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Lesescenarios

This special section aspires to be the definitive collection of 20th-century "closet screenplays" and the critical constellation surrounding them.

While it's evolving toward comprehensivity, the section is limited by residual intellectual property interests. Moreover, when choosing pieces to include, the editors generally privilege content that appears in out-of-print publications or, for whatever other reason, is difficult to access.

SCRIPTjr.nl editor Quimby Melton's publicly-accessible "Lesescenario Bibliography" (Google Docs, 30 March 2013. http://goo.gl/1v9is) serves as a framework for the section. Many texts listed have never been translated into English, and SCRIPT invites those proficient in relevant languages to propose English-language translations here.

Primary Texts

  • Forthcoming
    The End of the World Filmed by the Angel of Notre Dame by Blaise Cendrars (1919)
    The Reader from Ames by André Berge (1925)
    The Initiation (A Story of Adventure) by François Berge (1925)
    The Second Departure by Maurice Betz (1925)
    Beautiful Weddings in the Street: A New Scenario on a Banal Theme by Jacques Bonjean (1925)
    Pierre, or The Demon Unmasked by André Desson & André Harlaire (1925)
    Midnight at 2pm: A Wonderfully Modern Experiment by Robert Desnos (1925)
    Asakusa Park by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1927)
    mtasipoj by Benjamin Fondane (1928)
    The Solar Plane by Antonin Artaud (19??)
    from Virgil by [Francesco] Fanciulli (1930s)
    The Reefs of Love by Robert Desnos (1930)
    Worldwise by Jean-Paul Dreyfus & Bernar Lahy-Hollebecque (1930)
    News by Paul Gilson (1930)
    Figures by Ramon Gomez de la Serna (1930)
    The Amazon of Cemeteries by Georges Neveux (1930)
    The Eighth Day of the Week by Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes (1930)
    France America, or the Interrupted Film by Robert Aron (1930/31)
    Lost Children by Marcel Aymé (1931)
    The Last Emperor by Jean-Richard Bloch (1931)
    A Giraffe by Louis Buñuel (1933)
    A Broken Foot: A Documentary by Hendrik Cramer (1933)
    There Are Bugs in the Roast Pork by Robert Desnos (1933)
    Slaughterhouses of the Night by Maurice Henry (1933)
    The Banker, or Fortune is Blind by Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes (1933)
    Don't Put a Dog Outside: A Film without Words by Claude Sernet (1933)
    Secrets on the Isle by Louis-Ferdinand Céline (1936)
    Descent to the Lower Depths by Maxim Gorky (ca. 1936)
    Suffer Little Children by Dylan Thomas (1945)
    Arletty, Young Woman from Dauphine by Louis-Ferdinand Céline (1948)
    The Escape of Mr. McKinley by Leonid Leonov (1961)

Criticism

  • Forthcoming
    "[Blaise] Cendrars' Knowledge" by François Berge (1925)
    "The Editorial Notebook" by François and André Berge (1925)
    "Cinematic Dramas" by Maurice Betz (1925)
    "Reading Donogoo-Tonka" by Camille Dausse (1925)
    "2x2" by Benjamin Fondane (1928)
    "Note on the Script of The Last Emperor" by Jean-Richard Bloch (1931)