Adapted screenplay is one of the more difficult categories to win an Oscar, even among its peers; even sequels like Before Sunset and Before Midnight compete here, even though their original material could stand up on its merits.
Sarah Polley’s Women Talking is currently the favorite to win this year. Other films in contention for victory include All Quiet on the Western Front, Glass Onion, Living, and Top Gun: Maverick.
The Wolf of Wall Street
The Wolf of Wall Street was an epic, three-hour biopic about Jordan Belfort that followed his rise and fall as an influential stockbroker. Made for the big screen and receiving five Oscar nominations, this movie featured Leonardo DiCaprio giving perhaps his finest performance alongside Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, Margot Robbie, Kyle Chandler, as well as many others from its cast based on actual events; Terence Winter’s masterful script captured his story perfectly.
The script offers both an engaging and unnerving account of how money can corrupt people while challenging the get-rich mentality that has permeated Wall Street for so long.. Jordan Belfort emerges as a sympathetic character despite all his many flaws as an addict and stealer – but the movie makes clear that he also harbors good intentions.
Unlike many movies about greed, The Wolf of Wall Street is not preachy propaganda; instead, it provides an entertaining film that explores a man with a taste for excess who will go far to attain what they desire – leaving viewers wondering why these kinds of people still exist in real life.
Though not as dark as its book counterpart, The Revenant remains an engaging and thought-provoking work that everyone should watch. It is filled with blackly humorous elements that add to its entertainment value without becoming a nonstop jokes-fest. Furthermore, characters are fully realized, and engaging performances are delivered well.
Martin Scorsese is one of the most celebrated directors working today, and The Wolf of Wall Street proves this point. Scorsese always brings out the best performances from his cast members. The Wolf of Wall Street is no different – an exceptional director and scriptwriter working together can transform an entertaining book into something entertainingly accurate on film.
Rear Window
Rear Window is an engaging and thought-provoking suspense thriller that engages audiences through its compelling plot and captivating performances. With its novel concepts of murder mystery and voyeurism, innovative cinematography, believable characters, and groundbreaking cinematography, Rear Window remains one of the most influential movies ever made.
This film’s ambiguous conclusion was widely debated among moviegoers, sparking further discussion and debate over its meaning and interpretation. Furthermore, its success inspired a wave of suspenseful thrillers and encouraged filmmakers to push creative boundaries by producing more thought-provoking stories.
Alfred Hitchcock masterfully created an immersive story of voyeurism, lust, and obsession in this 1954 classic. James Stewart and Grace Kelly give potent performances as James Stewart murders the jealous widow in an intriguing story full of intrigue. Hitchcock’s use of color – warm hues representing comfort while sharp contrasts denoting danger – was particularly effective.
Rear Window was adapted from Cornell Woolrich’s short story of the same name, inspired by two real-life murder cases. Hitchcock recruited Frances Marion and Joseph Wambaugh as screenwriters; together, they created an engaging narrative proving Hitchcock was more than technical. Rear Window became an instant box office success, proof that Hitchcock could deliver quality cinema.
Hitchcock added Lisa and Stella into the story to increase the chemistry between Jeffries and his neighbors. He also included David O. Selznick as a cameo actor; Ray Burr was instructed to mimic many of Selznick’s mannerisms, such as wearing glasses and holding the telephone close.
Even though Hitchcock and Stewart owned the rights to the original story, they fought over who should receive credit for its adaptation. After taking this matter to court, Sheldon Abend became co-producer.
The Academy often blurs the distinction between original and adapted screenplays, with some notable exceptions. They have awarded sequels as best adapted screenplays; for instance, The Godfather Part II and Silence of the Lambs received this honor. Similarly, both Borat films were considered adaptations even though their stories originated as original works. Unfortunately, this rule allows movies that don’t specifically adapt a position to win awards for best-adapted screenplays despite not fitting this description.
Inglourious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds used cinema to rewrite history and comment on our film culture. Starring Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Christoph Waltz in an Oscar-winning performance as SS Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz won) as well as Melanie Laurent playing Shosanna Dreyfus who used her theater as a hideout while plotting revenge against Nazis for killing her family members.
Contrary to Tarantino movies, Inglourious Basterds relied more heavily on clever wordplay to create suspense than violence when violence did break out; when violence did strike, it was all the more potent because all that tension had built up before it happened.
Though inspired by actual events, Inglourious Basterds is fictional primarily and tells a tale about Jewish soldiers engaging in acts of retribution against members of Nazi Germany’s Third Reich. Starring Michael Fassbender, Roman Griffin Davis, and Thomasin McKenzie, Inglourious Basterds features an all-star cast.
This film is an insidious satire of American cinema for its obsession with violence and bloodshed, with references ranging from Cinderella to Andy Warhol’s Flesh for Frankenstein – among many more films! One can truly witness an audacious director subvert genre conventions to make his point!
Tarantino further explored his cinematic passion with Django Unchained, starring Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio in leading roles. This Nazi-era satire had to compete against films like Gangster Epic The Irishman, Joker Origin Story Joker, and Literary Adaption Little Women for Oscar nominations.
Taika Waititi’s Nazi-era satire Jojo Rabbit won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards, outshouting other strong contenders, including Gangster Epic The Irishman and Supervillain Origins Story Joker. Jojo Rabbit centers around an eleven-year-old German boy named Jojo who discovers he is Jewish before embarking on his search for true identity.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, directed by David Fincher and based on Stieg Larsson’s Millennium book series, marks the first in an American trilogy adapted from these novels. It follows Mikael Blomkvist – an exiled journalist and publisher of Millennium magazine – as he joins forces with Lisbeth Salander, an asocial computer hacker, to investigate criminal injustices together. Critics praise its gripping storyline and Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander in particular.
Steven Zaillian earned an Oscar nomination and won for writing its screenplay, as it also received one for Best Adapted Screenplay. It’s one of Fincher’s darker and bleakest movies to date and follows in the vein of Se7en and Zodiac with its complex tale about human nature that keeps audiences on edge throughout.
Even though The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo doesn’t deliver as many emotional thrills, it remains one of Fincher’s finest films due to a stand-out performance by Noomi Rapace and an engaging story that explores human corruption. Additionally, its use of numerous compelling characters helps keep audiences interested throughout its running time.
Fincher was under considerable pressure after the success of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to produce a sequel but decided against doing so. Instead, his franchise underwent a soft reboot through Fede Alvarez and Claire Foy as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl in the Spider’s Web.
The Girl Who Played with Fire, the second installment in the Millennium franchise, is an engaging and action-packed movie that follows Lisbeth Salander as she investigates a sex trafficking case. Critics have praised its thrilling storyline and Foy’s compelling portrayal of Salander; audiences of all ages should view this must-watch film!
