--- product_id: 8651917 title: "Brokeback Mountain: Story to Screenplay" price: "£13.51" currency: GBP in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/8651917-brokeback-mountain-story-to-screenplay store_origin: GB region: United Kingdom --- # Screenplay adaptation Award-winning narrative 300+ pages Brokeback Mountain: Story to Screenplay **Price:** £13.51 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 🎥 Transform your perspective on storytelling! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Brokeback Mountain: Story to Screenplay - **How much does it cost?** £13.51 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.uk](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/8651917-brokeback-mountain-story-to-screenplay) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Cultural Impact:** Understand the film's significance in modern cinema. - • **Cinematic Mastery:** Learn the art of adaptation with a celebrated narrative. - • **Unravel the Journey:** Dive deep into the transformation from story to screenplay. - • **Visual Storytelling:** Explore stunning visuals that enhance the reading experience. - • **Behind-the-Scenes Insights:** Discover exclusive commentary from the creators. ## Overview Brokeback Mountain: Story to Screenplay offers an in-depth exploration of the acclaimed film's journey from short story to screenplay, featuring over 300 pages of insights, commentary, and visual storytelling that highlight its cultural significance and cinematic mastery. ## Description A companion to the film Brokeback Mountain , featuring the story, the screenplay by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, and essays about the process and the collaboration. Annie Proulx has written some of the most original and brilliant short stories in contemporary literature, and for many readers and reviewers, Brokeback Mountain is her masterpiece. Brokeback Mountain was originally published in The New Yorker. It won the National Magazine Award, as well as an O. Henry Prize. Included in this volume is Annie Proulx's haunting story about the difficult, dangerous love affair between a ranch hand and a rodeo cowboy. Also included is the celebrated screenplay for the major motion picture Brokeback Mountain , written by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana. All three writers have contributed essays on the process of adapting this critically acclaimed story for film. Review: An Impressive Short Story; An Equally Impressive Screenplay - Most professional writers regard short stories as a singularly difficult genre. The brevity involved requires a unique gift for precision, a gift that many authors lack. First published in 1997 in the New Yorker, as printed here Annie Proulx's story runs to slightly less than twenty eight pages; nonetheless, the story spans some twenty years and encompasses numerous and very vividly created characters--and it presents an unflinching tale. Proulx's prose is quite stark in directness and drive, and she presents her story with a remarkable clarity and grace. Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist are two uneducated, itinerant ranch hands who meet when they are hired to tend sheep on Brokeback Mountain in the summer of 1963. Alone on the mountain, they begin a sexual relationship which they regard as 'just sex'--but which very quickly develops into a love which, given their backgrounds and era, neither can accept as such. When the summer ends, they go on to lives in the greater world, marriages, children, and all the things that a man is expected to do; even so, their need for each for each other will not be so casually dismissed, and in their failure to recognize it for what it is, and in society's refusal to allow them leaway, they will self-destruct in the most bitter way imaginable. The short story received considerable attention in 1997, and it soon fell into the hands of screenwriter Diana Ossana, who in turn passed it to partner and Pulizter Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry. Recognizing the power of the story, the two acquired the rights to adapt the story into a screenplay. Many who read the screenplay praised it--but in truth, it raised more eyebrows than practical interest. Few producers were remotely interested in a script about gay men, much less gay men in a western setting. In time, however, the screenplay came to the attention of film producer Michael Costigan and the details began to fall into place. Directed by Ang Lee and starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN began filming in 2004. Budgeted a fourteen million dollars, it was considered a "small" film that might do well in urban markets, at least well enough to make back its cost, but nothing more. The film opened in limited release in December of 2005--and critical reception was astonishing. With so many accolades, a savvy marketing campaign was developed to place the film before an ever-expanding market, a host of Academy Award nominations further fueled interest, and within slightly less than three months $118 million dollars world wide. It was a truly astounding, truly unexpected reception. While the Hollywood media machine has inevitably focused on the actors, critics have praised the script as an almost miraculous adaptation of the original story, and it is here published for the first time. Like the story itself, it is remarkable for fusion of sparse dialogue and unexpected poetry, and it reads extremely well. McMurtry and Ossana truly deserve the many critical accolades laid at their feet. The short story and the screenplay are accompanied by three essays by Proulx, McMurtry, and Ossana. All are interesting in their own way, with McMurtry commenting on the issues that surround adaptation of literary material to the screen and Ossana focusing on the processes that eventually brought the script to the screen; the most interesting essay, however is by Proulx, who discusses her inspirations for the story and the sources from which the numerous ideas and images it contains arose. The short story "Brokeback Mountain" is available in several editions, including a stand-alone printing and in Proulx's memorable collection of short fiction, CLOSE RANGE. I would personally recommend the latter--but if you are specifically interested in the screenplay as well, this is your chance. Recommended. GFT, desertcart Reviewer Review: A Great Work of Literature and Film - Some superficial people have focused on the film "Brokeback Mountain" as being about "those two cowboys having sex." Some men complain about getting dragged by their girlfriends and forced to watch (evidence of their sexual insecurity). There has even been some criticism from gay men who hate the film. Maybe that is because they didn't read the book and screenplay, which clarifies the burgeoning transformation of Ennis into a more emotionally evolved person at the end of the story. The fearful attitude holding Ennis back in his life, is the same fearful attitude that is preventing certain people from fully understanding this literary masterpiece. I found myself, during the film, questioning lines as the dialogue was often hard to sort because of the dialect and low cinema sound. I read the short story and that didn't help to fill in all of the more obscure lines. I then saw the film again. Upon a third viewing of the film, even more was made prevalent (better cinema sound). I then decided to get this screenplay, and the dialogue was clarified and enhanced by the direction lines between the dialogue. Like any great work of art, it is multi-dimensional and must be studied to be appreciated fully. There are interesting differences between the short story and screenplay, which must be noted keeping in mind the overall theme of fearfulness and sexual insecurity. One must note Jack's childhood physical/psychological abuse left out of the screenplay as compared to Ennis'. Our experiences shape our lives, and I can't help but to think of that song from "Into the Woods" titled "Children Will Listen", and then thinking of the dissatisfactory child-hoods of the men. I have tried to find something about this book, and film that I don't like, and simply cannot. The way the story is written and filmed is astounding. "Brokeback Mountain" will be around for a long time in the minds of people who read it. The three essays by Proulx, McMurtry, and Ossana at the end are a nice insightful addition. Larry McMurtry said at the awards show that we shouldn't forget the booksellers and the books (paraphrased), upon accepting the Oscar for best adapted screenplay. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #631,994 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #722 in LGBTQ+ Literary Fiction (Books) #1,477 in TV, Movie & Game Tie-In Fiction #12,778 in Literary Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 323 Reviews | ## Images ![Brokeback Mountain: Story to Screenplay - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71QbC4sc+-L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An Impressive Short Story; An Equally Impressive Screenplay *by G***R on February 25, 2006* Most professional writers regard short stories as a singularly difficult genre. The brevity involved requires a unique gift for precision, a gift that many authors lack. First published in 1997 in the New Yorker, as printed here Annie Proulx's story runs to slightly less than twenty eight pages; nonetheless, the story spans some twenty years and encompasses numerous and very vividly created characters--and it presents an unflinching tale. Proulx's prose is quite stark in directness and drive, and she presents her story with a remarkable clarity and grace. Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist are two uneducated, itinerant ranch hands who meet when they are hired to tend sheep on Brokeback Mountain in the summer of 1963. Alone on the mountain, they begin a sexual relationship which they regard as 'just sex'--but which very quickly develops into a love which, given their backgrounds and era, neither can accept as such. When the summer ends, they go on to lives in the greater world, marriages, children, and all the things that a man is expected to do; even so, their need for each for each other will not be so casually dismissed, and in their failure to recognize it for what it is, and in society's refusal to allow them leaway, they will self-destruct in the most bitter way imaginable. The short story received considerable attention in 1997, and it soon fell into the hands of screenwriter Diana Ossana, who in turn passed it to partner and Pulizter Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry. Recognizing the power of the story, the two acquired the rights to adapt the story into a screenplay. Many who read the screenplay praised it--but in truth, it raised more eyebrows than practical interest. Few producers were remotely interested in a script about gay men, much less gay men in a western setting. In time, however, the screenplay came to the attention of film producer Michael Costigan and the details began to fall into place. Directed by Ang Lee and starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN began filming in 2004. Budgeted a fourteen million dollars, it was considered a "small" film that might do well in urban markets, at least well enough to make back its cost, but nothing more. The film opened in limited release in December of 2005--and critical reception was astonishing. With so many accolades, a savvy marketing campaign was developed to place the film before an ever-expanding market, a host of Academy Award nominations further fueled interest, and within slightly less than three months $118 million dollars world wide. It was a truly astounding, truly unexpected reception. While the Hollywood media machine has inevitably focused on the actors, critics have praised the script as an almost miraculous adaptation of the original story, and it is here published for the first time. Like the story itself, it is remarkable for fusion of sparse dialogue and unexpected poetry, and it reads extremely well. McMurtry and Ossana truly deserve the many critical accolades laid at their feet. The short story and the screenplay are accompanied by three essays by Proulx, McMurtry, and Ossana. All are interesting in their own way, with McMurtry commenting on the issues that surround adaptation of literary material to the screen and Ossana focusing on the processes that eventually brought the script to the screen; the most interesting essay, however is by Proulx, who discusses her inspirations for the story and the sources from which the numerous ideas and images it contains arose. The short story "Brokeback Mountain" is available in several editions, including a stand-alone printing and in Proulx's memorable collection of short fiction, CLOSE RANGE. I would personally recommend the latter--but if you are specifically interested in the screenplay as well, this is your chance. Recommended. GFT, Amazon Reviewer ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Great Work of Literature and Film *by T***E on March 11, 2006* Some superficial people have focused on the film "Brokeback Mountain" as being about "those two cowboys having sex." Some men complain about getting dragged by their girlfriends and forced to watch (evidence of their sexual insecurity). There has even been some criticism from gay men who hate the film. Maybe that is because they didn't read the book and screenplay, which clarifies the burgeoning transformation of Ennis into a more emotionally evolved person at the end of the story. The fearful attitude holding Ennis back in his life, is the same fearful attitude that is preventing certain people from fully understanding this literary masterpiece. I found myself, during the film, questioning lines as the dialogue was often hard to sort because of the dialect and low cinema sound. I read the short story and that didn't help to fill in all of the more obscure lines. I then saw the film again. Upon a third viewing of the film, even more was made prevalent (better cinema sound). I then decided to get this screenplay, and the dialogue was clarified and enhanced by the direction lines between the dialogue. Like any great work of art, it is multi-dimensional and must be studied to be appreciated fully. There are interesting differences between the short story and screenplay, which must be noted keeping in mind the overall theme of fearfulness and sexual insecurity. One must note Jack's childhood physical/psychological abuse left out of the screenplay as compared to Ennis'. Our experiences shape our lives, and I can't help but to think of that song from "Into the Woods" titled "Children Will Listen", and then thinking of the dissatisfactory child-hoods of the men. I have tried to find something about this book, and film that I don't like, and simply cannot. The way the story is written and filmed is astounding. "Brokeback Mountain" will be around for a long time in the minds of people who read it. The three essays by Proulx, McMurtry, and Ossana at the end are a nice insightful addition. Larry McMurtry said at the awards show that we shouldn't forget the booksellers and the books (paraphrased), upon accepting the Oscar for best adapted screenplay. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Brokeback mountain *by A***E on March 14, 2026* Absolutely incredible book! 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