Rain Man (1988)

Charlie Babbitt is in the middle of importing four Lamborghinis to Los

Angeles for resale. He needs to deliver the vehicles to impatient
buyers who have already made down payments in order to repay the
loan he took out to buy the cars, but the EPA is holding the cars at the
port due to the cars failing emissions regulations. Charlie directs an
employee to lie to the buyers while he stalls his creditor.
When Charlie learns that his estranged father has died, he and his
girlfriend Susanna travel to Cincinnati, Ohio in order to settle the
estate. He learns he is receiving the 1949 Buick Roadmaster
convertible over which he and his father fought and his father's rose
bushes, but the bulk of the $3 million estate is going to an unnamed
trustee. Through social engineering he learns the money is being
directed to a mental institution, which he visits and meets his older
brother, Raymond, whose existence he was previously unaware of.
Raymond has autism and adheres to strict routines such as always
watching The People's Court, which he refers to as " Wapner" after the
judge who presides over the show. He has superb recall but he shows
little emotional expression except when in distress. Charlie spirits
Raymond out of the mental institution and into a hotel for the night.
Susanna becomes upset with the way Charlie treats his brother and
leaves. Charlie asks Raymond's doctor for half the estate in exchange

for Raymond's return, but he refuses. Charlie decides to attempt to

gain custody of his brother in order to get control of the money.
After Raymond refuses to fly to Los Angeles because he remembers
every airline crash and is worried about getting hurt, they set out on a
cross-country road trip together. During the course of the journey,
Charlie learns more about Raymond, including that he is a mental
calculator with the ability to instantly count hundreds of objects at
once, far beyond the normal range for humans. He also learns that, like
him, Raymond loves The Beatles. It is revealed that Raymond actually
lived with the family when Charlie was young and he realizes that the
comforting figure from Charlie's childhood, whom he falsely
remembered as an imaginary friend named "Rain Man", was actually
Raymond, who was sent away because he had severely burned Charlie
by accident as a little boy.
They make slow progress on their trip because Raymond insists on
sticking to his routines, which include watching "Wapner" on
television every day and getting to bed by 11:00 PM. He also objects
to traveling on the interstate after they pass a bad accident.
After the Lamborghinis are seized by his creditor, Charlie finds himself
$80,000 in debt and hatches a plan to return to Las Vegas, which they
passed the night before, and win money at blackjack by counting
cards. Though the casino bosses are skeptical that anyone can count
cards with a six deck shoe, after reviewing security footage they ask
2

Charlie and Raymond to leave--but give Charlie the money. However,

Charlie has made enough to cover his debts and has reconciled with
Susanna who rejoined them in Las Vegas.
Back in Los Angeles, Charlie meets with Dr. Bruner, who offers him
$250,000 to walk away from Raymond forever. Charlie refuses and
says that he is no longer upset about what his father left him, but he
wants to have a relationship with his brother. At a meeting with courtappointed psychiatrist Dr. Marston (Levinson, in an uncredited cameo),
Raymond is shown to be unable to decide for himself what he wants.
Charlie stops the questioning and tells Raymond he is happy to have
him as his brother.
In the final scene, Charlie brings Raymond to the train station where
he boards an Amtrak train with Dr. Bruner to return to the mental
institution. Charlie promises Raymond that he will visit in two weeks.

Script notes

Raising Arizona (1987)

Convenience store robber Herbert I. "Hi" McDunnough (Nicolas Cage)
and police officer Edwina "Ed" (Holly Hunter) meet after she takes the
mugshots of therecidivist. With continued visits, Hi learns that Ed's
fianc has left her. Hi proposes to her after his latest release from
prison, and the two get married. They move into a desertmobile home,
and Hi gets a job in a machine shop. They want to have children but Ed
is infertile, and they cannot adopt anyone because of Hi's criminal
record, despite the fact that Ed is a police officer. The couple learns of
the "Arizona Quints," sons of locally famous furniture magnate Nathan
Arizona (Trey Wilson ); Hi and Ed kidnap one of the five babies, whom
they believe to be Nathan Junior.
Hi and Ed return home and are soon visited by Hi's prison cellmates,
Gale and Evelle Snoats (John Goodman and William Forsythe), who
have just escaped from prison. Under the brothers' influence, Hi is
tempted to return to his felonious ways. Their problems get worse
when Hi's supervisor, Glen (Sam McMurray), proposes wife swapping
and Hi assaults him. That night, Hi decides to steal a package of
diapers for the baby, but gets carried away and starts to rob the
convenience store. Ed sees this and, furious, drives off without him. Hi
is then forced to flee on foot from the convenience store, chased by two
police officers and two armed cashiers, who attempt to shoot him
down, as well as a pack of guard dogs, but he manages to outrun and
lose them. Ed eventually picks him up, leading to a tense ride home.
5

At the McDunnough residence the next day, Glen approaches Hi to fire

him, and reveals that he has deduced Junior's identity because of the
newspaper article he read about Junior missing, and blackmails Hi,
threatening to turn him over to the police unless Glen and Dot get
custody of Junior. Gale and Evelle overhear this conversation and turn
on Hi, tying him up and taking Junior for themselves. Gale and Evelle
leave with plans to rob a "hayseed" bank with Junior in tow. When Ed
comes home, she frees Hi and the two arm themselves and set out
together to retrieve the child. En route, Ed suggests that they should
end their marriage after recovering the boy. Meanwhile, Nathan
Arizona Sr. is approached by the bounty hunter Leonard Smalls
(Randall "Tex" Cobb) who offers to find the child for $50,000. Nathan
Sr. declines the offer, believing that Smalls himself is his son's
kidnapper. Smalls decides to recover the child anyway to sell on the
black market. He begins tracking Gale and Evelle and learns of their
bank robbery plans.
Gale and Evelle rob a bank but leave Junior there as they make their
getaway. One of the bank's anti-theft dye canisters explodes in their
loot sack, blocking the car's windows and incapacitating them. At the
bank, Smalls arrives for Junior just ahead of Ed and Hi. Ed grabs the
baby and flees; Hi is able to fend Smalls off for a while, but eventually
finds himself at Smalls' mercy when Smalls punches Hi in the face
several times. As Smalls throws Hi to the ground and prepares to kill
him, Hi holds up his hand to reveal that he has pulled the pin from one
6

of the hand grenades on Smalls' vest. Smalls attempts to get rid of the
grenade, but he cannot get it off in time and is blown to pieces when
the grenade explodes and sets off all his weapons.
Hi and Ed sneak Junior back into the Arizona home and are confronted
by Nathan Sr. After Nathan Sr. learns why they took his son, he
understands the couple's predicament and decides not to turn them
over to the police. He counsels them: when Hi and Ed say that they are
splitting up, he advises them to sleep on it. Hi and Ed go to sleep in
the same bed, and Hi has a dream about Gale and Evelle reforming
after returning to prison; Glen gets his due from a Polish-American
police officer after "telling one Polack joke too many"; and Nathan Jr.
gets a football for Christmas from "a kindly couple who wish to remain
unknown", later becoming a football star. The dream ends with an
elderly couple together enjoying a holiday visit from a large family of
children and grandchildren.

Script notes

The Rapture (1991)

Sharon, a young Los Angeles woman, engages in a swinging,
libidinous lifestyle. She comes into contact with aspect that advises her
that the Rapture is imminent.
In time, she comes to accept this belief herself and becomes a bornagain Christian. She begins a new, pious lifestyle, eventually marrying
and having a daughter, Mary. When her husband Randy is killed in a
senseless murder, however, she begins to question the benevolence of
God. She believes she must wait with Mary in the desert for the
coming of the Rapture. A police officer named Foster is concerned for
their well-being, but Sharon is persistent that the end is near.
After a period of time Sharon eventually loses patience and at her
daughter's urging, decides to hasten their ascendance to heaven. She
kills Mary with a gunshot but is unable to take her own life afterwards,
afraid she'll becondemned as a suicide. She confesses to what she had
done to Foster and is arrested and placed in the local jail.
After an apparition of Mary (accompanied by two angels) in the night,
the Rapture occurs. While Sharon sits in her cell early the next
morning, a loud trumpet blast is heard all over the world, signaling the
start of the Rapture. Later on, Sharon and Foster, after driving out into
the desert, are both raptured to a purgatory-like landscape. Foster, who
had been an atheist his whole life, accepts God and is allowed entrance
9

to Heaven, but Sharon refuses to renounce her anger at God for His
cruelty. Mary pleads with her to accept God back into her heart so she
can join her and Randy in Heaven, but Sharon declines, preferring to
remain alone in the purgatory-like landscape for eternity.

10

Script notes

11

Red Corner (1997)

Red Corner tells the story of a wealthy Americanbusinessman named
Jack Moore (played by Richard Gere) working in China and attempting
to put together a satellite communications deal as part of a joint
venture with the Chinese government. Before the deal goes through,
he is framed for the murder of a powerful Chinese general's daughter,
and the satellite contract is awarded to Moore's competitor, Gerhardt
Hoffman. Moore's court-appointed lawyer Shen Yuelin, (played by Bai
Ling), initially does not believe his claims of innocence, but the pair
gradually unearth further evidence that not only vindicates Moore but
also implicates powerful figures within the Chinese central
government administration, exposing undeniableconspiracy and
corruption . Shen manages to convince several high-ranking Chinese
officials to release evidence that proves Moore's innocence. Moore is
quickly released from prison while the conspirators that framed him
are arrested. At the airport, Moore asks Shen to leave China with him,
but she decides to stay as there are many more things to change in
China. However, she admits that meeting Moore has changed her life,
and she considers him part of her family now. They both then share a
heartfelt hug on the airport runway.

12

Script notes

13

Red Rock West (1992)

Michael Williams (Nicolas Cage) is a drifter living out of his car after
being discharged from the Marine Corps. A job on an oilfield falls
through due to his unwillingness to conceal a war injury on his job
application, so Michael wanders into rural Red Rock, Wyoming,
looking for other work.
A local bar owner named Wayne (J. T. Walsh) mistakes him for a hit
man, "Lyle from Dallas," whom Wayne has hired to kill his wife. Wayne
offers him a stack of cash--"half now, half later"and Michael doesn't
correct him, taking the money.
Michael then visits Wayne's wife, Suzanne (Lara Flynn Boyle), and
attempts to warn her that her life is in danger instead of killing her.
She offers him more money to kill Wayne. Michael tries to leave town,
but a car accident leads him to encounter the local sheriff, who turns
out to be Wayne. Michael manages to escape from Wayne but runs
into the real Lyle from Dallas (Dennis Hopper). Lyle and Wayne quickly
figure out what has transpired, while Michael desperately tries to warn
Suzanne before Lyle finds her.
The next morning, when Lyle comes to get money from Wayne, he
kidnaps both Suzanne and Michael, who are trying to retrieve hidden
cash from Wayne's office. Wayne and Suzanne are revealed to be
wanted for embezzlement, and Wayne is arrested by his own deputies.
14

Script notes

15

Lyle returns with Michael and Suzanne hostage and gets Wayne out of
jail to retrieve their stash of money. At a remote graveyard, Wayne
pulls a gun from the case of money and holds Lyle at gunpoint before
Lyle throws a knife into Wayne's neck. Michael and Lyle fight, with Lyle
ending up being impaled on a grave marker. When Lyle rises to attack
Michael, Suzanne shoots him dead.
Michael and Suzanne escape onto a nearby train, but when Suzanne
tries to betray Michael, he throws the money out of the speeding train
and then throws Suzanne off to be arrested by the arriving Police
alongside a wounded Wayne. Michael's train continues its journey into
a new town.

16

Script notes

17

Regarding Henry (1991)

Ambitious, callous, narcissistic, and at times unethical, Henry Turner is
a highly successful Manhattan attorney whose obsession with his work
leaves him little time for his prim socialite wife Sarah and troubled
preteen daughter Rachel. He has just won a malpractice suit in which
he defended a hospital against a plaintiff who claims, but is unable to
prove, that he warned the hospital of an existing condition that then
caused a problem.
Running out to buy cigarettes one night, Henry is shot when he
interrupts a convenience store robbery. One bullet hits his right frontal
lobe, which controls some behavior and restraint, while the other
pierces his chest and hits his left subclavian vein, causing excessive
internal bleeding and cardiac arrest. He experiences anoxia, a lack of
oxygen to the brain, resulting in brain damage.
Henry survives but initially he can neither move nor talk and he suffers
retrograde amnesia. He slowly regains movement and speech with the
help of a physical therapist named Bradley. Upon returning to his
luxurious apartment, the almost childlike Henry is impressed by the
surroundings he once barely noticed. As he forges new relationships
with Sarah and Rachel, he realizes he does not like the person he was
before the attack.

18

As Sarah thinks it is best for all of them, Rachel is put into an out-oftown elite school for girls, as had been planned but now that she and
her father are closer than ever, she is not happy to go. At orientation,
Henry tells Rachel a fib to encourage her to enjoy the new
surroundings and people. Sarah and Henry become much closer, as
they had been when they first met. Henry also misses Rachel dearly.
His firm allows him to return to work out of deference to his previous
contributions to the firm's success. His wife suggests the family
relocate to a smaller, less expensive residence. As his firm takes away
his old assignments and large office and essentially assigns him only
busy work, Henry begins to realize he does not want to be a lawyer any
more either. While the couple are at a dinner party, they overhear
several of their 'friends' making derogatory comments about Henry.
He finds letters to Sarah from a former colleague disclosing an affair
they had, becomes angry and upset and leaves home. He is confronted
by Linda, a fellow attorney at his firm, who reveals that they were also
having an affair and that he had told her he would leave Sarah for her,
making him have second thoughts about himself and his
relationships.
He gives documents from his last case, that were suppressed by his
firm, to the plaintiff who was in the right all along and apologises.
Henry then goes back to the firm and resigns, says goodbye to Linda
and realising that (as Sarah had said) everything had been wrong
19

before but was now so much better, returns to her and they reconcile.
The couple goes to Rachel's school and withdraw her and she is
overjoyed to be with her parents. As the family leaves the building, she
tosses her school-uniform hat away.

20

Script notes

21

Remains of the Day (1993)

The Remains of the Day tells, in first person, the story of Stevens, an
English butler who has dedicated his life to the loyal service of Lord
Darlington (mentioned in increasing detail in flashbacks). The novel
begins with Stevens receiving a letter from a former colleague, Miss
Kenton, describing her married life, which he believes hints at an
unhappy marriage. The letter's receipt coincides with Stevens' having
the opportunity to revisit this once-cherished relationship, if only
under the guise of investigating the possibility of re-employment.
Stevens' new employer, a wealthy American named Mr Farraday,
encourages Stevens to borrow his car to take a well-earned break, a
"motoring trip". As he sets out, Stevens has the opportunity to reflect
on his immutable loyalty to Lord Darlington, on the meaning of the
term "dignity", and even on his relationship with his late father.
Ultimately, Stevens is forced to ponder the true nature of his
relationship with Miss Kenton. As the book progresses, increasing
evidence of Miss Kenton's one-time love for Stevens, and of his for her,
is revealed.
Working together during the years leading up to the Second World
War, Stevens and Miss Kenton fail to admit their true feelings towards
each other. All of their recollected conversations show a professional
friendship which, at times, came close to crossing the line into
romance, but never dared to do so.
22

Miss Kenton, it later emerges, has been married for over 20 years and
therefore is no longer Miss Kenton but has become Mrs Benn. She
admits to wondering occasionally what a life with Stevens might have
been like, but she has come to love her husband and is looking
forward to the birth of their first grandchild. Stevens muses over lost
opportunities, both with Miss Kenton and with his long-time employer,
Lord Darlington. At the end of the novel, Stevens instead focuses on
the "remains of [his] day", referring to his future service with Mr
Farraday.

23

Script notes

24

Remember the Titans (2000)

In 1971, at the desegregated T. C. Williams High School, a
black head coach Herman Boone (Washington) is hired to lead the
school's football team. Boone takes over from the current coach Bill
Yoast (Patton), nominated for the Virginia High School Hall of Fame. As
a show of respect, Boone offers an assistant coordinator coaching
position to Yoast. Yoast at first refuses Boone's offer, but reconsiders
after the white players pledge to boycott the team if he does not
participate. Dismayed at the prospect of the students losing their
chances at scholarships, Yoast changes his mind and takes up the
position of defensive coordinator.
Black and white football team members frequently clash in
racially motivated conflicts at their football camp, including some
between captain Gerry Bertier (Hurst), and Julius Campbell (Harris).
But after forceful coaching and rigorous athletic training by Boone,
which includes an early morning run to Gettysburg, and a motivational
speech, the team achieves racial harmony and success. After returning
from football camp, Boone is told by a member of the school board
that if he loses even a single game, he will be fired. Subsequently, the
Titans go through the season undefeated while battling racial
prejudice, before slowly gaining support from the community.
Just before the state semi-finals, Yoast is told by a member of
the school board that he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame after
25

the Titans lose one game, implying he wants Boone to be fired over his
race. During the game, it becomes apparent that the referees are
biased against the Titans. Yoast warns the head official that he will go
to the press and expose the scandal unless it is refereed fairly. The
Titans win, but Yoast is told that his actions have resulted in his loss of
candidacy for induction.
While celebrating the victory, Bertier is in an automobile
accident, after driving through an intersection. Although Bertier could
not play due to being paralyzed from the waist down, the team goes
on to win the championship. Bertier would remain a paraplegic for the
rest of his life. Ten years later Bertier dies in another automobile
accident being hit by a drunk driver after winning the gold medal in
shot put in theParalympics. His family, coaches and friends reunite to
attend his funeral.

26

Script notes

27

Rent-A-Kid (1995)
Cliff Haber (Tony Rosato) runs an orphanage, and decides to
go on a vacation. He has his father, Harry Haber (Leslie Nielsen), run
the orphanage while he is away. Harry has a rental store and decides
that it would be a good idea to rent out youngsters to prospective
adoptive parents after he hears his son's testimony on how hard it is
for him to find parents for the youngsters he takes care of. Meanwhile,
as his son is away, he gets a bigger ideas by overhearing a couple at a
Mexican restaurant, a couple by the name of Russ and Valerie Syracuse
(Matt McCoy andSherry Miller) arguing over the issue of wanting to
have children.
Through enough persuasion from Harry Haber and giving it
thought on their own, they decide to rent all three Ward children, who
are Brandon (Amos Crawley), Kyle (Cody Jones), and Molly (Tabitha
Lupien). A couple, the Lachmans, come to the orphanage wanting to
adopt a girl. They find and choose Molly which they tell Cliff Haber and
he spreads on to his father, and as Harry gives the news to Molly, she is
not happy, because she does not want to leave her brothers, Kyle and
Brandon. So, to try and fix the issue, they attempt to set out to behave
as good as they can, so that Russ and Valerie will fall in love with them
enough to want to keep them. But their behavior plan ends up failing
now and again. But even through all the pros and cons that Russ and
Valerie face dealing with them for ten days, at the very last moment,
Russ and Valerie decide to adopt all three. Meanwhile, Harry has been
28

trying to find ways to keep his renting out orphan youngsters idea
covered up from his son, knowing how eccentric he considers him to
be for it. But due to a forum that Harry leaves out on the office table by
a phone which his son happens to stumble on, when he returns at the
end of the renting period, the attempts fail at the last moment, and he
goes and scolds his dad outside the apartment building that the
Syracuses live in, accusing him of being overly insane, but changes his
mind, when he finds out that his plan worked.

29

Script notes

30

Return of the Jedi (1983)

Luke Skywalker initiates a plan to rescue Han Solo
from the crime lord Jabba the Hutt with the help of Princess Leia,
Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2. Leia infiltrates Jabba's
palace onTatooine disguised as a bounty hunter with Chewbacca as her
prisoner. Lando is already there disguised as a guard. Leia releases Han
from his carbonite prison, but she is captured and enslaved. Luke
arrives soon afterward but after a tense standoff, he is captured. After
Luke survives his battle with Jabba'sRancor, Jabba sentences him and
Han to death by feeding them to the Sarlacc. Luke frees himself and
battles Jabba's guards. During the chaos, Boba Fett, who has remained
at Jabba's palace since delivering Han, attempts to attack Luke, but
Han inadvertently knocks him into the Sarlacc pit. Meanwhile, Leia
strangles Jabba to death, and Luke destroys Jabba's sail barge as the
group escapes. While the others rendezvous with the Rebel Alliance,
Luke returns to Dagobah where he finds that Yoda is dying. Before he
dies, Yoda confirms that Darth Vader, once known as Anakin Skywalker,
is Luke's father, and there is "another Skywalker". The spirit of Obi-Wan
Kenobi confirms that this other Skywalker is Luke's twin sister, Leia.
Obi-Wan tells Luke that he must fight Vader again to defeat the
Empire.
The Rebel Alliance learns that the Empire has been constructing a new
Death Star under the supervision of Emperor Palpatine himself. As the
station is protected by an energy shield, Han leads a strike team to
31

destroy the shield generator on the forest moon of Endor; doing so

would allow a squadron of starfighters to destroy the Death Star. The
strike team, accompanied by Luke and Leia, travels to Endor in a stolen
Imperial shuttle. On Endor, Luke and his companions encounter a tribe
of Ewoks and, after an initial conflict, gain their trust. Later, Luke tells
Leia that she is his sister, Vader is their father, and that he must go and
confront him. Surrendering to Imperial troops, Luke is brought to
Vader and unsuccessfully tries to convince him to turn from the dark
side of the Force.
Vader takes Luke to the Death Star to meet the Emperor, intent on
turning him to the dark side. The Emperor reveals that the Death Star is
actually fully operational and the Rebel fleet will fall into a trap. On
Endor, Han's strike team is captured by Imperial forces, but a surprise
counterattack by the Ewoks allows the
Rebels to battle the Imperials. Meanwhile, Lando, piloting the
Millennium Falcon, leads the Rebel fleet to the Death Star, only to find
that the station's shield is still active and the Imperial fleet is waiting
for them. The Emperor tempts Luke to give in to his anger and join the
dark side of the Force, and Luke engages Vader in a lightsaber duel.
Vader senses that Luke has a sister, and threatens to turn her to the
dark side. Enraged, Luke attacks Vader and severs his father's
prosthetic right hand. The Emperor entreats Luke to kill Vader and take
his place, but Luke refuses, declaring himself a Jedi. On Endor, the
strike team defeats the Imperial forces and destroys the shield
32

generator, allowing the Rebel fleet to launch their assault on the Death
Star. At the same time, a furious Palpatine tortures Luke with Force
lightning. Unwilling to let his son die, Vader kills the Emperor, but is
himself mortally wounded in the process. He asks Luke to help remove
his mask before dying in Luke's arms.
As the battle between the Imperial and Alliance fleets continues, Lando
leads a group of Rebel ships into the Death Star's core and destroys the
main reactor. As Luke escapes on a shuttle with his father's body, the
Falcon flies out of the Death Star's superstructure as the station
explodes. On Endor, Leia reveals to Han that Luke is her brother, and
they share a kiss. Luke returns to Endor and cremates his father's body
on a funeral pyre. As the Rebels celebrate their victory over the Empire,
Luke smiles as he sees the spirits of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and the redeemed
Anakin watching over them.

33

Script notes

34

The Road to Perdition (2002)

Michael Sullivan Sr. (Hanks) is an enforcer for Irish
mob boss John Rooney (Newman) in Rock Island, Illinois during the
Great Depression. Rooney raised the orphan Sullivan and loves him
more than his own biological son, the unstable Connor (Craig). Connor
snaps and kills disgruntled associate Finn McGovern when meeting
him with Sullivan, resulting in Sullivan gunning down McGovern's
men. Sullivan's twelve-year-old son Michael Sullivan, Jr had hidden in
his father's car and witnesses the event. Despite Sullivan swearing his
son to secrecy and Rooney pressuring Connor to apologize for the
reckless action, Connor murders Sullivan's wife Annie and younger son
Peter, mistaking him for Sullivan, Jr. He then sends Sullivan to an
ambush at a speakeasy but Sullivan realizes and escapes to Chicago
with his son to seekAl Capone, for work and to discover the location of
Connor, who has gone into hiding.
Capone's Underboss Frank Nitti (Tucci) rejects Sullivan's proposals,
before informing Rooney of the meeting. Rooney reluctantly allows
Nitti to dispatch assassin Harlen Maguire (Law), who is also a crime
scene photographer, to kill Sullivan. Maguire tracks him and his son to
a roadside diner, but fails to kill Sullivan. Realizing Maguire's
intentions, Sullivan punctures Maguire's car tire before escaping.
In reaction to the ordered hit, Sullivan begins robbing banks that hold
Capones laundered money, hoping to trade it for Connor while
35

teaching Michael to drive their getaway car. Sullivan is impeded when

the mob withdraws its money, so he visits Rooney's accountant
Alexander Rance (Baker) at his hotel. The encounter is a set-up, with
Rance stalling Sullivan until Maguire enters with a shotgun. In the
ensuing crossfire, Rance is killed by a bullet from Maguire's shotgun,
Maguire is injured by flying glass shards, and Sullivan escapes with
the ledgers. As he flees, Maguire shoots Sullivan in the shoulder.
Michael Jr. drives his father to a farm, where a childless elderly couple
help him recover. Sullivan bonds with his son and discovers from the
ledgers that Connor has been embezzling from his father for years,
using the names of dead men. As the Sullivans depart, they give the
couple much of the stolen money. Sullivan confronts Rooney with the
information while they attend Mass. Although Rooney already knew
about the embezzlement and that Connor was likely to die by
Sullivan's hand or the mob, he refuses to give up his son. He
encourages Sullivan to leave with his son, while mourning his
departure.
Later one night, cloaked by darkness and rain, Sullivan dispatches
Rooney's entire entourage with his Thompson submachine gun and
walks directly up to Rooney. As Rooney mutters that he is glad his killer
is Sullivan, an emotionally reluctant Sullivan pulls the trigger. Seeing
no further reason to protect Connor, Nitti reveals his location to
Sullivan, after making the latter promise to end the feud. Sullivan goes
to the hotel where Connor is hiding and kills him.
36

Sullivan drives his son to stay at his Aunt Sara's beach house in
Perdition, a town on the shore of Lake Michigan. However, he is
ambushed and shot by a disfigured Maguire. As Maguire prepares to
photograph the dying Sullivan, Michael Jr. appears and points a gun at
Maguire, but cannot muster the will to fire. Sullivan pulls out his gun
and kills Maguire, before dying in his son's arms. Mourning his
father's death, Michael Jr. returns to the elderly farm couple to live
with them. While growing up, Michael Jr. reflects that his father's only
fear was that his son would become like him. When asked if Sullivan
was a good or bad man, he replies "he was my father."

37

Script notes

38

RoboCop (1987)
In a dystopian 2029, the city of Detroit, which is now
bankrupt and overrun with crime, gives Omni Consumer Products
(OCP) control of its struggling police force. The company plans to
replace the poor, run-down sections of Old Detroit with the high-end
"Delta City," but must first address the city's high crime rate. As an
alternative to existing law enforcement, OCP senior president Dick
Jones (Ronny Cox) offers the prototype ED-209 enforcement droid, but
it accidentally kills a board member during a demonstration. The OCP
chairman, nicknamed "The Old Man" (Dan O'Herlihy), decides instead
to back Jones' young rival, Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer), and his
experimental cyborg police officer program, "RoboCop."
Meanwhile, police officer Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is transferred to
Old Detroit, where he is teamed with officer Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen).
On their first patrol, they tail a gang of bank robbers, led by ruthless
crime lord Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith), to an abandoned
steel mill. Inside, Lewis is incapacitated; and Murphy, attempting to
make an arrest, is surrounded, brutally maimed by several gunshots,
and nearly killed by the gang. After attempts by an ER trauma team to
resuscitate him fail, his body is taken to a lab at OCP and rebuilt as
RoboCop. He is given three primary directives serve thepublic trust,
protect the innocent, and uphold the law as well as a fourth, secret
directive.
39

RoboCop succeeds in stopping several crimes in the city, earning him

attention from the media. The police are both awed by his skill and
efficiency and concerned that he will eventually replace them.
Meanwhile, RoboCop begins to have flashes of his old life as Murphy,
including a dream of his brutal murder. Lewis, who has deduced
RoboCop's real identity by observing his mannerisms, reminds him of
his real name before he departs to locate his killers. He finds a gas
station being robbed by one of Boddicker's gang members, Emil
Antonowsky (Daniel Perry Coffey), who inadvertently reveals his part in
Murphy's murder. RoboCop visits his old house and discovers that his
family has moved. He then has more visions of his former life.
RoboCop learns of Emil's connection to Boddicker, then interrogates
Leon Nash (Ray Wise), another gang member, on Boddicker's
whereabouts.
For his success with the RoboCop project, Morton is promoted to vice
president, angering Jones, who had hoped for a promotion. One night,
while Morton takes cocaine with two models, Boddicker appears,
scares the models into leaving, and shoots Morton in the legs. He then
plays a recording of Jones explaining that he sent Boddicker to kill
Morton, being envious of Morton's success while ED-209 was regarded
as a failure. Boddicker places a grenade on a table, out of Morton's
reach, and leaves the crippled executive to die in the resulting
explosion.

40

RoboCop finds Boddicker at a cocaine factory and, after a massive

shootout, tries to kill him. However, Boddicker reveals his affiliation
with Jones, who effectively runs the police; and RoboCop arrests
Boddicker instead. RoboCop then attempts to arrest Jones at OCP
headquarters, but suddenly short-circuits. Jones reveals that he
planted the hidden Directive 4, which prevents RoboCop from taking
any action against an OCP executive, and confesses to killing Morton.
He sends an ED-209 and the police force to kill RoboCop, but Lewis
helps RoboCop escape and takes him to the steel mill where he was
murdered to recover. RoboCop, now displaying more of his former
personality, learns from Lewis that Murphy's wife and son moved away
after his supposed death.
Fed up with the continuing murders of officers and the increasing
pressure on them from OCP's exploits, the police force goes on strike,
causing a spike in the city's crime level. Jones sends Boddicker and his
gang to finish the job of destroying RoboCop. Using a tracking device
provided by Jones, which was implanted into RoboCop, the gang finds
RoboCop at the steel mill; but RoboCop and Lewis manage to subdue
and kill them. RoboCop then returns to OCP, where he walks in on
Jones offering the company board the ED-209 as a replacement for the
striking police department.
After destroying the ED-209, RoboCop, in front of the board, reveals
Jones' role in Morton's murder, showing a recording he made of Jones
as evidence, but states he cannot act against Jones because of his
41

fourth directive. Desperate, Jones takes the Old Man hostage and
demands a helicopter for his escape. The Old Man, realizing the nature
of the fourth directive, immediately fires Jones from OCP, nullifying
the restriction of Directive 4. RoboCop shoots Jones and sends him
flying out a window to his death. The Old Man thanks RoboCop and
asks for his name, to which RoboCop replies, "Murphy."

42

Script notes

43

Romero (1989)
During the 1977 El Salvadoran presidential elections, amid public
unrest and a guerrilla uprising, the military regime sends death
squads to detain, torture and kill any people who speak out against its
human rights record. The Vatican elevates conservative Oscar Arnulfo
Romero (Raul Julia) to the position of Archbishop of San Salvador,
hoping that he will accept the status quo. Although conservative,
Romero is afraid of the government's increasing hostility. After the
assassination of FatherRutilio Grande (Richard Jordan), an outspoken
Jesuitadvocate for the poor, Romero begins to take a stand against the
government's policies, prompting the death squads to begin targeting
priests.
After failing to rescue a pro-government hostage of the guerrillas in a
botched ransom, Romero discovers that his friend Father Osuna
(Alejandro Bracho), a militant critic of the ruling regime, has been
captured and tortured. After securing his release, Romero instigates a
boycott of thepresident elect's inauguration, defying him by taking
Massin a church the military took over as a barracks. He later attempts
to secure the release of a soldier taken hostage by Osuna and the
guerrillas, but is arrested in the process. Osuna is subsequently
tortured to death. Undeterred, Romero rejects the violent methods of
the guerrillas, but is nonetheless assassinated while holding Mass.

44

Script notes

45

Rope (1948)
Two brilliant young aesthetes, Brandon Shaw (Dall) and Phillip Morgan
(Granger), strangle to death a former classmate, David Kentley (Dick
Hogan), in their apartment. They commit the crime as an intellectual
exercise; they want to prove their superiority by committing the
"perfect murder".
After hiding the body in a large antique wooden chest, Brandon and
Phillip host a dinner party at the apartment, which has a panoramic
view of Manhattan's skyline. The guests, who are unaware of what has
happened, include the victim (David)'s father Mr. Kentley (Cedric
Hardwicke) and aunt Mrs. Atwater ( Constance Collier); his mother is
not able to attend. Also there are his fiance, Janet Walker (Joan
Chandler) and her former lover Kenneth Lawrence (Douglas Dick), who
was once David's close friend.
In a subtle move, Brandon uses the chest containing the body as a
buffet table for the food, just before their housekeeper, Mrs. Wilson
(Edith Evanson) arrives to help with the party. "Now the fun begins,"
Brandon says when the first guests arrive.
Brandon and Phillip's idea for the murder was inspired years earlier by
conversations with their prep school housemaster, publisher Rupert
Cadell (Stewart). While at school, Rupert had discussed with them, in
an apparently approving way, the intellectual concepts of Nietzsche's
46

bermensch, and De Quincey's art of murder, as a means of showing

one's superiority over others. He too is among the guests at the party,
since Brandon in particular feels that he would approve of their "work
of art".
Brandon's subtle hints about David's absence indirectly lead to a
discussion on the "art of murder". Brandon appears calm and in
control, although when he first speaks to Rupert he is nervously
excited and stammering. Phillip, on the other hand, is visibly upset
and morose. He does not conceal it well and starts to drink too much.
When David's aunt, Mrs. Atwater, who fancies herself as a fortuneteller, tells him that his hands will bring him great fame, she is
referring to his skill at the piano, but he appears to think this refers to
the notoriety of being a strangler.
Much of the conversation, however, focuses on David and his strange
absence, which worries the guests. A suspicious Rupert quizzes a
fidgety Phillip about this and about some of the inconsistencies that
have been raised in conversation. For example, Phillip had vehemently
denied ever strangling a chicken at the Shaws' farm, but Rupert has
personally seen Phillip strangle several. Phillip later complains to
Brandon about having had a "rotten evening", not because of David's
murder, but over Rupert's questioning.
As the evening goes on, David's father and fiance begin to worry that
he has neither arrived nor phoned. Brandon increases the tension by
47

playing matchmaker between Janet and Kenneth. Mrs. Kentley calls,

overwrought because she has not heard from David, and Mr. Kentley
decides to leave. He takes with him some books Brandon has given
him, tied together with the rope Brandon and Phillip used to strangle
his son.
When Rupert goes to leave, Mrs. Wilson accidentally hands him
David's monogrammed hat, further arousing his suspicion. Rupert
returns to the apartment a short while after everyone else has
departed, pretending that he has left his cigarette case behind. He
hides the case, asks for a drink and then stays to theorize about the
disappearance of David. He is encouraged by Brandon, who seems
eager to have Rupert discover the crime. A drunk Phillip is unable to
take it any more; he throws a glass and says, "Cat and mouse, cat and
mouse. But which is the cat and which is the mouse?"
Rupert lifts the lid of the chest and finds the body inside. He is
horrified but also deeply ashamed, realizing that Brandon and Phillip
used his own rhetoric to rationalize murder. Rupert disavows all his
previous talk of superiority and inferiority, realizing that there is no
way to objectively define these concepts, then seizes Brandon's gun
and fires several shots out the window in order to attract attention. As
approaching police sirens get louder, Rupert pulls up a chair next to
the chest and the film's end credits appear on the screen.

48

Script notes

49

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

On the morning of June 6, 1944, the beginning of the
Normandy Invasion, American soldiers prepare to land on Omaha
Beach. They suffer heavily from their struggle against German infantry,
machine gun nests, and artillery fire. Captain John H. Miller, a
company commander of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, survives the initial
landing and assembles a group of his Rangers to penetrate the
German defenses, leading to a breakout from the beach. In
Washington, D.C, at the U.S. War Department, General George Marshall
is informed that three of the four brothers of the Ryan family were
killed in action and that their mother is to receive all three telegrams
in the same day. He learns that the fourth son, Private First Class James
Francis Ryan, is a paratrooper and is missing in action somewhere in
Normandy. Marshall, after reading Abraham Lincoln's Bixby letter,
orders that Ryan be found and sent home immediately.
Three days after D-Day, Miller receives orders to find Ryan and
bring him back from the front. He assembles seven men from his
company TSgt. Mike Horvath, Privates Richard Reiben, Stanley
Mellish, Adrian Caparzo, Danny Jackson, medic Irwin Wadeand T/5
Timothy Upham, a cartographer who speaks French and German,
loaned from the 29th Infantry Division. Miller and his men move out to
Neuville; there, they meet a platoon from the 101st Airborne Division,
and Caparzo dies after being shot by a sniper. Eventually, they locate a
Private James Ryan, but soon learn that he is not their man. They find a
50

member of Ryan's regiment who informs them that his drop zone was
at Vierville and that his and Ryan's companies had the same rally
point. Once they reach it, Miller meets a friend of Ryan's, who reveals
that Ryan is defending a strategically important bridge over the
Merderet River in the town of Ramelle. On the way to Ramelle, Miller
decides to neutralize a German machine gun position, despite the
misgivings of his men. Wade is fatally wounded in the ensuing
skirmish, but Miller, at Upham's urging, declines to execute a
surviving German and sets him free on condition that he gives himself
up. No longer confident in Miller's leadership, Reiben declares his
intention to desert the squad and the mission, prompting a
confrontation with Horvath. The argument heats up until Miller
defuses the situation by revealing his origins, upon which the squad
had earlier set up a betting pool. Reiben then reluctantly decides to
stay.
Upon arrival at Ramelle, Miller and the squad come upon a small
group of paratroopers commanded by Corporal Henderson, one of
whom is Ryan. Ryan is told of his brothers' deaths, the mission to bring
him home, and that two men had been lost in the quest to find him.
He is distressed at the loss of his brothers, but does not feel it is fair to
go home, asking Miller to tell his mother that he intends to stay "with
the only brothers [he has] left." Miller decides to take command and
defend the bridge with what little manpower and

51

resources are available. Elements of the 2nd SS Panzer Division arrive

with infantry and armor. In the ensuing battle, while inflicting heavy
German casualties, most of the Americansincluding Jackson, Mellish
and Horvathare killed. A terrified Upham spends the entire battle
hiding, unable to act even when Mellish's life is in peril. While
attempting to blow the bridge, Miller is shot and mortally wounded by
the German prisoner set free earlier, who has returned to battle
alongside the SS. Just before a Tiger tank reaches the bridge, an
American P-51 Mustang flies over and destroys the tank, followed by
American reinforcements who rout the remaining Germans. Upham,
furious at the German prisoner, shoots him, and lets the rest flee in
panic.
Reiben and Ryan are with Miller as he dies and says his last words,
"James ... earn this. Earn it." In the present day, an elderly Ryan and
his family visit the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. Ryan
stands at Miller's grave and asks his wife to confirm that he has led a
good life, that he is a "good man" and thus worthy of the sacrifice of
Miller and the others. His wife replies, "You are." At this point, Ryan
stands at attention and delivers a salute towards Miller's grave.

52

Script notes

53

Schindler's List (1993)

In Krakw during World War II, the Germans had
forced local Polish Jews into the overcrowded Krakw Ghetto. Oskar
Schindler, an ethnic German, arrives in the city hoping to make his
fortune. A member of the Nazi Party, Schindler lavishes bribes on
Wehrmacht (German armed forces) and SS officials and acquires a
factory to produce enamelware. To help him run the business,
Schindler enlists the aid ofItzhak Stern, a local Jewish official who has
contacts with black marketeers and the Jewish business community.
Stern helps Schindler arrange loans to finance the factory. Schindler
maintains friendly relations with the Nazis and enjoys wealth and
status as "Herr Direktor", and Stern handles administration. Schindler
hires Jewish workers because they cost less, while Stern ensures that
as many people as possible are deemed essential to the German war
effort, which saves them from being transported to concentration
camps or killed.
SS-Untersturmfhrer (second lieutenant) Amon Goeth arrives in
Krakw to oversee construction ofPaszw concentration camp. When
the camp is completed, he orders the ghetto liquidated. Many people
are shot and killed in the process of emptying the ghetto. Schindler
witnesses the massacre and is profoundly affected. He particularly
notices a tiny girl in a red coat one of the few splashes of color in the
black-and-white film as she hides from the Nazis, and later sees her
body (identifiable by the red coat) among those on a wagonload being
54

taken away to be burned. Schindler is careful to maintain his

friendship with Goeth and, through bribery and lavish gifts, continues
to enjoy SS support. Goeth brutally mistreats his maid and randomly
shoots people from the balcony of his villa, and the prisoners are in
constant daily fear for their lives. As time passes, Schindler's focus
shifts from making money to trying to save as many lives as possible.
He bribes Goeth into allowing him to build a sub-camp for his workers
so that he can better protect them.
As the Germans begin to lose the war, Goeth is ordered to ship the
remaining Jews at Paszw toAuschwitz concentration camp. Schindler
asks Goeth to allow him to move his workers to a new munitions
factory he plans to build in his home town of Zwittau-Brinnlitz. Goeth
agrees, but charges a huge bribe. Schindler and Stern create
"Schindler's List" a list of people to be transferred to Brinnlitz and
thus saved from transport to Auschwitz.
The train carrying women and children is accidentally redirected to
Auschwitz-Birkenau; Schindler bribes Rudolf Hss, the commandant of
Auschwitz with a bag of diamonds to win their release. At the new
factory, Schindler forbids the SS guards to enter the production rooms
and encourages the Jews to observe the Jewish Sabbath. To keep his
workers alive, he spends much of his fortune bribing Nazi officials and
buying shell casings from other companies; his factory does not
produce any usable armaments during its seven months of operation.
55

Schindler runs out of money in 1945, just as Germany surrenders,

ending the war in Europe.
As a Nazi Party member and war profiteer, Schindler must flee the
advancing Red Army to avoid capture. The SS guards have been
ordered to kill the Jews, but Schindler persuades them not to so they
can "return to their families as men, not murderers." He bids farewell
to his workers and prepares to head west, hoping to surrender to the
Americans. The workers give Schindler a signed statement attesting to
his role saving Jewish lives, together with a ring engraved with a
Talmudic quotation: "Whoever saves one life saves the world entire."
Schindler is touched but is also deeply ashamed, as he feels he should
have done even more. As the Schindlerjuden (Schindler Jews) wake up
the next morning, a Soviet soldier announces that they have been
liberated. The Jews leave the factory and walk to a nearby town.
After scenes depicting Goeth's execution after the war and a summary
of Schindler's later life, the black-and-white frame changes to a color
shot of actual Schindlerjuden at Schindler's grave in Jerusalem.
Accompanied by the actors who portrayed them, the Schindlerjuden
place stones on the grave. In the final scene, Neeson places a pair of
roses on the grave.

56

Script notes

57

Saving Grace(1986)
A year after his election, a youthful Pope (Conti) longs
to be involved in ordinary peoples lives again, as he was when he was
a priest.
During an audience, the Pope communicates with a
deaf mute young girl whose village has no priest. Accidentally locked
out of the Vatican, the Pope travels to the small impoverished and
demoralized village, his identity concealed by his beard growth. He
realizes that the people need to rebuild a dilapidated aqueduct but,
more importantly, that they must regain their community spirit and
self-sufficiency. Without expertise and, initially, only the help of some
street-wise orphans, he starts construction. All this is watched
skeptically by a mysterious neighbour played by Giannini and opposed
by local thugs led by Ciolino (Olmos) whose ill-gotten gains depend on
the village remaining overly dependent on outsiders.

58

Script notes

59

The Searchers (1956)

It is 1868. Ethan Edwards (Wayne) returns
after an eight-year absence to the home of his brother Aaron ( Walter
Coy) in the wilderness of West Texas. Ethan fought in the Civil War on
the side of theConfederacy, and in the three years since that war ended
he apparently fought in the Mexican revolutionary war as well. He has
a large quantity of gold coins of uncertain origin in his possession, and
a medal from the Mexican campaign that he gives to his eight-year-old
niece, Debbie (played as a child by Lana Wood). As a former
Confederate soldier, he is asked to take an oath of allegiance to the
Texas Rangers; he refuses. As Rev. Captain Samuel Clayton (Ward
Bond) remarks, Ethan "fits a lot of descriptions".
Shortly after Ethan's arrival, cattle belonging to his neighbor Lars
Jorgensen (John Qualen) are stolen, and when Captain Clayton leads
Ethan and a group of Rangers to recover them, they discover that the
theft was a Comanche ploy to draw the men away from their families.
When they return they find the Edwards homestead in flames. Aaron,
his wife Martha (Dorothy Jordan), and their son Ben (Robert Lyden) are
dead, and Debbie and her older sister Lucy (Pippa Scott) have been
abducted.
After a brief funeral the men set out in pursuit. They come upon a
burial ground of Comanches who were killed during the raid. Ethan
mutilates one of the bodies. When they find the Comanche camp,
60

Ethan recommends a frontal attack, but Clayton insists on a stealth

approach to avoid killing the hostages. The camp is deserted, and
further along the trail the men ride into an ambush. Though they fend
off the attack,the Rangers are left with too few men to fight the Indians
effectively. They return home, leaving Ethan to continue his search for
the girls with only Lucy's fianc, Brad Jorgensen (Harry Carey, Jr.) and
Debbie's adopted brother, Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter). Ethan finds
Lucy brutally murdered and presumably raped in a canyon near the
Comanche camp. In a blind rage, Brad rides directly into the Indian
camp and is killed.
When winter arrives Ethan and Martin lose the trail and return to the
Jorgensen ranch. Martin is enthusiastically welcomed by the
Jorgensens' daughter Laurie (Vera Miles), and Ethan finds a letter
waiting for him from a trader named Futterman (Peter Mamakos), who
claims to have information about Debbie. Ethan, who would rather
travel alone, leaves without Martin the next morning, but Laurie
provides Martin with a horse to catch up. At Futterman's trading post,
Ethan and Martin learn that Debbie has been taken by Scar (Henry
Brandon), the chief of the Nawyeckaband of Comanches. A year or
more later, Laurie receives a letter from Martin describing the ongoing
search. In reading the letter aloud, Laurie narrates the next few scenes,
in which Ethan kills Futterman for trying to steal his money, Martin
accidentally buys a Comanche wife (Beulah Archuletta), and the two
men find a portion of Scar's band killed by soldiers.
61

The search leads Ethan and Martin to a military fort, and then toNew
Mexico, where a Mexican man leads them to Scar. They find Debbie
after five years, now an adolescent (Natalie Wood), living as one of
Scar's wives. She tells the men that she has become a Comanche, and
wishes to remain with them. Ethan would rather see her dead than
living as an Indian, and tries to shoot her, but Martin shields her with
his body and a Comanche wounds Ethan with an arrow as they escape.
Though Martin tends to Ethan's wound, he is
furious with him for attempting to kill Debbie, and wishes him dead.
"That'll be the day," Ethan replies, as they return home.
Meanwhile, Charlie McCorry (Ken Curtis) has been courting Laurie in
Martin's absence. Ethan and Martin arrive home just as Charlie and
Laurie's wedding is about to begin. After a fistfight between Martin
and Charlie, a nervous "Yankee" soldier, Lt. Greenhill (Patrick Wayne),
arrives with news that Ethan's half-crazy friend Mose Harper (Hank
Worden) has located Scar. Clayton leads his men to the Comanche
camp, this time for a direct attack, but Martin is allowed to sneak in
ahead of the assault to find Debbie, who welcomes him. Martin kills
Scar during the battle, and Ethan scalps him. Ethan then locates
Debbie, and pursues her on horseback. Martin fears that he will shoot
her as he has promised; but instead he sweeps her up onto his saddle.
"Lets go home," he says. Debbie is reunited with her family, and
Martin with Laurie. In an iconic closing scene, Ethan departs the

62

homestead as he arrivedaloneclutching his arm, the cabin door

slowly shutting on his receding image.

Script notes

63

The Secret Garden (1993)

The recently orphaned Mary Lennox travels from her home in India to
her uncle Archibald Craven's mansion, Misselthwaite Manor, in
Yorkshire, England. Materially spoiled but emotionally neglected by
her late parents, who had just been killed in an earthquake, she is
rather unpleasant and unhappy in her new surroundings. Head
housekeeper, Mrs. Medlock, informs Mary she will not be spoiled as
she was in India and will have to learn to take care of herself. She also
orders her not to leave her room, but strange noises cause her to
explore the mansion on her own. Mrs. Medlock eventually allows her
to play outside to keep her from poking about the house. She
discovers her aunt's garden, which was been locked and neglected
since her death ten years prior.
Martha Sowerby, a maid, and her brother, Dickon, a boy who can "talk"
to animals, befriend Mary and help her heal and grow, and she
gradually becomes more friendly. Mary enlists Dickon to help her
bring the garden back to life. She eventually meets her uncle, who
takes a liking to her and gives her permission to plant seeds
"anywhere" before leaving town until the winter as he does not like
spring, flowers or anything that reminds him of his late wife's death
from falling off the swing in her garden.
Hidden away in the gloomy mansion is Mary's cousin, Colin, who has
been treated all his life like a fragile, sickly invalid. This has turned him
64

into a demanding, short tempered, helpless boy who has never left his
room or learned to walk. Mary eventually discovers Colin and learns
the strange noises she has been hearing is him crying. She is taken
aback by his difficult nature, but reaches out to him anyway. She shows
him that he's not sick and that the outside world is not as dangerous as
Mrs. Medlock, who is in charge of caring for him, claims, so he decides
to go outside for the first time.
Soon Colin, Mary, and Dickon spend all of their time in the garden,
where Colin learns to walk. Anxious to show Colin's new-found life to
his father, they perform "magic" in hopes to bring him back home. It
appears to work, as Lord Craven awakens suddenly from a dream and
decides he must return home immediately. He discovers Colin walking
and playing upon his return, which brings joy back to him. Mary
initially fears that she will be neglected again, but her uncle assures
her that she is part of the family and thanks her for bringing the house
back to life.

65

Script notes

66

Shadowlands (1993)
In the 1950s, the reserved, middle-aged bachelor C. S. Lewis is an
Oxford University academic at Magdalen College and author of The
Chronicles of Narnia series of children's books. He meets the married
American poet Joy Gresham and her young son Douglas on their visit
to England, not yet knowing the circumstances of Gresham's troubled
marriage.
What begins as a formal meeting of two very different minds slowly
develops into a feeling of connection and love. Lewis finds his quiet
life with his brother Warnie disrupted by the outspoken, feisty
Gresham, whose uninhibited behaviour offers a sharp contrast to the
rigid sensibilities of the male-dominated university. Each provides the
other with new ways of viewing the world.
Initially their marriage is one of convenience, a platonic union
designed to allow Gresham to remain in England. But when she is
diagnosed with cancer, deeper feelings surface, and Lewis' faith is
tested as his wife tries to prepare him for her imminent death.

67

Script notes

68

Shadrach (1998)
Before the Civil War, the Dabney family of Virginia
sold their slave, Shadrach (John Franklin Sawyer), to plantation owners
in Alabama, separating him from his family. In 1935, during the Great
Depression, Shadrachat the age of 99walks the 600 miles from his
home in Alabama to the Dabney farm in Virginia. His one request is to
be buried in the soil of the farm where he was born into slavery.
The farm is owned by the descendants of the Dabney family, consisting
of Vernon (Keitel), Trixie (McDowell) and their seven children. But to
bury a black man on that land is a violation of strict Virginia law, so the
family
goes through the arduous task of figuring out how to grant his
request. Along the way they form a touching
bond with the former slave and sharecropper, who has outlived both
his former wives and some 35 children.

69

Script notes

70

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

In 1947 Portland, Maine, banker
Andy Dufresne is convicted of murdering his wife and her lover and
sentenced to two consecutive life sentences at the fictional Shawshank
State Penitentiary in rural Maine. Andy befriends prison contraband
smuggler, Ellis "Red" Redding, an inmate serving a life sentence. Red
procures a rock hammer and later a large poster of Rita Hayworth for
Andy. Working in the prison laundry, Andy is regularly assaulted by the
"bull queer" gang "the Sisters" and their leader, Bogs.
In 1949, Andy overhears the brutal captain of the guards,
Byron Hadley, complaining about being taxed on an inheritance, and
offers to help him legally shelter the money. After a vicious assault by
the Sisters nearly kills Andy, Hadley beats Bogs severely. Bogs is sent
to another prison and Andy is never attacked again. Warden Samuel
Norton meets Andy and reassigns him to the prison library to assist
elderly inmate Brooks Hatlen. Andy's new job is a pretext for him to
begin managing financial matters for the prison employees. As time
passes, the Warden begins using Andy to handle matters for a variety
of people including guards from other prisons and the warden himself.
Andy begins writing weekly letters to the state government for funds
to improve the decaying library.
In 1954, Brooks is paroled, but cannot adjust to the outside
world after fifty years in prison and hangs himself. Andy receives a
71

library donation that includes a recording of The Marriage of Figaro. He

plays an excerpt over the public address system, resulting in him
receiving solitary confinement. After his release from solitary Andy
explains that hope is what gets him through his time, a concept that
Red dismisses. In 1963, Norton begins exploiting prison labor for
public works, profiting by undercutting skilled labor costs and
receiving kickbacks. He has Andy launder the money using the alias
Randall Stephens.
In 1965, Tommy Williams is incarcerated for burglary.
He joins Andy's and Red's circle of friends, and Andy helps him pass
his G.E.D. exam. In 1966, Tommy reveals to Red and Andy that an
inmate at another prison claimed responsibility for the murders Andy
was convicted of, implying Andy's innocence. Andy approaches Norton
with this information, but the warden refuses to listen and sends Andy
back to solitary when he mentions the money laundering. Norton then
has Hadley murder Tommy under the guise of an escape attempt. Andy
refuses to continue the money laundering, but relents after Norton
threatens to burn the library, remove Andy's protection from the
guards, and move him out of his cell into worse conditions. Andy is
released from solitary confinement after two months and tells Red of
his dream of living in Zihuatanejo, a Mexican coastal town. Red feels
Andy is being unrealistic, but promises Andy that if he is ever released
he will visit a specific hayfield near Buxton, Maine and retrieve a
package Andy buried there. Red becomes worried about Andy's state
72

of mind, especially when he learns Andy asked another inmate to

supply him with six feet of rope.
The next day at roll call the guards find Andy's cell
empty. An irate Norton throws a rock at the poster of Raquel Welch
hanging on the wall, and the rock tears through the poster. Removing
the poster, the warden discovers a tunnel that Andy dug with his rock
hammer over the last seventeen years, hidden by posters of starlets
Andy acquired from Red over the years. The previous night, Andy
escaped through the tunnel and used the prison's sewage pipe to
reach freedom, bringing with him Norton's suit, shoes, and the ledger
containing details of the money laundering. While guards search for
him the following morning, Andy poses as Randall Stephens and visits
several banks to withdraw the laundered money. Finally, he mails the
ledger and evidence of the corruption and murders at Shawshank to a
local newspaper. The police arrive at Shawshank and take Hadley into
custody, while Norton commits suicide to avoid arrest.
After serving forty years, Red is finally paroled. He
struggles to adapt to life outside prison and fears he never will.
Remembering his promise to Andy, he visits Buxton and finds a cache
containing money and a letter asking him to come to Zihuatanejo. Red
violates his parole and travels to Fort Hancock, Texas to cross the border
to Mexico, admitting he finally feels hope. On a beach in Zihuatanejo,
he finds Andy, and the two friends are happily reunited.
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Script notes

74

She's Having a Baby(1988)

This film is a look at the lives of Jefferson (Jake) and
Kristy Briggs, from their wedding day until the birth of their first child.
Beginning on their wedding day, it follows both their lives, but more
so Jake's, with his voice over commentaries and several imaginary
scenes, based on actual or feared future events.
After their wedding, Jake and Kristy head off for New Mexico, where
Jake works towards gaining a master's degree, but leaves before
finishing, describing it as "high school with ashtrays". They return to
Chicago where Jake, by "setting new records for lying in the job
market", impresses his potential employers so much that they give
him work as an advertising copywriter. Kristy also gains work as a
research analyst, and they are able to buy a "three-bedroom mortgage"
in the suburbs.
Jake and Kristy then continue to adjust to their new life until Kristy
unilaterally decides to cease taking contraceptives, without telling
Jake, until, after several months, she informs him that he has been
unable to impregnate her. They then begin a program to assist their
efforts to become pregnant, which eventually succeed. The movie
culminates with a traumatic yet eventually successful labour and
Jake's realisation that his lack of satisfaction and sense of detachment
are not due to external factors but his own selfishness and immaturity.

75

The last scene of the film reveals that Jake's voice over was the new
father reading his novel entitledShe's Having a Baby to his wife and
son.

76

Script notes

77

The Shining (1980)

Jack Torrance arrives at the Overlook Hotel in
Sidewinder, Colorado, interviewing for the position of winter caretaker,
planning to use the hotel's solitude to write. The hotel, built on the site
of a Native American burial ground, becomes snowed-in during the
winter; it is closed from October to May. Manager Stuart Ullman warns
Jack that a previous caretaker, Charles Grady, developed cabin fever
and killed his family and himself. In Boulder, Jack's son, Danny, has a
terrifying premonition about the hotel, viewing a cascade of blood
emerging from an elevator door. Jack's wife, Wendy, tells a doctor that
Danny has an imaginary friend named Tony, and that Jack has given up
drinking because he hurt Danny's arm following a binge.
The family arrives at the hotel on closing day and is given a tour. The
chef, Dick Hallorann, surprises Danny by telepathically offering him ice
cream. To Danny, Dick explains that he and his grandmother shared
this telepathic ability, which he calls "shining". Danny asks if there is
anything to be afraid of in the hotel, particularly room 237. Hallorann
tells Danny that the hotel has a "shine" to it along with many
memories, not all of which are good. He also tells Danny to stay out of
room 237.
A month passes; while Jack's writing goes nowhere, Danny and Wendy
explore the hotel's hedge maze. Wendy becomes concerned about the
phone lines being out due to the heavy snowfall and Danny has
78

frightening visions. Jack, increasingly frustrated, starts acting strangely

and becomes prone to violent outbursts.
Danny's curiosity about room 237 overcomes him
when he sees the room's door open. Later, Wendy finds Jack, asleep at
his typewriter, screaming in his sleep. After she awakens him, Jack says
he dreamed that he killed her and Danny. Danny arrives with a bruise
on his neck and traumatized, causing Wendy to accuse Jack of abusing
him. Jack wanders into the hotel's Gold Room and meets a ghostly
bartender named Lloyd. Lloyd serves him bourbon while Jack
complains about his marriage.
Wendy later tells Jack that Danny told her a "crazy woman in one of the
rooms" tried strangling him. Jack investigates room 237, encountering
the ghost of a dead woman, but tells Wendy he saw nothing. Wendy
and Jack argue over whether Danny should be removed from the hotel
and a furious Jack returns to the Gold Room, filled with ghosts
attending a ball. He meets the ghost of Grady who tells Jack that he
must "correct" his wife and child and that Danny has reached out to
Hallorann using his "talent". In Florida, Hallorann has a premonition
that something is wrong at the hotel and flies back to Colorado. Danny
starts calling out "redrum" and goes into a trance, referring to himself
as "Tony".
While searching for Jack, Wendy discovers he has been typing pages
of manuscript repeating "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy".
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She is confronted by Jack, who threatens her before she knocks him
unconscious with a baseball bat. She drags him into the kitchen and
locks him in the pantry, but she and Danny are trapped at the hotel;
Jack has sabotaged the hotel's two-way radio and snowcat. Later, Jack
converses through the pantry door with Grady, who unlocks the door.
Danny writes "REDRUM" on the outside of the
bathroom door in the family's quarters. When Wendy sees this in the
bedroom mirror, the letters spell out "MURDER". Jack begins hacking
through the quarters' main door with a firefighter's axe. Wendy sends
Danny through the bathroom window, but it will not open sufficiently
for her to pass. Jack breaks through the bathroom door as Wendy
screams in horror. He leers through the hole he made, shouting
"Here's Johnny!", but backs off after Wendy slashes his hand with a
butcher's knife.
Hearing the engine of the snowcat Hallorann borrowed to reach the
hotel, Jack leaves the room. He kills Hallorann with the axe, and
pursues Danny into the hedge maze. Wendy runs through the hotel
looking for Danny, encountering ghosts and the cascade of blood
Danny envisioned in Boulder. Danny lays a false trail to mislead Jack,
who is following his footprints. Wendy and Danny escape in
Hallorann's snowcat, while Jack freezes to death in the maze.
In a photograph in the hotel hallway dated July 4, 1921, Jack Torrance
smiles amid a crowd of party revelers.
80

Script notes

81

The Shipping News (2001)

The film opens with Quoyle's father tossing him into
water, expecting him to naturally swim. The image of Quoyle
struggling to swim is reprised several times in later crises.
Flash forward to an adult Quoyle (Kevin Spacey), whose emotionally
distant and promiscuous cheating wife runs off with a lover, only to
soon die in a car accident, leaving him with their pre-teen daughter
(which she had sold off for six-thousand dollars.) Quoyle's Aunt Agnis
(Judi Dench) happens to be visiting when the news arrives; she is
moving to the ancestral family home in Newfoundland. Realising he's
at a total loss through grief, she offers to stay a few more days and help
him through the crisis, then persuades Quoyle to move with her to
Newfoundland when he's at a loss of what to do next.
Quoyle meets local resident Wavey Prowse (Julianne Moore), a widow
with a pre-teen boy. The two children become friends and the two
adults become friends and then more. Wavey has dark secrets in her
past; but so does the Quoyle family.
The story climaxes with a storm which destroys the Quoyle home, and
the Gammy Bird's editor Jack Buggit, caught in the rope of a lobster
pot while fishing, is believed drowned. His body is recovered, appears
to be dead, but is actually in a deep state of shock resulting from
hypothermia. During his wake, at his home in front of mourners, he
82

regains consciousness - (central to the theme of rebirth in the

optimistic ending of the story.)
The film, while broadly following the plot of the book,
makes several changes, notably: Quoyle was obese and had two
daughters in the novel, but only one in the film. He's only a timid ink
setter in the film and he does not begin writing as a brave reporter
until after arriving in Newfoundland. Another difference is that several
characters, such as the younger Buggit family, were deleted or merged.

83

Script notes

84

Signs (2002)
The Hess family lives on an isolated farm in
Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) is
a former priest whose wife, Colleen, died in a horrific traffic accident
caused by a town local, Ray Reddy (Shyamalan). No longer practicing
religiously, Graham lives with his asthmatic son, Morgan (Rory Culkin),
daughter Bo (Abigail Breslin), who leaves water glasses all over the
house claiming that the water tastes funny, and Graham's younger
brother, Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), a former minor league baseball star
who never made it to the major leagues because he swung too hard
and struck out too often. Graham discovers a huge crop circle in his
field, reports of violent animal behavior have spread across town, and
one of the Hess' dogs tries to attack Bo and Morgan.
Graham discovers that the farm is being watched at night, and he and
Merrill chase a tall, dark figure from the roof of the barn and into the
crops, where it quickly disappears. Meanwhile, crop circles similar to
the one in Graham's field appear around the world. Morgan hears a
strange noise on a baby monitor, but it stops before he can investigate
further. That evening, Graham goes to the crop circle, and hears the
sound again. After spotting a green leg sticking out of the cornrows, he
flees to the house. A news report reveals that strange lights in the sky
have been spotted over Mexico City.

85

That night, Graham reveals to Merrill that he lost his faith after the
death of his wife. A flashback shows Graham approaching the scene of
an accident. He sees his wife pinned to a tree by a truck, and the officer
tells him that his wife won't live.
The following morning, Graham visits Ray Reddy's
house, whom he finds bleeding. Ray apologizes for the accident, and
tells Graham that he is fleeing to a nearby lake as he believes "they
don't like water." Graham sadly and kindly accepts his apology, and
Ray leaves. Meanwhile, Merril watches the news, and sees a video
taken at a child's birthday party in Brazil. The footage shows an alien
crouching behind bushes, then slowly walking from out the bushes
and across a small alley where it disappears. Merril is shocked as the
footage is shown. Back at Ray's house Graham goes into the kitchen,
where Ray has an alien locked in his pantry. Graham uses the blade of
a kitchen knife to try to see the alien's reflection under the door.
When the alien attempts to grab at him through the
crack at the floor, Graham reacts by cutting off some of the alien's
fingers, causing the creature to scream in pain. Back at the Hess farm,
Merril resorts to joining Morgan and Bo with their tin foil hats. Graham
returns home and the family decides between going to the lake or
staying at the farm, opting to board up all the doors and windows and
remain in the house. While Graham and Merrill do this, Morgan and
Bo watch a news report on the growing number of sightings around
the world. The baby monitor again starts emitting the alien noises, and
86

the television loses its signal. They finish boarding up the windows,
and all move into the living room. One of the dogs, called Isobel, left
tied up outside, barks loudly and is silenced, and an alien is heard
climbing up the house and onto the roof, where it breaks into the attic.
The family moves to the basement and props the door closed with a
pick axe. Graham and Merrill ward off an alien that attacks Morgan,
who then has an asthma attack. The news channel declares that the
aliens have seemingly left earth.
The next morning, Graham decides to leave the basement and find
Morgan's medicine. The family follows, and to their horror, find an
alien still inside the house. It is revealed that it is the same alien from
the pantry whose fingers Graham had cut off. The unconscious Morgan
is again attacked by the alien and taken hostage. The alien acts as a
predator and attempts to poison Morgan by releasing a toxin from its
body, but because he is having an asthma attack (which prevents him
fully from breathing), the poison doesn't get into his lungs. Graham
remembers his wife's dying words, which were "Tell Merrill to swing
away". He tells Merrill to "swing away" and Merrill attacks the alien
with a baseball bat, and it releases Morgan. They discover that water
reacts like acid with the alien's skin, and Merrill smashes all the water
glasses Bo had left all over the house. Finally, Merrill hits the alien into
furniture and water splashes on its face, killing it. Graham administers
Morgan's medication, and the boy recovers.

87

Some time later, the Hess family has recovered from the incident and
they appear to be doing much better than before. In the final scene,
Graham is shown returning to his priestly duties, apparently having
regained his faith.

88

Script notes

89

Sister Act (1992)

The film opens in 1968 at St. Anne's Academy, a
CaliforniaRoman Catholic school, where a young girl named Deloris
Wilson is scolded by Sister Immaculata (Lois de Banzie) for
wisecracking and disobedience. The setting then changes to the
present day, where Deloris Van Cartier is a lounge singer in a 1960sthemed act called The Ronelles (a parody of The Ronettes), who sing at
The Moonlite Lounge of the Nevada Club in Reno, Nevada, run by her
boyfriend, the mobster Vince LaRocca. After Deloris walks in on Vince
having his chauffeur Ernie executed for betrayal, Vince orders his two
henchmen Joey and Willy to kill her as well. Deloris flees Vince's
casino to the local police station where Lieutenant Eddie Souther
suggests she testify against Vince if he can be arrested and tried, but
for now, she should go into witness protection until the time comes.
Deloris is taken to St. Katherine's Parish in a seedy, run-down
neighborhood of San Francisco, where Souther suggests she take
refuge in the attached convent. Both Deloris and Reverend Mother
object, but are convinced by Souther and Monsignor O'Hara to go
ahead with it. Deloris 'becomes' a nun habit and all under the hand
of Reverend Mother, who gives her the religious name 'Sister Mary
Clarence' to complete the disguise. Mary Clarence objects to following
the strictures and simple life of the convent, but comes to befriend
several of the nuns, including the forever jolly Sister Mary Patrick,
quiet and meek Sister Mary Robert, and the elderly deadpan Sister
90

Mary Lazarus. After sneaking into a nearby bar, Mary Clarence is

chastised by Reverend Mother and put into the choir, which she has
seen to be dreadful. The choir nuns, learning that Mary Clarence has a
background in music, elect her to take over as choir director, which she
accepts, and she rearranges them to make them better singers. At Mass
one Sunday, the choir sings the " Hail Holy Queen" in the traditional
manner beautifully before shifting into a gospel and rock-and-rollinfused performance of the hymn.
Reverend Mother is infuriated with Mary Clarence about the
performance, and orders that Mary Lazarus
once again become the leader the choir, but Monsignor O'Hara is
thrilled with the performance as the unorthodox music brought
people, including teenagers, in off the streets. Deloris convinces
Monsignor O'Hara that the nuns should be going out to clean up the
neighborhood. This they do, and the choir wows church visitors with
their music, with Souther eventually attending a performance of "My
Guy" (appropriately rewritten as "My God"). Eventually, O'Hara
announces to the choir that Pope John Paul II is to visit the church to
see the choir himself. Reverend Mother decides to hand in her
resignation since her authority has been unintentionally undermined,
but Mary Clarence offers to leave in her stead, to which the Reverend
Mother disagrees.
Detective Tate, a police officer on Vince's payroll, finds out where
Deloris is and contacts Vince, who sends Joey and Willy out to grab her.
91

Souther confronts Tate, gets him arrested, and flies to San Francisco to
try and warn Mary Clarence, but Vince's men abduct her.
The nuns, led by the Reverend Mother, risk their lives by going to Reno
to save Mary Clarence. Meanwhile, she flees Vince and his men,
leading to a chase around the casino until the nuns find her and try to
sneak out. Vince, Joey and Willy confront the nuns, but are unable to
bring themselves to shoot Deloris while she is in a nun's habit. As
Vince eventually tries to shoot Deloris, Souther bursts in and shoots
Vince in the arm, and has the men arrested.
The film ends with the choir, led by Deloris, singing "I Will Follow Him"
before the Pope and a packed and refurbished St. Katherine's, earning
a loud standing ovation from the audience, the Pope, Reverend
Mother, Monsignor O'Hara and Lt. Souther. The end credits reveals that
Deloris' secret life as a nun was sold to the media and has become a
sensation. The ending of Deloris' "career" as a choir leader is revealed
through magazine and album covers and Deloris has continued
leading the choir as a famous group with published albums.

92

Script notes

93

A Simple Plan (1998)

Hank Mitchell and his wife Sarah live in rural
Minnesota. One of the town's few college graduates, Hank works in a
feed mill, while his wife is a librarian. When Hank, his younger brother
Jacob and Jacob's friend Lou chase a fox into the woods, they stumble
upon a crashed airplane. Hank decides to look inside the plane where
he discovers a dead pilot and a bag containing $4.4 million in $100
bills. He suggests turning the money in but is persuaded not to by
Jacob and Lou. Hank then proposes that he keep the money safe at his
house until the end of winter. Sheriff Carl Jenkins drives by the area
and notices the three men after they hide the money in Jacob's pick-up
truck. Jacob mentions hearing a plane in the area to avoid suspicion.
After Carl leaves, the three men decide to keep the money a secret, but
Hank breaks the pact when he reveals the discovery to Sarah.
Sarah suggests that Hank and Jacob return a paltry sum of the money
to the plane to avoid suspicion from local authorities. While travelling
on foot to the woods, the brothers come across an old man on a
snowmobile. Jacob, thinking that their cover is blown, bludgeons him.
When the man regains consciousness, Hank suffocates him, then uses
the snowmobile to drive his body off a bridge, making the murder look
like an accidental death. The following night, Lou drunkenly demands
some of the money from Hank, because he has spent recklessly since
the discovery. When Hank refuses, Lou threatens to go to the
authorities, having learned from Jacob about the old man's murder.
94

Sarah advises that Hank and Jacob team up to plot against Lou. Much
to Jacob's dismay, the two brothers visit Lou at his home where Jacob
has him drunkely confess to the old man's murder. Hank records the
false confession with a tape recorder. Lou grows enraged when he
realizes that the two have conspired against him and pulls a gun on
them. Jacob grabs a rifle from his truck and kills Lou to save his
brother. Hank then kills Lou's wife with the rifle when she appears with
another gun. The two brothers avoid arrest after Hank concocts a
rehearsed speech for himself and Jacob to tell the police.
Because Jacob mentioned hearing a plane in the woods, Carl asks the
brothers to assist an FBI agent, Neil Baxter, in a search for the missing
aircraft. Hank and Jacob meet with Baxter and Carl at the police station.
Sarah grows skeptical of Baxter, whom she later discovers to be an
impostor; she contacts and warns Hank, who steals a handgun from
Carl's office. The four men head into the woods and split up. When he
finds the plane, Baxter kills Carl, and engages in a gunfight with Hank.
Hank manages to kill Baxter with the gun he had stolen. Hank starts to
concoct another story to tell the authorities. Jacob however announces
that he does not want to live with these bad memories; he threatens to
shoot himself to end it. He then encourages Hank to kill him instead
and frame Baxter for the crime. After grappling with the decision, Hank
kills Jacob.
At the police station, Hank tells his rehearsed story to real FBI agents.
As Sarah predicted, the agents do not believe that Hank, an
95

upstanding member of the community, would be capable of such

wrongdoing. Although he is ruled out as a suspect, Hank is told that
the money was part of a ransom and that many of the bills' serial
numbers were written down to track the cash. Hank realizes he cannot
use the money without being caught; he goes home and burns it all.
In a closing narration, Hank reflects on his losses; as he tries to move
on with his life, the murderous events constantly haunt him.

96

Script notes

97

Six Degrees of Separation (1993)

Fifth Avenue socialite Ouisa Kittredge (Stockard Channing) and her art
dealer husband Flan (Donald Sutherland), are parents of "two at
Harvard and one at Groton". But the narrow world inhabited by the
Kittredges and their public status as people interested in the arts make
them easy prey for Paul (Will Smith). Paul is a skillful con-artist, who
mysteriously appears at their door one night injured and bleeding
and claiming to be a close college friend of their Ivy League kids, as
well as the son of Sidney Poitier. Ouisa and Flan are much impressed
by Paul's fine taste, keen wit, articulate literary expositions and
surprising culinary skill. His appealing facade soon has the Kittredges
putting him up, lending him money and taking satisfaction in his
praise for their posh lifestyle. Paul's scheme continues until he brings
home a hustler, and his actual indigence is revealed. The shocked
Kittredges kick him out when it is revealed that they are but the most
recent victims of the duplicity with which Paul has charmed his way
into many upper-crust homes along the Upper East Side. Paul's
schemes become highbrow legend anecdotal accounts of which are
bantered about at their cocktail parties. In the end, Paul has a profound
effect on the many individuals who encounter him, linking them in
their shared experience.

98

The sixth sense

Dr. Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist in Philadelphia, returns home
one night with his wife, Anna Crowe, after having been honored for his
work. Anna tells Crowe that everything is second to his work, and that
she believes he is truly gifted.
Just then, a young man appears in their bathroom, and accuses Crowe
of failing him. Malcolm recognizes him as Vincent Grey, a former
patient whom he treated as a child for hallucinations. After Crowe
realizes he did fail him, Vincent shoots Crowe before killing himself.
The next fall, Crowe begins working with another patient, 9-year-old
Cole Sear, whose case is similar to Vincent's. Crowe becomes dedicated
to the boy, though he is haunted by doubts over his ability to help him
after his failure with Vincent. Meanwhile, he and his wife seldom, if
ever, speak or do anything together. Crowe feels he must help Cole in
order to rectify his failure to Vincent and reconcile with his wife. Cole's
mother, who truly loves him, worries about his social stamina,
especially after seeing signs of physical abuse. Cole eventually
confides his secret to Crowe: he sees dead people, who walk around
like the living unaware they are dead.
At first, Crowe thinks Cole is delusional and considers dropping him.
Remembering Vincent, Crowe listens to an audiotape from a session
with Vincent, then a child. On the tape, when Crowe leaves the room,
99

and then returns, Vincent was crying. Turning up the volume, Crowe
hears a weeping man begging for help in Spanish, and now believes
that Cole is telling the truth and that Vincent may have had the same
ability. He suggests to Cole that he should try to find a purpose for his
gift by communicating with the ghosts and perhaps aid them with
their unfinished business. At first, Cole is unwilling since the ghosts
terrify and sometimes even threaten him, but he finally decides to do
it.
Cole talks to one of the ghosts, Kyra Collins, a young chronically ill girl
who recently died. He goes with Crowe to her funeral reception, where
Kyra directs him to a box holding a videotape, which he then gives to
her father. The tape shows Kyra's mother putting a cleaning fluid in her
soup. By proving she was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy,
Cole has saved Kyra's younger sister, the mother's next victim.
Learning to live with the ghosts he sees, Cole starts to fit in at school
and gets the lead in the school play, which Crowe attends. The doctor
and patient depart on positive terms and Cole suggests to Crowe that
he should try speaking to Anna while she is asleep. Later, while stuck
in a traffic jam, Cole confesses his secret to his mother, Lynn, saying
that someone died in an accident up ahead and he knows because the
person is right next to him. Lynn does not see the recently deceased,
but Cole sees a woman cyclist with blood dripping down her face.
Although his mother at first does not believe him, Cole proves his
ability to her by talking about how his grandmother visits him. He
100

describes how his grandmother saw his mother in a dance

performance, even though Lynn thought her mother was not there. He
further relays the answer to a question his mother privately asked at
her mother's grave. When Cole says that his grandmother feels proud
of Lynn, his mother tearfully accepts the truth and they hug each other.
Crowe returns home, where he finds his wife asleep with their
wedding video playing. While still asleep, Anna asks her husband why
he left her, and drops Crowe's wedding ring, which he suddenly
discovers he has not been wearing. He remembers what Cole said
about ghosts and realizes that he was actually killed by Vincent that
night, and was unknowingly dead the entire time he was working with
Cole. Because of Cole's efforts, Crowe's unfinished business rectifying
his failure to understand and help Vincent is finally complete. Crowe
fulfills the second reason he returned: to tell his wife she was never
second, and that he loves her. His goal complete, he is free to leave the
world of the living.

101

Script notes

102

Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

Sam Baldwin, a Chicago architect, loses his wife Maggie to cancer. He
and his 8-year old son Jonah start anew inSeattle, Washington, but
Sam continues to grieve.
A year and a half later, on Christmas Eve 1992, Jonahwho wants his
father to find a new wifecalls in to a radio talk show. Jonah persuades
Sam to go on the air to talk about how much he misses Maggie.
Hundreds of women from around the country who hear the program
and are touched by the story write to Sam.
One of the listeners is Annie Reed, a Baltimore Sunreporter. She is
engaged to amiable suitable Walter but feels there is something
missing from their cordial relationship, feeling no "magic". After
watching the film An Affair to Remember, Annie impulsively writes a
letter suggesting that Sam meet her on top of the Empire State
Building on Valentine's Day. She does not intend to mail it, but her
friend and editor Becky does it for her and agrees to send Annie to
Seattle to "look into doing a story on those radio shows".
Sam begins dating a co-worker, Victoria, whom Jonah dislikes. Jonah, a
baseball fan, reads Annie's letter and likes that it mentions the
Baltimore Orioles, but he fails to convince his father to go to New York
to meet Annie. On the advice of his playmate Jessica, Jonah replies to
Annie, agreeing to the New York meeting.
103

While dropping Victoria off at the airport for a flight, Sam sees Annie
exiting from her plane and is mesmerized by her, although he has no
idea who she is. Annie later secretly watches Sam and Jonah playing
on the beach together but mistakes Sam's sister for his girlfriend. He
recognizes her from the airport and says "Hello", but Annie can only
respond with another "Hello" before fleeing. She decides she is being
foolish and goes to New York to meet Walter for Valentine's Day.
With Jessica's help, Jonah flies to New York without Sam's permission
and goes to the Empire State Building searching for Annie. Jonah goes
to the observation deck and asks every unattached woman if she is
Annie. Sam, distraught, follows Jonah and finds him on the
observation deck. Meanwhile, Annie sees the skyscraper from the
Rainbow Room where she is dining with Walter and confesses her
doubts to him. They amicably end their engagement. She rushes to the
Empire State Building but is told that the observation deck is closed.
Annie begs the guard to let her go to the observation deck, using a
phrase from An Affair to Remember which the guard recognizes. Citing
it as his wife's favorite movie, he lets her go up. She arrives at the top
just moments after the doors to the down elevator close with Sam and
Jonah inside.
In spite of the observation deck being deserted, Annie convinces the
elevator operator to let her take a quick look around. She discovers a
backpack that Jonah has left behind. As she pulls out Jonah's teddy
bear from the backpack, Sam and Jonah emerge from the elevator, and
104

the three meet for the first time. Annie asks Jonah if the teddy bear is
his, and he says it is. "Are you Annie?" Jonah asks. She nods yes, and
Jonah smiles. "You're Annie?" says a stunned and lovestruck Sam. The
elevator operator clears his throat. Sam indicates they should go,
momentarily making it unclear what his intentions are, until he says
"Shall we?", tenderly offering his hand to Annie. "Magic" is implied,
because the couple keep holding hands as the three enter the elevator
together. When the elevator door closes, the last thing we see is
Jonah's beaming smile as he realizes his plan to bring Annie and his
father together has worked.

105

Script notes

106

Sling Blade(1996)
Karl Childers (Billy Bob Thornton) is an intellectually disabled Arkansas
man who has been in the custody of the state mental hospital since
the age of 12 for having killed his mother and her lover. Although
thoroughly " institutionalized," Karl is deemed fit to be released into
the outside world. Prior to his release, he is interviewed by a local
college newspaper reporter, to whom he recounts the brutal murder of
his mother and her boyfriend with a Kaiser blade - during which scene
he notes to the reporter that, "Some folks call it a sling blade. I call it a
kaiser blade," the line from which the film derives its name. Karl
continues, saying that he killed the man because he thought he
wasraping his mother. When he discovered that his mother was a
willing participant in the affair, he killed her also.
Having developed a knack for small engine repair during his
childhood and his institutionalization, Karl lands a job at a smallengine repair shop in the small town where he was born and raised.
Around this time, he befriends 12-year-old Frank Wheatley (Lucas
Black). Karl shares with Frank some of the details of his past, including
the killings. Frank reveals that his father was killed - hit by a train leaving him and his mother on their own - he later admits that he lied,
and that his father committed suicide.
Frank introduces Karl to his mother, Linda (Natalie Canerday), as well
as her gay friend, Vaughan Cunningham (John Ritter), the manager of
107

the dollar store where she is employed. Despite Vaughan's concerns

about Karl's history in the mental hospital, Linda allows him to move
into her garage, which angers Linda's abusive alcoholic boyfriend,
Doyle Hargraves (Dwight Yoakam). Eventually, Karl bonds with both
Linda and Vaughan. In an early scene, Vaughan tells Karl that a gay
man and a mentally challenged man face similar obstacles of
intolerance and ridicule in small-town America.
Karl quickly becomes a father figure to Frank, who misses his father
and despises Doyle. For Karl, Frank becomes much like a younger
brother. Karl eventually reveals that he is haunted by the task given to
him by his parents when he was six or eight years old to dispose of his
premature, unwanted, newborn brother. In a subsequent scene, he
visits his father (Robert Duvall), who has become a mentally
unbalanced hermit living in the dilapidated home where Karl grew up.
Karl's parents performed an abortion, causing the baby to "come out
too soon," and Karl was given a bloody towel wrapped around the
baby, which survived the abortion. Karl was instructed to "get rid of it,"
but when Karl detected movement inside the towel, he inspected it,
discovering "a little ol' boy" that "wasn't no bigger than a squirrel."
While recounting this story to Frank, Frank asks why Karl just didn't
keep the baby, but Karl replies he had no way to care for a baby. He
placed the baby, still in the bloody towel, inside a shoe box and buried
the baby alive, saying he felt it was better to just "return him to the
good Lord right off the bat," because of the abuse and neglect he
108

himself had received at the hands of his own parents. Karl tells his
father that killing the baby was wrong, and that he had wanted to kill
his father for making him do it, but eventually decided that he wasn't
worth the effort.
Meanwhile, Doyle becomes increasingly abusive towards Karl and
Frank, leading to an eventual drunken outburst and physical
confrontation with Linda and Frank. Linda then kicks Doyle out of the
house (despite his threats to kill her if she ever left him). The next day,
Linda and Doyle reconcile. Knowing that he has the upper hand again,
Doyle confronts Karl and Frank and announces his plan to move into
the house permanently; he plans "big changes", including Karl's
removal from the house. Karl begins to realize that he is the only one
who can bring about a positive change and thus spare Frank and his
mother a grim fate. Karl makes Frank promise to spend the night at
Vaughan's house, and asks Vaughan to pick up Linda from work and
have her stay over also.
Later that evening, Karl returns to Linda's house, but seems undecided
about whether he should enter. When confronted, a drunk Doyle asks
what Karl is doing with the lawnmower blade he had sharpened and
fashioned into a weapon which he was carrying. Karl replies, "I aim to
kill you with it." After Karl asks Doyle how to reach the police by phone,
Doyle says Karl should dial 911 and request "an ambulance, or a
'hearst'". Then Karl kills Doyle with two chopping blows of the
lawnmower blade to the head. Karl then calls the police to turn himself
109

in, and requests a "hearst" be sent for Doyle. He then eats mustard and
biscuits while waiting for the police.
Returned to the state hospital, he seems a different person than he
was during his previous incarceration. He silences a sexual predator
(played by J. T. Walsh) who had previously forced him to listen to tales
of his horrible deeds.

110

Script notes

111

Smoke Signals (1998)

Victor (Adam Beach) and Thomas Builds-the-Fire (Evan Adams) live on
the Coeur D'Alene Indian Reservation inPlummer, Idaho. Thomas is an
eccentric storyteller and Victor is an angry young man who enjoys
playingbasketball.
Victor and Thomas are brought together through Victor's father, Arnold
(Gary Farmer). Arnold rescued Thomas as an infant from a house fire
that killed his parents. Because of this, Thomas considers him a hero.
On the other hand, Victor, who endures Arnold's alcoholism, domestic
violence, and eventual child abandonment, regards his father with
both deep love and bitter resentment. Thomas and Victor grow up
together as neighbors and acquaintances, fighting with each other and
simultaneously forming a close, albeit uneasy, alliance.
When Arnold dies in Phoenix, Arizona, where he has stayed after
leaving Victor and his mother Arlene ( Tantoo Cardinal), Victor and
Thomas go on an adventure to retrieve his ashes. It was a self
proclaiming trip for Victor and Thomas. Neither of them lose sight of
their identity as "Indians", but their perspectives differ. Victor is more
of a stoic type, and Thomas is more traditional (and romantic to the
point of watching the feature film Dances with Wolves countless
times). This dichotomy continues all through the film and is the source
of Victor's irritation with Thomas, and Thomas's fascination with Victor.

112

Once in Phoenix, Victor must confront his conflicted feelings

about his father, as well as his own identity. He also must grapple with
information provided to him by his father's friend, Suzy Song (Irene
Bedard), mainly, the true origins of the fire that killed Thomas' parents.
A drunken Arnold accidentally started the fire with fireworks. The trip
turns out to ultimately cure Victor's brooding disposition toward life
and shows him why his father became an alcoholic, was abusive, and
eventually left their family. Ultimately, Victor achieves a better
understanding of Thomas and of his unconditional reverence for
Arnold.

113

Script notes

114

Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)

Set on the fictional San Piedro Island in the northern
Puget Sound region of the Washington state coast in 1950, the plot
revolves around the murder case of Kazuo Miyamoto (Rick Yune), a
Japanese American accused of killing Carl Heine, a White fisherman.
The trial occurs in the midst of deep anti-Japanese sentiments
following World War II. Covering the case is the editor of the town's
one-man newspaper, Ishmael Chambers (Ethan Hawke), a World War II
veteran who lost an arm fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. Ishmael
struggles with his love for Kazuo's wife, Hatsue (Youki Kudoh), and his
conscience, wondering if Kazuo is truly innocent.
Spearheading the prosecution are the town's sheriff, Art Moran
(Richard Jenkins), and prosecutor, Alvin Hooks (James Rebhorn).
Leading the defense is the old, experienced attorney Nels
Gudmundsson (Max von Sydow). An underlying theme throughout the
trial is prejudice. Several witnesses, including Etta Heine (Celia
Weston), Carl's mother, accuse Kazuo of murdering Carl for racial and
personal reasons. Etta is a stereotypical anti-Japanese person; she
represents the part of America that persecuted Japanese Americans
during the Second World War. This stance is not without irony, as Kazuo
(a decorated war veteran of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team),
experienced prejudice because of his ancestry, following the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor. By the same standard, Etta, a German American,
could be blamed for Nazi war crimes.
115

Also involved in the trial is Ole Jurgensen, an elderly

man who sold his strawberry field to Carl. The strawberry field is a
contested issue during the trial. The land was originally owned by Carl
Heine Sr. The Miyamotos lived in a house on the Heines' land and
picked strawberries for Carl Sr. Kazuo and Carl Jr. were close friends as
children. Kazuo's father eventually approached Carl Sr. about
purchasing 7 acres (28,000 m2) of the farm. Though Etta opposed the
sale, Carl Sr. agreed. The payments were to be made over a ten-year
period. However, before the last payment was made, war erupted
between the U.S. and Japan, and all islanders of Japanese ancestry
were forced to relocate to internment camps. In 1944, Carl Sr. died and
Etta sold the land to Ole. When Kazuo returned after the war, he was
extremely bitter toward Etta forreneging on the land sale. When Ole
suffered a stroke and decided to sell the farm, he was approached by
Carl Jr., hours before Kazuo arrived, to try to buy the land back. During
the trial, the land is presented as a family feud and the motivation
behind Carl's murder.
Ishmael's search of the maritime records reveals on the night that Carl
Heine died a freighter had passed through the channel where Carl had
been fishing at 1:42am, five minutes before his watch had stopped.
Ishmael realises that Carl was thrown overboard by the force of the
freighter's wake. Despite the bitterness he feels at Hatsue's rejection,
Ishmael comes forward with the new information. Further evidence is
collected in support of the conclusion that Carl had climbed the boat's
116

mast to cut down a lantern, been knocked from the mast by the
freighter's wake, hit his head, then fallen into the sea. The charges
against Kazuo are dismissed. Hatsue thanks Ishmael by allowing him
to hold her "one last time."

117

Script notes

118

Sophie's Choice (1982)

In 1947, Stingo relocates to Brooklyn in order to write a novel and is
befriended by Sophie Zawistowski, a Polish immigrant, and her
emotionally unstable lover, Nathan Landau.
One evening, Stingo learns from Sophie that she was married but her
husband and her father were killed in a German work camp and that
she was interned in theAuschwitz concentration camp.
Nathan is constantly jealous, and when he is in one of his violent
mood swings he convinces himself that Sophie is unfaithful to him
and he abuses and harasses her. There is a flashback showing Nathan
with Sophie who is near death due to anemia shortly after her
immigration to the U.S.
Sophie eventually reveals that her father was a Nazi sympathizer.
Sophie's wartime lover, Jzef, who lived with his half-sister, Wanda,
was a leader in the Resistance. Wanda tried to convince Sophie to
translate some stolen Gestapo documents, but Sophie declined,
fearing she might endanger her children. Two weeks later, Jzef was
murdered by the Gestapo, and Sophie was arrested and sent to
Auschwitz with her children.
Nathan tells Sophie and Stingo that the research he is doing at a
pharmaceutical company is so groundbreaking that he will win the
Nobel Prize. At a meeting with Nathan's physician brother, Stingo
119

learns that Nathan is a paranoid schizophrenic and that all of the

schools that Nathan had attended were "expensive funny farms." He
has a job in the library of a pharmaceutical firm, which his brother got
for him, and only occasionally assists with research.
After Nathan discharges a firearm over the telephone in a violent rage,
Sophie and Stingo flee to a hotel. She reveals to him that, upon arrival
at Auschwitz, she was forced to choose which one of her two children
would be gassed and which would proceed to the labor camp. To avoid
having both children killed, she chose her son, Jan, to be sent to the
children's camp, and her daughter, Eva, to be sent to her death.
Sophie and Stingo make love, but while Stingo is sleeping, Sophie
returns to Nathan. Sophie and Nathan commit suicide by taking
cyanide. Stingo recites the poem "Ample Make This Bed" by Emily
Dickinsonthe American poet Sophie was fond of reading.
Stingo moves to a small farm his father recently inherited in southern
Virginia to finish writing his novel.

120

Script notes

121

The Spitfire Grill (1996)

The story centers on a young woman named Percy (Alison Elliott) who
was recently released from prison. She arrives in a small town in Maine
with hopes of beginning a new life. She lands a job as a waitress in the
Spitfire Grill, owned by Hannah (Ellen Burstyn), whose gruff exterior
conceals a kind heart and little tolerance for the grill's regular
customers who are suspicious of Percy's mysterious past. None is more
suspicious than Nahum, Hannah's nephew, although his wife, Shelby,
has a kinder curiosity.
When Hannah is bedridden after a nasty fall, Percy and Shelby pitch in
to save the Grill and win the approval of Hannah, who learns she does
need friends. Joe, an attractive young man in town, becomes smitten
with Percy. He recruits a scientist who thinks that the town's trees
might cure cancer and arthritis. As the plot unfolds, Hannah holds a
$100-per-entry essay contest to find a new owner for the grill. This
creates a positive change in the town, but the plans are disrupted by
Nahum's suspicions about Percy and the revelation that a local hermit
is Hannah's shell-shocked, Vietnam veteran son. Percy sacrifices her
own life to save Hannah's son and prompts a number of the town's
citizens to examine their own conduct more deeply.
Overall, the film deals with powerful themes of redemption, hatred,
compassion, independence, the economic problems of small towns,
the plight of Vietnam War veterans, and, to some extent female
122

empowerment. The film somewhat mislead the audience into thinking

that it will be Percy who finds redemption, but it is other characters and
relationships, and indeed the town itself, that are powerfully
redeemed through Percy's actions.

Script notes

123

The Stand (1994 television miniseries)

At a government laboratory in rural California, a
weaponized version of influenza (called Project Blue) is accidentally
released, immediately wiping out everyone on staff except for military
policeman Charles Campion, who flees the base with his family.
However, Campion is already infected by the superflu, nicknamed
"Captain Trips", and spreads it to the outside world. Days later,
Campion crashes his car at a gas station in East Texas, where Stu
Redman (Gary Sinise) and some friends have gathered. When they
investigate, they find Campion dying of the flu next to his wife and
baby daughter, who are already dead. Campion tells Stu with his dying
breath that he was followed from the base by a mysterious figure and
states: "You can't outrun the Dark Man". The next day, the U.S. military
arrives to quarantine the town. While the other townspeople quickly
become ill and die, Stu remains healthy and is confined at a CDC
facility in Vermont, in order to research a possible cure. The research
proves futile, and the superflu rages unchecked, causing civilization to
collapse and killing over 99% of the entire world's population in less
than two months.
After the infection runs its course, a small group of immune survivors
is scattered across the country. These include rock star Larry Underwood
(Adam Storke), who has just had his big break but is now stranded in
New York City; Nick Andros (Rob Lowe), a deaf man in Arkansas;
Frannie Goldsmith (Molly Ringwald), a teenager living in Ogunquit,
124

Maine; Lloyd Henreid (Miguel Ferrer), a criminal stuck in a prison cell

in Arizona; and "Trashcan Man" (Matt Frewer), a mentally ill arsonist
and scavenger. The survivors soon begin having visions, either from
kindly Mother Abagail (Ruby Dee) or from the demonic Randall
Flagg(Jamey Sheridan). The two sets of survivors are instructed to
either travel to Nebraska to meet Mother Abagail, or to Las Vegas to
join Flagg.
As their journeys begin, Lloyd is freed from prison by Flagg in
exchange for becoming his second in command. Trashcan Man, who is
a pyromaniac, destroys a set of fuel tanks in Indiana, then much of Des
Moines, in order to win Flagg's favor. Larry escapes New York and
meets a mysterious woman named Nadine Cross (Laura San Giacomo).
Despite their mutual attraction, Nadine is unable to consummate a
relationship with Larry because of her visions of Flagg, who commands
her to join him as his concubine. Nadine eventually leaves Larry to
travel on her own. Stu escapes from the CDC facility and gathers a
group of survivors, including Frannie; Harold Lauder (Corin Nemec), a
hometown acquaintance of Frannie's; and Glen Bateman (Ray
Walston), a retired college professor.
As the group travels west, Harold grows frustrated at the way that Stu
has assumed leadership and grown close to Frannie. Meanwhile, Nick
makes his way across the Midwest, eventually joined by Tom Cullen
(Bill Fagerbakke), a gentle, mentally challenged man. Eventually,
Nick's group reaches Mother Abagail's farm in Hemingford Home,
125

Nebraska. She tells them a great conflict is imminent, and they must
all travel on to Boulder, Colorado. There, the various survivors,
including Stu, Frannie, and Larry, join with others to form a new
community founded on Mother Abagail's teachings. Meanwhile, Flagg
sets up an autocraticsociety in Las Vegas.
Initially, all is well in Boulder. However, Frannie discovers she is
pregnant by her deceased ex-boyfriend, causing her anxiety because
she is not sure whether or not her child will be immune to the
superflu. Meanwhile, Harold grows increasingly dissatisfied with his
life in Boulder and begins experiencing visions from Flagg. He is soon
seduced by Nadine and decides to follow Flagg's dictates. Mother
Abagail, now the spiritual center of Boulder, becomes convinced that
she has fallen into the sin of pride and leaves town to walk in the
wilderness. Shortly thereafter, Harold and Nadine plant a bomb in
Frannie and Stu's home, and set it off during a meeting of the Free
Zone council. Meanwhile, Abagail returns to town greatly weakened
and gives a psychic warning to the council members at the meeting.
The warning allows most of the council to escape the explosion, but
Nick and Susan Stern are killed. In the hospital after the bombing,
Mother Abagail tells Stu, Larry, Glen, and fellow council member Ralph
Brentner that they must travel to Las Vegas to confront Flagg; then she
passes away. Meanwhile, Nadine and Harold make a run for the hills,
where Harold dies in an accident created by Flagg, and Nadine is raped
by Flagg, who shows his demonic face.
126

Flagg returns to Las Vegas with a traumatized Nadine. He becomes

increasingly unstable, showing his true face to Lloyd in a rage. Shortly
after this, Nadine taunts Flagg's loss of control over the situation, then
commits suicide with Flagg's unborn baby inside her. With winter fast
approaching, the Stu, Larry, Glen, and Ralph set out on their quest.
While crossing a washed out road, Stu breaks his leg and stays behind
while the others continue. Larry, Glen, and Ralph are soon captured by
Flagg's forces and temporarily imprisoned, although Glen is later shot
to death for refusing to betray the Boulder group in exchange for his
life. Larry and Ralph however, are forced to endure a show trial before
being publicly executed inFremont Street. As they are being tortured,
to the delight of Flagg's acolytes, Trashcan Man arrives with a stolen
nuclear weapon. As Flagg transforms into a demonic visage, a spectral
hand reaches out and detonates the bomb, while the voice of Mother
Abagail declares that God's promise has been kept, destroying Las
Vegas and apparently killing Flagg. Stu is rescued by Tom, who takes
him to a nearby cabin to heal as winter sets in. They eventually return
to Boulder in the midst of a blinding snow storm. While Stu is away,
Frannie gives birth to a baby who had caught the flu. When Stu arrives
back home, the baby, named Abagail (after Mother Abagail),survives
the flu.
With the end of both Captain Trips and Flagg, Stu, Frannie, and the
other survivors work on rebuilding their lives.

127

Script notes

128

Stand By Me (1986)
In 1985, after reading a newspaper article about the death of a man
named Chris Chambers, author Gordie Lachance (Richard Dreyfuss)
recalls a childhood journey to find the body of a missing boy near the
(fictional) town of Castle Rock, Oregon (Maine in the novella) over
Labor Day Weekend in 1959. Young Gordie (Wil Wheaton) was a quiet,
bookish boy with a penchant for writing and telling stories. He is
rejected by his father (Marshall Bell) after the death of his football-star
older brother Denny (John Cusack), who had paid more attention to
Gordie than their parents did.
Gordie spends his time with three friends: Chris Chambers (River
Phoenix), who is from a family of criminals and alcoholics and is
usually stereotyped accordingly, even though he does not conform to
the perceptions and stigmas; Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman), who is
eccentric and physically scarred after his mentally unstable father held
his ear to a stove; and Vern Tessio (Jerry O'Connell), who is overweight,
timid, and often the target of bullying. Overall, all four of the boys,
especially Gordie and Chris, are often hazed and by the disdainful
teenaged gang members, Ace Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland) and Chris'
older brother, Eyeball (Bradley Gregg).
Vern overhears his older brother, Billy (Casey Siemaszko), and his
friend, Charlie Hogan (Gary Riley), talking about finding the body of
Ray Brower, who was killed after being struck by a train while
129

pickingblueberries in the woods. Brower was a boy whose

disappearance and subsequent police search was a big news story in
Castle Rock. Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern decide to embark upon a
hiking journey following the local rail line to see if they can find Ray's
body and become local heroes. On they day the boys are supposed to
start their journey, Gordie and Chris are confronted by Ace and Eyeball,
who steal Gordie's hat and threaten Chris with a lit cigarette when he
tries to stand up for himself, but they are let go unharmed.
The boys set out, first encountering Milo Pressman (William Bronder)
and his dog Chopper when they pause to fill their canteens from a well
located in Milo's junkyard. When he confronts them for trespassing in
his yard, Milo callously calls Teddy's father a "loony", causing Teddy to
unleash his anger on Milo before the boys drag him away. Milo then
threatens to make a phone call to their fathers for their antics, but the
boys leave the junkyard anyway. They then walk along a train bridge,
and Vern and Gordie are nearly run over by a passing train. At the end
of the day, the boys set up camp and Gordie tells his friends a story
that he made up about an obese, unpopular boy named Davie "Lard
Ass" Hogan (Andy Lindberg), who gets revenge on his town for
bullying him by making them vomit on each other during The Great
Tri-County Pie-Eating Contest. Later on in the night, Chris reveals to
Gordie his fear of being stereotyped as a criminal due to his alcoholic,
lawbreaking family and becoming a failure as a result. The next
morning, the boys continue by taking a short-cut through a swamp
130

only to discover that it is infested with leeches. While hurriedly

removing them from each other, Gordie briefly faints after finding one
in his underwear, causing the other boys to wonder if they should go
on. Gordie ends up being the decisive one and decides to continue,
driven by his own personal need to see the dead body.
They locate the body, and it reminds Gordie that his father
loved his brother more than him. At this point, Ace and his gang
consisting of Eyeball, Vince Desjardins (Jason Oliver), Charlie, Billy, and
two other hoodlums show up in their cars to take the body (and the
credit for finding it). Ace gives the boys an ultimatum, but when Chris
stands up from himself again and insults him, an incensed Ace pulls
out his pocket knife, intending to murder him. Gordie comes to Chris'
defense and threatens Ace with an M1911 pistol that Chris had stolen
from his father. Ace, believing Gordie's warnings to be a bluff, initially
tries to talk him into giving him the weapon. However, when Ace
comes to the realization that Gordie is serious, and that Ace and his
gang are outgunned, they finally leave, but not before Ace vows to
seek his revenge on the boys for their defensive actions. Gordie
decides that no one will get credit for finding the dead body and
reports it via an anonymous phone call to the authorities. The boys
hike back to Castle Rock, say goodbye and expect to see each other the
next week as seventh graders in junior high.
Gordie states that the friends drifted apart shortly thereafter. Vern got
married immediately after high school, had four sons and became a
131

forklift driver at a local lumber yard. Teddy tried to join the Army, but
was denied entry because of his poor eyesight and ear injury. He
eventually served a prison sentence and was now doing odd jobs
around Castle Rock. Chris was able to stick it out and get by in the
advanced classes with Gordie and later moved out of Castle Rock and
became a lawyer. However, as revealed in the opening scene, Chris
was stabbed in the throat and killed when he attempted to intervene
in a fight in a fast food restaurant the week before the present day
scenes took place. Gordie then finishes his memoir, and takes his son
and his son's friend swimming.

132

Script notes

133

Starman (1984)
Launched in 1977, the Voyager 2 space probe carried agold
phonographic disk with a message of peace, invitingalien civilizations
to visit Earth. The probe is intercepted by an alien ship which then
sends a small scout vessel to establish first contact with Earth.
However, instead of greeting the alien craft, the US government shoots
it down. Crashing in Chequamegon Bay, Wisconsin, the lone alien
occupant, looking like a floating ball of glowing energy, finds the
home of recently widowed Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen). While there,
the alien uses a lock of hair from her deceased husband, Scott, to clone
a new body for himself as a terrified Jenny watches. The alien
"Starman" (Jeff Bridges) has seven small silver spheres with him which
provide energy to perform miraculous feats. He uses the first to send a
message to his people stating that Earth is hostile and his spacecraft
has been destroyed. He arranges to rendezvous with them in three
days time. He then uses the second sphere to create a holographic
map of the United States, coercing Jenny into taking him to the
rendezvous point in Arizona.
Jenny is initially both hostile and frightened of him and attempts to
escape. Having a rough understanding of English language from the
Voyager 2 disk, the Starman learns to communicate with Jenny and
assures her that he means no harm. He explains that if he does not
reach the rendezvous point, Arizona'sBarringer Crater, in three days, he
will die. Sympathetic but still wary, Jenny teaches him how to drive a
134

car and use credit cards so he can continue the journey alone, but
when she witnesses him miraculously resurrect a dead deer, she is
deeply moved and decides to stay with him. However, they are
pursued across the country by the authorities and, after nearly being
caught, Jenny is shot and critically wounded by a police officer. In
order to escape, the Starman crashes their car into a gas tanker and
uses another sphere to protect the two of them from the explosion.
They take refuge in a mobile home that is being towed. He uses
another silver sphere to heal Jenny. After being assured that Jenny will
recover, the Starman proceeds to hitchhike towards Arizona without
her, but Jenny manages to catch up to him while he and his driver are
stopped at a roadblock . Reunited, the two of them hitchhike together,
resuming their journey towards the crater.
Later, while stowing away on a boxcar train, the couple make love. The
Starman tells Jenny "I gave you a baby tonight." Jenny explains that
she is infertile and cannot have children, but he assures her she is now
pregnant. He explains that the baby will be the son of her dead
husband, because he is a clone of Scott, but will possess all of the
Starman's knowledge and will grow up to be a teacher. He offers to
stop the pregnancy if she wishes, but the joyful Jenny embraces him,
accepting the gift.
The couple mistakenly travel too far on the train and arrive in Las
Vegas. Jenny realizes she has lost her wallet. The Starman uses one of
their last quarters in a slot machine, which he manipulates in order to
135

win the $500,000 jackpot. They then buy a new car to complete their
journey to Arizona.
Meanwhile, National Security director George Fox learns that the
Starman's flight trajectory, prior to being shot down, was to the
Barringer Crater. Fox arranges to have the Starman captured by the
Army, dead or alive. SETI scientist Mark Shermin, another government
official involved in the case, criticizes Fox's heavy-handed approach
and reminds him that the Starman was invited to Earth. Appalled to
learn that Fox is planning to vivisect the alien, Shermin then resolves
to help the Starman escape rather than allow Fox to capture him.
Jenny and the now dying Starman reach the crater as Army helicopters
pursue them. Just as they are surrounded, a large, spherical spaceship
appears and descends into the crater. Light surrounds the couple, and
the Starman is instantly restored to health. As he prepares to leave, he
tells Jenny he will never see her again. Jenny begs him to take her
with him, but he says she would die on his world. He then gives her his
last silver sphere, telling her that their son will know what to do with it.
Jenny watches as the ship departs.

136

Script notes

137

Steel Magnolias (1989)

Annelle Dupuy (Daryl Hannah), a reserved and ditzy beauty
school graduate, is hired by Truvy Jones (Dolly Parton) to work in her
home-based beauty salon in northwestern Louisiana. At the same time
in another part of the neighbourhood, M'Lynn Eatenton (Sally Field)
and her daughter, Shelby (Julia Roberts), are preparing for Shelby's
wedding day, which is taking place later that day. They arrive, along
with Clairee Belcher ( Olympia Dukakis), the cheerful widow of the late
former mayor, to have their hair done. Suddenly, Shelby, who has type
one diabetes, falls into a hypoglycemic state but recovers quickly with
the help of her mother's persistence and quick thinking. M'Lynn
explains that Shelby was recently informed by doctors that she isn't
able to have children.
Later that afternoon, short-tempered and sarcastic Ouiser Boudreaux
(Shirley MacLaine) arrives in the salon and questions Annelle about
where she has moved from, forcing Annelle to reveal that her husband
is a dangerous criminal on the run from the police. Moved by Annelle's
emotional confession, Shelby invites her to the wedding, where
Annelle meets Sammy (Kevin J. O'Connor) who is tending bar.
Several months pass and Shelby returns to town to celebrate
Christmas. During the festivities, she announces that she and her
husband Jackson Latcherie (Dylan McDermott) are expecting their first
child.
138

Shelby's father Drum (Tom Skerritt) is thrilled, but M'Lynn is

too worried to share in the joy. Even when Shelby confesses that she
hopes the arrival of a baby might make her marriage a little easier,
M'Lynn is unable to rejoice. Truvy, Annelle, and Clairee had originally
thought that Shelby couldn't have children, but on the night of the big
announcement, M'Lynn clarified for them that the doctors said Shelby
shouldn'thave children because of her diabetes, and that there is a
very big difference. It becomes clear that Shelby could actually die in
childbirth because of her diabetes taking a toll. Unable to give her any
words of wisdom, Truvy suggests they focus on the joy of the situation:
Jackson and Shelby's first child, as well as Drum and M'Lynn's first
grandchild, as well as their sons, Jonathan and Tommy's first nephew.
M'Lynn agrees, saying that nothing pleases Shelby more than proving
her wrong.
Shelby successfully delivers a baby boy, Jackson Jr., but
begins showing signs of kidney failure and starts dialysis around the
time Jackson Jr turns one. M'Lynn successfully donates a kidney and
Shelby seemingly resumes a normal life. Clairee and Ouiser offer to
make sure that M'Lynn's husband, Drum, and their sons, Jonathan
(Jonathan Ward) and Tommy (Knowl Johnson), have enough food to
last until M'Lynn returns home after the transplant. Later, on
Halloween, Ouiser, Clairee, Truvy, and M'Lynn throw Annelle a surprise
wedding shower. Shelby is unavailable to attend, due to a conflicting

139

schedule with her nursing job, and is later found unconscious on the
porch of her house.
Shelby is rushed to the hospital, where it is determined that her body
rejected the new kidney, sending her into a coma. The doctors inform
the family that Shelby is likely to remain comatose indefinitely, and
her
family and husband jointly decide to take her off life support. At the
funeral, after the other mourners have left, M'Lynn breaks down in
hysterics in front of Ouiser, Clairee, Truvy, and Annelle but is comforted
by the other women.
Later, at the wake, M'Lynn begins to accept her daughter's death and
focuses her energy on helping Jackson raise Jackson Jr. Annelle, who
is now married and pregnant, asks M'Lynn if she could name her own
baby after Shelby, since Shelby was the reason Annelle and her
husband, Sammy (Kevin J. O'Connor), met. M'Lynn agrees, and assures
Annelle that Shelby would love it. Months later, on Easter morning,
Annelle goes into labor during an Easter egg hunt, is rushed to the
hospital by

140

Script notes

141

Stigmata (1999)
The film opens in the Brazilian village of Belo Quinto,
with Father Andrew Kiernan (Gabriel Byrne), a former scientist and an
ordained Jesuit priest who investigates supposed miracles, examining
a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupeweeping blood at the funeral of
Father Paulo Alameida (Jack Donner). While Andrew is collecting
evidence, a young boy steals the rosary from the father's hand. The boy
later sells it to a woman in a marketplace, who sends it to her atheist
daughter Frankie Paige (Patricia Arquette) living in Pittsburgh.
Shortly after, Frankie is attacked by an unseen force while bathing, and
receives two deep wounds on her wrists. As the wounds are treated,
the doctors cannot find the cause beyond that they are puncture
wounds and go all the way through the wrist. On the way home from
work on the train, Frankie approaches a priest and asks if he is Andrew
Kiernan. After the priest tells her he is Father Derning, the lights in the
train begin to flash, and Frankie is whipped from behind by an unseen
force, Father Derning watching in horror. While Frankie is hospitalized
again, the priest sends security tapes showing the attack to the Vatican,
and Andrew is sent to investigate.
Andrew meets Frankie, who tells him she has been expecting
him, and Andrew interviews her, believing her wounds may be
stigmata. When she tells him she is an atheist, Andrew tells her that
stigmata is when the deeply devoted are struck with the five wounds
142

that Jesus Christ received during the crucifixion. Frankie begins to

unsuccessfully research on her own what the cause could be. Later, at a
nightclub, her head begins to bleed, the third stigmata wound caused
by the Crown of Thorns. Frankie runs home, where Andrew is waiting,
and then runs into an alley. As Andrew pursues her, Frankie smashes a
glass bottle and uses the shards to carve symbols on the hood of a car:
when Andrew approaches her, she yells at him in another language.
Andrew takes Frankie to Father Derning's church, and
the Vatican translates what she was yelling as Aramaic, the language of
Christ. The next morning, Andrew returns to her apartment to find her
writing on the wall, now covered in Aramaic. Frankie talks in a male
voice, speaking Italian. Later, wounds appear in her feet, the fourth
wound of stigmata. Andrew emails photographs of Frankie's
apartment wall to the Vatican, where Brother Delmonico (Dick Latessa)
recognizes the words and deletes the pictures. He tells Andrew the
words are from a document the church found that looked to be an
entirely new gospel. Father Dario (Enrico Colantoni) shows the pictures
to Cardinal Daniel Houseman (Jonathan Pryce), who also recognizes
them. Delmonico phones Marion Petrocelli (Rade erbedija) and tells
him the missing gospel has been found in Pittsburgh.
In Pittsburgh, Andrew goes to Frankie's apartment to find the wall she
wrote on painted over, and Frankie attempts to seduce him. When
Andrew rejects her, she attacks him and denounces his beliefs in a
male voice, ending with Frankie levitating off the bed, crying tears of
143

blood. Houseman and Dario arrive with Derning and take Frankie to
another church, sending Andrew to Derning's. At Derning's church,
Andrew meets Petrocelli, who tells him the words Frankie has been
writing are part of a document found outside Jerusalem that they
believed to be a gospel in the exact words of Jesus. Petrocelli,
Delmonico and Alameida were assigned to translate it, but Houseman
ordered them to stop. Alameida refused and stole the document to
continue translating it alone, having been excommunicated by
Houseman.
Petrocelli tells Andrew that the document was Jesus
telling his disciples that the Kingdom of God is in all of us and not
confined to churches, a revelation that could ruin the Catholic Church.
Petrocelli also tells Andrew that Alameida suffered from stigmata.
Andrew races to the church where Frankie is, while Houseman and
Dario attempt to perform an exorcism on Frankie. Frankie shouts at
them in a male voice, and Houseman attempts to strangle her. Andrew
stops him, and the room is set on fire. Now believing Frankie is
possessed by Alameida's spirit, Andrew offers to be Alameida's
messenger instead. He walks unharmed through the fire to retrieve
Frankie, bidding Alameida's spirit to depart in peace. Some time later,
Andrew returns to Belo Quinto and finds the original documents for
the lost gospel in Alameida's church.
The film ends with a screen of text describing the discovery of the
Gospel of Thomas, believed, according to the film, to be the closest
144

thing to the actual words of Jesus while alive: the film states the
Catholic Church refuses to recognize the document as a gospel and
considers it heresy.

145

Script notes

146

The Sting (1973)

The film takes place in 1936, at the height of the Great
Depression. Johnny Hooker, a grifter in Joliet, Illinois, cons $11,000 in
cash from an unsuspecting victim with the aid of his partners Luther
Coleman and Joe Erie. Buoyed by the windfall, Luther announces his
retirement and advises Hooker to seek out an old friend, Henry
Gondorff, in Chicago to teach him "the big con". Unfortunately, their
victim was a numbers racket courier for vicious crime boss Doyle
Lonnegan. Corrupt Joliet police Lieutenant William Snyder confronts
Hooker, revealing Lonnegan's involvement and demanding part of
Hookers cut. Having already spent his share, Hooker pays Snyder in
counterfeit bills. Lonnegan's men murder Luther, and Hooker flees for
his life to Chicago.
Hooker finds Henry Gondorff, a once-great con-man now hiding from
the FBI, and asks for his help in taking on the dangerous Lonnegan.
Gondorff is initially reluctant, but he relents and decides to resurrect
an elaborate and supposedly obsolete scam known as "the wire",
using a crew of con artists to create a phony off-track betting parlor.
Aboard the opulent 20th Century Limited, Gondorff, posing as boorish
Chicago bookie Shaw, buys into Lonnegan's private, high-stakes poker
game. Shaw infuriates Lonnegan with his obnoxious behavior, then
out-cheats him to win $15,000. Hooker, posing as Shaw's disgruntled
employee, Kelly, is sent to collect the winnings and instead convinces
147

Lonnegan that he wants to take over Shaw's operation. Kelly reveals

that he has a partner named Les Harmon (actually con man Kid Twist)
in the Chicago Western Unionoffice, who will allow them to win bets
on horse races by past-posting.
Meanwhile, Snyder has tracked Hooker to Chicago, but his
pursuit is thwarted when he is summoned by undercover FBI agents
led by Agent Polk, who orders him to assist in their plan to arrest
Gondorff using Hooker. At the same time, Lonnegan has grown
frustrated with the inability of his men to find and kill Hooker.
Unaware that Kelly is Hooker, he demands that Salino, his best
assassin, be given the job. A mysterious figure with black leather
gloves is then seen following and observing Hooker.
Kelly's connection appears effective, as Harmon provides Lonnegan
with the winner of one horse race and the trifecta of another race.
Lonnegan agrees to finance a $500,000 bet at Shaw's parlor to break
Shaw and gain revenge. Shortly thereafter, Snyder captures Hooker
and brings him before FBI Agent Polk. Polk forces Hooker to betray
Gondorff by threatening to incarcerate Luther Coleman's widow.
The night before the sting, Hooker sleeps with Loretta, a waitress from
a local restaurant. As Hooker leaves the building the next morning, he
sees Loretta walking toward him. The black-gloved man appears
behind Hooker and shoots her dead she was Lonnegan's hired killer,

148

Loretta Salino, and the shooter was hired by Gondorff to protect

Hooker.
Armed with Harmons tip to "place it on Lucky Dan", Lonnegan makes
the $500,000 bet at Shaws parlor on Lucky Dan to win. As the race
begins, Harmon arrives and expresses shock at Lonnegan's bet,
explaining that when he said "place it" he meant, literally, that Lucky
Dan would "place" (i.e., finishsecond). In a panic, Lonnegan rushes the
teller window and demands his money back. As this happens, Agent
Polk, Lt. Snyder, and a half dozen FBI officers storm the parlor. Polk
confronts Gondorff, then tells Hooker he is free to go. Gondorff,
reacting to the betrayal, shoots Hooker in the back. Polk then shoots
Gondorff and orders Snyder to get the ostensibly respectable
Lonnegan away from the crime scene. With Lonnegan and Snyder
safely away, Hooker and Gondorff rise amid cheers and laughter. Agent
Polk is actually Hickey, a con man, running a con atop Gondorff's con to
divert Snyder and provide a solid "blow off". As the con men strip the
room of its contents, Hooker refuses his share of the money, saying
"I'd only blow it", and walks away with Gondorff.

149

Script notes

150

Stir of Echoes (1999)

Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon) is a phone lineman living in
aworking-class neighborhood in Chicago with his pregnant wife
Maggie (Kathryn Erbe) and his son Jake (Zachary David Cope), who
possesses the ability to commune with the dead. At a party one
evening, Tom challenges Maggie's sister Lisa (Illeana Douglas), a
believer inparanormal activity and psychic telepathy, to hypnotize him.
After putting him under, Lisa plants a post-hypnotic suggestion in Tom
urging him to "be more open-minded." Tom then begins experiencing
visions of a violent scuffle involving a girl who he later learns is
Samantha Kozac (Jennifer Morrison), a 17-year-old that disappeared
from the neighborhood six months prior.
While Tom and Maggie attend a high school football game, Jake is
overheard by his babysitter, Debbie Kozac (Liza Weil), as he speaks with
Samantha. Debbie gets upset and snatches Jake, running off with him
in the night. Meanwhile, Tom senses Jake is in danger and rushes
home but finds him gone. Tom then sees strange flashes of red light
that eventually leads him to the 'L' stationwhere Debbie is speaking
with her mother about Jake. When Tom and Maggie confront her,
Debbie angrily questions them about her sister Samantha, explaining
that she had an intellectual disability: having the mental capacity of an
8-year-old and thus, a child's tendency to trust strangers. Tom denies
knowing her to Debbie, but admits to Maggie that she is the girl in his
visions.
151

Tom becomes obsessed with Samantha and begins probing members

of the community about her disappearance. This attracts the attention
of his landlord Harry Damon (Conor O'Farrell), Tom's friend, Frank
McCarthy (Kevin Dunn) and their respective sons Kurt Damon (Steve
Rifkin) and Adam McCarthy (Chalon Williams), who all dismiss
Samantha as a runaway teen. During an afternoon walk, Jake and
Maggie encounter a funeral where Chicago policemen are saluting in a
ceremony; here a policeman named Neil (Eddie Bo Smith Jr.)
immediately recognizes Jake's unique talent and invites Tom to a
private gathering of like-minded people to learn more about what is
happening to his son. Maggie withholds her conversation with Neil
from Tom and goes to the meeting herself where Neil tells her the
spirit that contacted Tom has asked for something and will continue to
get upset if it does not get done. As predicted, Samantha begins
plaguing Tom, eventually leading to his insomnia. He goes back to Lisa
demanding she undo what she did, but when she hypnotizes him he is
told by the spirit to dig. Tom complies and begins digging holes in the
backyard and eventually tears up the house in a desperate attempt to
appease Samantha.
While Maggie and Jake attend her grandmother's wake at a relative's
house, Tom inadvertently knocks down a shoddy brick wall in the
basement and discovers Samantha's decomposed remains wrapped in
a plastic sheet. He receives a vision showing him that before his family
moved in, Adam and Kurt lured Samantha into the house to rape her.
152

When she resisted, they unintentionally suffocated her and hid her
body. Tom brings Frank back to the basement to disclose to him the
crime and Frank breaks down and admits that Adam and Kurt had
already confided their secret to him and Harry. Frank pulls out a gun
and demands to be alone. As Tom leaves the basement, he hears a
single shot and assumes that Frank committed suicide.
Harry and Kurt suddenly show up and Harry, in his capacity as landlord,
voices displeasure with the torn up house. They corner Tom with the
intention of killing him to silence him, but Maggie arrives back home
and Harry takes her hostage. Frank suddenly emerges from the
basement and fatally shoots both Kurt and Harry in order to save Tom
and Maggie. Tom then notices Samantha's spirit putting on her glasses
and coat, smiling as she walks down the road and disappears.
Afterwards, the family packs up a U-Hauland moves out of the house.
Meanwhile, Samantha's mother and sister are finally able to give her a
proper funeral and burial. Tom and Maggie smile happily as they drive
away to a new neighborhood, but Jake, covering his ears as they
approach their new home, overwhelmed by the spirits that linger in all
of the houses they pass by.

153

Script notes

154

The Storm of the Century (TV miniseries, 1999)

A very powerful blizzard hits the fictional small town
of Little Tall Island (also the setting of King's novel Dolores Claiborne)
off the coast of Maine. The storm is so powerful that all access off the
island is blocked, and no one is able to leave the island until the storm
is over. While trying to deal with the storm, tragedy strikes when one
of the town's residents is brutally murdered by Andr Linoge (Colm
Feore), a menacing stranger who appears to know the town members'
darkest secrets, and who gives no hint of his motives other than the
cryptic statement "Give me what I want, and I'll go away."
Linoge is imprisoned in the town's holding cell by part-time constable
Michael Anderson (Timothy Daly), but it becomes clear that his ability
to affect the town is not inhibited as he sows supernatural terror in the
town's populace through strange suicides and terrifying dreams. After
escaping from the cell, Linoge's campaign of terror culminates in an
enchantment that places all eight of the town's small children into
unconsciousness. He eventually calls a town meeting, and it is here
that Linoge reveals the reason why he has come into their town.
What Linoge desires is an heir, one of the eight children he has
enchanted. He reveals his true form (an impossibly ancient, dying
man), explaining that he is not immortal, and needs someone to carry
on his "work" once he can no longer do it himself. He states that "in
matters such as this" he cannot simply take the child he desires, but he
155

can punish. If the residents accept his request, he will leave them in
peace, promising that the child he takes will have a long life with much
to see. If they refuse, he threatens to force them to march into the sea
two-by-two, as he claims to have done at Roanoke Island, North
Carolina, centuries before. With his demands set, he leaves them with
half an hour to make their decision.
Although Michael Anderson begs the town to refuse Linoge's request,
appealing to their common decency and the fact that they may be
aiding in a great evil, his arguments fall on deaf ears. All of the
townspeople except him vote to give Linoge what he desires. Linoge is
deeply pleased at this choice, and has each parent draw one of eight
"weirding stones" from a sack; seven white stones, and one black
stone. The parent who draws the single black stone is the one whose
child will be taken. It ultimately comes down to Molly Anderson and
Melinda Hatcher. When they both open their hands, Molly is revealed
to have the black stone. Ralph Anderson, her son, and the child hinted
to be favored by Linoge throughout the series, is thus chosen. Even
though Mike had refused to vote and therefore have his son withdrawn
from this request, Molly had, against her husband's wishes, and
therefore included Ralph in. Molly believes the choosing was fixed, a
claim Linoge brushes off, saying the game was "straight" but says it in
such a way as to raise doubt. Contemptuously thanking the town,
Linoge transforms into his true form, and suggests that the less they
say to the outside world about the events with him, the happier they
156

will be, "but of course, such matters are ultimately up to you." With a
final remark to Molly that Ralph will eventually come to call him
"father", Linoge flies off into the night with his new protg.
Most of the film's epilogue is narrated by Mike Anderson, as he
explains how he leaves Little Tall the following summer. Unable to live
with those who sacrificed his child, Mike divorces Molly and severs
contact with the people he once called his friends but still keeps
contact from a distance to know about what is going on in Little Tall
after what happened. He eventually settles in San Francisco,
attempting to move on from the storm. He goes back to school,
earning a degree in law enforcement and another degree in
accountancy, ultimately ending up as a US Marshal. Molly ends up
marrying Alton Hatcher after his wife Melinda suddenly dies after a
long period of depression. Other Little Tall townsfolk are not so lucky,
with several committing suicide over the ensuing years. However,
Linoge is not finished with Mike. Nine years after the storm, Mike is
seen dropping take-out onto the ground as he is startled by the sound
of something familiar. When an old man and a teenage boy walk by,
humming Linoge's favorite tune "I'm a little teapot". He calls out to the
boy, and they turn around. The boy looks strangely similar to Mike, and
he realizes it is his son, now corrupted by Linoge. He chases after them
into an alley, but they are gone.
Mike considers telling Molly about what he saw, but ultimately decides
against it. It is implied he severs contact with Little Tall permanently
157

after this event. His final thoughts are that sometimes, he thinks that
was the wrong decision, "but in daylight, I know better."

Script notes

158

The Straight Story (1999)

Alvin Straight has not shown up to his regular bar meeting with his
friends. He is eventually found lying on his floor at home, although he
insists that he "just needs a bit of help getting up". His daughter Rose
takes her reluctant father to see a doctor, who sternly admonishes
Alvin to give up tobacco. He also tells Alvin that he should start using a
walker. Alvin refuses, and does not tell Rose. Alvin then learns that his
brother Lyle has suffered a stroke. Longing to visit him, but unable to
drive, Alvin gradually develops a plan to travel to Mount Zion on his
"ancient" riding lawn-mower and towing a small homemade traveltrailer, to the consternation of his family and friends.
Alvin's first attempt fails: after experiencing difficulty starting the old
mower's motor, he doesn't get far before the machine finally breaks
down, and he is forced to flag down a passing bus. Alvin arranges for
his mower to be transported back home on a flatbed truck (with him
still perched on the mower's seat), where he takes out his frustrations
on the mower by blowing up its motor and gas tank with a well-aimed
shotgun blast. At the John Deere dealer, he purchases a newer
replacement lawn tractor from a salesman (Everett McGill) who is
generous but describes Alvin as being a smart man, "until now."
Alvin continues on his quest. He passes a young female hitchhiker who
later approaches his campfire and says that she could not get a ride. In
conversation, Alvin astutely deduces that she is pregnant (although
159

this is not extremely physically obvious) and has run away from home.
He reveals more information about his daughter: one night somebody
was watching Rose's children and there was a fire and one of her sons
got badly burned; the state then decided that Rose was not competent
to look after her children and took them away from her. Alvin tells the
hitchhiker about the importance of family by describing a bundle of
sticks that is hard to break ("United we stand; divided we fall"). The
next day Alvin emerges from the trailer to find that his hitchhiker
friend has left him a bundle of sticks tied together, implying that she
plans to return home to her own family. He continues with his journey.
Alvin enjoys watching a rainstorm from the shelter of an abandoned
farmhouse. The next scene shows Alvin as a huge group of RAGBRAI
cyclists race past him. Although the film takes place in September, the
original journey was in July, when RAGBRAI actually takes place. He
later arrives at the cyclists' camp and he is greeted with applause. He
speaks with them about growing old. When he is asked about the
worst part of being old, he replies, "remembering when you was
young."
The next day, Alvin is troubled by the massive trucks passing him. He
then interacts with a distraught woman who has hit a deer, and is
being driven to distraction by the fact that she continually hits deer
while commuting, no matter how hard she tries to avoid them. She
drives away in a tearful huff, and Alvin, who had started to run short of
food, cooks and eats the deer, then mounts the antlers above the rear
160

doorway of his trailer as a tribute to the deer and the human

sustenance it had provided.
In the next scene, Alvin's brakes fail as he travels down a steep hill; he
struggles to maintain control of the speeding tractor and finally
manages to bring the vehicle to a complete stop. Some townspeople
help get Alvin's mower and trailer off the road. They later discover that
the mower also has transmission problems.
Now beginning to run low on cash, Alvin borrows a cordless phone
from a homeowner gently but resolutely refusing an invitation to
come indoors and calls Rose to ask her to send him his Social Security
check. He then leaves money on the doorstep to pay for his longdistance telephone call. A local motorist offers Alvin a ride the rest of
the way to Lyle's, but Alvin declines, stating that he prefers to travel his
own way. An elderly war veteran takes him into town for a drink, and
Alvin tells a story about how he is haunted by a memory of accidentally
shooting one of his military comrades.
Alvin's tractor is fixed and he is presented with an exorbitant bill by the
mechanics, who are twins and are constantly bickering. Alvin
successfully negotiates the price down, and explains his mission,
which he calls "a hard swallow to [my] pride," but "a brother is a
brother." The mechanic twins seem to relate to this, realizing they
should make peace.

161

Later, Alvin camps in a cemetery and chats with a priest. The priest
recognizes Lyle's name and is aware of his stroke. The priest says that
Lyle did not mention he had a brother. Alvin replies that "neither one
of us has had a brother for quite some time." Alvin wants to make
peace with Lyle and is emphatic that whatever happened ten years ago
does not matter anymore. "I say, 'Amen' to that, brother," the priest
replies.
The next obstacle Alvin must overcome is apparent engine trouble, just
a few miles from Lyle's house. Alvin stops in the middle of the road,
unsure of how to proceed. A large farm tractor driving by then stops to
help, but fortunately this time the problem was evidently just a few
drops of bad gas, because the lawn-tractor's engine sputters to life
again after sitting for a few minutes. The gracious farmer then leads
the way on his own tractor, and drives along slowly ahead of Alvin
during the final leg of his journey to make sure he gets there okay.
Lyle's house is dilapidated. Using his two canes, Alvin makes his way to
the door. He calls for his brother. At first Lyle does not appear and Alvin
expresses relief when he does. The two brothers make contact, one
with a walker and one with two canes. Lyle invites Alvin to sit down.
Lyle looks at Alvin's mower-tractor contraption and asks if Alvin has
ridden that thing just to see him. Lyle is moved. The two men sit and
look at the stars, as they had done as children.

162

Script notes

163

Strictly Ballroom (1992)

Themes
Authority
The intrinsic authority of the art itself is more important (and more
life-giving) than the authorities who supply consequences for betrayal
of their rules. "There are no new steps."
Clean/Unclean
Scott and Fran are declared "unclean" because they dare to
challenge the culture of
Competitive Ballroom Dancing.
Cleansing/Destroying the Temple
Scott and Fran dare to improvise their dance steps at the Pan-Pacific
Grand Prix
Amateur Championships.
Determination/Persistence
Fran's determination to learn to dance.
Dissention/Sectarianism
It's easy to laugh at the sectarianism in this movie. People
are unaware of the triviality of their very minute
164

disagreements within a very minute community which is

taking itself way too seriously.

Integrity/Honor

The intrinsic authority of the art itself is more important (and more
life-giving) than the authorities who supply consequences for betrayal
of their rules. Fran and Scott dance with integrity at the
Championships, despite the consequences for doing so.
Rebirth/New Life
Scott and Fran's rebellion sparks new life in the Competitive
Ballroom Dancing
adherents.
Teacher/Student
Fran and Scott teach each other different things about dancing.
Fran's father's lessons to Scott.

165

Script notes

166

The Tall T (1957)

Passing a stagecoach way station on his journey into town, Pat Brennan
(Randolph Scott) agrees to return with some store bought candy for the
friendly station manager's young son. At a ranch where he once
worked, the cheerful Brennan loses his horse in a wager and is forced
to walk home.
He gets a welcomed rescue from stagecoach driver Rintoon (Arthur
Hunnicutt), hired to transport the newlyweds Willard (John Hubbard)
and Doretta Mims (Maureen O'Sullivan). Doretta is a plain woman, but
the daughter of the richest man in the state. It tickles Brennan, who
tells Rintoon this is the first time he's ever been on a honeymoon.
When they stop at the way station, they are mistaken for the regular
stage by three outlaws, Chink (Henry Silva), Billy Jack (Skip Homeier),
and their leader, Frank Usher (Richard Boone), who have already killed
the station manager and his son. Rintoon goes for a shotgun, only to
be killed by Chink.
Terrified of sharing the same fate, Mims suggests to the outlaws that
ransoming his wife would be far more profitable than robbing the
stage. Frank likes the idea. He makes one mistake, thoughhe takes a
liking to Brennan. He later tells Brennan that, under different
circumstances, they might have been friends.

167

Frank takes the woman and Brennan to a remote hideout while

ordering Billy Jack to ride along with Mims and deliver a ransom note
to Doretta's father, demanding $50,000. Mims returns, saying his
father-in-law has agreed and is rounding up the money. Mims is told
he is no longer needed and can leave. A coward, he does not even
bother to say goodbye to his new wife, disgusting Frank. Mims then
begins to ride off, but is shot down by Chink. Twice.
Brennan knows full well that he and Mrs. Mims will end up dead like
the others once the ransom is paid. He tells the distraught widow to
collect herself and be ready to take any opportunity that presents itself.
He then takes her in his arms. She hesitates, then kisses him. She
confesses she married Mims because she was getting older and did
not want to be alone.
Billy Jack and Chink are left behind to guard the hostages while Frank
goes off to collect the money. Brennan plants the thought that their
ringleader might just ride off with all the money, so Chink leaves the
camp to keep an eye on Frank. Brennan suggests to Billy Jack that he
take advantage of Mrs. Mims, a lonely woman denied even her
wedding night. Billy Jack does indeed try to force himself on Mrs.
Mims, whereupon Brennan overpowers him and shoots him dead.
Chink hears the shots and turns back. Brennan kills him. Frank then
returns with the money. Brennan sneaks up behind him, so Frank
surrenders his revolver and the money, gambling that Brennan will not
168

shoot him in the back. He slowly mounts his horse and rides off.
However, he turns around and comes back and tries to kill Brennan
with a rifle, forcing Brennan to shoot him dead. As Brennan and Mrs.
Mims walk away, side by side, she timidly reaches for Brennan's arm,
as he places his arm around her.

169

Script notes

170

Tarzan (1999)
n the 1880s, an English couple and their infant son escape a burning
ship, ending up on land near uncharted rainforests off the coast of
Africa. The couple craft themselves a treehouse from their ship's
wreckage, but are subsequently killed by Sabor, a rogue leopardess.
Kala, a female gorilla who recently lost her own child to Sabor, hears
the cries of the orphaned human infant and finds him in the ruined
treehouse. Though she is attacked by Sabor, Kala and the baby manage
to escape. Kala takes the baby back to the gorilla troop to raise as her
own, an act of which her mate, Kerchak, disapproves. Kala raises the
human child, naming him Tarzan. Though he befriends other gorillas
in the troop and other animals, including the young female gorilla Terk
and the paranoid male elephant Tantor, Tarzan finds himself unable to
keep up with them, so he takes great efforts to improve himself. As a
young man, Tarzan is able to kill Sabor with his crude spear and protect
the troop, gaining Kerchak's reluctant respect.
The gorilla troop's peaceful life is interrupted by the arrival of a team
of human explorers from England, consisting of Professor Porter, his
daughter Jane, and their hunter-guide Clayton. Jane is accidentally
separated from the group and chased by a pack of baboons. Tarzan
saves her from the baboons. He recognizes that she is the same as he
is: a human. Jane leads Tarzan back to the explorers' camp, where both
Porter and Clayton take great interest in him the former in terms of
scientific progress while the latter hoping to have Tarzan lead him to
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the gorillas so that he can capture them and return with them to
England. Despite Kerchak's warnings to be wary of the humans, Tarzan
continues to return to the camp and be taught by Porter, Clayton, and
Jane to speak English and learn of the human world, and he and Jane
begin to fall in love. However, they are having a hard time convincing
Tarzan to lead him to the gorillas, due to Tarzan's fear for their safety
from the threat of Kerchak.
When the explorers' boat returns to retrieve them, Clayton makes
Tarzan believe that Jane will stay with him forever if he reveals the
gorillas. Tarzan agrees and leads the party to the nesting grounds,
while Terk and Tantor lure Kerchak away to avoid having him attack the
humans. Porter and Jane are excited to mingle with the gorillas, but
Kerchak returns and threatens to kill them. Tarzan is forced to hold
Kerchak at bay while the humans escape, and decides to leave the
troop himself, now humiliated by his actions. Kala takes Tarzan to the
treehouse she found him in, and shows him his true past, tells him
that she wants him to be happy whatever he decided. When Tarzan
returns to the ship with Jane and Porter, they are ambushed by Clayton
and his band of stowaway pirates and detained in the brig. Tarzan flees
with the help of his friends, and he races back to the gorillas'
homeground. Clayton mortally wounds Kerchak and then engages
Tarzan in a fierce battle across the vine-covered trees. Although Tarzan
spares his life, Clayton is finally killed when he falls with a vine around
his neck, hanging him. Kerchak, in his dying breath, finally accepts
172

Tarzan as his own and names him as leader of the gorilla troop. The rest
of the gorillas are freed after scaring away the rest of Clayton's men.
The next day, as Porter and Jane prepare to leave on the ship, Tarzan
reveals that he now plans to stay with the gorilla troop. As the ship
leaves shore, Porter encourages his daughter to stay with the man she
loves, and Jane jumps overboard to return to shore; Porter shortly
follows her. The Porters reunite with Tarzan and his family and embark
on their new life together.

173

Script notes

174

Taxi Driver (1976)

Travis Bickle, an honorably discharged U.S. Marine, is a lonely and
depressed man in New York City. He becomes a taxi driver to cope with
chronic insomnia, driving passengers every night around the boroughs
of New York City. He also spends time in seedy porn theaters and
keeps a diary. Travis becomes infatuated with Betsy, a campaign
volunteer for Senator and presidential candidate Charles Palantine.
After watching her interact with fellow worker Tom through her
window, Travis enters to volunteer as a pretext to talk to her, and takes
her out for coffee. On a later date, he takes her to see a Swedish sex
education film, which offends her, and she goes home alone. His
attempts at reconciliation by sending flowers are rebuffed, so he
berates her at the campaign office, before being kicked out by Tom.
Travis confides in fellow taxi driver Wizard about his thoughts, which
are beginning to turn violent, but Wizard assures him that he will be
fine. Disgusted by the street crime and prostitution that he witnesses
throughout the city, Travis finds an outlet for his frustration and begins
a program of intense physical training. He buys guns from dealer Easy
Andy and constructs a sleeve gun to attach on his arm, with which he
practices drawing his weapons. One night, Travis enters a convenience
store moments before a man attempts to rob it, and he shoots the
robber. The shop owner takes responsibility and Travis leaves. On
another night, teenage prostitute Iris enters Travis's cab, attempting to
escape her pimp Matthew "Sport" Higgins. Sport drags Iris from the
175

cab and throws Travis a crumpled twenty-dollar bill, which continually

reminds him of her. Some time later, Travis hires Iris, but instead of
having sex with her, attempts to dissuade her from continuing in
prostitution. He fails to completely turn her from her course, but she
does agree to meet with him for breakfast the next day, and Travis
becomes obsessed with helping her return to her parents' home. Travis
leaves a letter to Iris at his apartment saying he will soon be dead, and
inside the letter, money for her to return home.
After shaving his head into a mohawk, Travis attends a public rally,
where he attempts to assassinate Senator Palantine, but Secret Service
agents notice him and he flees without taking a shot. He returns to his
apartment and then drives to the East Village, where he confronts
Sport. Travis shoots Sport, then walks into Iris's brothel and shoots off
the bouncer's fingers. After a wounded Sport shoots Travis, grazing his
neck, Travis shoots and kills him. Iris's client, a mobster, appears and
shoots Travis in the arm, but Travis reveals his sleeve gun and kills the
gangster. The bouncer continues to harass Travis, causing Travis to stab
him in the hand and shoot him in the head to kill him. As a horrified
Iris cries, Travis attempts suicide but, out of ammunition, resigns
himself to a sofa until police arrive. When they do, he places his index
finger against his temple gesturing the act of shooting himself.
Travis, after having recovered from his wounds and returning to work,
receives a letter from Iris' father thanking him for saving her life and
reveals that she has returned home to Pittsburgh, where she is
176

presently going to school. Later, he reconciles with Betsy after

dropping her off at home in his cab. When she tries to pay her fare,
Travis simply smiles at her and drives away.

177

Script notes

178

Tender Mercies (1983)

Mac Sledge (Robert Duvall), a washed up, alcoholic country singer,
awakens at a run-down Texas roadside motel and gas station after a
night of heavy drinking. He meets the owner, a young widow named
Rosa Lee (Tess Harper), and offers to work in exchange for a room. Rosa
Lee, whose husband was killed in the Vietnam War, is raising her
young son, Sonny (Allan Hubbard), on her own. She agrees to let Mac
stay under the condition that he does not drink while working. The two
begin to develop feelings for one another, mostly during quiet
evenings sitting alone and sharing bits of their life stories.
Mac resolves to give up alcohol and start his life anew. After some time
passes, he and Rosa Lee wed. They start attending a Baptist church on a
regular basis. One day, a newspaper reporter visits the motel and asks
Mac whether he has stopped recording music and chosen an
anonymous life. When Mac refuses to answer, the reporter explains he
is writing a story about Mac and has interviewed his ex-wife, Dixie Scott
(Betty Buckley), a country music star who is performing nearby.
After the story is printed, the neighbourhood learns of Mac's past, and
members of a local countrywestern band visit him to show their
respect. Although he greets them politely, Mac remains reluctant to
open up about his past. Later, he secretly attends Dixie's concert. She
passionately sings several songs that Mac wrote years earlier, and he
leaves in the middle of the performance. Backstage, he talks to Dixie's
179

manager, his old friend Harry (Wilford Brimley). Mac gives him a copy
of a new song he has written and asks him to show it to Dixie. Mac tries
to talk to Dixie, but she becomes angry upon seeing him and warns
him to stay away from their 18-year-old daughter, Sue Anne (Ellen
Barkin).
Upon his return home, Mac assures Rosa Lee he no longer has feelings
for Dixie, whom he describes as "poison" to him. Later, Harry visits Mac
to tell him, seemingly at Dixie's urging, that the country music
business has changed and his new song is no good. Hurt and angry,
Mac drives away and nearly crashes the truck. He buys a bottle of
whiskey but, upon returning home to a worried Rosa Lee and Sonny,
he tells them he poured it out. He tells them he tried to leave Rosa Lee,
but found he could not. Some time later, Mac and Sonny are baptized
together in Rosa Lee's church.
Eventually, Sue Anne visits Mac, their first encounter since she was a
baby. Mac asks whether she got any of his letters, and she says her
mother kept them from her. Sue Anne also reports that Dixie tried to
keep her from visiting Mac and that she plans to elope with her
boyfriend despite her mother's objections. Mac admits he used to hit
Dixie and that she divorced him after he tried to kill her in a drunken
rage. Sue Anne asks whether Mac remembers a song about a dove he
sang to her when she was a baby. He claims he does not, but after she
leaves he sings to himself the hymn "On the Wings of a Dove," which
180

references a dove from the Lord saving Noah and descending at Jesus'
baptism.
Boys at school bully Sonny about his dead father, and he and Mac grow
closer. The members of the local country band ask Mac permission to
perform one of his songs, and he agrees. Mac begins performing with
them and they make plans to record together. His newfound
happiness is interrupted when Sue Anne dies in a car accident. Mac
attends his daughter's funeral at Dixie's lavish home in Nashville and
comforts her when she breaks down.
Back home, Mac keeps quiet about his emotional pain, although he
wonders aloud to Rosa Lee why his once sorry existence has been
given meaning and, on the other hand, his daughter died. Throughout
his mourning, Mac continues his new life with Rosa Lee and Sonny. In
the final scene, Sonny finds a football Mac has left him as a gift. Mac
watches the hotel from a field across the road and sings "On the Wings
of a Dove" to himself. Sonny thanks him for the football and the two
play catch together in the field.

181

Script notes

182

The Thin Red Line (1998)

U.S. Army Private Witt (Jim Caviezel) goes AWOL from his unit and lives
among the easy-going and seemingly carefree Melanesian natives in
the South Pacific. He is found and imprisoned on a troop carrierby his
company First Sergeant, Welsh (Sean Penn), who notices Witt's
indifference to the war. The men of C Company, 1st Battalion, 27th
Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division have been brought
toGuadalcanal as reinforcements in the campaign to secure Henderson
Field and seize the island from theJapanese. As they wait in the holds
of a Navy transport, they contemplate their lives and the impending
invasion. On deck, battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Tall (Nick
Nolte) talks with his commanding officer, Brigadier General Quintard
(John Travolta) about the invasion and its importance. Tall's voice-over
reveals that he has been passed over for promotion and this battle may
be his last chance to command a victorious operation.
C Company lands on Guadalcanal unopposed and marches to the
interior of the island, encountering natives and evidence of the
Japanese presence and tactics: the mutilated corpses of intercepted
Marine and Ranger scouts. They arrive near Hill 210, a key Japanese
position. The Japanese have placed a well-hidden bunker housing
several machine guns at the top of the hill, giving them a full view of
the valley below. Any force attempting to climb the hill will be easily
cut down by machine-gun fire and mortarrounds.
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A brief shelling of the hill begins the next day at dawn. Shortly after, C
Company attempts to carry the hill and is repelled by gunfire from the
bunker. Among the first killed is the leader of the attacking
platoon,Second Lieutenant Whyte (Jared Leto). During the battle, a
squad led by Sergeant Keck (Woody Harrelson) hides behind a swell
safe from enemy fire to wait for some reinforcements. Keck reaches for
a grenade but accidentally pulls the pin and dies in the process.
Lieutenant Colonel Tall orders thecompany commander, Captain James
Staros (Elias Koteas), to take the bunker by frontal assault, at whatever
cost. Staros refuses, unwilling to treat his men as cannon fodder. When
the two reach a stalemate, Tall decides to join Staros on the front line to
see the situation firsthand. By the time he arrives, the Japanese
resistance seems to have lessened, and Tall's opinion of Staros seems
to have been sealed. Meanwhile, during the battle, Private Witt, having
been assigned punitively as a stretcher bearer, asks to rejoin the
company, and is allowed to do so.
A small detachment of men performs a reconnaissance mission on
Tall's orders to determine the strength of the Japanese bunker. Private
Bell (Ben Chaplin) reports back that there are five machine guns in the
bunker. He joins another small team of men (including Witt), led by
Captain John Gaff (John Cusack), on a flanking mission to take the
bunker. The operation is a success and C Company stands poised to
overrun one of the last Japanese strongholds on the island. They are

184

successful in this regard; the Japanese they find are largely

malnourished and dying, and put up little resistance.
For their efforts the men are given a week's leave, although not all of
them are able to enjoy it fully: the airfield where they are based comes
under enemy artillery bombardment; Bell, who longs to return to his
wife, receives a letter from her, informing him that she has fallen in
love with someone else and wishes to divorce; much to his surprise,
Captain Staros is relieved of his command by Lieutenant Colonel Tall,
who deems him too soft for the pressures of combat and suggests that
he apply for reassignment and become a lawyer in the JAG in
Washington. Witt comes across the locals and notices that they have
suddenly grown distant and distrustful of him and quarrel regularly
with one another.
The company is sent on patrol up a river but with the indecisive and
inexperienced 1st Lieutenant George Band (Paul Gleeson) at its head.
As Japanese artillery fire falls close to their positions; Band orders
some men to scout upriver, with Witt volunteering to go along. They
encounter an advancing Japanese column and are attacked. To buy
time for Corporal Fife (Adrien Brody) to go back and inform the rest of
the unit, Witt draws away the Japanese but is then encircled by one of
their squads, who demand that he surrender. In a moment of bliss and
internal calm, he raises his rifle and is gunned down. The company is
able to retreat safely, and Witt is later buried by Welsh and his
squadmates. In the final scene, C Company receives a new
185

commander, Captain Bosche (George Clooney), and boards a waiting

LCT, departing from the island.

186

Script notes

187

Three Kings (1999)

The film opens with an Iraqi Army soldier trying to surrender as U.S.
troops mop up loose ends, following the end of the Gulf War. U.S.
Army Reserve Sergeant First Class Troy Barlow (Mark Wahlberg) shoots
him in the confusion over how to handle stray soldiers, earning him
the admiration of his bumbling comrades, Private First Class Conrad
Vig (Spike Jonze) and Specialist Walter Wogeman (Jamie Kennedy).
Boisterous celebrations continue into the night, until Staff Sergeant
Chief Elgin (Ice Cube) breaks up the party.
Around the corner, Major Archie Gates (George Clooney), a U.S. Army
Special Forces soldier, is trading sex for stories with a journalist, Cathy
Daitch (Judy Greer) when he is interrupted by Adriana Cruz (Nora
Dunn), the television reporter he is assigned to escort. They are all
bored since the war has ended and Archie is lectured when he
expresses frustration with the mission and his cushy assignment, but
grudgingly agrees to go along for the time being.
The next day Troy and his unit disarm and search surrendering Iraqi
soldiers, and while forcibly subduing a resisting Iraqi officer they find a
document between his buttock cheeks. It appears to be a map, and
Troy decides not to tell his commanding officer, instead asking Chief
Elgin for help translating his "Iraqi ass map" as Vig looks on. Walter is
guarding the tent when Major Gates appears, after tracking down a
lead from Adriana. Archie convinces them that the document is a map
188

of bunkers near Karbala, containing gold bullion stolen from Kuwait.

They decide to steal the gold, prompting Vig to improvise an
adaptation of the carol We Three Kings.
They set off the next day and, using the ceasefire orders from President
Bush, they enter and secure the bunkers without any bloodshed. There,
among other goods plundered from Kuwait, they find the gold, and
stumble on the interrogation of an Iraqi rebel leader. As they are
leaving the man's wife pleads with them not to abandon the antiSaddam dissidents, but she is shot by the Iraqi Republican Guard, and
Archie decides they can't just "grab the gold and go." They free a group
of Iraqi prisoners, including the dissident rebel leader, violating the
ceasefire and triggering a firefight. They pull out just as Iraqi
reinforcements arrive, and as they try to evade a CS gas attack, the
Americans blunder into a minefield and get separated. Iraqi soldiers
capture Troy while a group of rebels rescue the other Americans and
take them to their underground hideout, retrieving the bags
containing the gold as they go. There, Conrad, Chief and Archie agree
to help the rebels and their families reach the Iranian border, after they
rescue Troy.
Troy has been taken back to the bunker, and when he is thrown in a
room full of Kuwaiti cell phones, he manages to call his wife back
home and tells her to report his location to his local Army Reserve unit.
His call is cut short when he is dragged to an interrogation room.
While inflicting electric shocks on Troy and eventually forcing him to
189

drink motor oil, Iraqi Captain Sad (Sad Taghmaoui) explains that he
learned interrogation techniques from the Americans, berates Troy
about the hypocrisy of American involvement in the region, and
informs him that his son was killed during the American bombing of
Baghdad.
The Americans with the rebels go to a band of Iraqi Army deserters,
who are persuaded to sell them luxury cars stolen from Kuwait. The
cars are outfitted as Saddam's entourage, in a ruse to scare away the
bunker's defenders, pretending that an enraged Saddam is coming to
kill them for losing the gold. After storming the bunker, they free Troy,
who spares his torturer's life, as well as more Shi'ite dissidents held in
a dungeon. But a few of the soldiers who ran away return, and Conrad
and Troy are shot. Conrad dies but Troy survives with a punctured lung,
requiring a flutter valve in his chest to relieve pressure so he can
breathe until they reach a hospital.
Archie radios Walter, arranging transport and telling him to bring
Adriana, while the hapless officers in the camp try to locate the trio
after getting the message from Troy's wife. Each of the rebels is given a
bar of gold and the rest is buried as they wait for the transport to
arrive. The convoy goes to the Iranian border, where the three
Americans will escort the rebels across to protect them from the Iraqi
soldiers guarding the crossing. But the American officers arrive in
helicopters and stop the group, arresting the trio while the rebels are
recaptured. Archie, Troy and Chief nod to each other, and Archie
190

proffers the buried gold to the American officers in exchange for letting
the refugees through.
All of the soldiers are cleared of the charges, thanks to Adriana's
reporting. Archie goes to work as a military adviser to Hollywood action
films, Chief leaves his airport job to work with Archie, and Troy returns
to his wife and baby, running his own carpet store. The stolen gold was
returned to Kuwait.

191

Script notes

192

A Time to Kill (1996)

Two white supremacists (Nicky Katt and Doug Hutchison) come across a
ten-year-old black girl named Tonya (Rae'Ven Larrymore Kelly) in rural
Mississippi. They violently rape and beat Tonya and dump her in a
nearby river after a failed attempt to hang her; she survives, and the
men are arrested.
Tonya's father, Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson), contacts Jake
Brigance (Matthew McConaughey), a white lawyer. Brigance admits
the possibility that the rapists will walk free. Carl Lee goes to the
county courthouse and opens fire with a 5.56mm M16 assault rifle,
killing both rapists and unintentionally injuring Deputy Looney (Chris
Cooper). Carl Lee is arrested. Brigance agrees to defend Carl Lee.
The rape and subsequent revenge killing gain national media
attention. The Ku Klux Klan begins to organize in the area. Freddie Lee
Cobb (Kiefer Sutherland), the brother of Billy Ray, calls Brigance and
makes death threats. The district attorney, Rufus Buckley (Kevin
Spacey), decides to seek the death penalty, and presiding Judge Omar
Noose denies Brigance a change of venue. Brigance seeks help for his
defense team, close friend Harry Rex Vonner and former mentor and
long-time liberal activist Lucien Wilbanks (Donald Sutherland), a oncegreat civil rights lawyer.

193

During closing arguments, Brigance tells the jury to close their eyes
and listen to a story. He describes, in slow and painful detail, the rape
of a young 10-year-old girl, mirroring the story of Tonya's rape. He then
asks the jury, in his final comment, to "now imagine she's white." It is
implied that the father's motive in murdering the rapists would have
been seen by the public as justified, and there would have been no
prosecution.
The argument Brigance then makes is that if the jury canat any time
be compelled to spare the life of a white man for a vengeful murder,
then they must do the same for a black man. After deliberation, an
African-American child runs out of the courthouse and screams, "He's
innocent!" Jubilation ensues amongst the supporters outside. The
Klan, enraged, becomes violent again. Sheriff Ozzie Walls arrests
Freddie Lee, as well as a corrupted deputy that was by Freddie's side.
The movie ends when Brigance brings his wife and daughter to a
family cookout at Carl Lee's house.

194

Script notes

195

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

The film's young protagonists, Jean Louise "Scout" Finch (Mary
Badham) and her brother Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch (Phillip Alford),
live in the fictional town of Maycomb,Alabama, during the 1930s. The
story covers three years, during which Scout and Jem undergo changes
in their lives. They begin as innocent children, who spend their days
happily playing games with each other and spying on Arthur "Boo"
Radley ( Robert Duvall), who has not been seen for many years by
anybody as a result of never leaving his house and about whom many
rumors circulate. Their widowed father, Atticus (Gregory Peck), is a town
lawyer and has a strong belief that all people are to be treated fairly, to
turn the other cheek, and to stand for what you believe. He also allows
his children to call him by his first name. Early in the film, the children
see their father accept hickory nuts, and other produce, from Mr.
Cunningham (Crahan Denton) for legal work because the client has no
money.[2] Through their father's work as a lawyer, Scout and Jem
begin to learn of the racism and evil in their town, aggravated by
poverty; they mature quickly as they are exposed to it.
The local judge (Paul Fix) appoints Atticus to defend a black man, Tom
Robinson (Brock Peters), against an accusation of rape of a white
teenaged girl, Mayella Ewell. Atticus accepts the case. Jem and Scout
experience schoolyard taunts for their father's decision. Later, a lynch
mob, led by Mr. Cunningham, tries to lynch Robinson over Atticus'
196

objections. Scout, Jem and their friend, Dill, interrupt the

confrontation. Scout, unaware of the mob's purpose, recognizes
Cunningham as the man who paid her father in hickory nuts and tells
him to say hello to his son, who is her schoolmate. Cunningham
becomes embarrassed and the mob disperses. It is undisputed that
Tom came to Mayella's home, at her request, to assist her with
chopping up a chifforobe. It is also undisputed that Mayella showed
signs of having been beaten around that time. Among Atticus' chief
arguments, he points out that Tom is crippled in his left arm, and that
the supposed rapist would have had to make extensive use of his left
hand in assaulting Mayella before raping her. At the same time Atticus
demonstrates that Mayella's father, Bob Ewell, is left handed, implying
that he rather than Tom was the one who beat Mayella. Atticus also
states that the girl had not even been examined by a doctor to check
for signs of rape after the supposed assault. In his closing argument
Atticus asks the all white, male jury to cast aside their prejudices and
instead focus on Tom's obvious innocence. In taking the stand in his
own defense, Tom denies he attacked Mayella, but states she kissed
him. He testifies he voluntarily assisted Mayella because "I felt sorry
for her because . . . ". He didn't finish the sentence but the prosecutor
hammered home the point that he was a black man feeling sorry for a
white woman. In a town where whites are viewed as superior to blacks,
Tom's sympathy for Mayella dooms his case, and he's found guilty.

197

Atticus arrives home to discover from the sheriff (Frank Overton) that
Tom has been killed by a deputy during his transfer to prison. The
sheriff states that according to this deputy, Tom was trying to escape.
The deputy reported that Tom ran like a "crazy" man before he was
shot. Atticus and Jem go to the Robinson family home to advise them
of Tom's death. Bob Ewell, Mayella's father, appears and spits in
Atticus' face while Jem waits in the car. Atticus wipes his face and
leaves.
Autumn arrives and Scout and Jem attend a nighttime Halloween
pageant at their school. Scout wears a large hard-shelled ham costume,
portraying one of Maycomb county's products. At some point during
the pageant, Scout's dress and shoes are misplaced. She's forced to
walk home without shoes and wearing her ham costume. While
cutting through the woods, Scout and Jem are attacked by an
unidentified man who has been following them. Scout's costume, like
an awkward suit of armor, protects her from the attack but restricts her
movement and severely restricts her vision. Their attacker is thwarted
and overcome by another unidentified man. Jem is knocked
unconscious and Scout escapes unharmed in a brief but violent
struggle. Scout escapes her costume in time to see a man carrying Jem
to their home and entering. Scout follows and once inside runs into
the arms of a concerned Atticus. Doc Reynolds comes over and treats
the broken arm of an unconscious Jem.

198

When Sheriff Tate asks Scout what happened, she notices a man
standing silently behind the bedroom door in the corner of Jem's
room. Atticus introduces Scout to Mr Arthur Radley; he is the person
who came to their aid against Ewell in the woods. Boo is also the man
who carried Jem home. The sheriff reports Bob Ewell was discovered
dead at the scene of the attack with a knife in his ribs. Atticus assumes
Jem killed Ewell in self-defense. Sheriff Tate, however, believes that
Boo killed Ewell in defense of the children and tells Atticus that to drag
the shy and reserved Boo into the spotlight for his heroism would be
"a sin." To protect Boo, Sheriff Tate suggests that Ewell "fell on his
knife." Scout draws a startlingly precocious analogy to an earlier lesson
from the film (hence its title) when she likens any public outing of Boo
to the killing of a mockingbird. The film ends with Scout considering
events from Boo's point of view, and Atticus watching over the
unconscious Jem.

199

Script notes

200

Tombstone (1993)
TWyatt Earp (Kurt Russell), a retired peace officer with a notable
reputation, reunites with his brothers Virgil ( Sam Elliott) and Morgan
(Bill Paxton) in Tucson, Arizona, where they venture on towards
Tombstone, a small mining town, to settle down. There they encounter
Wyatt's long-time friend Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer), a Southern gambler
and expert gunslinger, who seeks relief from his worsening
tuberculosis. Josephine Marcus (Dana Delany) and Mr. Fabian (Billy
Zane) are also newly arrived in Tombstone with a traveling theater
troupe. Meanwhile, Wyatt's wife, Mattie Blaylock (Dana WheelerNicholson), is becoming dependent on a potent narcotic. Wyatt and his
brothers begin to profit from a stake in a gambling emporium and
saloon when they have their first encounter with a band of outlaws
called the Cowboys, led by "Curly Bill" Brocious ( Powers Boothe). The
Cowboys are identifiable by the red sashes worn around their waist.
Wyatt, though no longer a lawman, is pressured to help rid the town of
the Cowboys as tensions rise. Curly Bill begins shooting aimlessly after
a visit to an opium house and is approached by Marshal Fred White
( Harry Carey, Jr.) to relinquish his firearms. Curly Bill instead shoots
the marshal dead and is forcibly taken into custody by Wyatt. The arrest
infuriates Ike Clanton (Stephen Lang) and the other Cowboys. Curly Bill
stands trial, but is found not guilty due to a lack of witnesses. Virgil,
unable to tolerate lawlessness, becomes the new marshal and imposes
a weapons ban within the city limits. This leads to the legendary
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Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, in which Billy Clanton (Thomas Haden

Church) and other Cowboys are killed. Virgil and Morgan are wounded,
and the allegiance of county sheriff Johnny Behan(Jon Tenney) with
the Cowboys is made clear. As retribution for the Cowboy deaths,
Wyatt's brothers are ambushed; Morgan is killed, while Virgil is left
handicapped. A despondent Wyatt and his family leave Tombstone and
board a train, with Clanton and Frank Stilwell close behind, preparing
to ambush them. Wyatt sees that his family leaves safely, and then
surprises the assassins; he kills Stilwell, but lets Clanton return to send
a message. Wyatt announces that he is a U.S. marshal, and that he
intends to kill any man that he sees wearing a red sash. Wyatt, Doc, a
reformed Cowboy named Sherman McMasters(Michael Rooker), along
with their allies Texas Jack Vermillion (Peter Sherayko) and Turkey
Creek Jack Johnson (Buck Taylor), join forces to administer justice.
Wyatt and his posse are ambushed in a riverside forest by the
Cowboys. Hopelessly surrounded, Wyatt seeks out Curly Bill and kills
him in a fast draw gunfight. Curly Bill's second-in-command, Johnny
Ringo( Michael Biehn), becomes the new head of the Cowboys. When
Doc's health worsens, the group are accommodated by Henry Hooker
(Charlton Heston) at his ranch. Ringo sends a messenger (dragging
McMasters' corpse) to Hooker's property telling Wyatt that he wants a
showdown to end the hostilities; Wyatt agrees. Wyatt sets off for the
showdown, not knowing that Doc had already arrived at the scene. Doc
confronts a surprised Ringo and kills him in a duel. Wyatt runs when
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he hears the gunshot only to encounter Doc. They then press on to

complete their task of eliminating the Cowboys, although Clanton
escapes their vengeance. Doc is sent to a sanatorium in Colorado
where he later dies of his illness. At Doc's urging, Wyatt pursues
Josephine to begin a new life. The film ends with a narration of an
account of their long marriage, ending with Wyatt's death in Los
Angeles in 1929.

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Script notes

204

The Truman Show (1998)

Truman Burbank is the unsuspecting star of The Truman Show, a reality
television program in which his entire life, since before birth, is filmed
by thousands of hidden cameras, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is
broadcast live around the world. The show's creator and executive
producer Christof is able to capture Truman's real emotion and human
behavior when put in certain situations. Truman's hometown of
Seahaven is a complete set built under a giant arcological dome in the
Los Angeles area. Truman's family and friends are all played by actors,
allowing Christof to control every aspect of Truman's life.
During the 30th year of the show, Truman notices certain aspects of his
near-perfect world that seem out of place. A theatrical light (labeled
Sirius) falls from the artificial morning sky, nearly hitting him (quickly
passed off by local radio as an aircraft in trouble that began "shedding
parts") and Truman's car radio picks up a conversation between the
show's crew tracking his movements. Truman also becomes aware of
more subtle abnormalities within his regular day-to-day life, such as
the way in which the same people appear in the same places at certain
times each day and Meryl's tendency to blatantly advertise the various
products she buys.
To prevent Truman from discovering his false reality, Christof has
invented means of dissuading his sense of exploration, the most
drastic of which was "killing" his father in a storm while on a fishing
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trip to instill in him a fear of the water. Christof also floods the
channels with news reports and commercials about the dangers of
traveling, and television shows about how good it is to stay at home.
The actor that played Truman's deceased father sneaks back onto the
set as a homeless man, but is whisked away as soon as Truman notices
him. Despite Christof's control, Truman has managed to behave in
unexpected ways, in particular by falling in love with an extra, Sylvia,
known to Truman as Lauren, instead of Meryl, the character intended to
be his wife. Though Sylvia is quickly removed from the set and Truman
marries Meryl, he continues to secretly pine for 'Lauren'. Sylvia
becomes part of a "Free Truman" campaign that fights to free him from
the show and to reveal his identity.
Despite the best efforts of his family and his best friend Marlon to
reassure him, all these events cause Truman to start wondering about
his life, realizing how the world seems to revolve and shape around
him, with complete strangers to him knowing his name. Truman
attempts to leave Seahaven but is blocked by emergency situations
created by Christof to prevent Truman from leaving, further
aggravating him. Meryl grows increasingly stressed by the pressure of
perpetuating the deception, and their marriage unravels in the face of
Truman's increasing skepticism and attendant hostility towards her.
This causes her to snap and partially reveal Truman's identity and life
in front of Marlon as well, making Truman confused.

206

As a result, Meryl is pulled off the show, and Christof officially brings
back Truman's father, hoping his presence will keep Truman from
trying to leave. However, he only provides a temporary respite: Truman
soon becomes isolated and begins staying alone in his basement. One
night, Truman fools the cameras and escapes the basement undetected
via a secret tunnel, forcing Christof to temporarily suspend
broadcasting of the show for the first time in its history. This causes a
surge in viewership, with many viewers, including Sylvia, cheering on
Truman's escape attempt.
Christof orders every actor and crew member to search the town, even
breaking the town's daylight cycle to help in the search. They find that
Truman has overcome his fear of the water and has sailed away from
the town in a small boat. After restoring the broadcast, Christof orders
the show's crew to create a large storm to try to capsize the boat,
prompting a heated debate with his superiors over the morality and
legality of murdering a human being in front of a live audience.
Truman almost drowns, but his determination eventually leads Christof
to terminate the storm.
As Truman recovers, the boat reaches the edge of the dome, its bow
piercing through the dome's painted sky. Truman then breaks down
crying and continuously punches the wall. An awe-struck Truman then
discovers a flight of stairs nearby, leading to a door marked "EXIT". As
he contemplates leaving his world, Christof finally turns to his last
resort by speaking directly to Truman via a powerful sound system,
207

trying to persuade him to stay. Truman, after a moment's thought,

delivers his catchphrase ("In case I don't see you... good afternoon,
good evening, and good night"), bows to his audience and steps
through the door and into the real world.
The assembled television viewers excitedly celebrate Truman's escape,
and Sylvia quickly leaves her L.A. apartment and departs to the edges
of Seaheaven so she can meet up with him. A network executive orders
the crew to cease transmission of the show, as viewers look for
something else to watch.

208

Script notes

209

Unbreakable (2000)
TElijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) is born with Type Iosteogenesis
imperfecta, a rare disease in which bones break easily. As revealed
later in flashbacks, Elijah draws a theory, based on the comic books he
has read during his many hospital stays, that if he represents extreme
human frailty, perhaps there is someone "unbreakable" at the
opposite extreme.
Years later, Philadelphia security guard David Dunn (Bruce Willis) is
also searching for meaning in his life. He had given up a promising
football career to marry Audrey (Robin Wright) after they were involved
in anauto accident. Now, however, their marriage is dissolving, to the
distress of their young son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark).
Returning from a job interview in New York, David is the sole survivor
of a major train wreck that kills 131 passengers, sustaining no injuries
himself. At the memorial for victims of the crash, he finds a card on his
car's windshield, inviting him to Elijah's store. Elijah proposes to David
that he is the kind of person after whom comic-book superheroes are
modeled, and repeatedly pursues the issue with David and Audrey,
trying to learn whether or not David was ill or injured during
childhood.
Although unsettled by Elijah, David begins to test himself. While
lifting weights with Joseph, he bench presses 350 pounds, well above
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what he had thought he could do. Joseph begins to idolize his father
and believes that he is a superhero, although David still maintains that
he is "an ordinary man."
Hoping that he might share his father's abilities, Joseph confronts
bullies at school, but is injured. Joseph then aims David's loaded pistol
at him, trying to prove his father cannot be harmed, but David talks
him out of it by threatening to move away to New York.
David challenges Elijah with an incident from his childhood when he
almost drowned. Elijah suggests that the incident highlights his one
weakness: water. While surveying the stored wreckage of the train
crash that he survived, David recalls the car accident that ended his
athletics career, remembering that he was unharmed and ripped a
door off the car in order to save Audrey. David used the accident as an
excuse to quit football, because Audrey didn't like the sport.
Under Elijah's influence, David develops what he thought was an
unusual insight into human behavior into an extra-sensory perception
by which he can glimpse criminal acts committed by the people he
makes contact with. At Elijah's suggestion, David stands in the middle
of a crowd in a Philadelphia railroad station. As people bump into him,
he senses the crimes they perpetrated: a jewel robbery, a hate crime,
and a rape. He then finds one he can act on: a sadistic janitor who
invaded a home, killed the parents, and is holding the children
prisoner.
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David follows the janitor to the victims' house and frees the children,
but is ambushed by the janitor who pushes him off a balcony into a
swimming pool. David nearly drowns due to being tangled in the pool
tarp, but is rescued by the children who used a pool skimmer to pull
him to the edge. He then attacks the janitor from behind, and because
David does not sustain injury (or pain) from the janitor's hits, David is
ultimately able strangle him to death through attrition. That night, he
reconciles with Audrey. The following morning, he secretly shows a
newspaper article on this anonymous heroic act, depicting a sketch of
David in his rain poncho, to his son, who recognizes the hero as his
father.
David attends an exhibition at Elijah's comic book art gallery and
meets Elijah's mother (Charlayne Woodard ), who explains the
difference between villains who fight heroes with physical strength vs.
those who use their intelligence. Elijah brings David to the back room
of his studio, extends his hand, and asks David to shake it. Upon doing
so, David sees visions of Elijah orchestrating several fatal disasters,
detonating a bomb on a plane, starting a hotel fire, as well as
perpetrating David's train accident, causing hundreds of deaths.
David is horrified, but Elijah insists that the deaths were justified as a
means to find David. Calling himself 'Mr. Glass' (based on a nickname
he was teased with in school), he explains that his own purpose in life
is to be David's antithesis. Since they are exact opposites, David being
212

the hero means that Elijah must be the arch-villain (representing the
intelligent villain who fights heroes with their mind).
Screen captions reveal that David reported Elijah's actions to the
police, and that Elijah was convicted of murder and terrorism, and
committed to an institution for the criminally insane.

213

Script notes

214

Vertical Limit (2000)

While climbing in Monument Valley, siblings Peter (O'Donnell) and
Annie Garrett (Tunney) lose their father, Royce (Stuart Wilson). After
two falling amateurs leave the family dangling, Royce forces Peter to
cut him loose to save Peter and his sister. Peter has since retired from
climbing and is a full-time wildlife photographer, and Annie has
become a renowned mountain climber. Three years later during an
wildlife shooting at lower Himalayans in Pakistan, Peter's assistant falls
and injures his leg. Peter is dropped off at K2 base camp and searches
for Annie who is planning a summit attempt on K2, the world's second
highest and most dangerous mountain, due to unpredictable weather
conditions and difficult technical climbing sections. The expedition is
funded by wealthy industrialist Elliot Vaughn (Paxton) who is also part
of Annie's expedition, with the help of renowned climber Tom McLaren
(Nicholas Lea).
The climb is a disaster as a storm closes in and the winds begin to
wreak havoc, causing an avalanche. Annie, Vaughn, and Tom fall
through a patch of ice and become trapped in a crevasse, while the
other expedition members are killed. Peter who initially radioed Tom
to turn around stands by the radio and begins to hear Annie using
Morse code to inform base camp they are alive. Due to the seriousness
of the cave-in, the rescue party brings oldnitroglycerin in leaky
canisters in an attempt to blast a hole for a rescue. Peter manages to
assemble a rescue mission with some of the climbers at base camp,
215

including brothers, Cyril and Malcolm (Le Marquand and

Mendelsohn), Monique Aubertine (Izabella Scorupco), Kareem Nazir
( Alexander Siddig) and Skip Taylor (Robert Taylor). Skip and Peter also
visit the reclusive Montgomery Wick (Glenn), reported to be the
world's best climber and foremost expert on K2, who agrees to join in
the rescue attempt to reach the team before they die of pulmonary
edema. Skip is unable to go as Wick says he needs someone he can
trust at base camp directing the mission.
The teams pair off: Malcolm and Kareem, Monique and Cyril, and Peter
and Wick. Each team takes different entry points up the mountain to
increase chances of success. Monique and Cyril enter trouble when
Cyril loses his balance and clings to the side of a cliff. After Monique
secures her harness to him, the peak cracks and Monique also falls
over the edge with the nitro exploding beneath them. Cyril is able to
climb back up, but an avalanche throws him over the edge of a steep
cliff. Monique pulls herself up and radios base camp that Cyril has
been killed. Back at the military station, the nitroglycerine comes into
contact with the sun and explodes. Base camp tell the teams to get
their cases of nitroglycerin into the shade.
Meanwhile, underground, Annie begins to suffer from pulmonary
edema. Tom is in a more severe state, with his leg and ribs broken.
Vaughn is the only one unharmed and possesses dexamethasone.
Vaughn's story from his first disastrous climb on K2 detailed that the
dexamethasone was swept away, but Wick later discovers an empty
216

box of dex, proving that Vaughn used it for himself and ultimately let
Wick's wife die from pulmonary edema to which Wicks swears revenge
on Vaughn.
Meanwhile, in the crevasse, Vaughn administers dex to himself and
kills Tom with the syringe full of air to save the remaining dex for
himself. Wick wakes up to find Peter and Monique gone, having
continued climbing the mountain. He soon locates where Annie and
Vaughn are trapped, and they use the nitroglycerin to blast a hole,
enabling access to the survivors. Wick descends into the cave and
harnesses Annie, and although a weakened Vaughn thinks he is about
to attack him, Wick attaches a harness to him as well. Along with Peter,
he attempts to pull Annie out of the crevasse, but an ice boulder falls,
knocking Wick and Vaughn from the ledge in the crevice and pulling
Annie and Peter down. Monique alone remains on the ledge holding
the rope with the other four hang on to it. To save Annie and Peter, and
to fulfill his revenge on Vaughn, Wick pulls a knife from his pocket,
says a Buddhist prayer and cuts the rope holding himself and Vaughn
(similar to Royce Garrett's death) dropping the two to their deaths.
Recovering at base camp, Annie reconciles with Peter, who finally pays
his respects at a memorial for those killed on K2, including Wick,
Vaughn, Kareem, his cousin Ali, Cyril and Malcolm, Tom McLaren, and
Wick's late wife who was a guide.

217

Script notes

218

Waking Ned Divine (1998)

When word reaches Jackie O'Shea (Ian Bannen) and Michael
O'Sullivan (David Kelly), two elderly best friends, that someone in their
tiny Irish village of 52 people in Tulaigh Mhr (Tullymore) has won the
Irish National Lottery's Lotto game, they, along with Jackie's wife Annie
(Fionnula Flanagan), plot to discover the identity of the winner. They
obtain a list of lottery customers from Mrs. Kennedy (Maura O'Malley)
at the post office, and invite the potential winners to a chicken dinner,
where they attempt to get the winner to reveal his or herself. After
everyone has left and they are no closer to an answer, Annie realizes
that one person did not come to the dinner, so Jackie pays a late-night
visit to the only absentee: the reclusive Ned Devine (Jimmy Keogh). He
finds Ned in his home in front of the TV, still holding the ticket in his
hand, a smile on his face and dead from shock. That same night, Jackie
has a dream that the deceased Ned wants to share the winnings with
his friends, as he has no family to claim the ticket. Jackie wakes up
after the dream, and before dawn, he and Michael return to Ned's
house to gather Ned's personal information so they can claim the
winnings for themselves.
Elsewhere in the village, Maggie O'Toole (Susan Lynch) continues to
spurn the romantic interests of her old flame, "Pig" Finn (James
Nesbitt), a local pig farmer. Finn is convinced they belong together, as
he thinks he is the father of her son Maurice, but she cannot abide him
219

due to his ever present odour of pigs. Finn has a rival in Pat Mulligan
(Fintan McKeown), also hoping to marry Maggie.
Jackie and Michael call the National Lottery to make the claim,
prompting a claim inspector to be sent. The inspector, Mr. Kelly, arrives
to find Jackie on the beach and asks him for directions to Ned's
cottage. Jackie delays Kelly by taking him on a circuitous route while
Michael races to the cottage on a motorcycle, completely naked, and
breaks in so he can answer the door as Ned. After discovering that the
lottery winnings are far greater than they anticipated (totaling nearly
IR7 million), Jackie and Michael are forced to involve the entire
village in fooling Mr. Kelly. All the villagers sign their name to a pact to
participate in the ruse except one the local curmudgeon, Lizzie Quinn
(Eileen Dromey), who threatens to report the fraud in order to receive a
ten-percent reward, and attempts to blackmail Jackie for 1 million of
the winnings. Jackie agrees, but does not actually intend to pay her
more than her fair share.
The villagers go to great lengths to fool the inspector, even pretending
Ned's funeral is a service for Michael when the inspector wanders into
the church. As the inspector leaves, satisfied that the claim is
legitimate, and the villagers celebrate their winnings at the local pub,
Quinn makes her way to the nearest working phone, a phone box
outside the village on the edge of a cliff, and phones the lottery office.
Before she can report the fraud, however, the departing claim
inspector sneezes while driving past her and loses control of his car,
220

forcing an oncoming van to crash into the phone box, sending it

plummeting off the cliff and crashing to the ground below with Quinn
still inside.
At the celebration, Jackie spots Maggie, who is content that Finn is
going to give up pig farming to marry her now that he can afford to.
Jackie approves, adding that Maurice needs a father in his life. "More
than seven million pounds?" she asks, nodding to her son. She then
tells him "Ned does have a family, Jackie", implying that Ned was
Maurice's father. Jackie urges her to claim the entire fortune, but
Maggie is sure that Maurice needs a father more and the villagers
need the money.
Finally, Jackie, Michael, Maurice, and several other villagers stand on a
hill and raise their glasses to Ned, toasting him for his gift to the
village..

221

Script notes

222

A Walk in the Clouds (1995)

In 1945, United States Army Sgt. Paul Sutton returns toSan Francisco to
reunite with his wife, Betty, whom he married, following a whirlwind
courtship, the day before he departed for the Pacific. The war has left
him with emotional scars, and he experiences flashbacks on a regular
basis.
Paul's reunion with Betty is strained, especially after he discovers most
of the letters he wrote her were set aside unopened. He is determined
to make a go of the marriage however, and hopes to establish a new
career for himself. She insists he continue to sell chocolates door-todoor, and he sets off to Sacramento. En route, he meets fellow train
passenger Victoria Aragon, a graduate student whose MexicanAmerican family owns a vineyard in the Napa Valley. When he learns
she is pregnant by her professor, Paul offers to introduce himself to her
very traditionalist family as her husband.
Victoria's father, Alberto, is infuriated, not only that she married a man
below her social standing, but without his permission as well. Paul's
initial plan to quietly slip away and continue on his journey, leaving
her family to believe he abandoned her, is derailed when her
grandfather, Don Pedro, encourages him to stay and help with the
harvest. During the harvest, Paul (an orphan) grows closer to the family
and learns the joys that come with their tradition, roots, and way of life.
He and Victoria try to ignore their growing attraction and feelings for
223

each other, but with little success. However his honor prompts him to
attempt to salvage his marriage and return home, but when he does
he discovers Betty is involved with another man. She has applied for
an annulment, to which he happily agrees, and he returns to the
Aragon estate to ask Victoria to marry him.
When Paul returns, an argument with an angry and drunk Alberto
leads to a disastrous fire which destroys the vineyard. However, Paul
remembers one plant that may still have its roots intact, races off to
retrieve them, and bring them back to the family. The disaster (as well
as Paul's bravery and dedication during it) has brought Alberto to
realize his errors, so when Paul returns with the plant, he accepts him,
telling him that this is "his family" and "his roots". They set out to
replant and rebuild with the help of their newest member.

224

Script notes

225

The Wall - Pink Floyd (1982)

Pink, the protagonist, is a rock star, one of several reasons behind his
apparent depressive and detached emotional state. He is first seen in
an unkempt hotel room, motionless and expressionless, watching
television. The opening music is the Vera Lynn recording of "The Little
Boy that Santa Claus Forgot". It is revealed that Pink's father, a British
soldier, was killed in action while defending the Anzio bridgehead
during World War II, in Pink's infancy.
In a flashback, Pink is a young English boy growing up in the early
1950s. Throughout his childhood, Pink longs for a father figure. He
discovers a scroll from "kind old King George" and other relics from his
father's military service and death. At school, he is humiliated for
writing poems in class (the poem being Pink Floyd's "Money"). After
the teacher reads the poem out loud, "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2"
is played, and children are shown in a surrealistically oppressive school
system, falling into a meat grinder. The children then rise in rebellion
and destroy the school, carrying the Teacher away to an unknown fate.
Pink is also negatively affected by his overprotective mother.
As an adult, Pink eventually marries, but he and his wife soon grow
apart. While he is in the United States on tour, Pink learns that his wife
is having an affair. He turns to a willing groupie, who he brings back to
his hotel room only to trash it in a fit of violence, terrifying the groupie
out of the apartment.
226

Pink slowly begins to lose his mind to metaphorical "worms". He

shaves all his body hair and, while watching The Dam Busters on
television, morphs into a neo-Nazi alter-ego. Pink's manager, along
with the hotel manager and some paramedics, discover Pink and inject
him with drugs to enable him to perform.
Pink fantasises that he is a dictator and his concert is a neo-Nazi rally.
His followers proceed to attack ethnic minorities, and Pink holds a rally
in suburban London, singing "Waiting for the Worms". The scene is
intercut with images of animated marching hammers that goose-step
across ruins. Pink screams "Stop!" and takes refuge in the toilets at the
concert venue, reciting poems.
In a climactic animated sequence, Pink, depicted as a small, almost
inanimate rag doll, is on trial, and his sentence is "to be exposed
before [his] peers." The judge gives the order to "tear down the wall".
Following a prolonged silence, the wall is smashed.
Several children are seen cleaning up a pile of debris after an earlier
riot, with a freeze-frame on one of the children emptying a Molotov
cocktail.

227

Script notes

228

Wandafuru raifu [After Life]

TKoreeda's After Life is set in a waystation where the souls of the
recently deceased are processed before entering heaven. "Heaven," for
the film, is a single happy memory from one's life, re-experienced for
eternity.
The movie is set in a building resembling a decrepit government social
services institution. Every Monday, a new group of recently deceased
people check in, and the "social workers" in the lodge explain to each
guest their situation. The newly-dead have until Wednesday to identify
the single happiest memory. For the rest of the week, the workers at
the institution work to design and replicate each person's chosen
memory, thereby replicating the single happiest moment of that
person's life. This moment is staged and filmed.
At the end of the week, the recently deceased watch the films of their
recreated happiest memories in a screening room. As soon as each
person sees his or her own memory, he or she vanishes to whatever
unknown state of existence lies beyond and takes only that single
memory with them.
The story pays most attention to two of the "counselors," Takashi
(Arata) and Shiori (Oda). Takashi has been assigned to help an old man,
Ichiro (played by Naito Taketoshi), select his memory. Takashi reviews
videotape of Ichiro's life and learns that Ichiro had married Takashi's
229

former fiance after Takashi had been killed during World War II.
Takashi has Ichiro assigned to another counselor, but is still troubled
by his memories, causing both him and his quasi-romantic interest
Shiori to re-examine their (after-) lives.

230

Script notes

231

The War (1994)

Stephen, a shell-shocked Vietnam veteran, returns from a mental
hospital, which he entered voluntarily because he was suffering from
nightmares about the war and had in consequence lost three jobs in a
row. After having been treated and finally coming home again, he gets
a new job as custodial engineer at a grammar school, but loses it again
within less than one week because of a law forbidding people who
spent time in a mental hospital to work within the vicinity of children.
However, the Simmons family desperately needs money, so Stephen
continues looking for work, and finds a job picking potatoes. There he
makes friends with a man called Moe Henry, with whose help he
succeeds in obtaining a job working in a mine - his best one yet.
In the meantime, the twins Lidia and Stu try to get away from the
dreary reality of their lives. They find a tree in a forest close to their
house and decide to build a tree house there. At first they and their
friends argue over who has to construct it and who is allowed to use it;
the three boys - Stu, Chet and Marsh - want it all to themselves, while
the girls - Lidia, Elvadine and Amber - want them to work on it and
share it afterwards. After several deals, they agree to build the tree
house together. The girls get everything they need from the garbage
heap belonging to the Lipnickis, a neighboring family with a
reputation for bullying, who have a grudge against the Simmons and
their friends. Unfortunately Billy, the youngest of the Lipnicki kids,
discovers Lidia, Elvadine and Amber on his father's territory, so the
232

girls have to pay him to keep quiet, but later after he falls under a
candy coma his brothers force him to betray Lidia's secret.
While the children are busy building their tree house, Stephen and
Moe are caught in a collapse as they drain water out of a cavern. Moe is
caught under falling rubble, but Stephen, who in Vietnam had to leave
his best friend to die in order to be rescued himself, is determined to
save him, even if it costs him his own life. He frees Moe, but is hit by
falling rocks himself, and though the two men are both rescued,
Stephen is badly hurt and comatose, being put on life-support in the
hospital.
While Stu and Lidia fear for their father's life, the Lipnickis find the
treehouse and take it over, stealing the lock and key, which belonged
to Stephen. However, they agree to return them if Stu can win a bet swimming a lap around the inside of a water-tower while it drains which he does. The children can keep the place, but not before the
Lipnickis throw the key onto the rotted, treacherous roof of the watertower, telling Stu that if
he wants it, he can get it back himself. Shortly afterwards, their father
is taken off life-support, and dies.
When the kids run away from home to the tree house, they discover
that the Lipnickis have returned. In the fight that erupts between them,
the tree house is destroyed. Meanwhile, Billy Lipnicki protests against
all the fighting, asking why they can't share the fort, but is ignored. He
takes it on himself to go to the water tower to retrieve the key, but the
233

roof caves in just as Stu and the others find him, and he almost drowns
in the water tower. Stu rescues and resuscitates him together with
Lidia, and Billy tells them he saw an angel, one who "looked like [Stu,]
only bigger," (implied to be Stephen) who told him he had to stay on
Earth and take care of his family.
From that time on the Lipnickis stop fighting with the others and stay
out of their way, except for Billy, who becomes a good friend to them.
The twins and their friends start to rebuild the tree house, but give it
up after a couple of days due to lack of interest. Also, they find out that
their father bought them a new house before he died and are happy to
have a proper home again at last.

234

Script notes

235

Waterworld (1995)
In the beginning of the 21st century, the polar ice caps melted and the
sea level rose to cover every continent on Earth. Surviving humans
were scattered across the ocean on ramshackle floating communities
known as atolls, mostly built from scrap metal and decrepit sea vessels.
Over time, the survivors eventually forget that they ever lived on firm
ground, adapting a mythological place named "Dryland" somewhere
in the ocean.
Five hundred years after the apocalypse, a drifter, known only as "the
Mariner", arrives at an atoll seeking to trade dirt, which is a precious
commodity. When the mariner is revealed to be a mutant with webbed
feet and gills who is able to breathe underwater, the fearful atollers
vote to drown him in a brine pool they maintain for composting. As
they begin lowering the Mariner into the sludge, local pirates known
as Smokers raid the atoll. The Smokers are searching for an orphan girl
named Enola, who has a map to Dryland tattooed on her back. The
leader of the smokers is "the Deacon", who wants the map so he can
be the first to claim Dryland and build a city upon it with his crew.
Enola and her guardian, Helen, had planned to leave the floating city
with Gregor, an inventor. However, Gregor accidentally launches the
gas balloon they planned to escape in with only himself on board,
disappearing in the horizon. Helen rescues the Mariner from drowning
in the sludge, and he agrees to help them escape on his trimaran.
236

They encounter the Smokers again, but Helen's nave actions result in
damage to the Mariner's boat, and he angrily cuts their hair. Helen,
convinced that Dryland exists and that people had not always lived on
water, demands to know where the Mariner finds his dirt. The Mariner
puts her in a diving bell and swims her down to the ruins of Denver
where he collects dirt and scrap from the bottom of the sea. Helen then
realises that former human civilisation had indeed existed on land that
is now submerged.
When they surface, the Mariner and Helen are captured by the
Smokers and used to flush Enola from hiding. They dive overboard,
barely escaping. Since Helen cannot breathe underwater, the Mariner
uses his gills to breathe for the both of them. They resurface to find
everyone gone and the trimaran destroyed. They are rescued by Gregor
in his balloon and taken to a new makeshift atoll where the survivors
of the first atoll attack have regrouped.
Using a captured Smoker jet ski, the Mariner chases down the Deacon,
finding him on the remaining hulkof the Exxon Valdez. The Deacon is
celebrating with the huge Smoker crew, proclaiming they have found
the map to Dryland. After the crew have all gone below decks to row
the ship, the Mariner walks out onto the deck, where the Deacon and
his top men are examining Enola's tattoo. He threatens to drop a
flareinto the oil reserve tank unless the Deacon releases Enola. The
Deacon refuses, so the Mariner ignites and drops the flare. The ship
237

explodes below-decks and begins sinking while the Mariner escapes

with Enola by climbing a rope up to Gregor's balloon.
The Deacon makes a grab for Enola, but Helen throws a bottle at him,
causing him to fall. He pulls out his pistol and shoots one of the
balloon's lines, causing Enola to fall into the sea. The Deacon mounts a
jet ski and signals two other jet skiing Smokers to converge on Enola.
The Mariner, seeing this, ties a rope around his ankle and jumps down
to grab Enola. The recoil of the cord pulls them to safety just as the jet
skis collide and explode, killing the Deacon.
Gregor deciphers the Asian symbols on the map using an old China
Airlines magazine. He realizes that they are coordinates and steers his
balloon in that direction. They find Dryland, which is revealed to
beMount Everest. It is verdant and welcoming with fresh water, forests,
and wildlife. Gregor, Enola, Helen and other atoll survivors land and
find the remains of Enola's parents in a hut. They prepare to settle, but
the Mariner decides he must leave as the ocean, his only home, calls to
him.

238

Script notes

239

We Were Soldiers (2002)

A French unit on patrol in Vietnam in 1954, during the final year of the
First Indochina War is ambushed by Viet Minhforces. Viet Minh
commander Nguyen Huu An orders his soldiers to "kill all they send,
and they will stop coming."
Eleven years later, the United States is fighting theVietnam War. U.S.
Army Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore ( Mel Gibson) is chosen to train
and lead a battalion. After arriving in Vietnam, he learns that an
American base has been attacked and is ordered to take his 400 men
after the enemy and eliminate the Vietnamese attackers, despite the
fact that intelligence has no idea of the number of enemy troops. As
the haunting lament "Sgt. MacKenzie" plays, Moore leads a newly
created air cavalry unit into the Ia Drang Valley. After landing in the
"Valley of Death", the soldiers learn that the location they were sent to
is actually the base camp for a veteran North Vietnamese Army division
of 4,000 men.
Upon arrival in the area with a platoon of soldiers, 2nd Lt. Henry
Herrick spots an enemy scout, runs after him, and orders reluctant
soldiers to follow. The Vietnamese scout lures them into an ambush,
resulting in several men being killed, including Lt. Herrick and his
subordinates. The surviving platoon members are surrounded with no
chance of retreat. Sgt. Savage assumes command, calls in artillery, and
uses the cover of night to keep the Vietnamese from overrunning their
240

small defensive position. Meanwhile, with helicopters constantly

dropping off units, Lt. Col. Moore manages to secure weak points
before the Vietnamese can take advantage of them.
On the second day, despite being trapped and desperately
outnumbered, the main U.S. force manages to hold off the Vietnamese
with artillery, mortars, and helicopter airlifts of supplies and
reinforcements. Eventually, Vietnamese commander Nguyen Huu An
orders a large-scale attack on the American position.
At the point of being overrun by the enemy and with no options left,
Moore orders 1st Lt. Charlie Hastings, his Forward Air Controller, to call
in "Broken Arrow" (a call for all available combat aircraft to assist and
attack enemy positions, even those close to the U.S. troops' position
because a position is being overrun and can no longer be defended).
The aircraft attack with bombs, napalm and machine guns, killing
manyPAVN and Viet Cong troops; but a friendly fire incident results in
American deaths. The second Vietnamese attack is repelled and the
surviving U.S. soldiers led by Sgt. Savage are rescued.
Meanwhile, back in the U.S., Julia Moore has become the leader of the
American wives living on the base. When the Army begins to use
Yellow Cab drivers to deliver telegrams notifying the next of kin of
soldiers' deaths in combat, Julia personally assumes that emotional
responsibility instead.

241

Moore's troops regroup, secure the area, and stop at the base of a hill.
The Vietnamese commander plans a final assault on the Americans and
sends most of his troops to carry out the attack. The Vietnamese have
set up strong emplacements near the hidden entrance of the
underground passage to the command post spoken of by the scout.
Hal and his men charge at them, but before the Vietnamese can fire,
Major Bruce "Snakeshit" Crandall and others in helicopter gunships
attack the Vietnamese, destroying the bulk of the enemy force.
Nguyen Huu An, the Vietnamese Commander, is alerted that the
Americans have broken through their lines and there are no soldiers
between the Americans and their command post. Since the
Commander had deployed his reserve forces to a final offensive and
the base camp has no troops to call upon for defense, the Vietnamese
commander quickly orders the headquarters evacuated.
Moore, having achieved his objective, returns to the helicopter landing
zone to be picked up. Only after everyone (including the dead and
wounded) are removed from the battlefield does he fly out of the
valley.
At the end of the film, it is revealed that the landing zone immediately
reverted to North Vietnamese hands after the American troops were
airlifted out. Hal Moore continued the battle in a different landing
zone, and after nearly a year he returns home safely to Julia and his
family. His superiors congratulate him for killing over 1,800 North
242

Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong soldiers. An older Moore visits

theVietnam war memorial and sees the names of soldiers who fell at Ia
Drang.

243

Script notes

244

West Side Story (1961)

In the West Side's Lincoln Square neighborhood inManhattan, there is
tension between an Anglo gang, the Jets, led by Riff, and a Puerto
Rican gang of immigrants, the Sharks, led by Bernardo. After a brawl
erupts ("Prologue"), Lieutenant Schrank and Officer Krupke arrive and
break it up, warning both gangs to cease fighting or pay. Despite the
warning, the Jets decide to challenge the Sharks to a rumble for
neighborhood control at an upcoming dance.
Riff decides that his best friend Tony, the co-founder of the Jets who
left the gang, should fight ("Jet Song"). Riff invites Tony to the dance,
but Tony is uninterested. He tells Riff that he senses something
important will happen, which Riff suggests could have correlation with
the dance ("Something's Coming").
Bernardo's younger sister, Maria, tells her best friend and Bernardo's
girlfriend, Anita, how excited she is about the dance. At the dance, the
gangs and girls refuse to intermingle ("Dance at the Gym"), despite
attempts by social worker Glad Hand. Tony arrives and he and Maria
fall in love. However, Bernardo angrily demands that Tony stay away
from her. Riff proposes a meeting with Bernardo at Doc's drug store.
Maria is sent home, Anita argues that Bernardo is overprotective of
Maria, and they compare the advantages of Puerto Rico and the United
States ("America").
245

Tony discreetly visits Maria on her fire escape, where they reaffirm their
love ("Tonight"). Krupke, who suspects the Jets are planning
something, visits them and warns them not to cause trouble. When the
Sharks arrive, both groups agree to have the showdown the following
evening under the highway, with a one-on-one fist fight. When
Schrank arrives, the gangs feign friendship. Schrank doesn't buy it and
orders the Sharks out and unsuccessfully tries to divulge information
from the Jets about the fight.
The next day at the bridal shop, Anita accidentally tells Maria about the
rumble. Tony arrives to see Maria, which shocks Anita. They profess
their love and Anita warns them about the consequences if Bernardo
learns of their relationship. Maria tells Tony that she has heard about
the rumble and, despite that it has been reduced to a fist fight, makes
him promise to stop it altogether. Tony gives his word, then he and
Maria fantasize about their wedding ceremony ("One Hand, One
Heart").
The Jets and Sharks approach the area under the highway ("Quintet").
Tony arrives to stop the fight, but Bernardo antagonizes him. Unwilling
to watch Tony be humiliated, Riff initiates a knife fight. Tony tries to
intervene, but is held back by Ice and Tiger. Just as Riff has Bernardo
where he wants him, Tony pulls him off, but Riff breaks loose and
charges straight into Bernardo's knife. In quick retaliation, Tony grabs
Riff's knife and thrusts it into Bernardo, leading to a free-for-all melee.
246

Police sirens start blaring and everyone flees, leaving behind the
bodies of the gang leaders.
Maria waits for Tony on the rooftop of her apartment building, when
Chino arrives and tells her what happened. Tony arrives and explains
what transpired and asks for her forgiveness before he turns himself in
to the police. Maria won't let him do so; she confirms her love for him
and asks Tony to stay with her (" Somewhere").
The Jets have reassembled outside a garage with their new leader, Ice,
having them focus on reacting to the police ("Cool"). Anybodys arrives
and warns them that Chino is now going after Tony with a gun. Ice
sends the Jets different directions to find Tony and warn him.
Anita enters the apartment while Tony and Maria are in the bedroom.
Tony and Maria arrange to meet at Doc's, where he will pick up
getaway money to elope. He leaves through the window, but moments
later Anita spots Tony in the alleyway (being warned by Anybodys
about Chino) and chides Maria for the relationship ("A Boy Like That"),
but Maria convinces her to help them elope ("I Have a Love").
Schrank arrives and questions Maria about the rumble. To cover for
Tony, Maria has Anita go to Doc's drugstore to tell him that Maria is
detained and will meet him as soon as she can. When Anita reaches
Doc's (where Tony is now taking refuge in the cellar), the Jets
physically harass her before she can deliver Maria's message. A shaken
247

and enraged Anita declares that Bernardo was right about them and
gives them a different message that Chino killed Maria out of revenge
for loving Tony.
Doc banishes the Jets from the drugstore and delivers Anita's message
to Tony. Stunned, Tony runs into the streets, shouting for Chino to kill
him as well. Suddenly, from the playground next to Doc's, Tony spots
Maria and they run toward each other. Just as suddenly, Chino steps
out of the shadows, points his gun at Tony and fires. Upon hearing the
gunfire, the Jets, Sharks and Doc arrive to find Maria holding Tony, who
dies as they are reaffirming their love. Just as the gangs are about to
start in on each other again, Maria stops them. She takes the gun from
Chino and threatens everyone, blaming their hate for the deaths of
Tony, Riff and Bernardo. After Schrank and Krupke arrive, three of the
Jets start lifting Tony's body and are assisted by two Sharks. As they
carry Tony out, Maria and many of the Jets and Sharks follow in a
funeral procession. When they are all gone, the police arrest Chino and
lead him away ("Finale", end credits).

248

Script notes

249

What Dreams May Come (1998)

While vacationing in Switzerland, pediatrician Chris Nielsen (Robin
Williams) meets artist Annie Collins ( Annabella Sciorra). They are
attracted to each other, and bond as if they had known each other for a
long time. They marry and have two children, Ian (Josh Paddock) and
Marie (Jessica Brooks Grant). Their idyllic life ends when the children
die in a car crash. Life becomes difficult: Annie suffers a mental
breakdown and the couple contemplates divorce, but they manage
through their losses.
On the anniversary of the day they decided not to divorce, Chris is
killed in another car crash. Unaware that he is dead, and confused that
no one will interact with him, Chris lingers on Earth. He sees Annie's
attempts to cope with his loss and attempts to communicate with her,
despite advice from a presence that this will only cause her more pain.
When his attempts cause more sorrow, he decides to move on.
Chris awakens in Heaven, and learns that his immediate surroundings
can be controlled by his imagination. He meets a man (Cuba Gooding,
Jr.) he recognizes as Albert, his friend and mentor from his medical
residency, and the presence from his time as a "ghost" on Earth. Albert
will guide and help in this new afterlife. Albert teaches Chris about his
existence in Heaven, and how to shape his little corner, and to travel to
others' "dreams". They are surprised when a Blue Jacaranda tree
appears unbidden in Chris' surroundings, matching a tree in a new
250

painting by Annie, inspired by Annie's belief that she can

communicate with Chris in the afterlife. Albert explains that this is a
sign that the couple are truly soul mates. Annie decides that Chris
cannot "see" the painting, however, and destroys it. At the same time,
Chris sees his version of the tree disintegrate before his eyes.
Chris laments that he can no longer see his wife and soon encounters a
woman who he comes to recognize as his daughter Marie, living in an
area resembling a diorama that she loved in her lifetime. The two
share a tearful reunion.
Meanwhile, Annie is unable to cope with the loss of her husband and
decides to commit suicide. Chris, who is initially relieved that her
suffering is done, grows angry when he learns that those who commit
suicide go to Hell; this is not the result of a judgment made against
them, but rather their own tendency to create "nightmare" afterlife
worlds based on their pain. Chris is adamant that he will rescue Annie
from Hell, despite Albert's insistence that no one has ever succeeded
in doing so with a suicide. Albert agrees to find Chris a "tracker" to
help search for Annie's soul.
On the journey to Hell, Chris recalls his son, Ian. Remembering how
he'd called him the one man he'd want at his side to brave Hell, Chris
realizes that Albert is Ian. Ian explains that he chose Albert's
appearance because he knew that Chris would listen to Albert without
reservation. Before they part, Ian begs Chris to remember how he
251

saved his marriage following Ian and Marie's deaths. Chris then
journeys onward with the tracker.
Chris must walk across the field of Faces of the Damned, stepping on
their faces as he navigates across it. The damned can be heard talking,
including a businesswoman who says she never over-billed her clients.
Chris and the tracker arrive at a dark and twisted version of Chris and
Annie's house. The tracker then reveals himself as the real Albert and
warns Chris that if he stays with Annie for more than a few minutes he
may be permanently trapped in Hell, advising that all Chris can
reasonably expect is an opportunity for a final farewell to Annie.
Chris enters their now-horrific looking home to find Annie suffering
from amnesia, unable to remember her suicide, and visibly tortured by
her decrepit surroundings. Unable to stir her memories, the tracker
sees Chris give up his quest to save Annie from hell. But instead of
returning to Heaven Chris chooses to join Annie forever in Hell. As he
declares to Annie his intent to stay, his words parallel something he'd
said to her as he left her in an institution following the children's
deaths, and she regains her memories while Chris is making her
nightmare his. Annie, wanting nothing more than to save Chris,
ascends to Heaven, bringing Chris with her.
Chris and Annie are reunited with their children in Heaven, and all
appearances are restored. Chris proposes reincarnation, so he and
Annie can experience life together again. The film ends with Chris and
252

Annie meeting again as young children in a situation that parallels

their first meeting.

253

Script notes

254

Where the Heart Is (2000)

At seventeen years old and seven months pregnant, Novalee Nation
(Natalie Portman) sets off on a road trip from Tennessee to California
with her ignorant, trailer trashboyfriend, Willy Jack Pickens (Dylan
Bruno). His car is a dilapidated 1963 Plymouth with a leaking fuel line
and no floor. While driving through Sequoyah, Oklahoma, Novalee
notices her shoes had fallen through the floor while she was napping.
Frustrated from the heat and her swollen feet, she finds comfort when
she suddenly feels the baby's heart beat in her belly. She has Willy
Jack feel her stomach, but he denies feeling anything. Novalee then
asks Willy to stop at the local Wal-Mart so that she can go to the
bathroom and buy new shoes. When Novalee reaches out for her
change at the checkout, the sum of $5.55 sends her into a panic, as we
learned early on she believes that the number 5 is a bad omen. She
runs barefoot outside to discover that Willy Jack has abandoned her
and left only her new camera behind.
Having no where else to go, she wanders back inside and wonders
through the aisles. She passes the day away at the cafe and sitting
outside people-watching. It is here she meets Thelma "Sister" Husband
( Stockard Channing), a woman who runs the Welcome Wagon in town.
Novalee also meets aphotographer named Moses Whitecotton (Keith
David) who advises her to give her baby a strong name. Later that
evening, Novalee feels sick and runs into the bathroom again to vomit.
255

When she comes out again, she discovers that the store is closed. She
soon figures out how to live undetected in the Wal-Mart.
As karma would have it, Willy Jack Pickens is soon arrested for theft
and for fraternizing with the attractive Jolene, an attractive stranger he
has no idea is actually 14 years old. He is sentenced to serve time
where he composes a country song entitled "Beat of the Heart."
Novalee manages to live at the store for several weeks. Novalee visits
the library and meets Forney Hull ( James Frain) who looks after his
librarian sister Mary Elizabeth (Margaret Hoard) whose health has
been ruined by alcoholism. Novalee visits Sister Husband where she
agrees to let Novalee grow the Buckeye tree that she gave Novalee in
her yard.
Novalee wakes up during a thunderstorm as she starts having
contractions. Her water breaks leaving a puddle at her feet. While
attempting to clean it up, she goes into labor. As she collapses, she
notices that she is in Aisle 5 and manages to pull herself to the next
aisle. Forney (who saw her go into the store at closing time), jumps
through a plate-glass window and helps deliver her baby offscreen.
Novalee wakes up in the hospital to find she is a media celebrity for
giving birth in a Wal-Mart. She befriends her nurse Lexie Coop (Ashley
Judd) and tells her that her daughter's name will be Americus. Lexie
reveals that she is a single woman with four children by three different
256

men. Novalee's mother Mama Lil (Sally Field), who abandoned her as a
child, has seen her on television and appears at the hospital. Her
mother says the two women can get an apartment together, takes the
$500 that Novalee received as a gift from the President of Wal-Mart,
and agrees to pick up Novalee and Americus the next morning. Her
mother never shows up and Sister Husband comes to pick up Novalee
and offers to let Novalee and the baby live at her house.
Novalee enjoys her life at Sister Husband's, becomes friends with
Forney, and works at Wal-Mart. One night, while Novalee and Forney
are getting Christmas trees, Forney remarks that Americus is 5 months
old that day. Novalee is alarmed at the realization and hurries home to
check Americus. She comes home to find police at her home and learns
Americus has been kidnapped. Novalee remembers that in the
hospital, she received a card from Mississippi saying her baby was an
abomination under God because she was born out of wedlock. The
police quickly apprehend a vehicle with Mississippi plates and
Americus is found safe in a nativity scene outside a church.
Upon being released from prison, Willy Jack becomes a one-hitwonder with his song and teams with music agent Ruth Meyers (Joan
Cusack).
Three years pass, and Novalee begins a career as a photographer with
the help of Moses. When atornado blows through Sequoyah, Sister
Husband is killed and their home is destroyed. After the funeral, one of
257

Sister Husband's friends from AA informs Novalee that she is the

beneficiary of Sister's estate. Novalee builds a new home for herself
and Americus on Sister's land. In memory of Sister, Novalee shoots a
picture of Americus and the still-standing Buckeye tree amidst the
damage from the storm. She enters her photo in a contest and wins.
Willy Jack attempts to branch out his career and starts speaking with a
well-known agent. Ruth Meyers informs him shortly after that his old
cellmate is suing him for the credit of the song he's recorded. Because
she is also aware of Willy Jack's attempt to sign with another agent,
she leaves Willy Jack to clean up his own mess.
One day, Novalee receives a call from Lexie's oldest child. She rushes
over to find Lexie bruised and battered. We learn that Lexie's new love
interest has molested her eldest children and nearly beat her death as
she attempted to protect them.
Forneys sister passes away and when he does not appear at the
funeral, Novalee finds him in a hotel and comforts him. They act on
their feelings and spend the night together. Forney confesses his
feelings for her. Novalee confides in Lexie what has happened
between herself and Forney and learns that Lexie is seeing someone
new. Lexie is embarrassed to admit he is an exterminator and does not
have quite the physical attributes she's gone for in the past. Lexie
eventually falls in love with Ernie after learning he gave his ex-wife his
restored 1967 Chevy Camaro in exchange for custody of his step258

daughter whom he adopted as his own. They get married, and Lexie
tells Novalee that she's pregnant. Novalee feels deeply that she is not
good enough for Forney and struggles through telling him she does
not love him. He returns to school in Boston.
Severely depressed at his ruined career, Willy Jack becomes an
alcoholic and starts popping pills. He wanders off drunk and collapses
on a railroad track. Unable to move as a train approaches, he loses his
legs.
On Americus's 5th birthday, Novalee picks up a newspaper and sees an
article about Willy Jack having lost his legs some months before and
recently having been robbed of his wheelchair. Novalee visits Willy
Jack in the hospital and he reveals to her that he lied to her their last
day together when he said he couldn't feel the baby's heart. He
confesses his whole life would've been different if he'd been able to
undo this one lie.
Novalee realizes that she has made the same mistake with Forney. She
drives Willy Jack home to Tennessee and then continues to Maine to
find Forney. Novalee tells him she really does love him and they return
to Oklahoma and marry. The final scene is of their wedding, which
takes place in a Walmart.

259

Script notes

260

White Water Summer (1987)

School is out for the summer, and a group of young teenagers go on a
hike with Vic, an experienced guide. One teen, Alan, butts heads with
Vic during the film, as the life lessons Vic attempts to teach annoy him.
The more defiant Alan gets, the more extreme the lessons come from
Vic. Alan's defiance and Vic's aggressive lessons culminate in disaster
and Vic winds up breaking his leg. Alan then has to use his skills and
some of Vic's to get down from the mountain..

261

Script notes

262

Wild Wild West (1999)

Starting in a small section of the near South, both U.S. Army Captain
James West and U.S. Marshal Artemus Gordon hunt for General
"Bloodbath" McGrath, who is wanted for mass murder. It points back to
when McGrath ordered a massacre in a settlement called New Liberty,
where many of the freed slaves were murdered, including West's
biological parents. The search leads to a brothel where the two try
(unsuccessfully) to arrest him. It leads to a huge brawl and a cart of
nytroglycerin crashing into the building that starts a fire. Both West
and Gordon, the latter dressed as a woman, escape. Later, in
Washington, D.C., West and Gordon meet at the White House with
President Ulysses S. Grant, who tells them about the disappearance of
America's key scientists and a treasonous plot by General "Bloodbath"
McGrath. Grant charges the two with finding the scientists before he
inaugurates the first transcontinental railroad at Promontory, Utah.
On board their train, Gordon examines the head of a murdered
scientist and uses a projection device to reveal the last thing the
scientist saw. Finding McGrath and a clue in the image, they head to
New Orleans, pursuing a lead about Dr. Arliss Loveless, an exConfederate scientist in a steam-powered wheelchair, who is hosting a
party for the elite of Southern society. West mistakes a female guest for
a disguised Gordon and makes an error that results in the guests
wanting to lynch West. Meanwhile, Gordon roams the mansion and
comes across a caged Rita Escobar, rescuing her. Gordon frees West
263

from the lynching with an elastic rope, and the three escape to their
train The Wanderer. On board, Rita asks for their help in rescuing her
father, one of the kidnapped scientists, Professor Escobar.
Later, Loveless hosts a reception to demonstrate his newest weapon: a
steam-powered tank. The tank uses General McGrath's soldiers as
target practice, which angers McGrath. When McGrath demands an
explanation, Loveless shoots him and leaves him for dead. As Loveless
and his troops head over to Utah, Gordon, West, and Rita find the
dying McGrath, who reveals that he was framed by Loveless for the
massacre of New Liberty, explaining that Loveless used the tank to kill
the people there. Gordon, West, and Rita then pursue Loveless on The
Wanderer, but having expected their arrival and using steam powered
hydraulics, Loveless maneuvers his train behind The Wanderer. West
manages to disable Loveless' train, but not before Loveless uses a
cannon-launched grappling hook to stop The Wanderer. Rita, afraid of
being recaptured by Loveless, grabs one of Gordon's explosive rigged
pool balls and accidentally releases sleeping gas that knocks out West,
Gordon, and herself.
West and Gordon wake up as Loveless and his posse pull away in The
Wanderer taking Rita hostage, announcing that he intends to capture
President Grant at the "golden spike" ceremony and also that should
West and Gordon step outside of the trap they are in they will be
killed. Escaping the trap the two stumble across Loveless' private rail
line, which leads them to his industrial complex, hidden in Spider
264

Canyon. Here, they witness Loveless's ultimate weapon: a gigantic

mechanical spider armed with two nitroglycerin cannons. Loveless
uses the spider to capture President Grant and Gordon at the ceremony
at Promontory Point, while West is seemingly shot by one of Loveless'
bodyguards.
At his industrial complex, Loveless reveals his plan: to destroy the
United States with his mechanized forces unless President Grant
agrees to divide the states among Great Britain, France, Spain, Mexico,
and himself. Loveless demands that President Grant surrender, but he
refuses. Loveless then tries to have Gordon shot in the head if Grant
still refuses to surrender, but West, who had survived thanks tochain
mail vest, disguises himself and manages to distract Loveless, allowing
Gordon to free the captives. Unfortunately, Loveless escapes in the
ensuing battle, taking the President with him. To save the President,
Gordon and West build a flying machine to overtake the spider as
Loveless attempts to force Grant to sign the surrender. Gordon and
West crash onto the spider, and a fight ensues between them and
Loveless, now on mechanical legs. Gordon shoots a hole in Loveless's
hydraulic line, and all the oil drains from his legs, allowing West to
gain the upper hand. This allows Gordon and Grant to defeat Loveless'
guards, and pleading for his life, Loveless drags himself back to his
wheelchair as the spider approaches a cliff. Loveless attempts to shoot
West with a concealed gun, but hits the spider's steam pipes, stopping
it just before it plunges into the canyon. The abrupt stop leaves West
265

and Loveless hanging precariously from the spider. Loveless tries to

decide whether he should pull the chair's lever that will release them
or not, knowing it will send both him and West to their deaths if he
does so. Loveless taunts West so much, that West pulls the lever
himself and survives by grabbing the ankles of a man hanging from a
chain (West had thrown him out earlier), while Loveless falls to his
death.
Grant promotes Gordon and West as Agent #1 and Agent #2 of his new
U.S. Secret Service. Gordon asks which of them is 1 and 2, but the
President brushes off the question as unimportant and tells them they
will have plenty of time to talk about on the way back. (Since the
President lost his train, he takes "The Wanderer" for the ride back)
Gordon and West meet Rita again, both planning to court her, but she
crushes their hopes, announcing that Professor Escobar is actually her
husband.
The last scene of the film shows Gordon and West riding through the
desert. Gordon asks West "Mind if I ask you a question?" West,
correctly assuming he will ask who should be Agent 1, replies
"Actually, I do, Artie." The camera pans out to show they are actually
riding the mechanical spider.

266

Script notes

267

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

The film starts in sepia toned Kansas in the early 1900s. Dorothy Gale
lives with her dog Toto on the farm of her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry.
Dorothy and Toto get in trouble with a ruthless neighbor, Miss Almira
Gulch, when Toto bites her. However, Dorothy's family and the
farmhands are all too busy to pay attention to her. Miss Gulch arrives
with permission from the sheriff to have Toto euthanized. He is taken
away, but escapes and returns to Dorothy; she then decides to run
away from home with Toto to escape Miss Gulch. They meet Professor
Marvel, a phony fortune teller, who realizes Dorothy has run away and
tricks her via his crystal ball into believing that her aunt is ill so that
she must return home. She races home as a powerful tornado
develops. Unable to get into her family's storm cellar, she seeks safety
in her bedroom. A wind-blown window sash hits her head and she falls
unconscious on her bed. She begins dreaming, seeing the house
spinning
in the air, held aloft by the twister. In the storm outside the window
she sees an elderly lady in a chair, several farm animals, two men
rowing a boat, as well as Miss Gulch (pedaling her bicycle), who
transforms into a cackling witch flying on a broomstick.
The farm house crashes in Munchkinland in the Land of Oz, where the
film changes to Technicolor. Glinda the Good Witch of the North and
theMunchkins welcome her as a heroine, as the house has landed on
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and killed the Wicked Witch of the East, leaving only her feet exposed.
Her sister, the Wicked Witch of the West, arrives to claim the magic
ruby slippers worn on her sister's feet. Glinda transfers them off her
feet to Dorothy's feet instead. The Wicked Witch of the West swears
revenge on Dorothy and Toto for her sister's death. Glinda tells Dorothy
to follow theYellow brick road to the Emerald City, where the Wizard of
Oz might be able to help her get back home.
On her way to the Emerald City, Dorothy meets and befriends
theScarecrow who wants a brain, the Tin Woodman who desires a
heart, and the Cowardly Lion who is in need of courage. Dorothy
invites each of them to accompany her. After encountering the Witch,
who attempts to deter them from their destination, they finally reach
the Emerald City. Inside, after being initially rejected, they are
permitted to see the Wizard (appearing to them in the form of a large
head surrounded by fire) who agrees to grant their wishes when they
bring him the Witch of the West's broomstick.
On their quest to the Witch's castle, the group passes through the
Haunted Forest while the Witch views their progress through a crystal
ball. She then sends her winged monkeys to ambush the four and
capture Dorothy and Toto. At the castle, the Witch fails to get the
slippers off Dorothy due to a magical electric barrier, remembering
that Dorothy must first be killed. Toto escapes and leads her friends to
the castle. After defeating three Winkie Guards and stealing their
uniforms, they march inside and free her, but the Witch and her guards
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trap them. The Scarecrow drops a chandelier onto the Winkies, and the
group is chased across the battlements, before being trapped on both
sides. The Witch sets fire to the Scarecrow and Dorothy splashes a
bucket of water onto the flames; the Witch, also hit by it, melts. The
guards rejoice that she is dead and give Dorothy the charred
broomstick in gratitude.
Back at the Emerald City, the Wizard still refuses to grant their wishes
despite their bravery. Toto, opening a curtain, exposes the "Wizard" as
a normal middle-aged man who has been operating and controlling
the image of the wizard; he admits to being a humbug. Nonetheless,
he gives the Scarecrow a diploma, the Lion a medal, and the Tin Man a
ticking heart-shaped watch, granting their wishes and convincing them
that what they sought has been achieved. He then prepares to launch
his hot air balloon to take Dorothy home, but Toto chases a cat, Dorothy
follows, and the balloon leaves without them. Glinda arrives and tells
her that she can still return home by tapping her heels together three
times and repeating, "There's no place like home". After bidding a
tearful goodbye to her friends, Dorothy taps her heels together and
awakens from her dream, surrounded by her family, the farmhands,
Professor Marvel, and Toto.

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AKIRA KURASAWA
Sanshiro Sugata
The central theme of the film is the education and initiation of Sugata
and the way in which, whilst learning the ways of Judo, he also learns
about himself. The film's central scene concerning this theme is when,
after being accosted by Yano for getting involved in a streetfight,
Sugata leaps into the cold waters near Yano's temple and stays there in
order to show his master his dedication, and the fact that he is neither
afraid to live nor to die.
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail
In 1185, the Heike family fights against the Minamoto family. After a
bloody naval battle in the Pacific Ocean, Yoshitsune Minamoto defeats
the enemy and the survivors commit suicide. When the triumphant
Yoshitsune arrives in Kyoto, his brother, the Shogun Yoritomo, is
uneasy and orders his men to arrest Yoshitsune. However, Yoshitsune
escapes with six loyal samurai led by Benkei and they head to the
country of his only friend Hidehira Fujiwara. Near the border, after
crossing the forest disguised as monks, their porter discovers that they
are Yoshitsune and the six samurais and advises that the fearful
Kajiwara and his soldiers are waiting for them in the border to arrest
them. Yoshitsune disguises as a porter and at the barrier at the border,

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Benkei has to convince Kajiwara that they are six monks traveling to
collect donation to build a large temple in Kyoto.

No Regrets for Our Youth

The film begins in 1933. Students at Kyoto Imperial University protest
against theJapanese invasion of Manchuria. Prominent professor
Yagihara (Denjiro Okochi) is relieved of his post because of his leftist
views against fascism. The professor's daughter Yukie (Setsuko Hara) is
courted by two of her father's students: Ryukichi Noge (Susumu Fujita)
and Itokawa (Akitake Kno). Itokawa is safe and sensible while Noge is
fiery. Yukie is eventually drawn toward Noge.
Noge disappears following an anti-militarist student protest. His
disappearance is the result of being arrested and he spends four years
in jail. By the time Itokawa (now a prosecutor for the government) tells
Yukie about Noge's whereabouts he has already been out of jail for a
year. He also tells her that he is a changed man, that he is no longer
how Yukie remembered him.
Itokawa brings Noge over to the Yagihara residence. During dinner,
Professor Yagihara mentions that Noge wouldn't have gotten out
unless the government was convinced that Noge had "converted" from
his radical ways. Noge confirms this and says that Itokawa vouched for
him and had even found him a job in the army.
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After realizing that Noge has changed from his days at the University,
Yukie gets up from the dinner table and runs to lock herself in her
room. Yukie's mother eventually tells her that Itokawa and Noge are
leaving. At first Yukie is reluctant to see them out, however once
Yukie's mother tells her that Noge is leaving for China she decides to
see Noge one last time to say goodbye.
After Noge's departure, Yukie begins to pack for Tokyo and after a
conversation her father reluctantly lets her go. For three years in Tokyo,
Yukie works menial jobs to get by. One day she runs into Itokawa and
is told that Noge is in Tokyo. She goes to Noge's offices, but is scared of
what will happen. Yukie is shown outside of the offices several times
but eventually Noge notices her. They spend several years together
and get married during this time.
Yukie knows that Noge is involved in illegal activities, but he refuses to
tell her what they are. Noge is arrested on the night before his plans
were to go into effect. Yukie is interrogated, but she proffers no
information. Yukie is treated badly during the interrogations but
Itokawa is eventually able to free her. Yukie's parents take the train
into Tokyo where Yukie's father meets up with Itokawa. Yukie's father
thanks him for what he has done and informs Itokawa that he intends
to represent Noge in court. Itokawa mournfully responds that Noge
died the night before. Yukie is crushed. She brings his ashes to his
parents, and tells them she is his wife. They reject her, believing that
she has come to mock them because their son was convicted of being
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a spy. She stays with his parents, who are scorned and harassed in their
village, and works the rice fields with them. She tries to convince them
of her sincerity and that their son was a good man. The work in the rice
fields is hard on her, but she is determined to prove her mettle, even
to the point of working when she has a severe fever.
The night that they finally finish planting all of the fields, the
neighbors sneak in and destroy their rice fields. When Yukie mourns
the vandalism, Noge's parents finally accept her and their son is
redeemed in their eyes. At the end of the war, Professor Yagihara is
reinstated and Noge is honored for his anti-war efforts. Yukie returns to
Kyoto to visit her parents. Yukie's mother tells her that she can stay
since she has achieved her goal because Noge's parents are no longer
ashamed of him. However, Yukie now feels more comfortable planting
rice than playing the piano, so she goes back to work on the farm.
Drunken Angel
It stars Takashi Shimura as an alcoholic doctor in postwarJapan who
treats a young, small-time hood named Matsunaga (Toshiro Mifune),
after a gunfight with a rival syndicate. The doctor diagnoses the young
gangster withtuberculosis, and convinces him to begin treatment (and
quit boozing and womanizing). The two enjoy an uneasy friendship
until the gangster's former boss, Okada, who is also the former abusive
boyfriend of the doctor's female assistant, is released from prison and
seeks to take his gang over once again. The sick young man then stops
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following the doctor's advice, slips back into old habits and going to
night clubs with Okada. But Matsunaga realizes that Okada is not a
true friend when Okada threatens to kill the doctor if he doesn't reveal
the female assistants whereabouts, and then finds out that the big
Yakuza crime boss is grooming Okada and merely using Matsunaga as
a pawn to be given up to the rival gang. When the doctor leaves his
house to go report on Okada to the police, despite the doctor's orders
to remain in bed, Matsunaga slips out to confront Okada (who has also
managed to steal Matsunaga's girlfriend Nanae) but Matsunaga is
killed in the ensuing knife fight. The film ends with a local shop-owner
woman who had feelings for Matsunaga planning to take Matsunaga's
ashes to be buried on her farm, far from the corrupt and dirty city, and
the doctor happily learning that one of his younger patients has
followed his advice and has been fully cured of tuberculosis.
The Quiet Duel
Toshiro Mifune plays Dr. Kyoji Fujisaki a young idealistic doctor who
works at his father's (Takashi Shimura) clinic in a small and seedy
district. During the war, he contractssyphilis from the blood of a patient
(Kenjiro Uemura) when he cuts himself during an operation.
Contaminated with a disease that was virtually incurable in 1940s
Japan, Fujisaki returns home from the war to the clinic presided over
by his obstetrician father. Treating himself in secret and tormented by
his conscience, he rejects his heartbroken fiance Misao,(Miki Sanj)
275

without explanation. He had been engaged to Misao for six years but
has still not set a date due to his disease. Minegishi (Noriko Sengoku),
a probationary nurse that he took in after he prevented her suicide
attempt, learns of his illness and sacrifice. She dedicates herself to
becoming a fully qualified nurse. Misao becomes engaged to another
man. She makes one last plea to Fujisaki but he stands firm in
rejecting her. The end of the film shows him continuing his work as a
surgeon.
Stray Dog (film)
Action takes place during a heatwave in a bombed-out, post-war Tokyo.
Rookie homicide detective Murakami (Toshiro Mifune) has hisColt
pistol stolen during a trolley ride and gives chase to the pickpocket,
but when he fails to capture him he reports back to headquarters filled
with guilt and shame. He goes on to prowl the city backstreets
undercover, looking for suspects and picking up leads. He eventually
picks up the trail of a gun racket. When the stolen gun is used in a
crime, Murakami partners up with the veteran detective Sat (Takashi
Shimura). After questioning a suspect, Sat and Murakami end up at a
baseball game looking for a gun dealer named Honda. They locate him
and he points to Yusa, a disenchanted war veteran who's fallen to
crime after the war. They investigate Yusa's sister's house and his
sweetheart, showgirl Harumi Namiki (Keiko Awaji), but to no avail.

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Murakami's gun is used in another crime, this time as the murder

weapon. They question Namiki at her mother's house. The girl is still
reticent to talk, so Sat leaves off to investigate Yusa's trail while
Murakami remains behind. Sat comes across Yusa's last hideout. He
places a call for Murakami, but just as he is about to reveal Yusa's
location, the criminal makes a run for it. Sat attempts to give chase,
but is shot in the rain and left for dead. A desperate Murakami arrives
soon enough to donate blood to his friend at the hospital.
The following morning, Namiki has a change of heart and informs
Murakami at the hospital that she had an appointment with Yusa at a
train station nearby. Murakami races to the meeting and deduces who
Yusa is from his mud spattered clothing. He gives chase into a forest
and is wounded in the arm. After a chase, Murakami manages to cuff
Yusa, taking him into custody. Back at the hospital, Sat has recovered
and congratulates Murakami on his first citation. Murakami reflects on
Yusa's plight, reflecting on the parallels between him and the criminal.
Sat tells him to forget about Yusa, and get ready for the cases he will
have to solve in the future.
Scandal (1950 film)
Ichiro Aoye (Toshir Mifune), an artist, meets a famous young classical
singer, Miyako Saijo (Shirley Yamaguchi) whilst working on his
paintings in the mountains. After discovering they are both heading
for the same location he offers to give her a motorcycle ride to where
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they are staying. On the way, they are spotted by paparazzi for the
tabloid magazine Amour, who track the two down. As Saijo refuses to
grant the photographers an interview, they plot their revenge by
taking a picture of the couple having breakfast on a balcony and print
it under the headline 'The Love Story of Miyako Saijo'.
Aoye is outraged by this false scandal and plans to sue the magazine.
During the subsequent media circus, Aoye is approached by a downand-out lawyer, Hiruta (Takashi Shimura), who claims to share Aoye's
anger with the press. Aoye takes him for his attorney, but Hiruta,
desperate for money to cure his daughter with terminaltuberculosis,
Masako (Yko Katsuragi), accepts a bribe from the editor of the
magazine to throw the trial. The trial proceeds badly for the plaintiffs.
Struck by the kindness of Aoye and Saijo towards his Masako, and
Masako's own disgust at the way he is handling the case, Hiruta
becomes ridden with guilt. As the trial draws to an end, Masako dies,
convinced that Aoye and Saijo will win the case. On the final day of the
trial Hiruta, prodded by his conscience, confesses all and though he is
disbarred, his reputation is saved and Amour loses the case.
Rashomon
The film opens on a woodcutter (
Shimura) and a priest (

; Kikori, played by Takashi

; Tabi Hshi, Minoru Chiaki) sitting

beneath the Rajmon city gate to stay dry in a downpour. A commoner

(Kichijiro Ueda) joins them and they tell him that they have witnessed
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a disturbing story, which they then begin recounting to him. The

woodcutter claims he found the body of a murdered samurai three
days earlier while looking for wood in the forest; upon discovering the
body, he says, he fled in a panic to notify the authorities. The priest
says that he saw the samurai with his wife traveling the same day the
murder happened. Both men were then summoned to testify in court,
where they met the captured bandit Tajmaru (

), who claimed

responsibility for killing the samurai and raping his wife.

The bandit's story
Tajmaru (Toshiro Mifune), a notorious brigand, claims that he tricked
the samurai to step off the mountain trail with him and look at a cache
of ancient swords he discovered. In the grove he tied the samurai to a
tree, then brought the samurai's wife there. She initially tried to
defend herself with a dagger, but was eventually "seduced" by the
bandit. The woman, filled with shame, then begged him to duel to the
death with her husband, to save her from the guilt and shame of
having two men know her dishonor. Tajmaru honorably set the
samurai free and dueled with him. In Tajmaru's recollection they
fought skillfully and fiercely, but in the end Tajmaru was the victor
and the woman ran away. At the end of the story to the court, he is
asked about an expensive dagger owned by the samurai's wife: he
says that, in the confusion, he forgot all about it, and that it was foolish
of him to leave behind such a valuable object.
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The wife's story ]

The samurai's wife (Machiko Ky) tells a different story to the court.
She says that Tajmaru left after raping her. She begged her husband
to forgive her, but he simply looked at her coldly. She then freed him
and begged him to kill her so that she would be at peace. He
continued to stare at her with a look of loathing. His expression
disturbed her so much that she fainted with dagger in hand. She
awoke to find her husband dead with the dagger in his chest. She
attempted to kill herself, but failed in all her efforts.
The samurai's story ]
The court then hears the story of the deceased samurai (Masayuki
Mori), told through a medium (

;miko, Noriko Honma). The

samurai claims that Tajmaru, after raping his wife, asked her to travel
with him. She accepted and asked Tajmaru to kill her husband so that
she would not feel the guilt of belonging to two men. Tajmaru,
shocked by this request, grabbed her, and gave the samurai a choice of
letting the woman go or killing her. "For these words alone," the dead
samurai recounted, "I was ready to pardon his crime." The woman fled,
and Tajmaru, after attempting to recapture her, gave up and set the
samurai free. The samurai then killed himself with his wife's dagger.
Later, somebody removed the dagger from his chest.
The woodcutter's story ]
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Back at Rashmon gate (after the trial), the woodcutter explains to the
commoner that all three stories were falsehoods. The woodcutter had
actually witnessed the rape and murder, he says, but just did not want
to get too involved at the trial. According to the woodcutter's new story,
Tajmaru begged the samurai's wife to marry him, but the woman
instead freed her husband. The husband was initially unwilling to fight
Tajmaru, saying he would not risk his life for a spoiled woman, but
the woman then criticized both him and Tajmaru, saying they were
not real men and that a real man would fight for a woman's love. She
spurred the men to fight one another, but then hid her face in fear
once they raise swords; the men, too, were visibly fearful as they began
fighting. They began a duel that was much more pitiful than
Tajmaru's account had made it sound, and Tajmaru ultimately won
through a stroke of luck. After some hesitation he killed the samurai,
who begged for his life on the ground, and the woman fled in horror.
Tajmaru could not catch her, but took the samurai's sword and left
the scene limping.
Climax
At the gate, the woodcutter, priest, and commoner are interrupted
from their discussion of the woodcutter's account by the sound of a
crying baby. They find the baby abandoned in a basket, and the
commoner takes a kimono and an amulet that have been left for the
baby. The woodcutter reproaches the commoner for stealing from the
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abandoned baby, but the commoner chastises him. Having deduced

that the reason the woodcutter did not speak up at the trial was
because he was the one who stole the dagger from the scene of the
murder, the commoner mocks him as "a bandit calling another a
bandit". The commoner leaves Rashmon, claiming that all men are
motivated only by self-interest.
These deceptions and lies shake the priest's faith in humanity. He is
brought back to his senses when the woodcutter reaches for the baby
in the priest's arms. The priest is suspicious at first, but the woodcutter
explains that he intends to take care of the baby along with his own
children, of whom he already has six. This simple revelation recasts the
woodcutter's story and the subsequent theft of the dagger in a new
light. The priest gives the baby to the woodcutter, saying that the
woodcutter has given him reason to continue having hope in
humanity. The film closes on the woodcutter, walking home with the
baby. The rain has stopped and the clouds have opened revealing the
sun in contrast to the beginning where it was overcast.
The Idiot (1951 film)
After narrowly escaping death during the recent war, Kameda returns
to Japan from Okinawa, where he has been confined to an asylum.
Because he is subject to seizures of epilepsy, he is considered to be
mentally ill. During his journey home, he becomes acquainted with
the wealthy Akama. Inadvertently, the two fall in love with the same
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woman, Taeko; in addition, Kameda is attracted to Ayako, another

woman who returns his affection. Kameda soon realizes that he prefers
Taeko and is disheartened to find that she is another man's mistress.
He offers her money in return for her love, but she throws the money
into a fire and gives herself to him. Akama learns of the affair, resulting
in a quarrel between him and Kameda. Realizing that he has lost
Taeko, Akama stabs her, and both men go mad with grief.
Ikiru
Kanji Watanabe (Takashi Shimura) is a middle-aged man who has
worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for thirty years.
His wife is dead and his son and daughter-in-law, who live with him,
seem to care mainly about Watanabe's pension and their future
inheritance.
After learning he has stomach cancer and less than a year to live,
Watanabe attempts to come to terms with his impending death. He
plans to tell his son about the cancer, but decides against it when his
son does not pay attention to him. He then tries to find escape in the
pleasures of Tokyo's nightlife, guided by an eccentric novelist whom
he just met. In a nightclub, Watanabe requests a song from the piano
player, and sings " Gondola no Uta" with great sadness. His singing
greatly affects those watching him. After one night submerged in the
nightlife, he realizes this is not the solution.

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The following day, Watanabe encounters a young female subordinate,

Toyo, who needs his signature on her resignation. He is attracted to her
joyous love of life and enthusiasm and tries to spend as much time as
possible with her. She eventually becomes suspicious of his intentions
and grows weary of him. After convincing her to join him for the last
time, he opens up and asks for the secret to her love of life. She says
that she doesn't know, but that she found happiness in her new job
making toys, which makes her feel like she is playing with all the
children of Japan and that he should find a purpose in his own life.
Inspired by her, Watanabe realizes that it is not too late for him and
that he still can do something. He then dedicates his remaining time
and energy to accomplish one worthwhile achievement before his life
ends. Through his tireless and persistent efforts, he is able to overcome
the stagnation of bureaucracy and turn a mosquito-infested cesspool
into a children's playground.
The last third of the film takes place during Watanabe's wake, as his
former co-workers try to figure out what caused such a dramatic
change in his behavior. His transformation from listless bureaucrat to
passionate advocate puzzles them. As the co-workers drink, they slowly
realize that Watanabe must have known he was dying, even when his
son denies this, as he was unaware of his father's condition. They
drunkenly vow to live their lives with the same dedication and passion
as he did. But back at work, they lack the courage of their newfound
conviction.
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An iconic scene from the film is from the last few moments in
Watanabe's life, as he sits on the swing at the park he built. As the
snow falls, we see Watanabe gazing lovingly over the playground, at
peace with himself and the world. He again starts singing "Gondola no
Uta".
Seven Samurai
Marauding bandits approach a mountain rural village; but their chief
decides to spare it until after the harvest because they had raided it
before. The plan is overheard by a farmer who tells the rest of village.
Lamenting their fate, three farmers ask Gisaku, the village elder and
miller, for advice. He declares they should hire samurai to defend the
village. Since they have no money to offer, Gisaku tells them to find
hungry samurai.
After little success in finding any recruits, the group witness Kambei,
an aging but experienced rnin, rescue a young boy who had been
taken hostage by a thief. A young inexperienced samurai named
Katsushir also approaches Kambei to become his disciple. The
villagers then ask for his help, and after initial reluctance, Kambei
agrees. In turn the aged rnin recruits old friend Shichirji and, with
Katsushir's assistance, three other samurai: the friendly and strategic
Gorobei; the good-willed Heihachi; and Kyz, a taciturn master
swordsman whom Katsushir regards with awe. Although
inexperienced Katsushir is taken as a sixth because time is short.
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Kikuchiyo, a man who carries a family scroll that he claims makes him a
samurai, follows the group to the village despite attempts to drive him
away.
On arrival the samurai find the villagers cowering in their homes
refusing to greet them. Feeling insulted by such a cold reception,
Kikuchiyo rings the village alarm bell prompting the fightened
villagers to come out of hiding. The samurai are both pleased and
amused by this and accept him as their seventh comrade-in-arms.
Slowly the samurai and the farmers begin to trust each other as they
train together in preparation for the return of the bandits. Katsushir
forms a relationship with Shino, a farmer's daughter, who had been
forced to masquerade as a boy for protection from the supposedly
lustful samurai. However the six samurai are angered when Kikuchiyo
brings them samurai armor and weapons. Equipment that the villagers
had mostly likely acquired from killing other injured or dying samurai.
But Kikuchiyo retaliates and castigates the group. He points out that
samurai are responsible for battles, raids, taxation and forced labor
that devastate the lives of villagers. By doing so he reveals his origin as
an orphaned farmer's son. The anger of the samurai turns to shame.
Shortly before the raid, three bandit scouts are seen. Two are killed
while another reveals the location of their camp. Against the wishes of
the samurai, the prisoner is lynched by the villagers. The bandits' camp
is burned down in a pre-emptive strike. However the attack costs
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Heihachi his life. A farmer, who helps the samurai, watches in horror as
his wife, who had been kidnapped and raped by the bandits,
immolatesherself in shame.
When the bandits attack the village they are confounded by village's
new fortifications, including a moat and wooden fence. Several bandits
are killed according to Kambei's plan. As they individually try and
enter the village, they are hunted down and killed using phalanxes of
farmers armed with bamboo spears. But Gisaku, the village elder,
refuses to abandon his mill on the outskirts of the village and perishes
with his family who die trying to save him. A lone baby is rescued by
Kikuchiyo who breaks down in tears as it reminds him of his own
childhood.
The bandits possess three matchlock guns (Tanegashima). Kyz
ventures off alone and returns with one. An envious Kikuchiyo
abandons his post and his contingent of farmers to bring back
another gun. But his action is castigated by Kambei because the
bandits have attacked while he was gone killing some of his farmers.
The bandit chief attacks again and Gorobei is slain. That night Kambei
instructs everyone, including a remorseful Kikuchiyo, that due to their
dwindling numbers, the bandits will make an all-out effort to take the
village in a final, decisive battle. Meanwhile the relationship
Katsushir is having with a farmer's daughter is discovered by her
father. He hits her until Kambei and the village intervene. Shichirji
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calms the situation by saying they should be forgiven because they are
young and that before any battle passions can run high.
The next morning in a torrential downpour, Kambei orders that the
remaining thirteen bandits be allowed into the village. As the battle
winds down their leader, armed with a gun, enters the women's hut
from where he shoots Kyz. An enraged Kikuchiyo charges the hut
only to be shot as well; he nevertheless manages to kill the bandit
chief as his final act before dying. With the fighting over, Kambei and
Shichirji observe that they have survived once again.
In an epilogue, the three surviving samurai watch as the joyful
villagers sing while planting their crops. Kambei - standing beneath
the funeral mounds of his four dead comrades - reflects that it's
anotherpyrrhic victory for the samurai. While they they gained nothing
for their sacrifice, the farmers' reward is their lands.
I Live in Fear
Kiichi Nakajima (Toshiro Mifune), an elderly foundry owner convinced
that Japan will be affected by an imminent nuclear war, resolves to
move his family to safety in Brazil.[2] Nakajima's fervent wish is for his
family to join him in escaping from Japan to the relative safety of
South America. His family decides to have him ruled incompetent and
Dr. Harada (Takashi Shimura), a Domestic Court counselor, attempts to
arbitrate. Harada, a civil volunteer in the case, sympathizes with
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Nakajima's conviction, but the old man's irrational behavior prevents

the court from taking his fears seriously.
Throne of Blood
Generals Miki and Washizu are Samurai commanders under a local
lord, Lord Tsuzuki, who reigns in the castle of the Spider's Web Forest.
After defeating the lord's enemies in battle, they return to Tsuzuki's
castle. On their way through the thick forest surrounding the castle,
they meet a spirit, who foretells their future. The spirit tells them that
today Washizu will be named Lord of the Northern Garrison and Miki
will now be commander of the first fortress. She then foretells that
Washizu will eventually become Lord of Spiderweb Castle, and finally
she tells Miki that his son will also become lord of the castle.
When the two return to Tsuzuki's estate, he rewards them with exactly
what the spirit had predicted. As Washizu discusses this with Asaji, his
wife, she manipulates him into making the second part of the
prophecy come true by killing Tsuzuki when he visits. Washizu kills
him with the help of his wife, who gives drugged sake to the lord's
guards, causing them to fall asleep. When Washizu returns in shock at
his deed, Asaji grabs the bloody spear and puts it in the hands of one
of the three unconscious guards. She then yells "murder" through the
courtyard, and Washizu slays the guard before he has a chance to
plead his innocence.

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Tsuzuki's vengeful son Kunimaru and an advisor to Tsuzuki (and rival of

Washizu) named Noriyasu both suspect Washizu as the murderous
traitor and try to warn Miki, who refuses to believe what they are
saying about his friend. Washizu, though, is unsure of Miki's loyalty,
but he wants to trust his friend and he still plans to let Miki's son be
his heir, since he and Asaji have been unable to bear a child of their
own.
Washizu plans to tell Miki and his son about his decision at a grand
banquet, but Asaji tells him that she is pregnant, which leaves him
with a quandary concerning his heir, as now Miki's son has to be
eliminated. During the banquet Washizu drinks sake copiously
because he is clearly agitated, and at the sudden appearance of Miki's
ghost, begins losing control. In his delusional panic, he reveals his
betrayal to all by exclaiming that he is willing to slay Miki for a second
time, going so far as unsheathing his sword and striking over Miki's
mat. Asaji, attempting to pick up the pieces of Washizu's blunder, tells
the guests that he is drunk and that they must retire for the evening.
Then one of his men arrive with the severed head of Miki. The guard
also tells them that Miki's son escaped.
Later, distraught upon hearing of his wife's miscarriage and in dire
need of help with the impending battle with his foes, he returns to the
forest to summon the spirit. She tells him that he will not be defeated
unless the very trees of Spider's Web forest rise against the castle.
Washizu believes this is impossible and is confident of his victory.
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Washizu knows he must kill all his enemies, so he tells his troops of
the last prophecy, and they share his confidence.
He then finds Asaji in a semi-catatonic state, trying to wash clean the
imaginary foul stench of blood from her hands, obviously distraught at
her grave misdeeds. Distracted by the sound of his troops moving
outside the room, he investigates and is told by a panicked soldier that
the trees of Spider's Web forest "have risen to attack us." The prophecy
has come true and Washizu is doomed.
As Washizu tries to get his troops to attack, they remain still. Finally
they turn on their master and begin firing arrows at him to appease
Miki's son and Noriyasu. Washizu finally succumbs to his wounds just
as his enemies approach the castle gates. It is revealed that the
attacking force is using trees cut down during the previous night to
disguise and protect themselves in their advance on the castle.
The Lower Depths (1957 film)
In a run-down Edo tenement, an elderly man (Rokubei) and his bitter
wife (Osugi) rent out rooms and beds to the poor. The tenants are
gamblers, prostitutes, petty thieves and drunk layabouts, all struggling
to survive. The landladys younger sister (Okayo) who helps the
landlords with the maintenance of the place, brings in an old man
(Kahei) and rents him a bed. Kahei quickly assumes the role of the
mediator and grandfatherly figure, though there is an air of mystery
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about him and some of the tenants suspect his past is not
unblemished.
Sutekichi, the thief and self-appointed tenement leader, is having an
affair with Osugi the landlady, though he is gradually shifting his
attention to her younger and sweet-tempered sister, Okayo. Okayo
thinks little of him, however, which frustrates Sutekichi and sours his
relationship with Osugi. Jealous and vengeful, Osugi conspires to
seduce Sutekichi to murder her husband so she can turn him over to
the authorities. Sutekichi sees through her seduction and refuses to
take any part in the murder. The husband discovers the affair, gets into
a fight with Sutekichi, and is saved only through Kaheis intervention.
Slowly, Okayo begins to see the good in Sutekuchi and warms up to his
advances. Rokubei and Osugi beat Okayo, prompting the tenants to
break into the landlords house to save her. Sutekichi is enraged to
learn about the way Okayo was treated, and in the ensuing chaos,
Rokubei is accidentally killed after being assaulted by Sutekichi. Osugi
blames Sutekichi for the killing of her husband. Rather than defend
himself, the enraged Sutekichi claims that she had goaded him into
doing it. Okayo now believes that the two of them have used her to
provide an excuse for killing Osugis husband. She will have nothing to
do with Sutekichi. Kahei, whose testimony could potentially have
cleared Sutekichi, runs away for fear he would have to appear in court
to testify (adding substance to the suspicions that he had something to
hide). Sutekichi and Osugi are arrested.
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Other subplots, some of a comic nature, involve the occupants of the

tenement: an aging actor who has lost his ability to memorize lines; a
craftsman who is indifferent to the impending death of his ailing wife,
yet when she finally dies he becomes a broken man; a destitute who
claims to be descended from a samurai family, only to have this claim
refuted; and a group of partying drunks who seem to rejoice in the
face of misfortune.
The Hidden Fortress
The film begins with two bedraggled peasants, Tahei and Matashichi
(Minoru Chiaki and Kamatari Fujiwara). Through conversation, they
reveal that they had intended to fight alongside the Yamana clan, but
turned up too late, were taken for soldiers of the defeated Akizuki clan,
and forced to bury the dead. After quarreling and splitting up, the two
are both captured again and forced to dig for gold in the Akizuki castle
with other prisoners.
After an uprising, Tahei and Matashichi escape. Near a river they find
gold marked with the crescent of the Akizuki clan. They thereafter
travel with the General of the defeated Akizuki clan, Makabe Rokurta
(Toshiro Mifune), while escorting Princess Yuki Akizuki (Misa Uehara)
and what remains of her family's gold to a secret territory. In order to
keep her identity secret, Yuki poses as a mute.

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During the mission, the peasants impede it and sometimes try to seize
the gold. They are later joined by a farmers daughter (Toshiko
Higuchi), whom they acquire from a slave-trader. Eventually, they are
captured and held by Rokurta's rival, who later unexpectedly sides
with the Princess and Rokurta.
The peasants stumble upon the gold, but are later captured,
whereupon Rokurta explains Yuki's true identity, and states that all of
the gold has been used to restore her family's domain. The peasants
are then dispatched, taking a single ry. In the final scene, Tahei gives
this to Matashichi to protect; but Matashichi allows Tahei to keep it.
The Bad Sleep Well
The film begins with a group of news reporters watching, and
gossiping, at an elaborate wedding reception for Yoshiko Iwabuchi
(Kyoko Kagawa), the daughter of Vice President Iwabuchi (Masayuki
Mori, the villain character) of the Unexploited Land Development
Corporation, a construction company, and Koichi Nishi, the president's
secretary (a bespectacled Toshiro Mifune). The police interrupt the
wedding when corporate assistant officer Wada, who is the wedding
reception's master of ceremony, is arrested on charges of bribery in a
kickback scheme. The reporters comment this incident is similar to an
earlier scandal involving Iwabuchi, administrative officer Moriyama,
and contract officer Shirai. That earlier case was hushed up after the
apparent suicide of Assistant Chief Furuya, by jumping off the
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corporate office building, creating a dead end in the investigation

before any of the company's higher-ups could be implicated.
Following the wedding, the police question Wada (Kamatari Fujiwara)
and accountant Miura about bribery of government officials by the
Unexploited Land Development Corporation. As a result of the inquiry,
Miura commits suicide by running in front of a truck. When Wada
attempts to take his own life by jumping into an active volcano, Nishi
stops Wada. Nishi convinces Wada that his superiors are unworthy of
the sacrifice he had been willing to make. From that point forward,
Nishi uses Wada to further his plans for revenge.
Nishi then focuses his efforts on contract officer Shirai (Ko Nishimura),
setting him up so that Iwabuchi and Moriyama believe him to be a
thief. In the office from which Furuya jumped, Nishi reveals to Wada
and Shirai that he is actually an illegitimate son of Furuya, determined
to avenge his father's death. Nishi's interrogation and intimidation of
Shirai, though, robs him of his sanity. Soon, Moriyama is able to
deduce that someone connected to Furuya is orchestrating all of these
events. He investigates, discovers the truth and reveals to Iwabuchi the
true identity of his son-in-law.
Iwabuchi's son overhears Moriyama's information. Furious that his
sister was being used by Nishi, he angrily tries to kill Nishi when he
returns to the house, but his shotgun blast misses as Nishi runs out the
front door and into hiding. Nishi is able to abduct Moriyama and
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eventually force him into revealing the location of the hard evidence
that will finally fully expose the corruption and all involved, once it is
presented to the press. In the meantime, Wada slipped away and
brought back Yoshiko in the hopes that the newlyweds will reconcile.
Nishi tells his wife that he has grown to truly love her. Yoshiko accepts
the truth about her father's evil deeds and reluctantly agrees to allow
Nishi to complete his plans to expose him.
As Nishi calls for a press conference to be held the next day and
prepares to retrieve the final evidence, Iwabuchi is able to deduce that
his daughter has seen Nishi and knows where he is hiding. Iwabuchi
tells her that her brother has left with his shotgun to find and kill Nishi.
He asks her to tell him Nishi's location so that he can stop her brother
from committing murder, saying that he will then confess his crimes
and turn himself in. Yoshiko is taken in by her father's story and reveals
to him Nishi's location. She offers to go with him, but he drugs her
with wine laced with sleeping pills.
When her brother returns home, she discovers that he had left with the
shotgun only to go duck hunting, and she then realizes the truth about
her father's plans. She tells her brother what has happened and they
rush to Nishi's location. However, they arrive too late. They find only
Nishi's best friend and accomplice, who informs them that Iwabuchi
has already had both Nishi and Wada killed and disposed of all
incriminating evidence. All three are devastated by this development,
and though they know the truth of what has occurred, with no
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evidence to back up their story, there is nothing further that they can
do.
The film ends with Iwabuchi's son and daughter confronting and
denouncing him. He then calls his superior, apologizing for the recent
trouble but informing them that he has now handled the situation. He
then states his intention to retire from the company, his and his
superiors' secrets all still safely hidden from public exposure. Before
hanging up the phone, Iwabuchi confuses night for day and wishes his
superior a good evening. Upon realizing his mistake he apologizes and
explains that he hadn't slept at all the previous night.
Sanjuro
Nine young samurai, including his nephew, believe that the lord
chamberlain, Mutsuta, is corrupt after he tore up their petition against
organised crime and said maybe he himself was behind the crimes.
One of them tells the superintendent of this and he agrees to
intervene. As the nine meet secretly at a shrine and discuss their
problem, aronin (Mifune) emerges from another room where he has
been resting. The ronin has overheard their plans, and suggests that
the superintendent is in fact the real corrupt official. While at first the
samurai are insulted by his claims, they soon find themselves
surrounded by the superintendent's men, proving that he was correct.
The ronin hits a few of the attackers and bluffs their leader into leaving,
taking only a small amount of money in reward to buy food because
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he is starving; however, after realizing that Mutsuta and his family

must now be in danger, he decides to help the samurai bring down the
corrupt officials.
When the samurai go to Mutsuta's house, they find that he has been
abducted and his wife (played by Takako Irie) and daughter (Reiko
Dan) are imprisoned in the house. Following the ronin's suggestion, a
servant from the house gets the guards drunk, allowing the samurai to
free the women. The group hide in a house next door to the
superintendent's compound, which contains a large number of
(camellia) trees. Mutsuta's wife asks the ronin's name; looking out of
the window at the

tsubaki (camellia) trees, which he can see over

the fence separating the two properties, he declares his name to be

Tsubaki Sanjr, adopting (just as he had done in Yojimbo)
something he sees close by as a pseudonymous surname.[notes 1] The
lady chastises Sanjuro for using his sword too frequently and insists
that he refrain from unnecessary killing, noting that the best
swordsmen keep their weapons in their sheaths.
The Superintendent's henchman, Muroto Hanbei (Tatsuya Nakadai),
and several other corrupt officials address a plan to outsmart the
chamberlain's followers. First they post an open notice that the
chamberlain has been arrested and charged with being involved in
organized crime. Afterwards, they try to lure out the samurai by
sending out the officials' empty palanquins, assuming that the
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samurai will think the corrupt officials are in them and attack. This
backfires on them, however, when a posse of people from the town,
inflamed by the open notice, ride out to protect the palanquins, just as
the samurai are preparing to attack. The samurai then retreat to their
hideout.
Sanjuro decides to get closer to Hanbei's master by going undercover
as his henchman. Mistrust causes several of the samurai to believe he
is switching sides. The samurai agree that four of them will follow him:
two who believe in him and two who do not. However, Sanjuro realizes
he is being followed and the four are easily captured by Hanbei. When
Hanbei leaves to request reinforcements, Sanjuro frees the four
captured samurai, at the expense of having to kill all their guards. He
demands that the four tie him up, and is found in that situation by
Hanbei. Sanjuro tells Hanbei that they were attacked by a large
number of samurai, so Hanbei declares Sanjuro cannot be hired after
being defeated. To make amends, Sanjuro insincerely promises to find
the attackers.
The next day, Mutsuta's wife and daughter find a piece of a petition in
the small stream that flows from the superintendent's compound to
their hideout. The samurai realise that this could only have come from
Mutsuta, who must therefore be imprisoned in the compound. While
at first they consider a full-on attack on the officials, they soon realize
that the compound is full of the superintendent's forces, so that such
an attack would be futile.
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Sanjuro hatches a plan to get the army out of the compound, by telling
Hanbei that he saw the rebellious samurai at a temple where he was
sleeping. He says he will then send a signal for the samurai to attack
by floating large numbers of camellias down the stream. The first part
of the plan works, with the superintendent's forces rushing off to the
temple; however, Hanbei becomes suspicious after catching Sanjuro
trying to drop the camellias into the stream, and ties him up. Just as
Hanbei is preparing to kill Sanjuro, the remaining corrupt officials
realize that Sanjuro has tricked them - his description of the temple
was incorrect. They convince Hanbei not to waste any further time over
Sanjuro and instead to catch up with the superintendent's forces and
have them return to the compound as soon as possible. In a comedic
scene, Sanjuro tricks the officials into making the signal for the
samurai to attack. It works and they manage to rescue Sanjuro and
Mutsuta. Hanbei returns later to find he has been made a fool once
again.
Mutsuta is restored to his position as chamberlain, and the
superintendent commits harikiri, much to the chamberlain's chagrin
as he wished to avoid such a public affair, instead wishing only to force
the corrupt officials to retire. As Mutsuta, his family and the loyal
samurai are celebrating they discover that Sanjuro has slipped away.
The nine samurai race off and find him with Hanbei, about to duel.
Sanjuro is reluctant to fight and tries to dissuade Hanbei, saying that if
they fight, one of them will surely die and nothing will be gained by
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that. However, Hanbei is obdurate, saying his dignity has been soiled
and that killing Sanjuro is the only way to restore it.
The two face off at each other and remain unmoving for almost half a
minute. Finally, as Hanbei draws his sword, Sanjuro kills him by
drawing and cutting in a single, faster action. A fountain of blood
gushes from Hanbei and he falls dead. When the young samurai cheer
his victory, Sanjuro becomes angry, saying that his dead adversary was
exactly like him. He now has a fuller understanding of Lady Mutsuta's
earlier admonition that the best swords are the ones that are kept in
their scabbards. Sanjuro then stalks off in annoyance after warning the
worshipful young men not to follow him.
High and Low
A wealthy executive named Kingo Gondo (Toshiro Mifune) is in a
struggle to gain control of a company called National Shoes. One
faction wants the company to make cheap, low quality shoes for the
impulse market as opposed to the sturdy but unfashionable shoes
currently being produced. Gondo believes that the long-term future of
the company will be best served by well made shoes with modern
styling, though this plan is unpopular because it means lower profits
in the short term. He has secretly set up aleveraged buyout to gain
control of the company, mortgaging all he has.

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Just as he is about to put his plan into action, he receives a phone call
from someone claiming to have kidnapped his son, Jun. Gondo is
prepared to pay the ransom, but the call is dismissed as a prank when
Jun comes in from playing outside. However, Jun's playmate, Shinichi,
the child of Gondo's chauffeur, is missing and the kidnappers have
mistakenly abducted him instead.
In another phone call the kidnapper reveals that he has discovered his
mistake but still demands the same ransom. Gondo is now forced to
make a decision about whether to pay the ransom to save the child or
complete the buyout. After a long night of contemplation Gondo
announces that he will not pay the ransom, explaining that doing so
would not only mean the loss of his position in the company, but cause
him to go into debt and throw the futures of his wife and son into
jeopardy. His plans are weakened when his top aide lets the "cheap
shoes" faction know about the kidnapping in return for a promotion
should they take over. Finally, under pressure from his wife and the
chauffeur, Gondo decides to pay the ransom. Following the
kidnapper's instructions, the money is put into two small briefcases
and thrown from a moving train; Shinichi is found unharmed.
Gondo is forced out of the company and his creditors demand the
collateral in lieu of debt. The story is widely reported however, making
Gondo a hero, while the National Shoe Company is vilified and
boycotted. Meanwhile the police eventually find the hideout where
Shinichi was kept prisoner. The bodies of the kidnapper's two
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accomplices are found there, killed by an overdose of heroin. The

police surmise that the kidnapper engineered their deaths by
supplying them with uncut drugs. Further clues lead to the identity of
the kidnapper, a medical intern at a nearby hospital, but there is no
hard evidence linking him to the accomplices' murders. The police lay
a trap by first planting a story in the newspapers implying that the
accomplices are still alive, and then forging a note from them
demanding more drugs. The kidnapper is apprehended in the act of
trying to supply another lethal dose of uncut heroin to his accomplices.
Most of the ransom money is recovered, but too late to save Gondo's
property from auction. With the kidnapper facing a death sentence, he
and Gondo finally meet face to face. Gondo has gone to work for a rival
shoe company, earning less money but enjoying a free hand in
running it. The kidnapper reveals that envy from seeing Gondo's house
on the hill every day led him to conceive of the crime.
Dodes'ka-den
The film focuses on the lives of a variety of characters who happen to
live in a rubbish dump. The first to be introduced is a mentally
challenged boy who lives in a world of fantasy in which he is a tram
conductor. He is both the tram and the tram driver and follows a set
route and schedule through the dump; his dedication to the fantasy is
fanatical. The film title refers to a Japanese onomatopoeia for the
sound made by a tram or train while in motion ( "Do-desu-ka-den do303

desu-ka-den do-desu-ka-den"). The sound is made by the boy as he

makes his daily faux-tram route through the dump.
Ran (film)
Hidetora Ichimonji, a powerful warlord, experiences a dream
reminding him that he's showing his age and decides to divide his
kingdom among his three sons: Taro, Jiro, and Saburo. Taro, the eldest,
will receive the prestigious First Castle and become leader of the
Ichimonji clan, while Jiro and Saburo will be given the Second and
Third Castles. Hidetora will retain the title of Great Lord and Jiro and
Saburo are to support Taro.
Hidetora lectures them on the importance of unity by showing them
that one arrow is fragile, but three arrows held together are much
harder to break. However, Saburo breaks the three arrows across his
knee and calls the lecture stupid, pointing out that Hidetora foolishly
expects his sons to be loyal to him, while he himself has used the most
ruthless methods to attain power. Hidetora mistakes these comments
for a threat, and when his servant Tango comes to Saburo's defense, he
banishes both men. Fujimaki, awarlord who had witnessed these
events, and been impressed by Saburo's frankness, invites him to his
dominion and offers him his daughter to marry.
Following Hidetora's abdication, Taro's wife Lady Kaede, who plots
revenge on Hidetora for massacring her family after her marriage to
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Taro, begins to urge her husband to take direct control of the Ichimonji
clan. When Taro demands Hidetora renounce his title of Great Lord,
Hidetora storms out of the castle with a few loyal retainers. He travels
to Jiro's castle, only to discover that Jiro is more interested in using
Hidetora as a pawn in his own power play.
Hidetora and his escort leave Jiro's castle to wander, finding no food in
the villages abandoned by the peasants. Eventually Tango appears
with provisions, but to no avail. In a moment of anger Hidetora orders
his escort to burn the villages down. Tango intervenes and Hidetora
learns from him of Taro's decree: death to whomever aids his father. At
last perceiving his eldest sons' treachery, Hidetora takes refuge in the
Third Castle, abandoned after Saburo's forces followed their lord into
exile. Tango and Kyoami do not follow him.
The old Lord and his followers are attacked without warning by Taro
and Jiro's combined forces. In a short but violent siege, the retainers
and concubines are slaughtered as the Third Castle is set alight.
Hidetora succumbs to madness and wanders away from the burning
castle. As Taro and Jiro's forces storm the castle, Taro is killed by a
bullet shot by one of Hidetora's men.
Hidetora is discovered wandering in the wilderness by Tango and
Kyoami, who along with Saburo remain the only people still loyal to
him. The two of them stay to assist Hidetora, who has gone mad. In his
madness, Hidetora is haunted by horrific visions of the people he
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destroyed in his quest for power. They take refuge in a peasant's home
only to discover that the occupant is Tsurumaru, the brother of Lady
Su, Jiro's wife. Tsurumaru had been blinded and left impoverished
after Hidetora took over his land and killed his father, a rival lord.

With Taro dead, Jiro becomes the Great Lord of the Ichimonji clan,
enabling him to move into the First Castle. Upon Jiro's return from
battle, Lady Kaede, who doesn't seem to be fazed by Taro's death,
blackmails Jiro into having an affair with her, and she becomes the
power behind his throne. Kaede demands that Jiro kill Lady Su and
marry her instead. Jiro orders Kurogane to do the deed, but he refuses,
warning Jiro that Kaede means to ruin the entire Ichimonji clan.
Kurogane then warns Su and Tsurumaru to flee.
Tango encounters two ronin who had once served as spies for Jiro.
Before he kills them both, one of the ronin tells him that Jiro is
considering sending assassins after Hidetora. Alarmed, Tango rides off
to alert Saburo. Hidetora becomes even more insane and runs off into
a volcanic plain with a frantic Kyoami in pursuit.
Saburo's army crosses back into Jiro's territory to find him. News also
reaches Jiro that two rival lords allied to Saburo (Ayabe and Fujimaki)
have also entered the territory, forcing Jiro to hastily mobilize his army.
At the field of battle, the two brothers accept a truce, but Saburo
becomes alarmed when Kyoami arrives to tell of his father's descent
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into insanity. Saburo goes with Kyoami to rescue his father and takes
10 warriors with him; Jiro sends a few gunners to follow Saburo and
ambush them both.
Jiro then orders an attack on Saburo's much smaller force. Saburo's
army retreats into the woods for cover and fires on Jiro's forces,
frustrating the attack. In the middle of the battle a messenger arrives
with news that a rival warlord, Ayabe, is marching on the First Castle,
forcing Jiro's army to hastily retreat.
Saburo finds Hidetora in the volcanic plain; Hidetora recovers his
sanity, and commits to repairing his relationship with Saburo.
However, one of the snipers Jiro had sent after Saburo's small group
shoots and kills Saburo. Overcome with grief, Hidetora dies. Fujimaki
and his army arrive to witness Tango and Kyoami weeping over the
two. Kyoami curses the heavens for allowing Hidetora and Saburo to
die, only to be told by Tango to stop, and that the gods are weeping for
them.
Meanwhile, Tsurumaru and Su arrive at the ruins of a castle but
inadvertently leave behind the flute that Su gave Tsurumaru years
before, when he had been blinded and banished. Su decides to
return for it. Tsurumaru begs her not to go; but she insists and gives a
picture of Amida Buddha to him for company during her absence. It is
when she returns to Tsurumaru's hovel that she is killed by Jiro's
assassin.
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Meanwhile, Ayabe's army pursues Jiro's army to the First Castle and
commences a siege. When Kurogane hears that Lady Su has been
finally murdered by one of Jiro's men (who arrived in the First Castle
with Lady Sue's head), Kurogane confronts Kaede, who admits that all
along her purpose had been to exact revenge against Hidetora and his
Ichmonji clan for having destroyed her family years before. Kurogane
finally snaps and decapitates Kaede. Jiro, Kurogane, and all Jiro's men
subsequently die in the battle with Ayabe's army that follows.
The final scene shows a solemn funeral procession for Saburo and
Hidetora. Meanwhile, blind and alone in the castle ruins, Tsurumaru
accidentally drops, and loses, the Amida Buddha image Su had given
to him. The film ends with a distance shot of Tsurumaru, alone,
silhouetted, atop the ruins.
Kagemusha
Lord Shingen Takeda meets with his brother Nobukado, and a thief
whom the latter met by chance and spared fromcrucifixion. Nobukado
believes the thief's uncanny resemblance to Shingen would prove
useful. The brothers then agree that he would prove useful as a
double, and they decide to use the thief as a kagemusha.
Shingen's army has besieged a castle of Ieyasu Tokugawa. When
Shingen visits the battlefield to hear a mysterious nightly flute player,
he is shot by a sniper. Mortally wounded, he orders his generals to
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keep his death a secret for three years. Shingen later dies while being
carried over a mountain pass, with only a small group of witnesses.
Nobukado presents the thief to the generals, proposing to have this
kagemusha impersonate Shingen full-time. At first, even the thief is
unaware of Shingen's death, until he tries to break into a huge jar,
believing it to contain treasure, and instead finds Shingen's preserved
corpse. After this act, the generals decide they cannot trust the thief
and set him free.
The Takeda leaders secretly dump the jar with Shingen's corpse into
Lake Suwa. Spies working for Tokugawa and his ally Nobunaga Oda
witness the disposal of the jar and, suspecting that Shingen has died,
go to report the death. The thief, however, overhearing the spies, goes
to offer his services, hoping to be of some use to Shingen in death. The
Takeda clan preserves the cover-up by saying they were making an
offering of sake to the god of the lake.
The spies follow the Takeda army as they march home from the siege.
Although they suspect that Shingen has died, they are later convinced
by the kagemusha 's performance.
Returning home, the kagemusha successfully fools Shingen's
concubines and grandson. By imitating Shingen's gestures and
learning more about him, the kagemusha begins to take on the
persona of Shingen, and is able to awe even the bodyguards and
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Wakash, who knew Shingen best. When he must preside over a clan
council and is unexpectedly asked for his decision on a military matter,
he cleverly relies on the clan motto, which identifies Shingen with an
unmoving mountain.
When the Tokugawa and Oda clans launch an attack on Takeda
territory, Shingen's son, Katsuyori, launches a counterattack against
the advice of other generals. The kagemusha is forced to lead
reinforcements to the Battle of Takatenjin, and helps inspire the troops
to victory.
In a fit of overconfidence, the kagemusha attempts to ride Shingen's
spirited horse. When he falls off, those who rush to help him see that
he does not have their lord's battle scars, and he is revealed as an
impostor. The thief is driven out of the palace, and Katsuyori, despite
having been disinherited, takes over the clan.
Now in full control of the Takeda army, Katsuyori leads an ill-advised
attack against Nobunaga, who controls Kyoto, resulting in the Battle of
Nagashino. Wave after wave of cavalry and infantry are cut down by
volleys of matchlock fire, effectively wiping out the Takeda. The
kagemusha, who has followed the Takeda army, witnesses the
slaughter. In a final show of loyalty, he takes up a spear and makes a
futile charge against the Oda fortifications, ultimately dying for the
Takeda clan. Mortally wounded, thekagemusha attempts to get a hold
on a Takeda flag that had fallen into a river, but collapses and dies as
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soon as he enters the water. His body then floats past the flag,
signifying the downfall of the Takeda clan.
Dersu Uzala (1975 film)
The film opens to a forest that is being cleared for development, and
Arseniev searching for an unmarked grave of a friend he says he
buried 3 years ago. The film then flashes back to Arseniev's surveying
expedition to the area of Shkotovo in Ussuri region in 1902. A
topographic expedition troop, led by Captain Arseniev (Yury Solomin),
encounters a nomadic, aboriginal Goldi tribesman namedDersu Uzala
(Maxim Munzuk) who agrees to guide them through the harsh frontier.
Initially viewed as an uneducated, eccentric old man, Dersu earns the
respect of the soldiers through his great intelligence, accurate
instincts, keen powers of observation, and deep compassion. He
repairs an abandoned hut and leaves provisions in a birch container so
that a future traveler would survive in the wilderness. He deduces the
identities and situations of people by analyzing tracks and articles left
behind.
Dersu Uzala saves the life of Captain Arseniev for the first time when
the two are lost on a frozen lake and a sudden blizzard overtakes them.
Dersu shows Arseniev how to quickly build a straw hut for shelter
using grass and then, when Arseniev collapses due to exhaustion,
Dersu pulls him into the shelter. The two men avoid freezing to death
and are discovered by the rest of their comrades when the blizzard
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clears. The expedition then, struggling to survive the frozen tundra,

encounter a Nani family who invite them into their home, providing
the men much needed food, and warmth. At this point Dersu asks
where Arseniev will go next to which Arseniev tells him "back to the
city" and invites Dersu to come with him. Dersu tells him that his place
is in the forest and that tomorrow he will go on his way. The next day
he leaves the soldiers by the railroad tracks and returns to wilderness.
Three years later in 1907, Arseniev is on another expedition in Ussuri.
He has been mapping mountain ranges for months, all the time
holding onto hope that he will run into his old friend Dersu. One night,
when at camp, one of his men says they ran into an old Hunter in the
forest who was asking about their unit. Instantly hopeful, Arseniev
demands to know where he saw the man and rushes into the forest
filled with hope of seeing is old friend. Searching the forest for a few
minutes he sees Dersu walking away further into the forest. Calling for
him he is overcome with joy as Dersu yells back and then men run to
each other. The men embrace and Arseniev brings Dersu back to camp
with him where the two sit by a fire and talk about their time apart.
Dersu takes up the job of expedition guide again. The expedition
breaks up as Arseniev, Dersu, and a few men cross a large river by raft,
and the rest continue on to try and find a ford to cross with the horses.
Arseniev and Dersu get caught on the raft as the others embark and
are quickly rushed downstream. Dersu saves Arsenievs' life again by
pushing him off the raft and telling him to swim toward shore. Dersu is
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trapped on the raft as conditions on the river are quickly deteriorating.

Moments before Dersu and the raft crash into the rapids, Dersu jumps
onto a branch in the middle of the river. He then directs the party to cut
a tree which can reach him before he drowns. Some time passes and
the men seem to be in good spirits. They take several pictures with
Dersu and all seems to be going well. Arseniev writes in his journal
that some of his foundest memories of Dersu occurred during the
beginning of that autumn.
A short time later, the expedition party is trekking through the forest
when Dersu realizes they are being stalked by a Tiger. Dersu tries in
vain to scare the Tiger away telling him that the soldiers will shoot him
with their guns. The Tiger continues getting closer to Dersu and
Arseniev until Dersu is forced to shoot the Tiger.
Dersu is instantly distraught over shooting a Tiger stating that Kanga,
who is a forest spirit that his people worship, will be unhappy and will
send another Tiger for him. Dersu becomes more and more irritable,
yelling at members of the party and distancing himself from Arseniev.
Dersu's eyesight and other senses begin to fade with age until he is no
longer able to hunt thus not being able to live alone in the forest.
Captain Arseniev decides to take Dersu with him to the city of
Khabarovsk. Dersu quickly discovers that he is not permitted to chop
wood or to build a hut and fireplace in the city park, nor is he allowed
to shoot within the city limits. Despite his love for Arseniev and
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Arsenievs' family, Dersu realizes that his place is not in the city and
asks Arseniev if he can return to living in the hills. As a parting gift,
Arseniev gives him a new rifle.
Some while later, Arseniev receives a telegram informing him that the
body of a Goldi has been found, with no identification on him save
Arseniev's calling card, and is requested to come identify the body.
Arseniev finds that it is indeed Dersu. The officer who found Dersu
speculates that someone may have killed Dersu to obtain the new rifle
that Arseniev gave him.
Dreams (1990 film)
The film does not have a single narrative, but is rather episodic in
nature, following the adventures of a "surrogate Kurosawa" (often
recognizable by his wearing Kurosawa's trademark hat) through eight
different segments, or "dreams", each one titled.
Sunshine Through The Rain
There is an old legend in Japan that states that when the sun is shining
through the rain, the kitsune (foxes) have their weddings (this is a
common theme globally seesunshower). In this first dream, a boy
defies the wish of a woman, possibly his mother, to remain at home
during a day with such weather. From behind a large tree in the nearby
forest, he witnesses the slow wedding procession of the kitsune.
Unfortunately, he is spotted by the foxes and runs. When he tries to
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return home, the same woman says that a fox had come by the house,
leaving behind a tant knife. The woman gives the knife to the boy,
implying that he must commit suicide. The woman asks the boy to go
and beg forgiveness from the foxes, although they are known to be
unforgiving, refusing to let him in unless he does so. The boy sets off
into the mountains, towards the place under the rainbow in search for
the kitsune's home.
Kurosawa built a near exact replica of his childhood home for this
segment, and the nameplate on the gate even reads "Kurosawa".
Kurosawa even showed the actress playing the mother a photo of his
own, and gave her tips on how to act as her.
The Peach Orchard
Hina Matsuri, the Doll Festival, traditionally takes place in spring when
the peach blossoms are in full bloom. The dolls that go on display at
this time, they say, are representative of the peach trees and their pink
blossoms. One boy's family, however, has chopped down their peach
orchard, so the boy feels a sense of loss during this year's festival. After
being scolded by his older sister the boy spots a small girl running out
the front door. He follows her to the now-treeless orchard, where the
dolls from his sister's collection have come to life and are standing
before him on the slopes of the orchard. The living dolls, revealing
themselves to be the spirits of the peach trees, berate the boy about
chopping down the precious trees. But after realising how much he
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loved the blossoms, they agree to give him one last glance at the
peach trees by way of a slow and beautiful dance to Etenraku. After
they disappear the boy finds the small girl walking among the treeless
orchard before seeing a single peach tree sprouting in her place.
The mysterious girl may be a reference to an older sister of Kurosawa's
who died of illness when he was in the fourth grade.[4]
The Blizzard
A group of four mountaineers, including an adolescent Kurosawa,
struggle up a mountain path during a horrendous blizzard. It has been
snowing for three days and the men are dispirited and ready to give
up. One by one they stop walking, giving in to the snow and sure
death. The leader endeavors to push on, but he too, stops in the snow.
A strange woman (the Yuki-onna of Japanese myth) appears out of
nowhere and attempts to lure the last conscious man to his death give in to the snow and the storm, she urges him on, in to reverie, in to
sleep, in to certain death. But finding some heart, deep within, he
shakes off his stupor and her entreaties, to discover that the storm has
abated, and that their camp is only a few feet away.
The setting for this sequence was most likely inspired from Kurosawa's
personal life, since he confessed to being "a devotee of mountain
climbing".[5]
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The Tunnel
A discharged Japanese company commander is
walking down a deserted road at dusk, on his way back home from
fighting in the Second World War. He comes to a large concrete
pedestrian tunnel that seems to go on forever into the darkness.
Suddenly, an angry, almost demonic-looking anti-tank dog (strapped
with explosives) runs out of the tunnel, barking and snarling. The dog
herds him into the tunnel. The commander walks hesitatingly into its
darkness. He comes out the other side, only to witness the
horrificyrei (ghost) of one of his soldiers, Private Noguchi (Yoshitaka
Zushi, who was also in Kurosawa'sDodes'ka-den), who had died
severely wounded in the commander's arms. Noguchi's face is light
blue with blackened eyes, signifying that he is dead.
The soldier seems not to believe that he is gone. Noguchi has
appeared because his parents' house is visible in a nearby
mountainside, a light in the darkness left on for his return. He is
heartbroken, knowing he cannot see them again, even while he
remains respectful to the commander who led him to his death.
Following the commander's wish that he accept his fate Noguchi
returns to the tunnel.
Just when the commander thinks he's seen the worst, his entire third
platoon, led by a young lieutenant brandishing an officer's sword,
marches out of the tunnel. They come to a halt and present arms,
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saluting the commander. Their faces too are colored blue, for they were
all annihilated in a single action. The commander searches for words to
tell them that they are dead, and says that he himself is to blame for
sending them into a futile battle. They stand mute in reply. The
commander orders them to turn about face, and salutes them in a
farewell as they march back into the tunnel. Collapsing in grief, the
commander is quickly brought back to his feet by the reappearance of
the hellish dog.
Crows
A brilliantly colored vignette featuring director Martin Scorsese as
Vincent van Gogh. An art student finds himself inside the vibrant and
sometimes chaotic world of Van Gogh's artwork, where he meets the
artist in a field and converses with him. When asked why he's missing
an ear, Van Gogh replies that the ear gave him problems during a self
portrait, and so he did away with it. The student loses track of the artist,
and travels through other works trying to find him, concluding with
Van Gogh's Wheat Field with Crows.
This Segment features Prelude No. 15 in D-flat major ("Raindrop") by
Chopin. The visual effects for this particular segment were provided by
George Lucas and his special effects group Industrial Light & Magic. It
is also the only segment where the characters do not speak Japanese.
Mount Fuji in Red
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A large nuclear power plant near Mount Fuji has begun to melt down;
its six reactors explode one by one. The breaches fill the sky with
hellish red fumes and send millions of Japanese citizens fleeing in
terror towards the ocean. After an unspecified amount of time, two
men, a woman, and her two small children are seen alone, left behind
on land in broad daylight. Behind them is the sea. The older man
(Hisashi Igawa, who appeared in a number of Kurosawa's later
movies), who is dressed in a business suit, explains to the younger
man that the rest have drowned themselves in the ocean. He then says
that the several colours of the clouds billowing across the now rubbishstrewn, post-apocalyptic landscape signify different radioactive
isotopes; according to him, red signifies plutonium-239, a tenth of a
microgram of which is enough to cause cancer. He elaborates on how
other released isotopes cause leukemia (strontium-90) and birth
defects (cesium-137) before wondering at the foolish futility of colourcoding radioactive gases of such lethality.
The woman, hearing these descriptions, recoils in horror before angrily
cursing those responsible and the pre-disaster assurances of safety
they had given. The suited man then displays contrition, suggesting
that he is in part responsible for the disaster. The other man, dressed
casually, watches the multicoloured radioactive clouds advance upon
them. When he turns back towards the others at the shore, he sees the
woman weeping: the suit-clad man has leaped to his death. A cloud of
red dust reaches them, causing the mother to shrink back in terror. The
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remaining man attempts to shield the mother and her children by

using his jacket to feebly fan away the now-incessant radioactive
billows.
The Weeping Demon
A man finds himself wandering around a misty, bleak mountainous
terrain. He meets a strange oni-like man, who is actually a mutated
human with one horn. The "demon" explains that there had been a
nuclear holocaust which resulted in the loss of nature and animals,
enormous dandelions and humans sprouting horns, which cause them
so much agony that you can hear them howling during the night, but,
according to the demon, they can't die, which makes their agony even
worse. Many of the "demons" were former millionaires and
government officials, who are now (in Buddhist style) suffering
through a hell befitting for their sins.
The segment ends with the demon, suddenly enraged, chasing the
man away from the scene.

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Village of the Watermills

A young man finds himself entering a peaceful, stream-laden village.
The traveler meets an old, wise man who is fixing a broken watermill
wheel. The elder explains that the people of his village decided long
ago to forsake the polluting influence of modern technology and
return to a happier, cleaner era of society. They have chosen spiritual
health over convenience, and the traveler is surprised but intrigued by
this notion.
At the end of the sequence (and the film), a funeral procession for an
old woman takes place in the village, which instead of mourning, the
people celebrate joyfully as the proper end to a good life. This segment
was filmed at the Daio Wasabi farm in the Nagano Prefecture. The film
ends with a haunting, melancholic excerpt from "In the Village", part
of the Caucasian Sketches, Suite No. 1 by the Russian composer
Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov.
One aspect of the village in this sequence is a large stone which local
children place flowers over; the old man reveals this to be the grave of
a traveler who died long ago, and it has become a tradition to lay
flowers over it as you pass. Kurosawa was most likely inspired by a
similar stone from his father's home village:
Near the main thoroughfare of the village stood a huge rock, and there
were always cut flowers on top of it. All the children who passed by it
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picked wild flowers and laid them atop the stone. When I wondered
why they did this and asked, the children said they didn't know. I
found out later by asking one of the old men in the village. In the
Battle of Boshin, a hundred years ago, someone died at that spot.
Feeling sorry for him, the villagers buried him, put the stone over the
grave and laid flowers on it. The flowers became a custom of the
village, which the children maintained without ever knowing why.[6]
Before the end credits, the young man himself pauses to lay a flower
over the stone.

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Rhapsody in August
Rhapsody in August is a tale of three generations and their responses
to the atomic bombing of Japan. Kane is an elderly woman whose
husband was killed in the bombing of Nagasaki. Next, come her two
children and their spouses, all of whom grew up in postwar Japan, as
well as their Nisei cousin Clark (played by Richard Gere) who grew up
in America. Finally, there are Kane's four grandchildren, who were born
after the Japanese economic miracle and provide most of the dialogue
in the film.
Kane's grandchildren come to visit her at her rural home on Kysh
one summer while their parents visit a man who may or may not be
Kane's brother in Hawaii. Like most children, they are bored out of
their minds, find her cooking to be disgusting, and escape to the
urban environment of Nagasaki the first chance they get. While in
Nagasaki the children visit the spot where their grandfather was killed
in 1945 and become aware of the atomic bombing for the first time in
their lives. They slowly come to have more respect for their
grandmother and also grow to question the United States for dropping
the Bomb.
In the meantime they receive a telegram from their American cousins,
who turn out to be rich and offer the parents a job managing their
pineapple fields in Hawaii. Matters are complicated when, in their
response, the grandchildren mention the attack, which infuriates their
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parents. To smooth things over, one of the Japanese-Americans (Clark)

travels to Japan to be with Kane for the anniversary. While there, Kane
and the grandchildren reconcile with Clark over the bombing.

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Madadayo
The main story of the film is based on the life of a Japanese academic
and author, Hyakken Uchida (18891971). The film opens with him
resigning as professor ofGerman, in the period immediately before the
Second World War. The plot of the film is centered on his relationship
with his former students, who care for him in his old age. The title, Not
Yet in English, is an allusion to an ancient Japanese legend mentioned
in one scene of the film, of an old man who refuses to die. This story is
constantly referred to in the movie, as every year on the old man's
birthday, his students throw him a party in which they all ask him,
"Mada kai?" ("Are you ready?"). He responds by drinking a large
ceremonial glass of beer and shouting "Mada dayo!" ("Not yet!"),
implying that death may be near, but life still goes on. The movie also
covers the events that transpire in between these birthdays, such as his
moving into a new house, his discovery of (and loss of) a beloved
house cat, etc. As the years progress, the annual celebrations shift from
a fraternity party atmosphere to a gathering of families, and the
ceremonial large glass of beer that Uchida drinks changes as well, but
he always completes his full glass.

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