FLASH FRIDAY: David Mamet's Many Movie Masterpieces - GLENGARRY To SPECTOR & A Look Ahead To SPEED-THE-PLOW

Today we are celebrating the many cinematic showcases for Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and director David Mamet.

ABC

"Always Be Closing." The iconic line of dialogue from multi-award-winning playwright and director David Mamet's notable GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS is expertly delivered by Alec Baldwin in a speech specially penned for the film adaptation of his scorching Pulitzer Prize-winning salesman examination GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS and acts as an ideal example of the type of simple, blunt, terse, tight, witty, overtly philosophically poetic brilliance Mamet brings to all of his projects, particularly the ones that have arrived on the silver screen thus far in his career. Although some of Mamet's movies have been met with derision, his piquant ear for dialogue is unmistakable and his masterpieces are undeniably notable and powerful - films such as Brian De Palma's THE UNTOUCHABLES, Sidney Lumet's THE VERDICT and Bob Rafelson's THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE among them, not to mention his Academy Award-nominated work on Barry Levinson's hit eternally prescient political satire WAG THE DOG. Indeed, Mamet has explored the vast vicissitudes of genre, having contributed to the scripts of romances, dramas and action films, as listed above, not to mention the many stage-to-screen iterations of his own theatre work - besides the star-studded GLENGARRY, there is also the sexual politics piece OLEANNA, relationship-themed SEXUAL PERVERSITY IN CHICAGO (remade as 80s ABOUT LAST NIGHT...), dark and brooding EDMOND, pseudo-memory play AMERICAN BUFFALO, Chekov-checkered documentary VANYA ON 42ND STREET, plus THE WINSLOW BOY and more.

Of course, Mamet has contributed considerably to the cinematic lexicon with his many original screenplays written either solely or with the collaboration and/or rewrites of other screenwriters, as is par for the course in Hollywood - Thomas Harris's SILENCE OF THE LAMBS sequel HANNIBAL, Alec Baldwin/Anthony Hopkins starrer THE EDGE, historically-based HOFFA, action-packed Robert De Niro tent-pole action film RONIN, politically-charged HBO film LANSKY, recent HBO biopic SPECTOR based on the murder trial of famed record producer Phil Spector with Al Pacino in the eponymous role and others. Running the gamut, Mamet is certainly a man nearly impossible to pin down or box in to just one specific style.

Yet, the director in Mamet seems to get the very best out of the playwright - his original films are solid proof of that. From the Gene Hackman nail-biter HEIST to the martial arts-centric REDBELT to the endearing ensemble comedy STATE & MAIN to the twists and turns of HOUSE OF GAMES and the intrigue of HOMICIDE as well as the absorbing and affecting caper film SPARTAN, Mamet has more than merely proven himself as a director of major import. Unquestionably, his achievements on celluloid are, in a word, astounding - as is his theatre work. A true jack of all trades, Mamet has made many marvelous movies and the future looks bright for him to continue exploring the opportunities afforded by the medium - who knows, perhaps a film version of his rarely-produced Randy Newman musical collaboration FAUST could crop up some decade given its sold-out concert presentation in recent years; or, maybe even his long in-development musical penned especially for frequent collaborator and friend Patti LuPone. Anything can happen.

Mamet is, as they say, always closing some deal or another, it seems; this week's news of a big screen version of his rat-a-tat-tat 80s stage hit SPEED-THE-PLOW proof positive of that.

The F-Word

So, now, let's take a look at some of the cinematic highlights from the career of David Mamet.

First up, GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS - ABCs of Mamet must begin here.



And, a look at THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE.



Next, THE VERDICT was an early-career earning Paul Newman an Oscar.



Now, take a peek at modern classic THE UNTOUCHABLES.



AMERICAN BUFFALO was a successful translation of the stage play.



Don't miss Jack Nicholson as Jimmy Hoffa in HOFFA.



Bear in mind, the stakes are dangerously high in THE EDGE.



Check out Mamet's first feature as writer/director, HOUSE OF GAMES.



Here is a taste of HEIST. Or, in Mamet-ese: You're welcome.



A look at THE SPANISH PRISONER, with wife Rebecca Pidgeon.



An outright comedy, WE'RE NO ANGELS paired De Niro and Penn.



Plus, WAG THE DOG, too, showcased Mamet's ear for comedy.



STATE & MAIN finds an all-star cast in a delectable Mamet movie comedy.



OLEANNA expertly explores the relationship between teacher and student.



EDMOND is another William H. Macy vehicle that awes and stuns.



RONIN brings Mamet firmly into the action fold.



REDBELT proves Mamet can make a sports-themed film with flair.



HANNIBAL contains some deliciously Mamet-ian exchanges, too.



Mamet and HBO teamed for the Richard Dreyfuss-led LANSKY.



Lastly, SPECTOR found Mamet working with Hollywood's best on HBO.



So, what is your absolute favorite screen adaptation of a David Mamet play? Also, what about your ideal original film that he has penned the script for and/or directed himself? With so many wildly different choices and the multitudes of styles and themes to his Hollywood work, we can anticipate SPEED-THE-PLOW living up to its lofty promise if the man behind the mellifluous dialogue has anything to say about it - or write; or direct; or... both. He certainly puts the B in ABC. And adds and F.