Overview

The monologue. It's an established tradition in theatrical drama. From the Greeks to the present day, the monologue functioned as the sole means of insight into a character's psyche. The monologue is a direct representation of their mind. In theatrical drama, the monologue is a sublime expression: an affirmation of self. It is through the monologue that the character speaking actualizes him / herself. As theatre segued into film and the development of sound film technology, film could speak. And speak it did - to millions throughout the world. But what was to happen to the monologue? Its fate as a dramatic tool was uncertain. Although it had proven brilliant as a theatrical device - a structural point upon which a dramatist would often make the most potent characterization - on film, it was one man or woman standing alone, talking to themselves aloud. It didn't work: it was uneventful as cinema, boring to look at and dragged the pace to a standstill. The monologue persisted in a certain kind of static, talky, theatrically based type of cinema that rapidly dwindled in appeal as directors began exploring the possibilities of the sound film medium. Yet there emerged a new problem. Even in film there was the need for monologues. This time it wasn't to vocalize the internal thoughts and feelings of the speaker but to make a heavily dramatic point or statement. No longer self-talk, it began to politicize the use of film dialogue. Now, the monologue was an argument, a summation, an assault. No longer self-talk, it was bold statement. The film monologue was transfigured from self-assertion to self-actualization. In theatre it had been contemplative and revelatory, but in film it became not only the prime means to socio-political message or discourse but a defiant statement of principle and moral worth: a revelation of a truth about the character speaking and the film itself. It was now a potent dramatic tool again, fresh, invigorating and powerful. The 50 monologues collected in this book represent the scope of its potential: from the dramatic, political, feminist to the comical, emotional and fantastical. There's a diverse wealth of spoken-word art in this anthology. Each monologue is introduced as to historical context, set-up and character to give an indication of how each monologue is framed. The monologues are arranged alphabetically by film title and survey some 60 years of sound film. So... on to 50 Sensational Movie Monologues.

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9781497541344

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Robert Cettl is a former SAR Research Fellow at Australia's National Film & Sound Archive. His scholarly film non-fiction has been published in the USA by McFarland & Co. Inc. and Bloomsbury Academic, and has been collected by the National Libraries of China, Australia and the US Library of Congress.

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