The 101 Best Screenplays
| Sorry for the silence, folks--I've been hard at work tussling with Sophomore, trying to determine whether it's the best thing I've ever written, or a total piece of crap. Opinions vary, and my own changes on the hour. I fear the truth is somewhere in the middle. In the meantime, I thought I'd pass along something my wife brought home from film school a while back: it's a list of the 101 best screenplays ever written, according to the members of the WGA. Enjoy! 101. Notorious 100. Memento 99. The Wild Bunch 98. The Grapes of Wrath 97. The Searchers 96. The Hustler 95. Hannah and Her Sisters 94. Patton 93. Do the Right Thing 92. Psycho 91. The Verdict 90. Sideways 89. Forrest Gump 88. Field of Dreams 87. 8 1/2 86. Harold and Maude 85. La Grande Illusion 84. The Princess Bride 83. Rear Window 82. Cool Hand Luke 81. Being There 80. Witness 79. The Producers 78. Rocky 77. Adaptation 76. Raging Bull 75. High Noon 74. Being John Malkovich 73. Amadeus 72. Thelma & Louise 71. The Lion in Winter 70. The African Queen 69. Dog Day Afternoon 68. Star Wars 67. E.T. 66. Jerry Maguire 65. Singin' in the Rain 64. Terms of Endearment 63. Jaws 62. Moonstruck 61. The Silence of the Lambs 60. L.A. Confidential 59. It Happened One Night 58. Ordinary People 57. Crimes and Misdemeanors 56. Back to the Future 55. Apocalypse Now 54. Manhattan 53. All the President's Men 52. The Lady Eve 51. Broadcast News 50. The Sixth Sense 49. Schindler's List 48. The Bridge on the River Kwai 47. The Maltese Falcon 46. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 45. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 44. The Best Years of Our Lives 43. Taxi Driver 42. Raiders of the Lost Ark 41. Goodfellas 40. When Harry Met Sally 39. The Sting 38. American Beauty 37. The Philadelphia Story 36. Midnight Cowboy 35. The Usual Suspects 34. The Sweet Smell of Success 33. The Third Man 32. Fargo 31. His Girl Friday 30. Unforgiven 29. Sullivan's Travels 28. Shakespeare in Love 27. Groundhog Day 26. Double Indemnity 25. The Wizard of Oz 24. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 23. Gone with the Wind 22. The Shawshank Redemption 21. North by Northwest 20. It's a Wonderful Life 19. To Kill a Mockingbird 18. On the Waterfront 17. Tootsie 16. Pulp Fiction 15. The Apartment 14. Lawrence of Arabia 13. The Graduate 12. Dr. Strangelove 11. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 10. The Godfather 11 9. Some Like It Hot 8. Network 7. Sunset Boulevard 6. Annie Hall 5. All About Eve 4. Citizen Kane 3. Chinatown 2. The Godfather 1. Casablanca |
posted by Michael at 3:28 PM
Comments on "The 101 Best Screenplays"
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Larry Fouch said ... (6:47 PM) :
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HIpdadiddy said ... (12:35 PM) :
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Anonymous said ... (3:51 AM) :
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Issra said ... (5:36 AM) :
post a commentMike, I haven't spoken to you in too long. But what's preposterous about this list is that quite a few of these so-called "best screenplays" were made in the cutting room. Specifically Annie Hall, which was written as a social satire and featured Annie only tangentially. If you want to read about this, check out Ralph Rosenblum's book "When the Shooting's Over." Yes, it was he--the editor--who came up with the brilliant flashback sequence at the end. All I'm saying is that these lists are a little silly--trying to separate out parts of the filmmaking process like some weird equation is just nonsensical.
Jeez, is anybody else getting as tired of Casablanca worship as I am? There's something about our era that wants to see it as something more than it is.
Slick, extremely well-done, a motherlode of memorable lines, yes, yes... a product of the beautiful, irreplaceable (yet undeniably machine-like) studio system operating at its peak. But better than Citizen Kane or Chinatown?
Not even close.
Well, they list Casablanca as the top screenplay, but this was a movie I just didn't enjoy at all. I think movies have gotten a lot better nowadays: not only with all these special effects, but also much improved acting, storyguiding, dialogues, cutting, camera work etc.
Oh well, I'm pretty sure these classics only get 10/10s in nostalgia reviews because theyre basically a half century old.
Wow, I love the majority of the list. Yet "The godfather" should be number one and "The third man" should be, at least, on number 10 !