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101 Top Screenplays
	Topic by: JGereben Posted: April 7, 2006 - 10:37 PM PDT Last Reply: November 10, 2006 - 2:41 PM PST

author	topic: 101 Top Screenplays
JGereben	post #1  on April 7, 2006 - 10:37 PM PDT   http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1684 101 Greatest Screenplays + "Find the MacGuffin" and "Top 10 Trivia" The Godfather, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Chinatown, Schindler's List - the greatest films of all time have one thing in common: each began as the vision of writer. Long before the parts were cast and the cameras rolled, a writer gazed upon a blank page and set in motion a classic story. For the first time ever, the Writers Guild of America, west (WGAw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) are celebrating the best screenwriters and their timeless works with the release of the 101 Greatest Screenplays list. 101 Greatest Screenplays compiles the finest achievements in film writing, as voted upon by professional film and television writers. In the summer of 2005, ballots were sent out asking WGA members to list up to ten of their favorite produced screenplays. Any film, past or present, English-language or otherwise, was eligible. The resulting list is like a travelogue of the greatest films of the century, with all decades from the 1930s on represented among the rankings. Like a composer of a classic symphony or an author of a beloved novel, the most memorable and moving pictures would not exist without their principal architect: the screenwriter. Too often classic films are linked only to their stars or directors, overlooking the original artists who first put pen to paper - or more recently keyboard to laptop - to create the kind of enduring works that have entertained and inspired generations of movie-going audiences around globe. 101 Greatest Screenplays will finally set the record straight [good luck with that! JG] by celebrating the best in film writing and bringing recognition to the wizards behind the curtain: the men and women who wrote the greatest films of all time. And now, on with the list... 1. CASABLANCA Screenplay by Julius J. & Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch. Based on the play "Everybody Comes to Rick's" by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1906 2. THE GODFATHER Screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola. Based on the novel by Mario Puzo http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1910 3. CHINATOWN Written by Robert Towne http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1907 4. CITIZEN KANE Written by Herman Mankiewicz and Orson Welles http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1908 5. ALL ABOUT EVE Screenplay by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Based on "The Wisdom of Eve," a short story and radio play by Mary Orr http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1870 6. ANNIE HALL Written by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1905 7. SUNSET BLVD. Written by Charles Brackett & Billy Wilder and D.M. Marshman, Jr. http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1914 8. NETWORK Written by Paddy Chayefsky http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1914 9. SOME LIKE IT HOT Screenplay by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond. Based on "Fanfare of Love," a German film written by Robert Thoeren and M. Logan FACTS ABOUT THE FILM http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1912 10. THE GODFATHER II Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo. Based on Mario Puzo's novel "The Godfather" http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1909 11. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID Written by William Goldman 12. DR. STRANGELOVE Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick and Peter George and Terry Southern. Based on novel "Red Alert" by Peter George 13. THE GRADUATE Screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry. Based on the novel by Charles Webb 14. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA Screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. Based on the life and writings of Col. T.E. Lawrence 15. THE APARTMENT Written by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond 16. PULP FICTION Written by Quentin Tarantino. Stories by Quentin Tarantino & Roger Avary 17. TOOTSIE Screenplay by Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal. Story by Don McGuire and Larry Gelbart 18. ON THE WATERFRONT Screen Story and Screenplay by Budd Schulberg. Based on "Crime on the Waterfront" articles by Malcolm Johnson 19. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Screenplay by Horton Foote. Based on the novel by Harper Lee 20. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE Screenplay by Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett & Frank Capra. Based on short story "The Greatest Gift" by Philip Van Doren Stern. Contributions to screenplay Michael Wilson and Jo Swerling 21. NORTH BY NORTHWEST Written by Ernest Lehman 22. THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION Screenplay by Frank Darabont. Based on the short story "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" by Stephen King 23. GONE WITH THE WIND Screenplay by Sidney Howard. Based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell 24. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman. Story by Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry & Pierre Bismuth 25. THE WIZARD OF OZ Screenplay by Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf Adaptation by Noel Langley. Based on the novel by L. Frank Baum 26. DOUBLE INDEMNITY Screenplay by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler. Based on the novel by James M. Cain 27. GROUNDHOG DAY Screenplay by Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis. Story by Danny Rubin 28. SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE Written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard 29. SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS Written by Preston Sturges 30. UNFORGIVEN Written by David Webb Peoples 31. HIS GIRL FRIDAY Screenplay by Charles Lederer. Based on the play "The Front Page" by Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur 32. FARGO Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen 33. THE THIRD MAN Screenplay by Graham Greene. Story by Graham Greene. Based on the short story by Graham Greene 34. THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS Screenplay by Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman. From a novelette by Ernest Lehman 35. THE USUAL SUSPECTS Written by Christopher McQuarrie 36. MIDNIGHT COWBOY Screenplay by Waldo Salt. Based on the novel by James Leo Herlihy 37. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY Screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart. Based on the play by Philip Barry 38. AMERICAN BEAUTY Written by Alan Ball 39. THE STING Written by David S. Ward 40. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY Written by Nora Ephron 41. GOODFELLAS Screenplay by Nicholas Pileggi & Martin Scorsese. Based on book "Wise Guy" by Nicholas Pileggi 42. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK Screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan. Story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman 43. TAXI DRIVER Written by Paul Schrader 44. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES Screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood. Based on novel "Glory For Me" by MacKinley Kantor 45. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST Screenplay by Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman. Based on the novel by Ken Kesey 46. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE Screenplay by John Huston. Based on the novel by B. Traven 47. THE MALTESE FALCON Screenplay by John Huston. Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett 48. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI Screenplay by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson. Based on the novel by Pierre Boulle 49. SCHINDLER'S LIST Screenplay by Steven Zaillian. Based on the novel by Thomas Keneally 50. THE SIXTH SENSE Written by M. Night Shyamalan 51. BROADCAST NEWS Written by James L. Brooks 52. THE LADY EVE Screenplay by Preston Sturges. Story by Monckton Hoffe 53. ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN Screenplay by William Goldman. Based on the book by Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward 54. MANHATTAN Written by Woody Allen & Marshall Brickman 55. APOCALYPSE NOW Written by John Milius and Francis Coppola. Narration by Michael Herr 56. BACK TO THE FUTURE Written by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale 57. CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS Written by Woody Allen 58. ORDINARY PEOPLE Screenplay by Alvin Sargent. Based on the novel by Judith Guest 59. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT Screenplay by Robert Riskin. Based on the story "Night Bus" by Samuel Hopkins Adams 60. L.A. CONFIDENTIAL Screenplay by Brian Helgeland & Curtis Hanson. Based on the novel by James Ellroy 61. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS Screenplay by Ted Tally. Based on the novel by Thomas Harris 62. MOONSTRUCK Written by John Patrick Shanley 63. JAWS Screenplay by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb. Based on the novel by Peter Benchley 64. TERMS OF ENDEARMENT Screenplay by James L. Brooks. Based on the novel by Larry McMurtry 65. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN Screen Story and Screenplay by Betty Comden & Adolph Green. Based on the song by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown 66. JERRY MAGUIRE Written by Cameron Crowe 67. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL Written by Melissa Mathison 68. STAR WARS Written by George Lucasn 69. DOG DAY AFTERNOON Screenplay by Frank Pierson. Based on a magazine article by P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore 70. THE AFRICAN QUEEN Screenplay by James Agee and John Huston. Based on the novel by C.S. Forester 71. THE LION IN WINTER Screenplay by James Goldman. Based on the play by James Goldman 72. THELMA & LOUISE Written by Callie Khouri 73. AMADEUS Screenplay by Peter Shaffer. Based on his play 74. BEING JOHN MALKOVICH Written by Charlie Kaufman 75. HIGH NOON Screenplay by Carl Foreman. Based on short story "The Tin Star" by John W. Cunningham 76. RAGING BULL Screenplay by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin. Based on the book by Jake La Motta with Joseph Carter and Peter Savage 77. ADAPTATION Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman. Based on the book "The Orchid Thief" by Susan Orlean 78. ROCKY Written by Sylvester Stallone 79. THE PRODUCERS Written by Mel Brooks 80. WITNESS Screenplay by Earl W. Wallace & William Kelley. Story by William Kelley and Pamela Wallace & Earl W. Wallace 81. BEING THERE Screenplay by Jerzy Kosinski. Inspired by the novel by Jerzy Kosinski 82. COOL HAND LUKE Screenplay by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson. Based on the novel by Donn Pearce 83. REAR WINDOW Screenplay by John Michael Hayes. Based on the short story by Cornell Woolrich 84. THE PRINCESS BRIDE Screenplay by William Goldman. Based on his novel 85. LA GRANDE ILLUSION Written by Jean Renoir and Charles Spaak 86. HAROLD & MAUDE Written by Colin Higgins 87. 8 1/2 Screenplay by Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, Brunello Rond. Story by Fellini, Flaiano 88. FIELD OF DREAMS Screenplay by Phil Alden Robinson. Based on the book by W.P. Kinsella 89. FORREST GUMP Screenplay by Eric Roth. Based on the novel by Winston Groom 90. SIDEWAYS Screenplay by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor. Based on the novel by Rex Pickett 91. THE VERDICT Screenplay by David Mamet. Based on the novel by Barry Reed 92. PSYCHO Screenplay by Joseph Stefano. Based on the novel by Robert Bloch 93. DO THE RIGHT THING Written by Spike Lee 94. PATTON Screen Story and Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North. Based on "A Soldier's Story" by Omar H. Bradley and "Patton: Ordeal and Triumph" by Ladislas Farago 95. HANNAH AND HER SISTERS Written by Woody Allen 96. THE HUSTLER Screenplay by Sidney Carroll & Robert Rossen. Based on the novel by Walter Tevis 97. THE SEARCHERS Screenplay by Frank S. Nugent. Based on the novel by Alan Le May 98. THE GRAPES OF WRATH Screenplay by Nunnally Johnson. Based on the novel by John Steinbeck 99. THE WILD BUNCH Screenplay by Walon Green and Sam Peckinpah. Story by Walon Green and Roy Sickner 100. MEMENTO Screenplay by Christopher Nolan. Based on the short story "Memento Mori" by Jonathan Nolan 101. NOTORIOUS Written by Ben Hecht FIND THE MACGUFFIN! Test your knowledge of the 101 Greatest Screenplays. http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1865 TOP 10 TRIVIA Read fun facts about the Top 10 Screenplays of all-time. http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1807 ~~~~~ Janos Gereben/SF www.sfcv.org janosG@Gmail.com
hamano	post #2  on April 8, 2006 - 4:39 AM PDT   Wow, Woody Allen is in there 4 times! I can't really believe the line, "Any film, past or present, English-language or otherwise, was eligible. The resulting list is like a travelogue of the greatest films of the century" though... There's only one foreign language film there that I can see, and it's La Grande Illusion, way down at #85... No way! Why didn't they just leave that film out and call the list the 99 top English Screenplays? That would have been more honest. Why on earth wouldn't there be a Hayao Miyazaki film in there, let alone one by Kurosawa or Ozu? And nothing from Italy, Sweden or Germany? And where the heck is The Gods Must be Crazy??? ^_^
hamano	post #3  on April 8, 2006 - 4:52 AM PDT   > On April 8, 2006 - 4:39 AM PDT hamano wrote: > --------------------------------- > And nothing from Italy, Sweden or Germany? Oops! There's OTTO E MEZZO all the way down at #87. So that takes care of Italy? Weird considering that Fellini is probably the least screenplay-dependent great Italian director. If they really wanted to gain cred by throwning in a Fellini film they shoulda picked La Strada or something. But really they should have picked The Bicycle Thief or a script from a Bertolucci or an Antonioni film... Surely they could have included The Seventh Seal or something else by Bergman... I'm sure Woody Allen wouldn't have minded giving up one of his spots for Bergman! A bad list like this might have the unintentional effect of pointing out how little effect a screenplay might have in defining a film as "great"...
Eoliano	post #4  on April 8, 2006 - 9:52 AM PDT   > No way! Why didn't they just leave that film out and call the list the 99 top English Screenplays? Agree entirely, hamano. Pfft!
woozy	post #5  on April 8, 2006 - 12:36 PM PDT   > On April 8, 2006 - 9:52 AM PDT Eoliano wrote: > --------------------------------- > > No way! Why didn't they just leave that film out and call the list the 99 top English Screenplays? > > Agree entirely, hamano. Pfft! > --------------------------------- Yeah, me too. The top ten are pretty straightforward and standard (although I don't think Annie Hall or Godfather II deserve top ten) but after that it seems utterly arbitrary. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"? Not a bad film and I guess not a bad screenplay but in the top 25? And what the heck is "Adaptation" doing in there at all?
hamano	post #6  on April 8, 2006 - 12:59 PM PDT   > On April 8, 2006 - 9:52 AM PDT Eoliano wrote: > --------------------------------- > Agree entirely, hamano. Hee hee, a fellow Gods Must Be Crazy fan! It's rainy here in MD but I've got my baby kettle grill out on the front stoop/porch and I'm roasting an eggplant for Baba ganouj... whatcha cookin up in CA?
Eoliano	post #7  on April 8, 2006 - 5:18 PM PDT   > It's rainy here in MD but I've got my baby kettle grill out on the front stoop/porch and I'm roasting an eggplant for Baba ganouj... whatcha cookin up in CA? Oh no! The baby is on the kettle grill! Here in the desert the sun is shining and as the season progresses the temperature rises but it's still quite pleasant. Tonight it's a simple meal as am by myself again & just washed some rice so it's either gonna be oyakodon or unagi donburi, but should really be the latter 'cause I'm supposed to be watching the calories...
Eoliano	post #8  on April 8, 2006 - 5:23 PM PDT   Oh, and I forgot to say that I'm getting weary of lists. "Guild members are either xenophobes or completely ignorant of foreign language films and might just as well have omitted Grand Illusion and 8 1/2 and called their list The 100 Greatest English Language Screenplays."
underdog	post #9  on April 9, 2006 - 2:19 PM PDT   I actually liked Eternal Sunshine being on the list (but agree it's ranked too high - though these rankings always seem so arbitrary), and also agree that Adaptation doesn't belong on it, either. Was glad Groundhog Day made it, and Sideways (though I prefer the script for Election). And of course it's hard to argue with Network. So, many worthy films, but yes, many notable omissions. And definitely a decidedly overly American bent here. No Bergman scripts? No Kurosawa films? Or Asia in general? German cinema? How did Star Wars make this list? Not that the first one doesn't feature the best script of all those movies (though some could argue for the second) but seems a little out of place, still. So it looks really good as a Best American Screenplay list but as a world list it's pretty dubious. Aren't lists created to start arguments and get people thinking about what they'd put on it? Seems that if nothing else, this gives them a valuable - as long as people don't take them completely seriously.
underdog	post #10  on April 9, 2006 - 2:24 PM PDT   Gives them a value, rather. Btw, I'd have put PT Anderson on the list (Boogie Nights, Magnolia) or Wes A's Rushmore. Oh, we could go on and on...
hamano	post #11  on April 9, 2006 - 4:07 PM PDT   > On April 9, 2006 - 2:19 PM PDT underdog wrote: > --------------------------------- > Aren't lists created to start arguments and get people thinking about what they'd put on it? Of course, but a list of the "98 Best English Language Screenplays" would still have generated a good discussion, minus the arbitrary pair of foreign films. To explicitly say this list was open to "any film, past or present, English-language or otherwise" just sounds ridiculous and casts doubt on the integrity of the folks who put the list together. We don't want the discussion to be about THAT, do we? Or maybe this is just their way to guarantee a little "controversial" buzz about the whole endeavor... that just seems like a craven attempt to attract attention. What did you think of this list, Janos? You posted it... do you agree with it?
woozy	post #12  on April 9, 2006 - 5:02 PM PDT   > How did Star Wars make this list? Not that the first one doesn't feature the best script of all those movies (though some could argue for the second) but seems a little out of place, still. > Making a list based on screenplay would imploy that it is the script and storyboard that is good about the movie and I'd rule out all the Star Wars movies that of all the virtue and enjoyment they arguable contain, a well constructed screen-play is not high up there. I liked Eternal Sunlight and even more so Being John Malkovitch (Human Nature isn't up there nor should it be although its a personal favorite of mine) but when it is the top 100 of *ALL* films *ANY* language *ANY* time it just seems that among the scores and scores and richness of the brilliant dialogs of the movies silver age (anything by Faulkner, Bringing Up Baby, any Preston Sturges movie, etc. and Foreign Classics of the Ages, Any Bergman, any Kurasawai, Jules et Jim [I think its one of the most brilliant screenplays ever]) Make the inclusion of anything less then brilliant and sparkling suspect. Considering how many tens of thousands of movies have been made, 100 represents at most .005 percent of all titles so can anyone say with a straight face that Star Wars is in the top .005 percent of all screenplays. Although I guess screenplay includes story as well of dialog so... But this seems less well thought out than the average list.
ALittlefield	post #13  on April 10, 2006 - 7:08 PM PDT   I think that they should have done two lists, one for original screenplays, and one for adapted ones, like the Oscars do with the nominations. It makes sense to me, since there's quite a different set of writing skills being used. Otherwise, I really like the list, although I agree that the near omission of foriegn films (and animated films) is lame. But I like the fact that they don't just include classics; they also have some ringers like ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND and LA CONFIDENTIAL, both of which I think belong. And on a personal note, I love seeing CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS on the list.
speakreflection	post #14  on November 7, 2006 - 1:51 PM PST   That top 10 should be mandatory reading for any person looking to write a script.
underdog	post #15  on November 9, 2006 - 1:44 PM PST   > On November 7, 2006 - 1:51 PM PST speakreflection wrote: > --------------------------------- > That top 10 should be mandatory reading for any person looking to write a script. > --------------------------------- I agree. Anytime I'm starting a new script, or having problems with a current one, I usually pull out my now yellowing, folded copy of Chinatown to inspire me again. (Or make me feel inadequate.)
speakreflection	post #16  on November 10, 2006 - 6:22 AM PST   > On November 9, 2006 - 1:44 PM PST underdog wrote: > --------------------------------- > > On November 7, 2006 - 1:51 PM PST speakreflection wrote: > > --------------------------------- > > That top 10 should be mandatory reading for any person looking to write a script. > > --------------------------------- > > > I agree. Anytime I'm starting a new script, or having problems with a current one, I usually pull out my now yellowing, folded copy of Chinatown to inspire me again. (Or make me feel inadequate.) > --------------------------------- Anytime I read a script it usually kinda brings me way down.. Like how am I supposed to compete with that.. But then after a second go.. It just starts to sink in about the history of it all. Of course that is probably why i'm still struggling with my first one. lol
underdog	post #17  on November 10, 2006 - 2:41 PM PST   > On November 10, 2006 - 6:22 AM PST speakreflection wrote: > > Anytime I read a script it usually kinda brings me way down.. Like how am I supposed to compete with that.. But then after a second go.. It just starts to sink in about the history of it all. Of course that is probably why i'm still struggling with my first one. lol > --------------------------------- I hear ya. You know what helps as an exercise? Taking a scene or part of a favorite screenplay, copying it (helps if you can download it from somewhere) and then retyping it as your own, just to get the flow of writing as they did. Change the characters, names, locations, dialogue, which sounds like it changes everything, but you can sort of channel the great ones that way. This has to become your own work for you to use it of course, but as a writing exercise it can help. Pick a film from a genre that you're working in, or trying to emulate. Or, after you're done reading a great script, just forget about it and do something you're comfortable with. Honestly, our first scripts are usually are worst. So after you write your first they get better and easier. Well, not really easier, they're always painful. But this is my 5th script and it's the only one I'm not ashamed of. Keep writing!