Page One: ‘The Deer Hunter’ (1978)

Screenplay by Deric Washburn, story by Michael Cimino & Deric Washburn and Louis Garfinkle & Quinn K. Redeker

A trailer for the movie:

A tweet about the Page One post:

Yep, Paul, you’re right. Overlong paragraphs of scene description. Directing jargon. Camera shots. Music cues. Titles.

Two comments.

First, the script is another example of how screenplay format and style has evolved. It’s ALWAYS evolving. Therefore, the very concept of a screenwriting rule is absurd on the face of it.

Second, the script is a production draft written by the director, therefore, we, as contemporary screenwriters, may expect to see this type of screenplay circa 1978. Which is to say…

You can write a screenplay any way you want. But if you want to write a script with the path of least resistance for development executives, don’t write it like The Deer Hunter. For character, scenes, dialogue, emotion? YES! For format and style, NO! A better touchstone is contemporary movie scripts.

Page One is a daily Go Into The Story series featuring the first page of notable movie scripts from the classic era to contemporary times. Comparing them is an excellent way to study a variety of writing styles and see how professional writers start a story.

For more Page One posts, go here.

You may follow the daily conversation on Twitter as I cross-post there: @GoIntoTheStory.