Wordless Wonders

With the success of THERE WILL BE BLOOD and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, CNN's Showbiz blog has an excellent article about scenes which do not use dialogue. It's interesting that so many readers immediately respond with their favorite scenes, yet writers continually use the crutch of wall-to-wall dialogue to explain everything. Cinema is so much more powerful when showing, rather than telling, but insecure filmmakers are afraid audiences will run for the door the minute people stop talking.