Screenwriting : David Mamet.. by Felix Agyeman Boahen

<<< Nods.

Really?

Why not? Most of what we communicate already is non-verbal. Consider how the opening of UP seared itself into our cultural consciousness, and how the silent era of films grew robust for decades before talkies. It’s totally possible.

Hmmm I agree to an extent. Maybe an exercise for every screenwriter is to write a short completely devoid of dialogue. I remember enjoying the film adaptation of "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge" as a kid.

Of course. But not all scripts. Locke would just be a guy driving a car if it had no dialogue. But 99.5% of scripts can be improved by removing words.

But this also begs the question. If we are not allowed to do any directing in our scripts (which I think is foolish). How would we write a script with no dialogue. For these people Mamet must be wrong.

the irony: Known for long monologues, Mamet tells us to do the opposite. But there is context missing from his famous quote. I have his Masterclass webinars; he dives into his process.

I've produced and seen shorts that offer a complete story with no dialog whatsoever. I've also seen dialog heavy films that are completely devoid of any story at all. So the definitive answer to your question is yes and/or no - stick with maybe.

I've written several dialogue free scripts in the past. To effectively and successfully convey your story without dialogue is a challenge I enjoy. I also try to incorporate many dialogue free scenes into every script I write.

I agree with that quote. Me personally because it shows the depth of actors. We can speak loud or soft all we wont, but how many times have you seen people give great facial expressions while muting a scene and from the look of it you can tell what's going on in the scene? A lot, the phrase little is more is true.

Yeah, the context of that quote details the importance of writing visually (from a film and scene standpoint), and how images, the juxtaposition of images, and action can convey meaning.

On the flip side, David Mamet also has long sections in his Master class - and long before that - on dialogue, too, and is well-known for "Mamet-Speak." He is, after all, the writer who gave us stories like Glengarry Glen Ross, American Buffalo, Oleanna, The Spanish Prisoner, About Last Night, Things Change and House of Games - which are all dialogue-centric films. If you watched them without sound, you'd probably have no idea what was happening. Nor would you probably understand the motivations or be privy to the explanations of why the manipulations, deceits, double-crosses, pains, crimes and other assorted acts of those characters even took place.

I love David Mamet, but....everything in context. And of course, there are many great films with little or no dialogue - and recent ones, too (Moebius, The Bear, All is Lost, The Naked Island, Idiots and Angels, etc. etc.)

Best fortunes in your creative endeavors, Felix!

“Film is the most important art and it has the power to change the universe.”— Milos Stehlik

REST IN PEACE, MILOS STEHLIK (February 6, 1949 - July 6, 2019)

Thanks very much for your contributions.

Agree somewhat, "A Quiet Place" was a good horror movie without dialogue but that's what moved the story along, the quiet because of the scary monsters. But to me dialogue is necessary to move the story along, it let's you into a characters mind and what they are thinking what's their next move. Why/how did Jason Bourne lose his memory, who is he how did he become an assassin. Or some life lesson to be carried on to the next person, father to son In "Black Panther" T'achallas (The Lead character) dad told him "A man who has not prepared his children for his death, has failed as a father". I will say a movie with very little dialogue is good too. Like the spaghetti westerns "Good, The Bad & The Ugly" not a ton of dialogue but excellent story behind it. Well, my two and a half cents worth.

The best way to improve writing skills is to write first without dialogue. Action moves the story forward. Dialogue is redundant without it.

Bill Costantini i forgot about Glengary Glenross. That is an amazing film. I was watching something the other night and a character said “I am going to win, I am not settling for steak knives”.

Craig: Yeah...that's a great one. I saw the play back in the day. Interestingly enough, Blake (the Alec Baldwin character) wasn't even a character in the play.

Glengarry Glen Ross, American Buffalo, Oleanna and About Last Night were all Mamet plays before they later became films.

Best fortunes to you in your creative endeavors, Craig!

“Film is the most important art and it has the power to change the universe.”— Milos Stehlik

REST IN PEACE, MILOS STEHLIK (February 6, 1949 - July 6, 2019)

Thanks Bill

I think it's difficult to write a film with minimal dialogue. One of the most recent examples I've watched was All Is Lost, which has Robert Redford attempting to survive while sinking on a sailboat. It's a good film but I wanted to see the protagonist talking to himself more while trying to survive. I think that would have made a better film. Tom Hanks in Castaway is a good example of what I'm talking about.

One of the best minimal dialogue films I've ever seen was the The Naked Prey. Though released in 1966, It's still a damn good film and moves along at a brisk pace. In the final analysis, one should write entertaining work. It that can be done without word, that's wonderful. But IMHO, well-written, succinct dialogue is always a pleasure to read.

I believe the academy award nominated animated movie The Triplets of Belleville had no dialogue at all other than their singing and yet you know exactly what is going on.