One of the funny things about the Stone's unsubtle script is how everyone shouts out Stanley's faults. "Your callous, indifferent to suffering, self-centered "etc is if people talked to each other like that in real life.
Makes you wonder what could have been had Cimino had the time to write the screenplay himself. Say what you will about The Deer Hunter and Heaven's Gate, but they have very peculiar and unique structures which don't really fit the mode of the classical narrative and the "well-made film". And more importantly, they show an ability to envision the narrative into purely visual terms.
Oliver Stone on the other hand has always had a very verbose, and yes, unsubtle style of writing. I think he sometimes gets away with it in his films because he has that sledgehammer, sensationalistic directing style that "compliments" it well... But Cimino is not the same type of filmmaker. So while sometimes Cimino is able to work around Stone's script (he makes an interesting use of architectural spaces here, and uses quite a few elaborate long takes), and at other times he's able to hit the right pitch of hysteria, I still don't think they were the right partnership.
I know too many bad people who shout out other people's faults in order to embrass and/or humilitate in front of people for real and/or imaginary mistakes no matter how minor they are, and they get a real power trip out of it. Furthermore, military drill sergeants verbally chew out their recruits both inside and outside the barracks. Personally, if good people would chew out bad people in public, then the bad people would cease their bullying of people or not be opening their mouths so much.
shareYes, Oliver Stone is godawful at writing dialogue.
shareI don't know why people wouldn't talk to each other like that in real world. Stanley just kept on taking insults, they had fought many many times before, nothing seemed to work. Stanley *beep* up his marriage, got his wife killed, was on the way to destroy his career, killed some of his partners, got the girl raped, completely went against policy of his superiors. Its really beyond imagination how much he put on the line and for what, he had nothing to gain. He was colossal *beep* up, no way in hell would they had let him do all those things. They kept on fighting and fighting, Stanley is fighting in practically every scene when you do that people might say anything at all. Its weird that people didnt list his faults earlier on or give more in debth analysis for them, surely everyone gave lot of thought to the issue and what kind of person Stanley was.
shareStanley's bosses are callous, indifferent to suffering, etc. They seem to forget why they join the police department which is to protect those people who are unable to protect themselves. Besides, you look at Stanley's bosses and how many of them had broken marriage, suffer from alcoholism, cheating on their spouses? Don't blame Stanley for getting his wife killed and his girlfriend rape. Its like blame workers for screwing up the country or saying that female American soldiers should blame themselves for getting rape. Criminals like Joey Tai will do anything to maintain their power even if they have to destroy the entire world to do so.
At least Stanley didn't quit being a police officer compare to his bosses who gave up a long time ago. And nowadays, people do talk that way in today's real world if you look at the situation in the USA.
Almost every Oliver Stone script is basically a semi-coded confessional / political rant / psychiatric purge.
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