Lips move in poetry only when they cannot not kiss. At least mine do.
Writing has limits. It’s an attempt to translate wonder into words to conjure thoughts of that wonder when read. Good writing gets to the point. Great writing invades the body and takes hold of the imagination to project an experience onto the mind-screen. Movies start at the other side of the equation and travel direct. They project through the eye and onto the mind-screen. If the ears are to hear only what the eyes miss then watching movies for writing is getting inspiration from a medium of more efficient delivery. They can leave all but the screenwriter, speechless. That’s why some of the screenwriting in these movies is a masterpiece of brevity and nuance of the spoken (Not written) language.
I’d rather write less about a life worth living than a million words about aspirations. But, other lives are inspirational, too, especially when captured by a good writer (And director). So, when you can’t get another word down but have time for a movie here’s a list for you. They’re not necessarily great works of art but they’re good for writers.
- Games of Thrones
- Sons of Anarchy
- Downton Abbey
- Barfly
- Hearts of Darkness
- Finding Forrester
- Julia & Julia
- A Beautiful Mind
- Shine
- Amadeus
- Quills
- Tucker
- Wind
- Sherlock Holmes
- Ray
- The Aviator
- Searching for Bobby Fisher
- The Muse
- The Killing Fields
- Pollack
- The Player
- Don’t Look Back
- Thirty Two Short Films about Glenn Gould
- My Favorite Year
- Ishtar
- The Big Fish
- All The Presidents Men
- Absence of Malice
- The Shining
- Purple Violets
- World According To Garp
- The Swimming Pool
- The Hoax
- The Prize Winner Of Defiance Ohio
- Pandaemonium
- Finding Neverland
- Miss Potter
- Adaptation
- Shattered Glass
- Funny Farm
- The Hours
- Mr. Hollands Opus
- Deathtrap
- The Big Picture
- Henry & June
- Shakespeare In Love
- Wonder Boys
- Sylvia
- Stranger Than Fiction
- Before Night Falls
- Il Postino – Inspiration for “Tonight I know How Poets Feel”
- Big Bad Love
- Misery
- Iris
- Kafka
- Barton Fink
- Beloved
- Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
- Deconstructing Harry
- Phenomenon
- Wilde
- Nora
- Tom & Viv
- Gothic
- Whole Wide World
- Shadowlands
- Adaptation
- Ask The Dust
- The Lost Weekend
- Harry Met Sally – sw
- Sleepless In Seattle – sw
- Shawshank Redemption – sw
- Goodfellas – sw
- Casino – sw
- The Verdict – sw
- The Making of ‘Star Wars’
- The Making of ‘The Shining’
More will be added as they get watched and vetted.
Copyright © 2014 by Terence Gillespie. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given to McGillespie.com
