenplay I think Anthony Minghella has crafted another winning adapted screenplay, look for this to receive an Oscar nomination in January for Best Adapted Screenplay. If you are at all interested in the movie or the original novel this screenplay is highly recommended. It has all the key elements that make movies great adventure, drama, comedy, romance, and great characters. The themes of the novel continue to stay with me and this screenplay reinforces these themes. Cold Mountain is truly a work of art.

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Obsessive Love is a great read!!

Literature doesn't get better than this

Brilliantly moving and dynamic

The English Patient
Anthony Minghella
Manufacturer: Methuen Publishing, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The English Patient

The English Patient (Miramax Collector's Edition)

The Secret Life of Laszlo Almasy: The Real English Patient: The Real English Patient

Gemma Bovery

Haroun and the Sea of Stories

ASIN: 0413715000

Customer Reviews:

Obsessive Love is a great read!! .......2007-09-09

The award winning movie did not begin to do justice to this book. Part of a triology about French Canadians, The English Patient is simply one of the most compelling and spell binding novels I have ever had the pleasure to read. I do not like the parts concerning Hana the nurse, Kip the sapper and Carravagio the thief as I think it takes away from the central story. The way the novel is constructed I was able to literally remove all the parts that did not center around the Hungarian desert explorer Count Lazlo Almazy and his married lover, Catherine Clifton.

The brilliant, music loving but anti-social Almazy is the title character, the English Patient, so-called because he is horribly burned in an airplane crash and ends up in a British hospital where he refuses to reveal his identity. A skilled linguist, they think he is one of them. The chapter where Almazy falls in flames from his plane into the desert and is rescued and treated by Beoudins is probably the most original event I have ever read. His visage of grass haunts me to this day.

Author Michael Ondaatie weaves a spellbinding tale of the rememberance of adulterous love and the horrors of WWII. Alternating between a villa in war torn Italy and the North African in the 1930s, the author reveals his arcane and wonderful knowledge about the Great Silk Road; the Florentine Madonnas; various desert winds and the great Jango Reinhart. Stick with the hard to follow plot lines because it is all here-pedophilia, homosexuality, necrophilia, drug addiction, murder and a love story so compelling and so tragic you actually pity these fictional characters. Poor Almazy is a man who has fasted until he finds what he wants and when he finally secumbs to love with a married woman, he is a man possessed.

Literature doesn't get better than this.......2000-10-27

I read Anthony Minghella's sublime, lyrical novel some time after seeing the Oscar-winning movie and I was struck by the seamless similarities in both genres. The novel has a dream-like quality as it shifts in time back and forth, sifting through the memories of the dying patient and the other inhabitants of the Villa San Girolamo. The cinematography of the movie has the same fluid continuity, no mean feat when one considers how difficult it is to keep a story flowing with constant flashbacks. The film of The English Patient was described by one reviewer as almost film noir. Well, the book is novel noir. This not a romp, it's intricately multi-layered and intended to be savoured.

The story is based in the abandoned villa on a hilltop in central Italy. It is 1944 and the Allies are advancing yet the scent of victory is overwhelmed by accumulated shell shock. The central characters in the villa: Hungarian Count Lazlo de Almasy, Canadian nurse Hana, the Indian sapper Kip and the thief Caravaggio are all burned out by war and in de Almasy's case, literally and mortally burned. Hana is nursing her mysterious dying patient who gradually details his life as an explorer in the desert of northern Africa and reveals his doomed, magnificant, obsessive, life-altering love affair with Katherine Clifton, an English rose with the tenaciousness of a lioness. Hana, who has lost everyone she dared to love, tries to insulate herself from the world but in the presence of Kip and the less noble Caravaggio, she reaches out once again. This is a story of love's expectations, and the shifting loyalties of friends, family and nations in times of war, of deadly betrayals and being rescued by strangers, of healing wounds and preparing for death. In short, all the stuff top class literature is made of and, strangely, pretty much what happens around us every day although the settings might not be as exotic.

Minghella has constructed a vast canvas of human experience, yet he does not waste a word. He peels away the exterior visage of his characters to reveal their joy and pain with an exquisitely bare, poetic use of language. The consequences of their lives remained with me long after I had put the book down. I pick up The English Patient from time to time and the magic is always there.

Brilliantly moving and dynamic.......2000-07-01

This is the first screeenplay i've read and i understood it clearly. In regards to the books content i was in tears by the end and it pushed me to buy the film after i read it. A must for any shelf.

Minghella Plays 1 (Methuen World Dramatists)

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Minghella Plays 1 (Methuen World Dramatists)
Anthony Minghella
Manufacturer: Methuen Publishing, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Minghella Plays 2 (Methuen Contemporary Dramatists)

ASIN: 0413665801

Book Description

Shot through with warmth, humor, and a perceptive intelligence, this first collection by Anthony Minghella brings together his key early plays.

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So *that's* what the Griffin was saying!
Fabulous!
The language of storytelling
One of the best pieces of magic ever written
Almost Perfection

Jim Henson's "the Storyteller"
Anthony Minghella
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Jim Henson's the Storyteller - The Definitive Collection

ASIN: 039458256X
Release Date: 1991-11-20

Book Description

Jim Henson's The Storyteller is a book to enchant readers of all ages--inspired by the beloved guiding genius of Muppetdom and a whole world of creatures we have taken into our hearts. These nine delightfully illustrated stories, based on Henson's Emmy Award-winning television series, are fairy tales and folk tales beautifully told by Academy Award-winning director Anthony Minghella.

They deal with the universal themes of folk literature: fear and need; folly, greed, and enchantment; courage and generosity. They are about princesses and giants, about a soldier and a brave young boy (half-hedgehog and half-human), and about a storyteller terrified that he will run out of tales. Infused with the spellbinding Henson magic, these tales, treasured by generation after generation in the Old World, come to us now with a new radiance.

Customer Reviews:

So *that's* what the Griffin was saying!.......2003-09-08

Just so you know, all 9 episodes of The Storyteller are now out on a single DVD - something many of us have been waiting for for years. This book is, I think, the original screenplay of Jim Henson's Storyteller series because it follows *very* closely to the stories and dialogue seen on TV. The illustrations are also taken from the show and are very nice. The written word is different from television, however, and these stories take on a different light often in one versus the other, and there are some expansions here that didn't make the final editing cuts.

My kid and I love "The Storyteller" series, and this book is a pleasant addition for bedtime reading.

Fabulous!.......2001-08-31

This book is fabulous. I grew up watching these stories come to like on the Jim Henson Hour, and I love having these stories at my finger tips. The stories are very intersting and original. The art work in the book is also fabulous!! They match the television portrail of story exactly. I am so glad that I am able to read and share these stories with my friends and family!

The language of storytelling.......2000-07-27

The television series was one of the best things ever to be shown on TV, but it's more than worthwhile to pick up this book just to be able to focus on Anthony Minghella's (yep, he of "The English Patient") way with words. Minghella doesn't just write good narration, he writes good, old-fashioned *story-telling* Like, say, Kipling's "Just-So Stories," Minghella's "The Storyteller" captures the language of the very best tale tellers.

One of the best pieces of magic ever written.......2000-04-10

Many years ago my family sat around the television, wide eyed and filled with magic; we were watching the Jim Henson Storyteller series. We waited and waited for it to reappear one day- to no avail. But FINALLY, a book! To be able to relive the "hugs and snoodles" of Hans My Hedghog, the stone soup tale of a "Story Short"- all of it beautifully, and creatively written, with illustrations to match- will take you back to your childhood. I find it hard to believe this has yet to be discovered. Don't miss the videos that are now out, at long last!

Almost Perfection.......1998-12-10

Perfection is the TV series that preceded this book. Of course, I must gloat and say that I knew all those many years ago that Anthony Minghella was the most exquisite writer I had ever heard/read. His words coupled with the genius of Jim Henson and company made for the best (no exaggeration) thing ever to be broadcast on television. To be able to read the words from these shows and have them readily available on your bookshelf is heaven. I've been recommending the TV series and this book for years. I still recommend it today.

Cold Mountain: The Journey from Book to Film (Newmarket Pictorial Moviebook Series)

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Tracing the odyssey of the movie
A deserter with very bad luck
This Book Redeems the Screenplay!
great film book
A Journey I'm Ready To Take

Cold Mountain: The Journey from Book to Film (Newmarket Pictorial Moviebook Series)
Daniel Auiler
Manufacturer: Newmarket Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1557045933

Book Description

In the tradition of the Newmarket Moviebooks on Chicago, Frida and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon—the fascinating, full-color companion of the new film from the director of The English Patient and The Talented Mr. Ripley. Coming from Miramax Films in December 2003, Cold Mountain stars Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger, Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Directed by Academy Award®-winner Anthony Minghella who also wrote the screenplay, Cold Mountain is based on Charles Frazier's best-selling Civil War novel of the same name and tells the story of Inman (Law), a wounded confederate soldier who is on a perilous journey home to his mountain community, hoping to reunite with his pre-war sweetheart, Ada (Kidman). In his absence, Ada struggles to survive, and revive her father's farm with the help of intrepid young drifter Ruby (Zellweger).

The Newmarket Pictorial Moviebook is annotated with illustrations, movie stills, production design sketches keyed to the screenplay, costume designs, sidebars, and commentary from the cast and crew.

Customer Reviews:

Tracing the odyssey of the movie .......2004-09-16

Avid fans of Charles Frazier's classic novel "Cold Mountain" novel who have followed its translation from book to film now have a keepsake coffee table edition celebrating the move, which is much more than a collection of movie photos. The novel "Cold Mountain" is the story of a pilgrimage, and in the same tone compliments Cold Mountain: The Journey From Book To Film, tracing the odyssey of the movie created by an English directory and his international team of filmmakers: a six-year odyssey. Yes, there are over 185 photos by a number of photographers - but there are also extensive references on pre-production, post-production, and analyses of how the film was created, adding a depth and dimension which elevates Cold Mountain: The Journey From Book To Film far beyond the status of mere coffee table embellishment.

A deserter with very bad luck.......2004-07-06

As a Southern historian I liked the book very much. However, I was and am confused about the hospital where the book began. It seemed to be Chimborazzo in Richmond as he was wounded at Petersburg. However, I thought later that it may have been in central North Carolina as he was traveling west toward the mountains. That was never explained and the map inside the cover helped very little. I felt the book dragged somewhat at times, but overall was excellent.

I also saw the movie and was pleasantly surprised that it was very good and stayed close to the book. I always have problems with movies and found two glaring errors and one significant omission. Nicole Kidman was dressed as a cross between a Gibson Girl of the 1890's and Miss Kitty of Gunsmoke. I never understand why they can't do the ladies' clothing correctly for the 1860's. Renee' Zelwiger was miscast as Ruby. She needed to be much bigger, fatter, and more country. Renee' comes off as a city girl trying to pass for a country woman. They should have had Jude Law go back and kill the guy with the women after he got loose from the chain gang, as happened in the book. Finally, the band was playing "Sittin' On Top Of The World". That song was not written until 1930. So much for historical research.

This Book Redeems the Screenplay!.......2004-02-07

I am a Cold MOuntain fan! I love the book! When I saw the movie, I was somewhat disappointed. Don't get me wrong; it is a great film, but it is so different from the book. When I rated the screenplay, I gave it three stars (out of five), because I felt it "violated" the book in so many ways. This book (Journey from Book to Film), however "redeems" the screenplay, because it explains and illustrates the process of adapting a book to film, and helps the reader understand why the movie "must" be different from the book. This is an absolutely beautiful and essential book for anyone who cares aqbout how the book became a film, and the end result. It is a lovely and well-done book. Highly recommended. By the way, you will want to read the novel again after seeing the movie and reading this book!

great film book.......2004-01-01

This is a beatiful book on the making of my second favorite film of the year, the first being The Return of the King. The book expolres the novel's journey fromm book to srcipt to screen and has over 180 lavish pictures and illstrations. I have not bought any other of these books from Newsmarket becasuse it did not really not what to expect. What i got was a grand expolarartion of what it takes to make a grand film like this. The Music was great in the movie and there is extenisve pages on the making of the soundtrack as well as 32 pages of beatuiful black and white photos taken on the set. If you love movies buy this book, it doesn't even really matter if you have seen the movie or not the book well just make you want to see it a lot more.

A Journey I'm Ready To Take.......2003-12-26

Anthony Minghella has become today's poet of images. His films are lyrical and very emotional. They are beautiful, always thoughtful and very touching. That's why I counted my lucky stars when I learned that Minghella would next adapt one of the best and most beautiful books I've ever read, Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain.

Could Mountain: The Journey from Book to Film takes you on the road that everyone involved with this film walked down. First, we meet Minghella and Frazier, as they both discuss the writing of the book and of the script. Then, we meet the producers, the set desingers, the cinematographer, the costume desingers, the actors, the editor... Everyone who played a major role in the making of this film is presented in this book.

I haven't yet see the film and cannot say if the greatness of the book translated well when it was taken to the silver screen. But judging from the interviews and the pictures in this film, I have to say that I don't think I'll be disappointed. The pictures in this book are beautiful and very attractive; you can already tell that this will be one heck of a film to look at (the pictures alone are the kind of visual candy you can't pry yourself away from). And then, the book also reprinted parts of Minghella's screenplay. And like we saw in his other films, The English Patient and The Talented Mr Ripley, Minghella really has a knack for writing engaging and touching dialogue.

Book Description

A former playwright with only two movies under his belt, Anthony Minghella took Hollywood by storm in 1996 with The English Patient, a universally lauded epic described by Roger Ebert as "[A] poetic, evocative film . . . told with sweep and visual richness." This robust romance garnered nine Academy Awards, amongst them Best Picture and Best Director. His follow-up, The Talented Mr. Ripley, combined stunning vistas with the masterful suspense of studio-era Hollywood; praised by the New York Times' Janet Maslin as a "hypnotic, sensually charged adaptation," the film also found the attention of the Academy, receiving five nominations. With yet another ambitious adaptation creating tremendous buzz--Charles Frazier's best-selling Cold Mountain--Minghella is well on his way to becoming one of the most respected directors of the decade.

A thorough craftsman painstakingly involved with each step of the moviemaking process, Minghella here shares knowledge gleaned from years of experience as a musician and writer for the theater. Praised for his ability to adapt the psychological density of the novel to the silver screen, he discusses the screenwriting process at length, imparting valuable lessons regarding pacing and narrative with a refreshing perspective as unique as the characters that pass before his lens.

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating look at the role of a director .......2005-07-15

If I were to recommend one book, out of the many I've read, to someone who wanted to know what a film director does, this would be it. Minghella is unparalleled in the lucidity and ease with which he dissects the director's role in making a film.

The book is compiled from a series of interviews, revolving around different aspects of the filmmaking process, from the general to the specific. However, there is a unity to the tone that makes it a totally coherent work, instead of the cut-and-paste job you might expect.

It's true, Minghella has only made 4 films that he feels warrant discussion. (The fifth, Mr. Wonderful, is saved for a brief chapter at the end, detailing what went wrong with it.) Still, he mines more advice and explanations about his creative role from those four films than most other directors are capable of finding in a whole career's worth.

Obviously the fact that he's an accomplished playwright means that he's more at ease with language than most filmmakers, and every page is full of fascinating surprises, as he manages to put complex ideas and aspects of his creative process into words.

I should only add that this isn't a book I would necessarily recommend to everyone. Minghella demonstrates such a ferocious intelligence that this would likely be over the head of the average casual film buff. This is not "Directing For Dummies." Instead, this is a dense, challenging, but endlessly rewarding read for those who want to be informed and have their perspective broadened.

Best Radio Plays of 1988. the Big Giles Cooper Award Winners.

Average customer rating:

Best Radio Plays of 1988. the Big Giles Cooper Award Winners.
Ken; Frisby, Terence; Minghella, Anthony; Munro, Rona & Sheasby, Dave Blakeson
Manufacturer: Methuen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000L83BKM

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