Academy Award Nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay: '70s edition

clockwork orange vs young frankenstein vs apocalypse now. tough one.

The Godfathers, I guess, for how much of an improvement they're supposed to be on the source material (which I haven't read--and I'm sure that's true of a number of films here), and also All the President's Men, because I think the general feeling was that there wasn't a film there. (Actually going to a theatre to see GFII tonight.)

Take the cannoli

Yeah, "Godfathers," because the source material is crap (see also: "Jaws;" perfect script from an imperfect source).

I'll stick with The Conformist, despite the bizarre psychosexual politics.

I inclined to vote not for the best film per se, but what I see as the best script, and moreso the best job of adaptation from the material at hand. Therefore, The Godfather.

counting the garden scene btwn Vito and Michael in The Godfather, that's another entry for Robert Towne.

tho i prefer I AM THE MOTHERFUCKING SHORE PATROL, MOTHERFUCKER!

also it wd be interesting if everyone voting mentioned how many they've seen.

geez, how many times will Eric vote for The Sunshine Boys?

think i might vote for 'cuckoo's nest,' which i might kind of prefer to kesey's novel (tho it's been years for both).

I like the movie, but hell, not in the top 10. Too didactically Free Spirit vs The Man (Nurse).

IIRC that's actually more true of the novel! forman humanizes both characters.

the last detail over the godfather, young frankenstein

haven't seen never sang for my father, lovers and other strangers, women in love, the emigrants, pete 'n' tillie, duddy kravitz, profumo, i never promised you a rose garden, voyage of the damned, bloodbrothers, a little romance. only one i'm curious about is duddy kravitz.

haven't seen fellini's casanova in forever but i seem to recall it being awful? and i generally have time for alot of later fellini.

haven't seen fellini's casanova in forever but i seem to recall it being awful?

― balls, Monday, February 11, 2013 7:24 PM (20 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

u recall correctly

not awful.

Duddy Kravitz is pretty terrific, w/ pre-unbearable Dreyfuss.

my top 3 here might be Barry Lyndon, Cabaret, That Obscure Object of Desire

No way is the movie or its script better than Kesey's novel.

Going to be hard not to vote for Buñuel here, even though Discreet Charm would've been an easier bet.

That Obscure... is the only overrated Don Luis film: the script is sharp, the direction too damn serene.

(Oh, duh, that was original.)

Last Picture Show

this is pretty cool if you're a big fan of All The President's Men; Bob and Carl liked the film plenty but they had a few notes for Redford

http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/web/woodstein/apm/images/redfordmemo_scan.jpg

I think Apocalypse Now is ingenious as an adaptation of Heart of Darkness--or basically just a great example of the choice of source material itself carrying so much interpretive weight. Barry Lyndon is my favorite movie here, but I haven't read the novel so I don't know its relationship to the novel.

Yeah, if we're judging based on the relationship between the source material and the adaptation, I think I have to go with The Exorcist just for Friedkin so successfully trolling Blatty into making a movie so at odds with the author's intentions.

I love Barry Lyndon but I'd just assume that it's greatness was all a result of the direction (haven't read the novel either).

I've read some of the novel; it's much more picaresque and Barry narrates it.

Stop judging by whether you know the fucking source material -- I'm guessing you didn't see Cabaret on Broadway in the late '60s either. Of course, in many cases we don't know what was in the screenplay. Apparently Frank Pierson's Dog Day Afternoon script was heavily improv'd off as well, but the story was there. (which obv makes this all a bit of a wankfest)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

are you a poll assassin?