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Brokeback Mountain: Story to Screenplay
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Brokeback Mountain was originally published in The New Yorker. It won the National Magazine Award. It also won 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.
Annie Proulx is the author of eight books, including the novel The Shipping News and the story collection Close Range. Her many honors include a Pulitzer Prize, a National Book Award, the Irish Times International Fiction Prize, and a PEN/Faulkner award. Her story “Brokeback Mountain,” which originally appeared in The New Yorker, was made into an Academy Award-winning film. Her most recent book is Fine Just the Way It Is. She lives in Wyoming.
Larry McMurtry is the author of twenty-nine novels, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lonesome Dove, three memoirs, two collections of essays, and more than thirty screenplays. He lives in Archer City, Texas.
Diana Ossana has written two novels, more than a dozen screenplays and numerous essays.
Although she wrote prolifically, most of Proulx's early work was nonfiction. She penned articles on weather, farming, and construction, and contracted for a series of rural "how tos" for magazines like Yankee and Organic Gardening. She also founded the Vershire Behind the Times, a monthly newspaper filled with colorful features and vignettes of small-town Vermont life. All this left little time for fiction, but she averaged a couple of stories a year, nearly all of which were accepted for publication.
Prominent credits in two editions of Best American Short Stories led to the publication in 1988 of Heart Songs and Other Stories, a first collection of Proulx's short fiction. Set in blue-collar New England, these "perfectly pitched stories of mysterious revenges and satisfactions" (the Guardian) received rapturous reviews.
With the encouragement of her publisher, Proulx released her first novel in 1992. The story of a fractured New England farm family, Postcards went on to win the PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction. She scored an even greater success the following year when her darkly comic Newfoundland set piece The Shipping News scooped both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. One year before her 60th birthday, Proulx had become an authentic literary celebrity.
Since then, the author has alternated between short and long fiction, garnering numerous accolades and honors along the way. Giving the lie to the literary adage "write what you know," her curiosity has led her into interesting, unfamiliar territory: Before writing The Shipping News, she made more than seven extended trips to Newfoundland, immersing herself in the culture and speech of its inhabitants; similarly, she weaved staggering amounts of musical arcana into her 1996 novel Accordion Crimes. She is known for her keen powers of observation—passed on, she says, from her mother, an artist and avid naturalist—and for her painstaking research, a holdover from her student days.
In 1994, Proulx left Vermont for the wide open spaces of Wyoming—a move that inspired several memorable short stories, including the O. Henry Award winner "Brokeback Mountain." First published in The New Yorker and included in the 1999 collection Close Range: Wyoming Stories, this tale of a doomed love affair between two Wyoming cowboys captured the public imagination when it was turned into an Oscar-winning 2005 film by director Ang Lee.
Lionized by most critics, Proulx is, nevertheless, not without her detractors. Indeed, her terse prose, eccentric characters, startling descriptions, and stylistic idiosyncrasies (run-on sentences followed by sentence fragments) are not the literary purist's cup of tea. But few writers can match her brilliance at manipulating language, evoking place and landscape, or weaving together an utterly mesmerizing story with style and grace.
Proulx fell in love with Newfoundland while she was conducting research for The Shipping News. She now spends part of each year in northern Newfoundland on a small cove adjacent to L'Anse aux Meadows..
| "Brokeback Mountain," the story | 1 | |
| Brokeback Mountain, the screenplay | 29 | |
| Getting movied | 129 | |
| Adapting Brokeback Mountain | 129 | |
| Climbing Brokeback Mountain | 143 | |
| Cast and crew credits | 153 |
Anonymous
Posted April 18, 2006
I READ THE SHORT STORY ABOUT 3 WEEKS BEFORE THE MOVIE WAS RELEASED, AND I WAS SO MOVED BY THE CHARATERS,SETTING,AND THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF A FORBIDDEN LOVE. ANNIE PROULX HAS WRITTEN A MODERN DAY MASTERPIECE THE SHORT STORY SHOULD BE READ FIRST TO REALLY APPRECIATE THE FILM,BUT IF YOU'VE SEEN THE FILM PLEASE READ TEH STORY I LOVE THEM BOTH, THIS IS A 'TRUE LOVE STORE' REGARDLESS TO THE FACT THAT BOTH CHARATERS ARE MALE! LOVE IS LOVE, GOD BLESS ANNIE PROULX AND ANG LEE (MOVIE DIRECTOR) FOR THEIR CREATIVITY!
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 24, 2006
I think if I had read the actual story and not the movie tie-in I would have felt more connected to the charters. The story is one that I'm sure a lot of people can relate to. I am the mom of a gay man who recently came out to me. Reading this book did give me some insight to what he must have struggled with his whole life. I will definetly see the movie.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 2, 2011
This a short story, 30 pages, not a novel. I hate paying $7.00 for short stories. There was not much depth to the story to justify all the good ratings. They must be writing about the movie and not this story.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted April 7, 2007
I thought the writing was breathtaking, and I saw the movie too. I think the ending was as it is in life sometimes, tragic. My only hope is that some awful right wing nut won't use this story against gay people by saying 'see what happens when you are gay.' I cried while I read part of this story
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 19, 2006
I really wanted to like this book. When I heard about the movie, I thought 'I always like the book better, so I'll read it first'. These characters are not really very likable, and their love is more like lust. Plus, in the movie the characters are played by 2 young, handsome actors. In the book they are scruffy, unkempt, and not all that bright. Oh well. Lots of great books don't appeal to all of us.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 7, 2006
Annie Proulx has created a masterpiece. The love story between Ennis and Jack took hold of the reader's heart and never let go. This tragic story of love and loss is one of the most refreshing and endearing book I've ever read. In the end, you couldn't help but feeling something in you has died just like Ennis and the way he felt. Love is universal. It can be between a man and a woman or between a man and a man. Why do we have to categorize that love should only be between a man and a woman, so typical of our society's norms and cultures. Love is the greatest thing that can happen to a person and when you have that, you hold on to it and never let go. In the end, Ennis will always love Jack. And Jack will always love Ennis. They will always have 'Brokeback Mountain.'
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted November 10, 2005
This is my favorite short story by far. You don't have to be gay to relate to the characters and the setting. To call it a gay cowboy story would be to undervalue it. It's so much more.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 23, 2012
this book to me is about 2 people who fall in love & they happen to be two men..they are not "gay", but the relationship is taboo, so they are not able to be open about their relationship. it sheds new light on same sex relationships.
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Posted May 9, 2012
great
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Posted August 12, 2011
I had no idea this story was so short, however I enjoyed the read as much as the movie!!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This is a short story, from which the movie was made, which tells the story of how two total strangers fall into a gay relationship while isolated from the rest of society. However, once they return to society, their relationship is doomed since only one of the men was truly in love.
It's the typical "forbidden" love vs true love; it's "love against love."
MayaJ
Posted October 6, 2009
Many people have labeled this book and the movie as "the gay cowboy story" but it's nothing like that. I am straight and a teenager, and I love a good film. I was just a little hesitant to see this movie at first but now it is one of my favorite movies and i watch it all the time. The book is amazing as well as the movie. The way the characters are portrayed is breath taking, you get so into it it gives you chills of how real it seems. Overall the book is amazing, the writing and story is superb and the movie is truly deserved the oscars it got, the acting of was very belivable (R.I.P. Heath Ledger you were one of my favs).
5 stars.
sunroom-reader
Posted March 23, 2009
This book was not worth the money. They may have made a block buster movie from it but the book was not written well, the story line was vague, didn't hold any interest.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 27, 2008
Such an amazing story. I can't say that many short stories affect me like this one, or even at all. It really was fantastic and moving. I read it years ago and it stuck with me. I still get that same feeling when I re-read it over again. Annie Proulx is a genius.
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Posted August 12, 2007
Certainly an interesting setting for a story such as this, but I just wasn't inspired by it. This is a case where I think the movie was actually much better than the book. Ironically, even though I didn't really enjoy this story, it seemed to be written true to form, from a man's point of view about men - not a lot of emotion, very sparse description. Of course, I know Annie Proulx is not a man, but I wonder if that's how she intended it to come across. If so, she accomplished that, but I don't think it helped with the telling of the story. I much more enjoyed 'The Shipping News'.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted April 23, 2007
Brokeback Mountain is a story where two guys discover that love is not what they thought. They meet, gain confidence with each other and then fall in love, but one of them (Ennis) is not so sure about what is going on between him and Jack Twist, rejecting him at first. Then, he realizes how much he loves Jack and what he feels for him and they start a lifetime love relationship. Pride and their respective obligations in life separate them for 4 years, until they meet again to make their love save their own lives. They start having trouble with their wives and Ennis with his daughters and money. It gets so hard for both of them, but still deeply lovong each other. Until Jack is murdered. Their love continues in their minds, in their hearts, only. It is indeed a moving story, made me cry though. A movie and a book highly recommended. It makes you appreciate life because if you have been hurt because of love, keep trying because life and God will recompensate you with blessings.
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Posted May 23, 2006
I was so touched and moved by this movie. I am a heterosexual but I know a good movie when I see it. Kudos to Jake and Heath for a very compelling performance. I was moved in ways I could not even begain to describe. This is an example of fine acting, screenwriting, and production. I can't wait to read the book!
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Posted April 14, 2006
To call this a LOVE? story is beyond comprehension. This is not love, maybe lust. It most certainly is about lies, deceipt, mistrust, and child abuse. You have two men who are constantly lying to THEIR families of their whereabouts, and their whatabouts. One of these men constantly seeking LUST with other stray, and possibly STD infected men who then moves these infections around the country and to other families. I know we live in a 'ME' society these days, but the abuse they put upon their children is unforgiveable. These two mens' time together would have been much better spent with raising their children and teaching them the values of honesty and the true meaning of what MARRIAGE means. You CANNOT mentally abuse your wife without mentally abusing your children. If they so needed to be with each other, then come forth and let ALL of your family understand this. 'BE A MAN'
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 9, 2006
this story has got me trapped and I can't stop reading it. I saw the movie and i wanted more, knowing it was a short story before the movie came out, i looked for it...but didnt have time to read it till now. The love story is so great and you can just hear these people saying these things to each other, you can really understand them....to keep it short... read it....it's really great
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Posted February 27, 2006
I haven't read the book yet, but the movie was so moving and enotionally involving. I got really into it and loved every minute of it. I hope to get the book very soon.
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Overview
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. It also won 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 ...