is the hard eight screenplay online anywhere? i've never been able to find it to rent, so i figured i'd try to read it online. i've looked through several online script sites, but to no avail.
nope. there is a shop in LA you can order from, and i know that greg has a few original copies.
you can also order it off ebay....or atleast i have...about 2 years ago.
I got mine from a place in Burbank, CA called Book City (818) 848-4417. There is one in Hollywood too (213) 466-2525.
Quote from: MacGuffinI got mine from a place in Burbank, CA called Book City (818) 848-4417. There is one in Hollywood too (213) 466-2525.
that place is great... found some really cool books on kurosawa there
finally found a VHS copy Friday. just got done watching it. hmmm, i also saw PDL today at the 1.50 theater........i'm more of a PDL and Magnolia guy than BN or HE......after seeing PDL for the 4th time, i think its getting very close to one of my favorites of all time, top 10
Quote from: bigideasi'm more of a PDL and Magnolia guy than BN or HE
awwww, don't do that... BN is great :yabbse-sad:
I was expecting more from hard eight when i first saw it, but it grows on you after viewing number 2 (except, for some reason, I felt like the first scene of the movie (in the coffee shop) was very amateurish. rest of the movie i really like though).
I don't see why so few people like Sydney (Hard Eight). I think it's an absolutely genius film, and I, for one, am very jealous how amazing it is in all aspects when i watch it. Even with that in consideration I would still place Sydney 3rd with Boogie Nights & Punch-Drunk Love tied for 2nd and the absolutely most amazing film of all time, need I say it's name, for 1st.
I think Sydney/Hard Eight is nearly perfect. I remember when I first saw it on video, it was almost like some sort of secret discovery...I'd never heard about it, but recognized PTA's name ('Boogie Nights' had just come out), and it really blew me away. That's probably my point of reference for perfection in a first film.
i didn't say i hated it, i just mean that i enjoy Magnolia and PDL more.
looking at the back of the video cover, it has a picture of someone getting something out of the trunk of a car in the rain. maybe i've forgotten quickly, but i don't remember any rain being in the film.
I think Sydney is one of the great character pieces of all time, ranking right up IMHO with Mamet's House of Games for a movie that's about relationships and how people react to each other. Some of Philip Baker Hall's looks are so simple, so fucking heart wrenching. And how can you beat Phil Hoffman's turn at the table!!!!
Yes, Hard Eight is great.
I just love it when John is going to watch Sydney "at work"
and he is so exited. He gets ready by tying his shoes.
All four Velcro straps.....just perfect..!!
when he gives Sydney back the 150, is it really 150? it was hard to tell with vhs, but it looked like a 20 maybe?
*spoiler*
at the end when Syd was waiting in the apt to kill Jimmy, i thought that John and Clem had set him up and they would be coming in and he would shoot John without knowing. i'm guessing the editing was made to make you think this, or is this just me?
Quote from: bigideasat the end when Syd was waiting in the apt to kill Jimmy
Trying to remember my first viewing....
I think I was worried that Syd would fall asleep,
then Jimmy would come in and kill Syd.
John was kind of far away at the time.
When I first saw 'Hard Eight', I didn't think too much of it. I thought it was OK. Alot more intelligent than expected but still quite boorish. Then I watched it again a few months later. Loved it. This is a fine film here. Hall is incredible. Jackson set the film alight (I find Jimmy to be a very Tarantino-ish character, or maybe he just reminds me of 'Jackie Brown's Ordell Robbie). Hoffman's cameo was f***in hilarious 'Shaka laka do be do be doo'. The only bit I didn't like (and I do mean only) is the bit where Hall, Reilly and Paltrow are arguing in the motel. It annoys me. Other than that, 'Hard Eight' is a bloody good film. But definately my least favourite of PTA's.
Quote from: oakmanc234the bit where Hall, Reilly and Paltrow are arguing in the motel. It annoys me.
That was a tough scene.
For me it hit too close to home.
Like the first time standing up to Dad.
I thought it meant that Sydney was just about finished parenting, and the 2 kids are ready to fly on their own.
the thing I like least about the film is Jackson. I used to love the guy, but he's really not that great, especially here. I mean, partially, I think it was Anderson's fault with some of the dialogue, trying too hard to write a character like that, y'know? And Jackson's delivery, wasn't natural enough, in my opinion. I think he should have made it more his own. I dunno. Still love the flick.
fulty wrote: I thought it meant that Sydney was just about finished parenting, and the 2 kids are ready to fly on their own.
Fly on their own? But they were asking for his help.
Quote from: oakmanc234fulty wrote: I thought it meant that Sydney was just about finished parenting, and the 2 kids are ready to fly on their own.
Fly on their own? But they were asking for his help.
Yes, but now Sydney is getting fed up. This is like the last push out of the house, like dad giving up the money to pay for college. I like what Fulty wrote.
And for God sakes, oakman, learn how to use the quote function on this board!
My f***ed up computer won't quote properly for some reason.
And ain't that a bit off topic, Greg's forum was shut down because of shit like this (discussing typo stuff, who gives a shit).
Quote from: oakmanc234who gives a shit ?
He he. I was wondering if someone would do that.
Quick question: What did everyone else think of the alternate ending that I read about-Sydney getting blown away at the end, an overhead shot of his dieing body as snow falls on him etc.
I think it would've ended on an upsetting but powerful note. I'm still glad that Sydney lived on, even if he had to live with another murder on his conciense...
Quote from: bonanzatazlike dad giving up the money to pay for college.
Thank you bo-taz...that's exactly what I thought as well.
As for the ending, I thought that when Sydney went back to the coffee shop that he was going to find Jimmy's son.....and the whole routine would start over..!!
I didn't mind being wrong.
Hiding the blood on the cuff was much better.
I thought that hiding the blood on the cuff was a nice touch.
It summed up the shadowy and secretive side of Sydney as the film closed.
I agree.
Even though I liked the alternate ending, the one they ended up using is much better.
maybe these are up to the viewer, but:
does Sydney intentionally look for John?
if so, how did he know what he looked like? weren't Syndney's bad times long behind him (until the end)?
does Sydney do this because he feels guilty?
comments/concerns?
Yes, Mr Graduate,
I think you got it right.
I agree that Sydney felt something like guilt for his past.
Maybe he killed John's father by mistake or something and wanted to make up for it.
I believe this is an imaginary story.
The logistics of how he tracked down John after all those years may have just taken away from the "feel" of the movie. Plus, what are the odds of running into Jimmy, who could trace both of their pasts and make that connection.
So, to me, the PTA movies are pure fantasy on one level, but they deal with emotions that are so real and powerful that they give me a new appreciation of life.
THanks to Mac G, got the screenplay from Book City in Hollywood. I've been lookin' for this forever.
All Hail The Mighty MacGuffin!