American Beauty: The Shooting Script

by Alan Ball

Book Overview

On a typical suburban street in a typical suburban town,there is an ordinary family living the American dream. But look closer. Lester Burnham's wife, Carolyn, regards him with contempt, his daughter, Jane, thinks he's a loser, and his boss is positioning him for the ax. Captivated by Jane's sultry high school friend Angela, Lester decides to make a few changes in his mere existence--changes that are less mid-life crisis than a life reclaimed.The...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 155704404X
• ISBN13: 9781557044044
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: Newmarket Press
• Length: 132 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 9.1" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

"American Beauty Proves to Be Beautiful Once Again"

After seeing this brilliant film, I picked up a copy of the shooting script. I had hoped it would contain the original ending but it is instead a word for word copy of the lines from the film. Which is not a bad thing. After seeing this movie which won five Academy Awards including Best Screenplay, I could pick up the script and "watch" the movie over and over again in my mind and invision the talented actors appear on screen while I read. Even if you haven't seen the film, the script is an excellent tale of suburbian lifestyle that is delivered with a darkness and humor that is hard to dislike. It is a perfect literary work for anybody because there is at least one character that the reader can totally relate with. Discover the beauty of "American Beauty" which challenges us to "Look Closer."

Spectacular

"American Beauty" touched me like no movie has done before. When I first saw it, I was so wanting to break out of my mundane little life. I was so bored. And like Jane and Ricky, I was craving love and affection. The message of the movie is something I have always believed but sometimes forget. Life is beautiful. Be greatful for every moment of it. Open your eyes and look aroung you. There is probably more beauty around than you realized. And if this incredible, spiritual message weren't enough, the movie is hilarious. I mean, who hasn't wanted to quit their job and blackmail their boss? The shooting script is great. It can satisfy me until the movie is available to purchase. Everyone needs to go see this movie. I hope they get it. The scene where Jane and Ricky watch the bag is one of the most sad and beautiful things I have ever seen. I love this movie. I also highly recommend the score.

Why don't people appreciate great movies anymore?

I am only thirteen years of age, but I can tell a great movie when I see one. The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Thin Red Line, The English Patient, The Green Mile, Magnolia, and most of all, my personal favorite movie, American Beauty. It seems nowadays everybody (at least my age) thinks Deuce Bigalow is a great movie and movies like The Thin Red Line and American Beauty suck because they're "boring." Well I personally found this movie to be amazing. Everything from the acting to the writing to the directing to the cinematography to the editing to the music and on and on. It's a shame people can't appreciate movies like they used to, because movie goes far beyond many movies in the past decade. I really do think this will be the Citizen Kane of the '90s. A Must see!

Brilliant

This is more of a movie review than a script comment. "American Beauty" is an extraordinary film, and it works on so many levels. The performances (especially Kevin Spacey's) are superb, and it's visual sense is nothing short of cinematic poetry. But if there's one aspect that really stands out, it's the script, never have I read such a truthful and penetrating story of American suburbia. Every line rings true, and it perfectly shapes the character from whom it's coming from. It's alternately bitterly funny and profoundly moving, delving into the core of life and never shying away from it's realities. I was genuinely amazed with the way the story unfolded, it wasn't just like watching a movie, it was like peering into a couple of lives with a searing intensity. "American Beauty" is definitely a film you want to see, it's too good to miss.

A guaranteed Academy Award winner for Best Screenplay

A truly remarkable script for a movie that, to my mind, is one of the two or three best movies of the '90s and by far the most life-affirming. The best way to describe "American Beauty" is simply to say that it shows how life is too short to not go after what you want -- but how life is also too short to not appreciate what you already have. And as Kevin Spacey/Lester Burnham says at the end, if you don't understand what I mean by that, you will someday.