Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful resource that teaches by example not just theory
Review: A clever book that dissects the scripts to twenty-five popular or classic films. Unlike other screenwriting books that teach theory in a strictly generic fashion, Pope teaches by EXAMPLE. He systematically breaks down each script showing exactly why it works, or why it doesn't. A valuable aid that I only wish was in print when I was in film school.
Rating: 
Summary: Not what I expected
Review: I found this book pretty dull. Even when skimming or jumping around to different sections, I couldn't get into a groove. Maybe I didn't like it because I pictured it being something else.Later, I read "How Not to Write a Screenplay: 101 Common Mistakes Most Screenwriters Make" by Flinn and found that to be the book I was looking for.
Rating: 
Summary: A waste of time and money
Review: I ordered this book in the hope I would gain much needed information on the craft of screenwriting. Instead I got a poorly written, slapdash effort with little insight and virtually no useful information. It reads like the work of a bitter, failed screenwriter, which, according to his bio, the author is. There are many better books in the marketplace.
Rating:
Summary: This book is not what it is made out to be
Review: I was dissapointed with the context of this book. I could have gotten the same information about screenwriting from reading the local newspaper movie reviews. That is basically what this book comes down to. Some of the information could be used in fine tuning your screenplay, but you could get the same results by having a friends read your work and giving advice. There are better books out there.
Rating: 
Summary: Populist Fare
Review: If you're an aspiring screenwriter looking to inspire some form of logic to your budding script, pick up a copy of Thomas Pope's "Good Scripts, Bad Scripts". Mr. Pope's critiques and breaking down of popular films in various genres are so meticulous and well studied that you will never look at films such as Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction the same way again.
I'm curious, though. How would Mr. Pope have judged more complex fare like David Lynch's "Eraserhead," or formalist exercises such as Gus Van Sant's "Elephant," or surreal genres such as Luis Buñuel's "Un Chien Andalou," or films within a film such as Jim Jarmusch's "Coffee and Cigarettes," or structureless essays like practically anything by Jean-Luc Godard?
Looking through Pope's 25 selections, there is not one avant-garde representation. The films may have been avant-garde in the way they were conceived ("Singing' in the Rain" being a fine example) but the end products are, by and large, mainstream entertainment.
It's ironic that Thomas Pope's best point in his book was in the preface: "There are no rules. In fact, that may be the single most important idea to come from this entire book." I agree 100%.
That said, I would still recommend "Good Scripts, Bad Scripts" even to those who are stubbornly resistant to traditional narrative structure, because you can choose to adopt, challenge or disregard most of the formulas and conventions that are laid out in his thoughtful book. Either way, you can't go wrong.
By the way, I disagree with Mr. Pope that "Singing' in the Rain" is the finest musical ever made. I believe that honour belongs to "West Side Story."
Rating:
Summary: A book that tackles the tough stuff
Review: If you're looking for a book that lays out a mechanical blueprint for a screenplay, this book isn't for you. Yes, Pope is knowledgable about the sort of structural issues that every screenwriter should know in his or her sleep, but what he's really trying to do in this book is address the fuzzy, hard-to-put-your-finger-on problems that keep a screenplay from really working. I applaud him for this. Haven't we all seen movies that have a seemingly solid script -- with clear reversals, character development, well-situated plot points, a discernible three-act structure, etc. -- that still somehow fall flat? What is the mysterious X factor that this sort of movie is missing that we can't quite define? This is the problem that Pope tries to shed some light on. Actually, there are few "bad" scripts in this book, despite the title. Pope instead analyzes a lot of OK screenplays that could've been great if only a couple of script elements had been juggled about or refocused. This is incredibly helpful. In almost every example, I could see how the script in question could've really improved with just a few judicious tweaks. Pope shows me things in these movies that I hadn't seen just by watching them. (He even demonstrates how what seems to be a badly written script can create magic on screen -- for instance, Pope shows how "The Day of the Jackal" appears to break so many rules yet actually ends up being a very engrossing film.) Along with discussions of these "bad" scripts are breakdowns of very good scripts that are just as helpful. A couple of reviewers here have said that Pope's book only provides what a movie review or a post-viewing discussion with a friend could deliver just as well. First, I've never read a critic who spends as much time on deep-structure issues in a review as Pope does in his mini-essays. (OK, maybe Kael and Thomson, but that's about it.) Second, if you have a friend who can dissect the less-obvious failures of a script as well as Pope can, well, consider yourself seriously lucky. For those of us without such a friend, Pope's book is a godsend. It delivers its insights in such a conversational way that it's easy to miss how precise some of them are. No single book can teach all there is to screenwriting. It's still an art rather than a science (at least I hope it is). The best approach is to pick a handful of guides in order to gain differing viewpoints. After all, the more arrows you have in your quiver, the better. I'd recommend making Pope's book a companion volume to, say, Syd Field's "Screenplay," Denny Martin Flinn's "How Not to Write a Screenplay," Michael Hauge's "Writing Screenplays That Sell" or Robert McKee's "Story." None of these books supply all the answers on their own -- you can't really expect them to -- but together as a group they come pretty close. Good luck, folks. Work hard and write something beautiful. I know I'll be first in line at the cinema if you do.
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Summary: TRASH! THIS IS WHAT BINS WERE MADE FOR...
Review: Look, let's face it, your hardly going to become the worlds greatest screenwriter by reading this. So...don't.
Rating:
Summary: A unique approach to screenwriting instruction
Review: Most teachers of the craft of screenwriting only analyze well-written screenplays. However, we learn from failure, not repeated success. Mr. Pope's book was obviously written with this in mind. He shows how bad screenplays failed and how some good screenplays avoided failure. Although he could've gone into more depth, this is still a valuable book for movie fans and aspiring screenwriters.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant Script Analysis
Review: The authors really know their stuff in this well-written and very informative book. (Those reviewers who didn't find what they were looking for -- or felt the book didn't live up to its promise -- are clearly oblivious to what works and what doesn't work in film.)I learned something new on practically every page. I wish they had analyzed twice as many films, and I'd buy a sequel the minute it came out. My only quibble is that there was no comparison of the script as written with the actual film. Scripts change between the time they're bought and when the final production edit is made. It would be interesting to know which bits were from the original script and which bits were added or changed on the fly: practical considerations during filming might have meant a damaging change to the script during filming. Or maybe that's another book, entirely.
Rating:
Summary: Use it!
Review: This book is not mere film reviews; it isolates and defines those characteristics that make a film work or not work. Thus, any aspiring screenwriter should use it to their advantage. One of the best I've read, (and I've read most of them) it helped me write and sell my first feature script. A friend "borrowed" my copy. I'm buying another. First rate!
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