Editing Robert Bolt (section)

==Works==

===Plays===
Bolt wrote several plays for [[BBC Radio]] in the 1950s, as well as several unproduced plays. Many of his early radio plays were for children, with few adapted for the stage.

* ''The Last of the Wine'' (1955) – A play showcasing the reactions of ordinary Englishmen to the advent of nuclear armageddon, one of Bolt's pet political issues. One of Bolt's radio plays which Bolt tried to adapt to the stage. However, the play was either never performed or performed a few times and then cancelled. ''Wine'' has never been published or performed since. First broadcast late March or early April 1955 on the BBC Third Programme.<ref>Trewin, J. C. "Critic on the Hearth." ''Listener'' [London, England] 5 August 1954: 224.</ref>
* ''[[Flowering Cherry]]'' (1958) – concerns a middle-aged man, an insurance salesman dissatisfied with his life who retreats into his fantasies of owning a cherry orchard. His erratic behaviour alienates family and friends and threatens his financial ruin. Ran on the West End starring [[Ralph Richardson]] and [[Celia Johnson]] (succeeded by [[Wendy Hiller]]) to success but mixed reviews. Many critics felt it too closely resembled [[Arthur Miller]]'s ''[[Death of a Salesman]]'', and had a brief but unsuccessful run on Broadway starring Hiller and [[Eric Portman]].
* ''[[The Tiger and the Horse]]'' (1960) – is the first of Bolt's plays to develop his themes of individualism, society, authority, and politics. It concerns an ageing college professor, John Dean, who is running for Vice-Chancellor of a prestigious university, but finds his election undermined by his daughter's love affair, a political petition, and his wife's deteriorating mental state. The play starred [[Michael Redgrave|Michael]] and [[Vanessa Redgrave]], among others, and was directed by [[Frith Banbury]].
* ''[[A Man for All Seasons (play)|A Man for All Seasons]]'' (1960) – involves Sir Thomas More's conflict with Henry VIII over the latter's break with the Catholic Church. Adapted from a radio play Bolt had written in 1954, it is generally regarded as Bolt's finest work – and certainly his most successful. The BBC production was reviewed in the ''Listener'' on 5 August 1954. The play develops in full his themes of individuality versus society and authority as corrupt. The strain of [[Brecht]]ianism which would pervade many of his later works is first present here, in the character of the 'Common Man', who both narrates and takes part in the action as various minor characters. The original run starred [[Paul Scofield]] as Thomas More, as well as [[Keith Baxter (actor)|Keith Baxter]] as Henry VIII, [[George Rose (actor)|George Rose]] as the Common Man, [[Leo McKern]] as the Common Man in the West End production and [[Thomas Cromwell]] in the Broadway show (a role originated in London by [[Andrew Keir]] and later taken over by [[Thomas Gomez]]), and [[Albert Dekker]] as the [[Duke of Norfolk]]. It was a huge critical and commercial success on both sides of the Atlantic, has had several revivals, and was made into an equally acclaimed film in 1966.
* ''[[Vivat! Vivat Regina!]]'' (1971) – Bolt's most successful show after ''A Man for All Seasons'', a historical account of the reigns of [[Mary, Queen of Scots]], and [[Elizabeth I]] of England, comparing and contrasting the personalities and reigns of the two female rulers. Highly successful, it ran for several months on Broadway, earning several [[Tony Awards|Tony]] nominations. The original cast included [[Eileen Atkins]] as Elizabeth and Bolt's wife [[Sarah Miles]] as Mary. The play has experienced several revivals, most notably a 1985 [[Off-Broadway]] production starring [[Geraldine Page]] as Elizabeth.
* ''[[State of Revolution]]'' (1977) – An in-depth political depiction of the [[Russian Revolution of 1917]], focusing on [[Vladimir Lenin]] as "a great man possessed by a terrible idea", and the struggles of [[Leon Trotsky]] and [[Joseph Stalin]] to gain power under him. It is told from the point of view of [[Anatoly Lunacharsky|Lunacharsky]], Lenin's Minister of Education. The original cast included [[Michael Bryant (actor)|Michael Bryant]] as Lenin, [[Terence Rigby]] as Stalin, [[Brian Blessed]] as [[Maxim Gorky]] and [[Michael Kitchen]] as Trotsky. Though meticulously researched, the play received mixed reviews. Bolt himself felt that he had not written the play as well as he might have done.

===Screenplays===
Bolt may be best remembered for his work on film and television screenplays. His work for director [[David Lean]] garnered him particular acclaim and recognition, and Bolt tried his hand at directing with the unsuccessful ''[[Lady Caroline Lamb (film)|Lady Caroline Lamb]]'' (1972). While some criticised Bolt for focusing more on the personal aspects of his protagonists than the broader political context (particularly with ''Lawrence of Arabia'' and ''A Man for All Seasons''), most critics and audiences alike praised his screenplays. Bolt won two [[Academy Awards|Oscars]], two [[BAFTA Awards]] and won or was nominated for several others.

* ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'' (with [[Michael Wilson (writer)|Michael Wilson]]) (1962) – despite disputes between Wilson and Bolt over who contributed what to the script, Bolt provided most of the film's dialogue and the interpretation of the characters while Wilson provided the characters and scenes in an initial draft screenplay. Wilson was uncredited at the time of the film's release, and Bolt alone was nominated for, but did not win, an Academy Award. Bolt and Lean refused to recognise Wilson's contribution to the film, and Wilson was not credited until 1995.
* ''[[Doctor Zhivago (film)|Doctor Zhivago]]'' (1965) – Bolt won an Oscar for [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]]
* ''[[A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)|A Man for All Seasons]]'' (1966) – Bolt won the Oscar again, adapting his own play to the screen.
* ''[[The Red Tent (film)|The Red Tent]]'' (1969) (uncredited additional dialogue)
* ''[[Ryan's Daughter]]'' (1970)
* ''[[Lady Caroline Lamb (film)|Lady Caroline Lamb]]'' (1972) (also directed)
* ''[[The Bounty (1984 film)|The Bounty]]'' (1984)
* ''[[The Mission (1986 film)|The Mission]]'' (1986) (originally published as a novel)
* ''[[A Man for All Seasons (1988 film)|A Man for All Seasons]]'' (1988)
* ''[[A Dry White Season]]'' (1989) (uncredited revisions of screenplay)
* ''[[Without Warning: The James Brady Story]]'' (1991) (TV)

Bolt also had several unrealised projects, including a TV miniseries adaptation of [[Gore Vidal]]'s novel ''[[Burr (novel)|Burr]]''; a film adaptation of [[Madeleine L'Engle]]'s novel ''[[A Wrinkle in Time]]'' for [[Norman Lear]];<ref>{{cite web|last1=Marcus|first1=Leonard S.|title=Listening for Madeleine (Excerpt)|url=http://www.tor.com/2012/11/29/listening-for-madeleine-excerpt/|website=TOR.com|date=29 November 2012 |publisher=TOR|access-date=8 November 2016}}</ref> a script inspired by the [[Patty Hearst#Kidnapping|Patty Hearst kidnapping]] called ''The Cover-Up'' with [[Oliver Stone]];<ref>{{cite web|last=Seitz|first=Matt Zoller|url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/99568-seizure-midnight-express-and-platoon-an-excerpt-from-the-oliver-stone-experience/|title=Seizure, Midnight Express and Platoon: An Excerpt from The Oliver Stone Experience|work=[[Filmmaker (magazine)|Filmmaker]]|date=30 August 2016|access-date=3 September 2023}}</ref> a film adaptation of [[Robert Littell (author)|Robert Littell]]'s novel ''The October Circle'' for [[Hugh Hudson]];<ref>{{cite web|last=Brown|first=Tim|url=https://cris.brighton.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/501886/Not-Showing-At-This-Cinema.pdf|title=NOT SHOWING AT THIS CINEMA|website=University of Brighton|publisher=Cinecity|year=2015}}</ref> a script about Irish patriot [[Michael Collins (Irish leader)|Michael Collins]] called ''[[Blest Souls]]'' with [[Michael Cimino]]; original screenplays about [[Galileo Galilei]] and explorers [[Robert Falcon Scott|Scott]] and [[Roald Amundsen|Amundsen]];<ref name="LA Times"/> a film adaptation of [[André Malraux]]'s novel ''[[Man's Fate]]'' also with Cimino;<ref>{{cite web|last=Regnier|first=Isabelle|url=http://fr.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/877737/michael-cimino-reve-dadapter-la-condition-humaine-dandre|title=Michael Cimino rêve d'adapter " La Condition Humaine " d'André Malraux|website=Blouin Artinfo|date=12 March 2013|access-date=25 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130713034724/http://fr.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/877737/michael-cimino-reve-dadapter-la-condition-humaine-dandre|archive-date=13 July 2013}}</ref> and a script about the life of [[The Buddha|Siddhartha]] called ''Buddha'' for [[Ron Fricke]].<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Variety Staff|url=https://variety.com/1995/film/features/future-films-8-99127566/|title=FUTURE FILMS|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=15 May 1995|access-date=30 November 2023|quote=BUDDHA (Waco Prods.) Fall 1995. Jason Scott Lee PROD, David Field, Lisa Iannini, Steven Ho; DR, Ron Fricke; SCR, Robert Bolt; CAM, Chanwei Gu.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Kay|first=Jeremy|url=https://www.screendaily.com/frickes-buddha-movie-to-shoot-in-cambodia-thailand-india/4022796.article|title=Fricke's Buddha movie to shoot in Cambodia, Thailand, India|website=ScreenDaily|date=27 April 2005|access-date=2 December 2023}}</ref> Additionally, Bolt was briefly attached as writer for ''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]'' and [[David Lean]]'s unmade film version of [[Joseph Conrad]]'s ''[[Nostromo]]'', before he was replaced on both.<ref name="LA Times"/>

After being paid $US400,000 plus ten per cent of profits for his ''Ryan's Daughter'' screenplay, Bolt became, for a time, the highest-paid screenwriter in Hollywood.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}