Book Review of The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field

 Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting. Syd Field. New York, NY: Bantam Dell, 2005. 319 pages.

By Patrick Charsky


    “Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.” Those unforgettable words at the end of, perhaps, the best written movie of the New Hollywood form the centerpiece of Syd Field’s Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting. Field says that Chinatown is a film to be appreciated, studied in detail, and learned from. Syd Field’s book is a pace setting text about Screenplay structure. Through his use of examples both contemporary and classic he illustrates each aspect of his paradigm. In doing so he makes writing a screenplay not an impossible task, but a “journey with its own rewards.”

    Field wrote Foundations of Screenwriting in the late 1970’s. A time of radical reinvention of Film as an art form. According to Syd, there were no books about screenwriting at the time he was working as a story analyst for Cinemobile. So he set out to write a book that would make screenwriting less painful and more systematic. Of course, Aristotle’s ideas about dramatic form have been around for centuries, but Field was the first to write about dramatic structure for Cinema.

    In addition to being a story analyst and author, Field also taught Screenwriting. Teaching and writing were his life’s work. Although not widely produced as a writer, teaching was his metier. He has written several other books about Screenwriting and has aided many writers in successfully writing produced screenplays.

    At the time of publication of The Foundations of Screenwriting there was no Amazon; no plethora of Screenwriting books, seminars, etc. Field’s book was a breakthrough. He was the first to come up with a paradigm for screenwriters. While some books talk about character or story citing ancient plays like Oedipus Rex or Macbeth, Field creates an adaptable system easily employed by writers to complete a screenplay. Many people set out to write a screenplay, and many don’t finish what they set out to do. Field’s book can be a helpful aid. It states that screenplays need a beginning, an ending, and two plot points. It makes the process of writing a screenplay easier by following a structure that has been inherent in films since the earliest days of Hollywood.

    The Foundations of Screenwriting contains many great examples of how to write beginnings and endings. Field analyzes Chinatown, American Beauty, and Basic Instinct, among others. He breaks down each beginning and shows how it sets up the rest of the film. In his analysis of Chinatown he talks about how Screenwriter Robert Towne wrote the first ten pages. He shows how Towne sets up the dramatic premise, the water scandal, and reveals the complication of the real Evelyn Mulwray showing up at Gittes’ office to radically change the direction of the film. Field’s analysis is excellent and his writing flourishes when talking about a film he says he has seen “more than thirty times.”

    Field talks about other films that use an action opener like Basic Instinct. He analyzes the first ten minutes of the film and shows how it lays out the conflict for the rest of the film. Another film Field writes about at length is American Beauty. He writes about the opening monologue where Lester Burnham says how his wife and daughter think he’s a “gigantic loser” and that he will be dead soon. Field uses excellent examples to illustrate his point that the first ten pages of a screenplay are crucial to its success. He writes about how readers will simply discard a screenplay that doesn’t work after the first ten pages. It is a lesson that screenwriters must learn.

    The Foundations of Screenwriting is replete with examples that show how Field’s paradigm works. The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix franchise, Cold Mountain, Thelma and Louise are all broken down into their parts and fitted into the paradigm Field lays out as the central idea of his book. Field is an excellent story analyst. He knows these films inside and out. He proves that his method works. Like nature all films have a beginning, middle and end. Field writes that a screenwriter must know his or her ending before starting to write. He writes in bold letters, “KNOW YOUR ENDING.”

    In addition to using his paradigm, Field writes about methods Screenwriters can use to map out a story. He says writers should know not only the ending, but the beginning and plot points I and II. Furthermore he talks about using notecards to block out the story before putting one word on paper. Some writers might not like these methods, but Field says they work. He divulges countless anecdotes about writers getting stuck, not finding a strong enough story to last into a feature film, or not being able to write in screenplay format. Field shows his experience and expertise in helping writers complete projects or get over blocks and continue to write.

    His methods might seem simple or boring, but they are there to use. Field gets past a lot of superstitions about inspiration or creating films that don’t make sense. His advice is grounded and applicable to all kinds of situations a screenwriter might encounter on the journey to write a screenplay. Field says the more you write, the easier it gets.

    The Foundations of Screenwriting succeeds at exactly what it says it is; a foundational text in screenwriting. Over the years publications about screenwriting have proliferated and have taken over from Syd Field’s text. Criticisms could be made that Field’s paradigm and advice are too schematic and devoid of creativity or lacking in organic creation. A system like Syd’s becomes too rigid for some. But before you can break the rules of screenwriting you have to know what they are.

    In addition to his theories and analysis about screenplays, Field also imparts much valuable advice about the competitive business of screenwriting. Field says to not think about how much money you will make when writing screenplays. His most valuable piece of advice is that writing a screenplay is a journey that has its own rewards. So read Field’s book and enjoy the journey of writing screenplays one word at a time.