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Reviews
Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies: The Screenwriter's Guide to Every Story Ever Told by Blake Snyder
mgouker's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this much more than the first Save the Cat! It's a great survey of popular cinema at least.
morteno's review against another edition
2.0
Rædselsfuld selvfed forfatter - amerikansk når det er værst.
atheron43's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
His books are very helpful and informative.
dexydoesthings's review against another edition
3.0
I have had Save the Cat on my To Read list for a LONG time. Thankfully, I stumbled across this sort-of sequel within the depths of a friend's library and quickly blazed through it!
I would still be down to read the original StC, but I gotta say this one wasn't my favorite. I really enjoyed Snyder's in-depth movie breakdowns and learned a TON about the important beats of a script. Framing the beats within the context of classic films was an incredible way to communicate them to the reader, who may have wanted more examples following his initial book.
The breakdowns for the movies I had seen were really easy to follow (because of course I knew what was happening), but I did find myself struggling with some of the others. The author's habit of using the actor's name in some contexts and the character name in others was VERY confusing if you were not already familiar with the plot. He also had some personal descriptions that didn't really resonate with me, such as- "I cried like a sorority girl." That seemed like an odd comparison to make and pulled me out of the text. Maybe "partied like a sorority girl" would make sense, but I didn't think sorority girls were more notorious for crying than anyone else?
Ultimately though, this is a great tool for newbie screenwriters or big movie buffs! I would recommend it as a learning resource because it zeros in your focus on the important moments to hit in a successful script.
I would still be down to read the original StC, but I gotta say this one wasn't my favorite. I really enjoyed Snyder's in-depth movie breakdowns and learned a TON about the important beats of a script. Framing the beats within the context of classic films was an incredible way to communicate them to the reader, who may have wanted more examples following his initial book.
The breakdowns for the movies I had seen were really easy to follow (because of course I knew what was happening), but I did find myself struggling with some of the others. The author's habit of using the actor's name in some contexts and the character name in others was VERY confusing if you were not already familiar with the plot. He also had some personal descriptions that didn't really resonate with me, such as- "I cried like a sorority girl." That seemed like an odd comparison to make and pulled me out of the text. Maybe "partied like a sorority girl" would make sense, but I didn't think sorority girls were more notorious for crying than anyone else?
Ultimately though, this is a great tool for newbie screenwriters or big movie buffs! I would recommend it as a learning resource because it zeros in your focus on the important moments to hit in a successful script.
gurudyne's review against another edition
1.0
There were a couple of good points in here, but nothing you wouldn't get from another book like "Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting" by McKee, which is much more thorough as it includes an analysis of screenwriting as an art. All Snyder's advice revolves around crafting scripts for marketability which, in and of itself, isn't a bad thing EXCEPT for two things. One, he's only ever written two scripts that have made it to film: "Stop...Or My Mom Will Shoot" and "Blank Check". Two, he equates marketability with quality and as if that point weren't stupid enough, he hammers on and on about how bad of a script Memento was because of its low opening weekend.
There's acknowledging the business side of an artistic market and then there's being a shill. Snyder's the latter and this is a handbook on how to follow in those footsteps.
There's acknowledging the business side of an artistic market and then there's being a shill. Snyder's the latter and this is a handbook on how to follow in those footsteps.
jolea's review against another edition
4.0
The book and series are great, and super interesting and informative even for casual readers with no screenwriting experience. This book was no different, and the only flies in the ointment were Blake's inability to pass opportunities to toot his own horn, and his inconsistent and confusing switch in the Beat Sheets between the actor and character names. Being an ignorant millennial I've only seen 12 of the 50 movies listed, so I had to re-read the Beat Sheets multiple times to understand which characters he was referring to.
thekarpuk's review against another edition
1.0
I wonder if every writer reaches a point where they stop seeking out books on writing? For me that point came when I had a series of screenwriting books foisted on me. This book, in particular, I found to be a crass exercise, so much so that I didn't think to review it until I imported my Amazon library and remembered I had it.
It's a complete money-grab. He takes those hacky exercises from the first book, where he shoe-horns movies into the heroes journey, and made a whole book of it.
Pulp Fiction does not fit the heroes journey, and only these hacks have a vested interest in doing so.
You can't create a formula for success. At a Comic-con panel I went to called "How to Break Into Comics The Marvel Way" put it, it's like escaping prison, once you do it, it's way harder for anyone else to do it the same way.
And trying to build a story using these formulas is just going to generate more terrible scripts and movies that all have the same beats that's movie audiences are already getting tired of predicting. These books backwards engineer their crap monomyth skeletons from movies impressionable young screen writers are familiar with (always Star Wars, ALWAYS) and convince you that because they can find some of these beats, ALL movies follow this.
They don't.
Seems to me all you really need to do, at least to meet the Karpuk standard of quality, is to do the following.
1. Make characters.
2. Have them need stuff.
3. Keep it exciting.
4. Increase the excitement as necessary.
5. Stop before it grows tiresome.
6. Avoid being boring at all times.
Tada! And you don't even need a "dark night of the soul" or a "belly of the whale" moment or anything! Seriously, everybody, just stop reading these books.
Write the book you would want to read, and keep doing it until you don't suck at it!
It's a complete money-grab. He takes those hacky exercises from the first book, where he shoe-horns movies into the heroes journey, and made a whole book of it.
Pulp Fiction does not fit the heroes journey, and only these hacks have a vested interest in doing so.
You can't create a formula for success. At a Comic-con panel I went to called "How to Break Into Comics The Marvel Way" put it, it's like escaping prison, once you do it, it's way harder for anyone else to do it the same way.
And trying to build a story using these formulas is just going to generate more terrible scripts and movies that all have the same beats that's movie audiences are already getting tired of predicting. These books backwards engineer their crap monomyth skeletons from movies impressionable young screen writers are familiar with (always Star Wars, ALWAYS) and convince you that because they can find some of these beats, ALL movies follow this.
They don't.
Seems to me all you really need to do, at least to meet the Karpuk standard of quality, is to do the following.
1. Make characters.
2. Have them need stuff.
3. Keep it exciting.
4. Increase the excitement as necessary.
5. Stop before it grows tiresome.
6. Avoid being boring at all times.
Tada! And you don't even need a "dark night of the soul" or a "belly of the whale" moment or anything! Seriously, everybody, just stop reading these books.
Write the book you would want to read, and keep doing it until you don't suck at it!
ashwriteslots's review against another edition
5.0
I'm in the business of writing for comic books and Blake Snyder's books have always been a go to keeper book for research. When ever I fill like I've written myself into a corner, I can step back and review the basics with all of his books. Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies is a great resource when looking for some examples of scripts that follow the beats that make a complete story.