THE WRITER AND THE SCREEN: On Writing for Film and Television

by Wolf Rilla ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 26, 1973

Rilla's attempt to offer a Poetics for the ""screenwright"" -- ""to examine and explain the disciplines involved,"" ""to define what it is all about"" -- invites comparison with Aristotle, not only in purpose but also in content: the main elements of the screenplay are the plot, the language, the character, the dialogue, and the mise-en-seene. From one who has directed or written twenty films we might expect a significant contribution in applying such ideas to the screen. But with the exception of his chapter on language -- in which he develops the relation of the screenplay's written word to the screen's visual image -- Rilla's aesthetic is a superficial imitation of the Poetics. His additional advice is often painfully trite: suit your content to the medium of film, rather than a literary medium; use the director-writer tension creatively. His digressions on the nature and origin of art -- ""It came from a need to extend the reality of our lives into a fantasy world"" -- beg for a connection to a writing technique, or some sort of elaboration. A need for a systemization of the screenwright's craft is manifest, but Rilla fulfills it simplistically.

Pub Date: Feb. 26, 1973

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1973

Categories: NONFICTION