[Quick Summary: In 1971 England, three average blokes are hired by old school friend Martine to tunnel into a bank, but her reasons are not what they expected.]
Q: Is a literary quote at the beginning of a script ok?
A: Generally, I don't like them because it slows me down getting into a script.
Q: Is there any occasion when it is effective?
A: Today's script is one of those rare occasions because:
- The purpose is the irony, which produces a laugh.
- You don't have to understand the quote to get the irony, only the contrast of the two quotes.
- It is short.
Here is the first page:
ON a Black Screen we fade in:
'There is a tide in the affairs of men
which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.'
William Shakespeare
'Every dog has his day - even the underdog.'
Some bloke in a pub in Battersea
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: The use of the literary quotes is effective here because it's an unexpected use of them. We are not supposed to be impressed by the quotes, but the contrast between them. This different point of view is part of the writers' comedic and ironic voice.
The Bank Job (2008)(1/3/01 draft)
by Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais
No comments:
Post a Comment