sample movie synopsis

Henry VI, Part III
All My Sons (Play)

After being kidnapped, Sean is held in a basement. There are not one but five kidnappers, all working together—led by violent police detective JIMMY SHAKER, who resents rich men like Tom who can buy their way out of trouble and are oblivious to the hardships of those around them. Shaker tells his conspirators that the boy will be killed once the ransom is given. Shaker anonymously calls Tom and arranges a dropoff. Tom follows all directions and hands the $2 million to one of Shaker’s henchmen. When Tom demands his son in return, the henchman is confused. The henchman flees, but police swarm the area. Gunshots are traded, and the henchman is killed.
News of the shooting/ransom appears all over the NYC media, adding to Tom’s problems. Shaker sets up another drop, but Tom surprises everyone by appearing on live TV and saying he will pay no ransom. Instead, he offers the $2 million as a bounty on the kidnapper’s head. He says if Sean is released, he will press no charges. The bold move is met by disapproval by the media, the FBI, and most especially Kate, who screams at her husband to take back the bounty and pay the ransom. Tom explains that he would pay any amount of money if he really thought Sean would truly be returned, but he believes the kidnappers have no intention of giving Sean back; therefore, a bounty is his best option. Kate is unconvinced.

Writers hate writing synopses. Some find the idea of a synopsis daunting because they have spent the last two years writing a book. Others find the idea distasteful because it is less about the art of writing and more about the business of writing.
Hope is puzzled by Chance’s nature. He seems compelled to care. He dotes over his sickly sister, Lilith, who never fully recovered from a childhood rattlesnake attack and is now homebound with prolonged bouts of Cotard’s syndrome, an illness where sufferers actually believe that they are dead. Hope suspects that Chance sees her just as fragile and in need of protection as Lilith. Eventually, care turns to love and Chance proposes marriage. For Hope, who has been a hired gun since she was 10, this is intolerable. Hope steals Chance’s favorite horse and returns to her rebel life on the lam.

• Write what we can see (apart from a couple of exceptions if needed.)
(Do yourself a favor by avoiding lengthy movies like The Godfather or The Lord of the Rings.)

People use these all over the industry. On your first day as an intern, you might be asked to write four or five of them. So get good at it quickly!
What about this one from Ransom provided by Writer’s Digest?

References:

http://www.writersdigest.com/publishing-insights/synopsis-example-ransom-thriller
http://www.scribendi.com/advice/synopsis_example.en.html
http://www.scriptreaderpro.com/how-to-write-a-synopsis/
http://nofilmschool.com/how-to-write-a-movie-synopsis
http://sites.google.com/a/scasd.org/science-olympiad/overview/writeitdoit