# Movie plots advanced soley by dialog, or lack of dialog **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 23, 2004, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567 "2004-07-23T19:53:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2004, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/1 "2004-07-23T19:53:32Z")
I find “dialgue-propelled” movies very interesting and many of them end up on my favourite movie list. In this thread I am talking about movies that are entirely dialog based - however, I want to include both movies that are purely dialog, and movies that contain little to no dialog. Some of my favourite exmaples include: 2001: A Space Odyssey (minimal dialog) Being There (entirely dialog) Castaway (minimal dialog) What I’m looking for, of course, is other movie suggestions with these themes in mind. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2004, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/2 "2004-07-23T20:00:43Z")
Alfred Hitchcock’s “Lifeboat” is a bunch of people sitting in a boat and talking. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/3 "2004-07-23T20:04:18Z")
For a movie entirely advanced by dialogue, see “My Dinner With Andre” - which is literally what the title states, two men having dinner & conversing with each other. A great movie w/ little to no dialogue is “the Triplets of Belleville.” Simply amazing, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2004, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/4 "2004-07-23T20:07:01Z")
[Twelve Angry Men](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050083/) is almost entirely dialog-based, too. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2004, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/5 "2004-07-23T20:12:26Z")
_The Big Kahuna_, starring Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito, is pretty dialogue-driven. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2004, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/6 "2004-07-23T20:29:36Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > _The Big Kahuna_, starring Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito, is pretty dialogue-driven. In a similiar vein, **Glengarry Glen Ross** ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/7 "2004-07-23T20:31:47Z")
> [@Art Vandelay](#): > > For a movie entirely advanced by dialogue, see “My Dinner With Andre” - which is literally what the title states, two men having dinner & conversing with each other. > > A great movie w/ little to no dialogue is “the Triplets of Belleville.” Simply amazing, IMO. Well, there goes my suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![Sundog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sundog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sundog)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2004, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/8 "2004-07-23T22:55:22Z")
_Before Sunset_, the sequel to _Before Sunrise_. Great movie, out in theaters now. As a bonus, the entire conversation takes place in real time. ---
**Author:** ![Arch\_Trout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@Arch\_Trout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arch_Trout)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2004, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/9 "2004-07-23T23:45:25Z")
[American Buffalo](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115530/) Written by the same guy that wrote Glengarry Glenross. If you want plot driven/heavy movies then go for movies that are based on plays. Plays are always talk heavy. ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/10 "2004-07-24T00:05:07Z")
_Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?_ is pretty much all dialog driven. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/11 "2004-07-24T00:06:38Z")
**The Lion in Winter** is a dialog-heavy film. **Eraserhead** is not. Long periods of nothing but surreal background noise. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/12 "2004-07-24T00:28:19Z")
**The Thief** with Ray Milland as an atomic-bomb spy has no dialog, although otherwise a full soundtrack > **[The Thief (1952) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045230/)** > > The Thief: Directed by Russell Rouse. With Ray Milland, Martin Gabel, Harry Bronson, Rita Grapel. A chance accident causes a nuclear physicist, who's selling top secret material to the Russians, to fall under FBI scrutiny and go on the run. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/13 "2004-07-24T00:35:32Z")
_Waking Life_ is almost entirely dialogue, and although it isn’t a movie, the infamous Buffy Episode _Hush_ (from Season 4) was Joss Whedon’s retort to the critics who said the only good thing about Buffy was its dialogue. A few years ago a film called _[utl=“[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0275719/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0275719/)”]Tape_ with Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Robert Sean Leonard was also a very minimalist piece. One set, a few small props, and dialogue dialogue dialogue! The playwright mentioned above is David Mamet, and _Glengarry Glen Ross_ and _American Buffalo_ are two of his best. His dialogue is always awesome, if occasionally profanity-laced. ---
**Author:** ![Arch\_Trout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@Arch\_Trout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arch_Trout)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/14 "2004-07-24T00:52:01Z")
> [@Jurph](#): > > The playwright mentioned above is David Mamet, and _Glengarry Glen Ross_ and _American Buffalo_ are two of his best. His dialogue is always awesome, if occasionally profanity-laced. I once had the pleasure of seeing both those movies in a double header at my local art house cinema for £5 (US $8.50). What a night 😃😃 ---
**Author:** ![JoeSki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b487fb/32.png) [@JoeSki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeSki)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/15 "2004-07-24T03:58:07Z")
Phone booth was driven by almost nothing but dialoge. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/16 "2004-07-24T04:00:44Z")
Well, [Quest for Fire](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0082484/) (which you either hate or like, and I liked) had no dialogue. Another great dialogue-free film is [Koyaanisqatsi](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0085809/). Many more recent films borrow heavily from it in terms of technique, effects (IMHO). ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/17 "2004-07-24T05:28:15Z")
Ah yes, I’ve seen both \*Quest for Fire \* and _Eraserhead_. Both excellent examples. Although I’d have to say I’m in the “hate it” camp when it comes to Q4F - likely due to the fact that the french channel shows it every other weekend. I’d be tempted to list \*The Cube \* but that might be pushing it a little. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/18 "2004-07-24T08:27:12Z")
What about [Duel](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067023/), directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Dennis Weaver? I’m remembering that it had very little dialogue. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/19 "2004-07-24T10:35:05Z")
Alfred Hitchcock’s _Rope_ is pretty dialog-heavy. Takes place in this guy’s apartment, the whole time. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567/20 "2004-07-24T11:23:16Z")
Basically all of David Mamet’s films are: _House of Games_ _The Spanish Prisoner_ _Glengarry Glen Ross_ etc. So are basically all of Richard Linklater’s: _Slacker_ _Waking Life_ _Before Sunrise_ _Before Sunset_ _SubUrbia_ (which is also an Eric Bogosian film, since Linklater directed it and Bogosian wrote it) etc. And films made from Bogosian’s scripts are also dialogue-driven, like: _Talk Radio_ So are basically all of Whit Stillman’s: _Metropolitan_ _Barcelona_ _The Last Days of Disco_ So, although not quite as much, are all of Kevin Smith’s: _Clerks_ _Mallrats_ _Chasing Amy_ _Dogma_ etc. Quentin Tarantino’s films are more dialogue-driven than you might expect, given that they’re action films: _Pulp Fiction_ _Reservoir Dogs_ _True Romance_ etc. Spike Lee’s are rather dialogue-driven: _She’s Got to Have It_ _Get on the Bus_ _Do the Right Thing_ _School Daze_ etc. So are the films of Noah Baumbach like: _Kicking and Screaming_ etc. But then look at the films of Woody Allen: _Annie Hall_ _Play It Again, Sam_ _Husbands and Wives_ _Shadows and Fog_ _Broadway Danny Rose_ and on and on and on . . . They’re also sometimes driven by narration, but mostly they consist of talk. I consider directors like Stillman, Baumbach, Smith, Linklater, and maybe even Lee and Tarantino to be “the children of Woody Allen.” They’re all about a generation younger than Allen and presumably grew up seeing Allen’s films. Allen is the reigning master of the film where everyone talks their problems to death. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-plots-advanced-soley-by-dialog-or-lack-of-dialog/256567.md?page=2)