Classic Analysis
A Face in the Crowd
We started by identifying the four throughlines in general. The Overall Story throughline was pretty easy. The OS involves the meteoric rise (and fall) of folksy “Lonesome” Rhodes’s celebrity.
Chris Huntley
Classic Dramatica essays
Analysis Archive
Complete original Dramatica essays, with the scenes and Storypoint attributions behind each interpretation.
86 essays
Classic Analysis
A History of Violence
A History of Violence is a taut, disturbing drama about one man’s past (or supposed past) tearing apart the fabric of his family, risking their safety and the safety of the small community in which they live.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
A Room with a View
The window to Miss Lucy Honeychurch's (main character) room does not open to a view.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
A.I. Wars
A critique of the conflicting endings in A.I. Artificial Intelligence.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
Afflicition
Wade Whitehouse’s personal conflict and family legacy in Affliction.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Akeelah and the Bee
Akeelah and the Bee is an uplifting, family-oriented film that rises above its “Afternoon Special” subject matter.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
Aliens
Aliens is the second installment in what is, at this time, a four part "Slimy monster from Outerspace" (Videohound, 1998, p. 49) story.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Ally McBeal
A Throughline and Signpost reading of Ally McBeal.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
American Beauty
"Welcome to America's Weirdest Home Videos"-an apt line from American Beauty-director Sam Mendes and screenwriter Alan Ball's stark art set piece of individual torment and family calamity.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
American History X
American History X, written by David McKenna and directed by Tony Kaye (also the cinematographer), is a highly polished presentation of an ugly subject: the rhetoric of hate.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
American Psycho
October celebrates horror. It is only fitting then, that this is the month in which Stephen King's novella, Apt Pupil, will finally be released as a feature film, directed by Bryan Singer.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Antz and Without Limits
Pre and Z are American heroes.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Arlington Road
It is quite fitting that Angelo Badalamenti's eerie music creates the mood for screenwriter Ehren Kruger and director Mark Pellington's Arlington Road -- yet another take on the terrors that underlie white-washed suburbia.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Arsenic and Old Lace
Frank Capra's Arsenic and Old Lace ". . . is a Halloween tale of Brooklyn, where anything can happen and it usually does."
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, is written by the infectiously funny Mike Myers (with cowriter Michael McCullers) and directed by Jay Roach.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Boogie Nights
Nominated by the Academy for Best Original Screenplay, Boogie Nights is this reviewer's pick to win. This '70s joyride through Lala land's porn scene is a fresh twist on the extended family and the curious ties that bind.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Buffy the Vampire Slayer & My So-Called Life
Comparing worth and value in two high-school television stories.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Building a Better Dinosaur
A structural critique of Jurassic Park and its missing story elements.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
Celebrity
A historical Dramatica reading of Woody Allen’s Celebrity.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Central Station
Central Station, a Walter Salles film, wrought with obvious religious symbolism and certain dialogue that does not translate well, is nevertheless a beautifully illustrated Dramatica grand argument story complete with characters that are…
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Corpse Bride
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride is a beautiful, macabre fairy tale that is rich in storytelling. It seems to be structurally sound yet not structurally deep--more the feel of a short story than a feature film.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
Dogma
Superimposing belief systems on faith in God undermines the very nature of spirituality and carries the consequences we encounter today-religious factions and dogmatic rules.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Doom
Structural pitfalls in adapting the video game Doom for film.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
Finding Nemo’s Substory
Finding Nemo has two stories in it. The larger story is the title's namesake "Finding Nemo" and can be found as a storyform here.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
Flightplan
Flightplan is a taut thriller that successfully exploits the paranoia created by 9/11 but ultimately is more wind than substance.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
Fried Rice: The Tale of “The Vampire Chronicles”
A structural critique of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles.
Jim Hull
Classic Analysis
Go
Three intersecting stories in John August and Doug Liman’s Go.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Gods and Monsters
James Whale, Clay Boone, and the Throughlines in Gods and Monsters.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Good Night and Good Luck
Good Night and Good Luck is a dramatic recreation of real life events in the early 1950’s between television journalist Edward R. Morrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
Good Will Hunting
(Quotations used in this article are from the development script dated 12/4/96 by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.)
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Grease
The four perspectives behind the enduring appeal of Grease.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Happiness
A historical reading of Happiness and its incomplete grand argument.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Harry Potter and the Suffering Structure
A short structural critique of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
An examination of Joe Pendleton and the four Throughlines in Here Comes Mr. Jordan.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
Hilary and Jackie
A historical reading of the relationship between Hilary and Jacqueline du Pré.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Il Postino
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
In Her Shoes
An original Dramatica essay by Chris Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
In the Company of Men
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Inside Man
An original Dramatica essay by Chris Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
Into the Blue
An original Dramatica essay by Chris Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
Just Like Heaven
An original Dramatica essay by Chris Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
King Kong
An original Dramatica essay by Chris Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
Kolya
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
La Belle et la Bete
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Life is Beautiful
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Like Water for Chocolate
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Lolita
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Lone Star
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Music of the Heart
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Natural Born Killers
An original Dramatica essay by Jim Hull, preserved in full from its historical source.
Jim Hull
Classic Analysis
Out of Sight & Get Shorty
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Pecker
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Planet of the Apes
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Psycho
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Romeo and Juliet
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Ronin
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Saving Private Ryan
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Scream
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Shakespeare In Love
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
She’s All That
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Splendor in the Grass
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Stigmata
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Tarzan
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
The Big Chill
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
The Blair Witch Project
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
The Butcher Boy
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
The Catbird Seat
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
An original Dramatica essay by Chris Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
The Constant Gardener
An original Dramatica essay by Chris Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
The House of Yes & Love and Death on Long Island
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
The Iron Giant
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
The Maltese Falcon
An original Dramatica essay by Jim Hull, preserved in full from its historical source.
Jim Hull
Classic Analysis
The Manchurian Candidate
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
The Sixth Sense
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
The Terminator
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
The Truman Show & Wag the Dog
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
The XX and XY Files
An original Dramatica essay by Chris Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
Three Kings
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Titanic: One Interpretation
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
True Liabilities
An original Dramatica essay by Chris Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
Chris Huntley
Classic Analysis
Welcome to the Dollhouse
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
What’s Up Doc?
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
Working Girl
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley
Classic Analysis
pi
An original Dramatica essay by KE Monahan Huntley, preserved in full from its historical source.
KE Monahan Huntley