Far From Heaven, Safe, and Superstar: Three Screenplays

Book Description
Todd Haynes is a fiercely intelligent and visionary writer-director. Haynes's award-winning short film Superstar (1987) tells the story of Karen Carpenter's dark struggle with anorexia nervosa. With a cast of Barbie dolls, the underground classic became "the most talked-about, least-seen film of the 1980's" (The Onion A.V.) after the Carpenter estate forced it permanently out of circulation. Haynes's breakthrough feature, Safe (1995), was voted Best Film of the 1990s by the 2000 Village Voice Film Critics Poll. It is the disturbing, elusive story of an affluent suburban housewife whose life is shattered by a mysterious illness. Haynes's latest movie, Far from Heaven, continues his investigation of the conflicted woman, depicting a 1950s housewife who is alienated by her neighbors when her husband's homosexuality leads her to turn to her African-American gardener. The winner of fifty critics' prizes and on over two hundred Top Ten lists (more than any film of 2002), Far from Heaven was nominated for a slew of major awards, including an Academy Award. With exquisite subtlety, all three films demonstrate Haynes's concerns as a pioneer of the "new queer cinema" who is winning increasing acceptance by the American mainstream. Black-and-white photographs are featured throughout.


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Todd Haynes is a fiercely intelligent writer/director who has received massive acclaim. Each of his films breaks stylistic barriers in exhilarating, unexpected ways. With an introduction by Haynes himself, this collection gathers the screenplays to three of his most widely discussed films, including deleted scenes and on-set photographs. Todd Haynes's first short film, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, became an underground cult sensation after it was forced out of circulation, hailed by the Onion AV as "the most talked-about, least-seen film of the 80s." Voted Best Film of the 1990s by the 2000 Village Voice Film Critics Poll, Haynes's controversial first feature, Safe, is the disturbing, elusive story of a housewife whose life is shattered by environmental illness. The Oscar-nominated Far from Heaven continues Haynes's investigation of the conflicted woman, lavishly recreating a 1950s melodrama to portray a suburban homemaker who is thrust into a new life. Winner of fifty critics' prizes and on more top-ten lists than any other film of 2002. Far from Heaven has been praised as "nothing short of a masterpiece" (Entertainment Weekly). With exquisite subtlety, these films demonstrate Haynes's concerns as a pioneer of the "new queer cinema" who has established himself as a true visionary of American film.


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