Best Screenplay 1982

1927/28 through 1997

What were the best original and adapted screenplays of 1982?

An Officer and a Gentleman(Douglas Day Stewart)
0
No votes
Diner(Barry Levinson)
5
11%
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial(Melissa Mathison)
3
7%
Gandhi(John Briley)
0
No votes
Tootsie(Larry Gelbart, Murray Schisgal and Don McGuire)
14
30%
Das Boot(Wolfgang Petersen)
0
No votes
Missing(Costa-Gavras and Donald E. Stewart)
11
24%
Sophie's Choice(Alan J. Pakula)
3
7%
The Verdict(David Mamet)
2
4%
Victor/Victoria(Blake Edwards)
8
17%
 
Total votes: 46

Kellens101
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Re: Best Screenplay 1982

Post by Kellens101 »

In Original, I picked Tootsie, an absolutely perfect comedic screenplay. This was my second favorite film of the year behind E.T. and the screenplay was one its best elements. Full of laugh-out-loud and clever dialogue, a wonderfully worked out plot line and even a emotional heart in the Hoffman-Lange romance. I love this movie so much and I couldn't imagine not voting for this great script. My runner-up would be Diner, another funny and touching screenplay that also portrayed a time and a place with laughs and some poignancy. E.T. is a very good script, full of heartwarming joy and wondrous adventure. But Original Screenplay isn't really the first place to vote for this movie, because of its visual and aural strengths and because Tootsie is its main competition. An Officer and a Gentleman is a corny romance soap opera that I would never vote for and Gandhi, though handsomely mounted and well acted, is a majorly long, endless epic that Oscar voters love to slobber over because it's about a great man, is 3 hours long and features a great cast. But, really, what a bore! Not a bad film, but so bloated!

In Adapted, I went with Missing, a suspenseful and tragic true-life story of a father and daughter-in-law's struggle to face the fact that their loved one's life has been tragically cut short in a a time and place that was highly dangerous and frightening. I thought this movie was one of the best films of the year and I gladly vote it as Best Adapted Screenplay, the only award I would give it, though.

I also could've gone with Sophie's Choice just as easily. Every time I see this overwhelmingly powerful film, I'm struck by the brutal honesty of its truths, it's detailed complexity of its characters and it's haunting and heartbreaking power in the story of Sophie's tragic life. Every part of the movie just brings me to tears and I thought it was also one of the best films of the year, with its script and the performances( except for Peter MacNicol) amazing. I feel bad I didn't vote for it.

Victor/Victoria is one of my favorite films of all time and its mostly a hilarious and fun screwball farce into 1930s Paris and the world of drag queens, mobsters and other wonderful characters. But, as much as I love a lot of the movie, it does start to drag towards the end and a lot of the jokes and gags don't land that well. Overall, still a pretty fun movie, but not as successful that I'd vote for it.( I would vote for the glamorous costumes, the wonderful performance of Robert Preston and the hilariously irritating Lesley Ann Warren.)
Last edited by Kellens101 on Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:42 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Best Screenplay 1982

Post by ITALIANO »

In Original, the winner, Gandhi, is a well-informed, almost educational piece of writing - whch, of course, doesn't mean that it's even remotely exciting from a filmic point of view (though it's still not as dreadful as some here seem to think). E.T. is nicely written, entertaining even, but obiously too light for my tastes. And Tootsie, while pleasant and often quite funny, works more as a pure farce (which isn't necessarily a bad thing) than as a meaningful statement on genders, especially seen today. So I voted for Diner, a "small", interesting sort-of "cult" movie of the time, not without flaws but with some intelligent dialogue and the feeling that the writer-director really knew what he was talking about, really knew his characters and treated them with sympathy but not overindulgence.

In Adapted, I've recently re-watched, for different reasons, three of the nominees. As I expected, Victor Victoria is the one which has dated most. The jokes are "naughty" but not unpredictable, and there's an annoying tendency to resort to slapstick gags which are really forced and unfunny. I would have probably voted, like so many here, for Missing - except that, seen today, it's really too much a movie of its time: not only the political context, but the way the movie deals with it. It's still, of course, a good script, and a valid document of an era, and its central character, the conservative father, is written with understanding and humanity, but we are now too smart, or we simply know too much about America to be much surprised anymore. But Sophie's Choice is still today a valid, effective portrayal not only of the Holocaust but of the devastating consequences of it (The Reader it isn't) - it has a gravitas which probably comes from the novel it's based on (which I haven't read), but then it's adaptations we are talking about here, and it has characters which especially by today's standards are unusually complex, contradictory, and for these reasons quite fascinating too. Its scope alone should make it at least a valid contender in this race, so I am a bit surprised that till now it has only two votes - including mine.
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Re: Best Screenplay 1982

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Big thank you to everyone!
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Re: Best Screenplay 1982

Post by Big Magilla »

I kind of like all this year's nominees except maybe for Gandhi which makes the process of elimination difficult.

Original

It always amuses me that films with completely new stories based on a character from a previous film is considered an adaptation whereas a film based on a real-life person whose life is so well-known that any deviation from the facts causes an uproar, is considered an original unless its adapted from a previously published source. Thus Gandhi is considered an original and wins as part of the film's sweep. I would have nominated My Favorite Year instead and given the award to E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial in a very tight race with Tootise with An Officer and a Gentleman and Diner having to settle for honorable mention.

Adapted

The odd film out here is The World According to Garp which I would have nominated over Missing, a film I haven't seen in decades but which I remember as being exactly the film I expected it to be without any surprises which is unusual for Costa-Gavras. That's not a bad thing, but it's enough for me to pass it over in favor of four really surprising works.

Victor/Victoria, Das Boot and The Verdict are all films I might have voted for in another year, but I voted for Sophie's Choice which I re-watched recently and found to be just as sadly compelling as it had been the first time around, if not more so.
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Re: Best Screenplay 1982

Post by Big Magilla »

Keep thinking positive thoughts, Precious.
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Re: Best Screenplay 1982

Post by Kellens101 »

I'm sorry to hear about this Precious Doll. I'm glad to hear your doing better now. You're posts are so intelligent and you're a very intelligent person. Stay strong and take care
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Re: Best Screenplay 1982

Post by Reza »

My sister suffers from depression so I know how difficult it can be for the person going through it.

Glad you are feeling better, Precious.
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Re: Best Screenplay 1982

Post by nightwingnova »

Depression is tough. My best to you.
Precious Doll wrote:
Sonic Youth wrote:Precious Doll, I hope things start to get better for you, and your revealing to us such a personal and difficult aspect of your life is remarkable. All the best.
Thanks Sonic Youth.

I have been thinking about posting something because one of the worst things about depression/anxiety and other mental health issues is the stigma attached to them.

To help break that I do think it is best to speak out about it. It's no secret in my workplace and work colleagues have been very supportive. Also, given I feel the best I have in over 12 months is cause for celebration for me. So many people have said to me they are so happy to see me back to my old self.

I should also mention that the facility that I was admitted to was simply wonderful. It was a private hospital run by the Catholic Church on a not for profit basis. Their motto's are 'Hospitality/Compassion/Respect/Justice & Excellence' and they met all of those in spades. The staff were just wonderful. The fact that I am openly gay, and a atheist was not met with any prejudice, judgment, etc. It was accepted with respect and compassion. My partner came to visit me every day and that was no issue with that, one this that did amuse me was the surprise people expresses when they found out that we have been together for nearly 25 years.

I was very scared being admitted because I didn't know what to expect and one can't help letting their imagination getting in the way with thoughts of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and other Hollywood portrayals, admitably from times long gone. They naturally had a set of very strict rules but also a great deal of freedom as well after a period of 'observation'.

And so much support at group sessions, from the doctors, nurses and pastoral staff. Also, no attempts to 'convert' people. One of the group sessions I attended was in relation to spiritually and they were at pains to point out, rightfully, that spiritually does not only apply to religion but the other aspects of our being. It's also reassuring to know that the hospital is there if ever I need it in the future and they run day courses which I intend to participate in sometime in the near future.
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Re: Best Screenplay 1982

Post by OscarGuy »

I'm glad to hear things are looking up, Precious. Always know that you have support here. We love everyone, even the people we argue with the most.
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Re: Best Screenplay 1982

Post by Precious Doll »

Sonic Youth wrote:Precious Doll, I hope things start to get better for you, and your revealing to us such a personal and difficult aspect of your life is remarkable. All the best.
Thanks Sonic Youth.

I have been thinking about posting something because one of the worst things about depression/anxiety and other mental health issues is the stigma attached to them.

To help break that I do think it is best to speak out about it. It's no secret in my workplace and work colleagues have been very supportive. Also, given I feel the best I have in over 12 months is cause for celebration for me. So many people have said to me they are so happy to see me back to my old self.

I should also mention that the facility that I was admitted to was simply wonderful. It was a private hospital run by the Catholic Church on a not for profit basis. Their motto's are 'Hospitality/Compassion/Respect/Justice & Excellence' and they met all of those in spades. The staff were just wonderful. The fact that I am openly gay, and a atheist was not met with any prejudice, judgment, etc. It was accepted with respect and compassion. My partner came to visit me every day and that was no issue with that, one this that did amuse me was the surprise people expresses when they found out that we have been together for nearly 25 years.

I was very scared being admitted because I didn't know what to expect and one can't help letting their imagination getting in the way with thoughts of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and other Hollywood portrayals, admitably from times long gone. They naturally had a set of very strict rules but also a great deal of freedom as well after a period of 'observation'.

And so much support at group sessions, from the doctors, nurses and pastoral staff. Also, no attempts to 'convert' people. One of the group sessions I attended was in relation to spiritually and they were at pains to point out, rightfully, that spiritually does not only apply to religion but the other aspects of our being. It's also reassuring to know that the hospital is there if ever I need it in the future and they run day courses which I intend to participate in sometime in the near future.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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Re: Best Screenplay 1982

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Precious Doll, I hope things start to get better for you, and your revealing to us such a personal and difficult aspect of your life is remarkable. All the best.
"What the hell?"
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Re: Best Screenplay 1982

Post by Precious Doll »

Well, I may as well throw my two cents worth in.

I do think once a week for the screenplay is appropriate because we are covering two categories and I think when we hit the 1950's there is a period when there were three screenplay categories.

There are also a number of members who write quiet lengthy pieces and they do need sufficient time to do that.

Whilst I usually don't have much to say due to the time constraints I have with my very demanding job, movie going and health issues (I recently spent 2 weeks in a Private Mental Health Hospital due to my on-going battle with depression which has steadily worsen over the last 12 months for a variety of reasons). Thankfully, I feel like my old self again which I was beginning to think would never happen.

The board certainly has been very quiet over the last 9 months but I think some of that has had to do with so many members encountering the Forbidden 403 error message along with other problems. I don't want to jinx myself but this is the first time in months that I have been able to access the board without any problems for more than a week.

I had my lap top in hospital with me and for the most part was able to log into the site.

I am about to go on a one week holiday and will, as I also do, take my laptop with me. I will be interesting to see if the problems start back up again.

Oh, and I voted for Diner & Missing. Most of the other nominees were not to my liking but E.T. & Tootsie do contain some great elements in the respective screenplays.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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Re: Best Screenplay 1982

Post by mlrg »

Back on topic, voted on ET and Missing

(I was 21 when I started reading this board back in 1999)
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Re: Best Screenplay 1982

Post by ITALIANO »

Reza wrote:
ksrymy wrote:I don't think anyone should be discouraged from posting or be restricted on their frequency of posts.

Certainly not discouraged from posting. But the frequency of the poll posts MUST be fixed - otherwise one could do a new one each day - and I'd say that, for such a complex category as Screenplay, once a week is good.
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Re: Best Screenplay 1982

Post by Reza »

ksrymy wrote:
The Original BJ wrote:Kellens, I think it's really great that you're so eager to participate here, and I think it's important for those of us on the board who have been here a while to encourage new members, so I hope you feel very welcome here.

However, we do these polls at a rate of one a week -- it's an issue that has come up time and time again, and collectively it seems to work for everyone time-wise to encourage the most discussion. So, for starters, this poll really shouldn't have posted until Friday, and so we really should hold off on Best Screenplay 1981 until AT LEAST the 27th.

Furthermore, it's always been Big Magilla who's started up each thread, and while I'm sure he would never gripe about someone else doing it, it doesn't feel right to me to have someone new come in and suddenly usurp his position in this regard. So, I would say probably let him take over leading these polls again, and participate as much as you'd like within the discussion.

I hope none of this comes off as overly-critical, because as I said, it's great to have new voices. But sometimes when you're new, it's worth taking a beat to see how an already established group naturally operates to determine the best way to assimilate yourself within it.
Bahahaha, this sounds way familiar from when I joined.
This place is sadly quite dead. I don't think anyone should be discouraged from posting or be restricted on their frequency of posts.

I think it's great that our new members are enthusiastic. God knows we need it here to keep things moving especially during the off-Oscar season.

Btw ksrymy, you are not the only one to have gotten his knuckles tapped. Suzie the spinster schoolmarm often awakens on this board (via different souls) to give us an abject lesson In life :)
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