House of Games (1987)

[captainron_howdy]

This is one of the BEST movies made in the 80s, period. One of the best directorial debuts of all time and an amazing script. Mamet is a brilliant writer, never has any of the work of his I've seen seem like it had "Choppy and Poorly Delivered Dialogue." Even Spartan and Redbelt are great.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by captainron_howdy

This is one of the BEST movies made in the 80s, period. One of the best directorial debuts of all time and an amazing script. Mamet is a brilliant writer, never has any of the work of his I've seen seem like it had "Choppy and Poorly Delivered Dialogue." Even Spartan and Redbelt are great.

This is what I mean. He's famous for it. Even mentioned as part of his Wikipedia page..Figured people would understand what I meant..

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MametSpeak

Mamet Speak has the following qualities:

It is fast. Characters speak in quick succession, frequently cutting each other off, finishing each other's sentences, and repeating themselves whilst the other speaks.
It is loaded with jargon. If two characters work in the same field, expect them to use words and concepts specific to that field without stopping or even slowing down to make sure the non-professional audience can follow along. Consequently, expect as little Exposition as possible.
It is frequently focused on semantics. Mamet's characters are known for manipulating language itself to get what they want, or at least discussing the importance of their particular language.

Can't really say I'm a fan of it. Glad you enjoyed it though. I had high hopes after reading the synopsis, but as I said, the movie just got worse for me as it went on, and the ending was terrible.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

This is what I mean. He's famous for it. Even mentioned as part of his Wikipedia page..Figured people would understand what I meant.

I think poorly delivered might be what raised all the eyebrows. That kind of rapid-fire patter is (obviously) not to everybody's tastes but it's very precisely crafted.

Glengarry Glen Ross is like a musical without the music.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by octagon

I think poorly delivered might be what raised all the eyebrows. That kind of rapid-fire patter is (obviously) not to everybody's tastes but it's very precisely crafted.

Glengarry Glen Ross is like a musical without the music.

Fair enough, I just didn't describe it properly. I think I've only seen House of Games from him believe it or not, so that's all I was referring to. I've been meaning to see Glengarry forever

[trentdiesel]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Fair enough, I just didn't describe it properly. I think I've only seen House of Games from him believe it or not, so that's all I was referring to. I've been meaning to see Glengarry forever

From what I've seen I'd say American Buffalo is the one with the most Mamet speak, Hoffman and Franz are both pretty out of control and I could see it being off putting for some people.

[carver]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Fair enough, I just didn't describe it properly. I think I've only seen House of Games from him believe it or not, so that's all I was referring to. I've been meaning to see Glengarry forever

Glengarry Glen Ross was not directed by David Mamet, which I think helps the film. It is the most cinematic by far of all the films he has written.

[Cremildo]

Originally Posted by captainron_howdy

This is one of the BEST movies made in the 80s, period. One of the best directorial debuts of all time and an amazing script.

Couldn't agree more.

I'm stunned by the shrugging this film gets in some quarters.

[McCrutchy]

I'm just disappointed that Criterion waited almost a dozen years to upgrade this to Blu-ray, only to release the DVD master from 2007. If this Blu-ray release had been five or six years ago, I could have understood, but in 2019, the lack of a new 2K or 4K scan for an American film from Criterion is pretty underwhelming.

[BenOswald]

Originally Posted by carver

Glengarry Glen Ross was not directed by David Mamet, which I think helps the film. It is the most cinematic by far of all the films he has written.

Including The Verdict?

[Hoke Moseley]

The Untouchables is BY FAR the most cinematic film written by Mamet.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by carver

Glengarry Glen Ross was not directed by David Mamet, which I think helps the film. It is the most cinematic by far of all the films he has written.

I would not describe Glengarry Glenross as a cinematic film at all

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by nitin

I would not describe Glengarry Glenross as a cinematic film at all

I remember it felt like a filmed stage play

[carver]

Originally Posted by BenOswald

Including The Verdict?

In my opinion, yes. The combination of some slick, smooth camerawork and a sinister jazz score makes it the best.

[carver]

Originally Posted by nitin

I would not describe Glengarry Glenross as a cinematic film at all

It takes a lot of technique to make boring office spaces interesting, and it does that in a very intriguing way.

[carver]

Originally Posted by Hoke Moseley

The Untouchables is BY FAR the most cinematic film written by Mamet.

Nah, I disagree. And that's not exactly what I'm talking about, anyway. I meant Mamet's own distinct works, not a screenplay-for-hire thingy...

[Ray Jackson]

Glengarry Glen Ross is one of my favorite films.

Never seen HoGs.

Does the writing live up to the standard of Mamet’s best work?

[reaperx187]

I don't believe i had seen this one before might have heard it in name only though.

[balthazar_bee]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Does the writing live up to the standard of Mamet’s best work?

Yes. It's a corker of a directorial debut too, with hall-of-fame work from the two leads.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Glengarry Glen Ross is one of my favorite films.

Never seen HoGs.

Does the writing live up to the standard of Mamet’s best work?

It's been a while since I've seen it but from what I remember I really enjoyed the writing. The dialogue really stood out to me. The film has a great noir look and feel to it as well. I actually just ordered this myself.

Glengarry Glen Ross is one of my favorites too along with The Verdict.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by octagon

I think poorly delivered might be what raised all the eyebrows. That kind of rapid-fire patter is (obviously) not to everybody's tastes but it's very precisely crafted.

"Precisely crafted" is about the writing. "Poorly delivered" is about the acting/directing. They're not contradictory. While I do like Mamet as a director, I can't argue with anybody who finds the lack of inflection that he deliberately elicits from his actors to be unengaging.