The "F" Word: The All-Time Profanity List

6. Glengarry Glen Ross

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbcfyLfPdlc Writer David Mamet has always used vulgarity to the fullest extent in his plays and screenplays, none more celebrated than Glengarry Glen Ross. Over the years, while establishing himself as one of the premier writers working, Mamet's writing began to take on a life of its own. Mametspeak began to develop, defined as rapid fire dialogue between characters overlapping in clusters with a good helping of profanity to make it music to the ears for some. When Mamet adapted his own Pulitzer Prize winning play into a 1992 film there was little doubt he wouldn't clean up much of the original foul mouthed dialogue for the censors. As a matter of fact, Mamet wrote the now infamous expletive laden "ABC" speech given by Alec Baldwin specifically for the film. Glengarry Glen Ross, featuring a heavyweight cast of rich performances from the likes of Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris and Kevin Spacey is a marvel to watch, and the nobility of the language is what makes this film so revered. The F-bomb is dropped 138 times, about average for typical Mametspeak, but the way the words come out of the actor's mouths make for quite an exercise in profanity and a rare pleasure to listen to.
 
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Contributor

Kyle Hytonen is a film school grad, an independent film-maker, photographer and sleeper-inner.