Top 101 Scripts vs. ME

The Writer's Guild of America released a list of the Top 101 Screenplays of All Time. (Click For Link.) Two problems. 1) There's a lot of good films missing from the list. 2) I hate the idea of a definitive list, as if their rankings are now the law of the land.

To solve problem 1, I went through their list in great detail, and started my own list of scripts the WGA left out. (I encourage you to comment with your absentee ballots.) For the 2nd problem, I re-ranked their list according to my own Strong Opinion. Below is my Top 20 (with comments) using only the 101 scripts they selected. Below that are my choices for 21-50.

20) THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS: Ted Tally. Based on the novel by Thomas Harris
WGA RANK: 61
This smartly executed manhunt story defined the modern serial killer movie. Contains numerous one-on-one moments between naïve special agent Clarice Starling and brilliant madman Hannibal Lector
Random Line: “I’m having an old friend for dinner.”

19) THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS: Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman. From a novelette by Ernest Lehman
WGA RANK: 34
Coen Bros. fans need to see this. Their oversized characters, intricate plotting, sudden shifts into pitch black comedy, and mathematically precise dialogue can all be traced back to this tale of a hate/loathe relationship between a press agent and a gossip columnist.
Random Line: “You’re dead, son. Get yourself buried.”

18) L.A. CONFIDENTIAL: Brian Helgeland & Curtis Hanson. Based on the novel by James Ellroy
WGA RANK: 60
Three amoral cops find their salvation when they take risks both personal and professional on a case that won’t go away. The story is thick and tricky, but never confusing and it keeps percolating with remarkable characters .
Random Line: “The Nite Owl made you. You want to destroy all that?” “With a wrecking ball. Wanna help me swing it?”

17) THE PRINCESS BRIDE: William Goldman. Based on his novel
WGA RANK: 84
Inconceivably one of the most delightful films ever made. Goldman smashed the conventions of fairy tale romance, with none of today’s post-modern sass, creating in effect…one of the most enduring fairy tale romances of all time.
Random Line: “Have fun storming the castle.”

16) FORREST GUMP: Eric Roth. Based on the novel by Winston Groom
WGA RANK: 89
The story of America through the eyes of one man, but also the story of a man who remains constant, while America keeps shifting focus. Darker than its reputation suggests, and highly unconventional. (There’s no bad guy and the hero never changes). A complex portrait of a simple man.
Random Line: “Run, Forrest, Run!”

15) ALL ABOUT EVE: Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Based on "The Wisdom of Eve," a short story and radio play by Mary Orr
WGA RANK: 5
This now cliché story of the young ingénue who schemes her way to the top retains its power here with some of the sharpest, tartest dialogue ever written. A quintessential example of the kind of bitingly funny retorts studios still look for from today’s writers.
Random Line: “Fasten your seatbelts, it’s gonna be a bumpy night.”

14) CHINATOWN: Robert Towne
WGA RANK: 3
The popular choice for modern cinema’s greatest screenplay. Scenes work as a revelation of both story and character, so precisely plotted, you can set nearly every screenplay’s watch to it. It includes one of the biggest plot twists in cinema history.
Random Line: “I goddamn near lost my nose. And I like it. I like breathing through it."

13) THE AFRICAN QUEEN: James Agee and John Huston. Based on the novel by C.S. Forester
WGA RANK: 70
You’ve seen films where two people hate each other at first, but fall in love as the movie rolls on. In this tale, never has a hatred so strong, developed into a love so deep. It all plays out against a grand, river adventure, and the script wisely keeps raising the physical stakes to match the emotional ones.
Random Line: "I never dreamed that any mere physical experience could be so stimulating!"

12) DOG DAY AFTERNOON: Frank Pierson. Based on a magazine article by P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore
WGA RANK: 69
The definitive bank hostage picture, the script crackles with realism while balancing potentially explosive situations with some wild curve balls in the story. (Remember why he was robbing the bank?) The brilliance isn’t the oversized characters or understated dialogue, it’s the small touches, such as the accomplice who backs out at the last minute and the unforgettable airport climax.
Random Line: “Attica! Attica!”

11) THE MALTESE FALCON: John Huston. Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett
WGA RANK: 47
A script dreams are made of. The falcon itself is merely an excuse for a colorful collection of oddballs to throw out some of cinema’s greatest tough guy dialogue. All the while, the central detective steals the film by remaining cooler than an igloo.
Random Line: "When you're slapped, you'll take it and like it."

10) ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST: Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman. Based on the novel by Ken Kesey
WGA RANK: 45
The fine line between mental illness and antisocial behavior receives a sharp examination. Numerous ‘personalities’ bounce around the room while R.P. McMurphy tries to free his new friends’ mind, body and soul. The final plot turns are among the most emotionally wrenching I’ve ever experienced.
Random Line: “It’s medication time.”

9) NETWORK: Paddy Chayefsky
WGA RANK: 8
The script (like its main character) goes off the deep end early, growing wilder as the story goes on. Yet everything is shockingly grounded in complete believability. The greatest satire ever written has only become more alarming true as time goes by.
Random Line: “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take it anymore.”

8) RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK: Lawrence Kasdan. Story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman
WGA RANK: 42
The script takes every thrill, chill and spill from 30’s matinee serial adventures and presses them into one of the wildest pieces of entertainment ever put to page. This much fun can only come from young boys who grew up on adventure stories and comic books.
Random Line: “Asps…very dangerous. You go first.”

7) CASABLANCA: Julius J. & Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch. Based on the play "Everybody Comes to Rick's" by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison
WGA RANK: 1
Another popular favorite, and it’s easy to see why with its hearty brew of adventure, comedy, romance, politics and intrigue. The entire package is wrapped up in endlessly quotable dialogue, topped off with perhaps the happiest unhappy ending in cinema.
Random Line: “Round up the usual suspects.”

6) GOODFELLAS: Nicholas Pileggi & Martin Scorsese. Based on book "Wise Guy" by Pileggi
WGA RANK: 41
A kid in love with being a gangster grows to watch as the narrow walls of the good life close in around him. A hundred little stories, painted with tiny, perfect brush strokes to form an epic, endlessly detailed microcosm of blue-collar gangster life.
Random Line: “Paulie may have moved slow, but it was only because Paulie didn't have to move for anybody.”

5) THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE: John Huston. Based on the novel by B. Traven
WGA RANK: 46
This movie is almost a personal choice. It’s one of the first films where I understood how important good screenwriting is to a film. Each scene dominos forward. Small actions lead to grave consequences, creating a deeply character-driven tale of greed
Random Line: “Badges? We ain’t got no badges. We don’t need no stinkin’ badges!”

4) PULP FICTION: Quentin Tarantino. Stories by Quentin Tarantino & Roger Avary
WGA RANK: 16
This script breaks all the rules. It jumps around the time line, there’s no rushing the story. The script doesn’t just create loving characters, it’s IN LOVE with them. Non-stop unexpected moments of violence, comedy and even heart. A script for people in love with movie characters, their situations and their dialogue.
Random Line: “You read the bible, Brett? See, there’s this passage I got memorized.”

3) THE GRADUATE: Calder Willingham and Buck Henry. Based on the novel by Charles Webb
WGA RANK: 13
My favorite film of all time, the screenplay tackles the impossible subject of disaffected youth. The hilarious satire and sweet romance often break way into dark drama as it shows the difficulty being polite among polite society. Events threaten to become absurd, but the script never loses sight of the character’s humanity.
Random Line: “Are you here for the affair, sir?”

2) SUNSET BLVD.: Charles Brackett & Billy Wilder and D.M. Marshman, Jr.
WGA RANK: 7
Instead of a sad eulogy for the stars of the silent era, this script flips it around. It’s the writer who’s dead in the films opening moments while the forgotten stars are forced to live on. That bizarre world view runs throughout the script. Laughs stick in your throat, the pitiful are portrayed as monstrous, and the real villain is the film’s lecherous hero. It’s all told with a delicious love for the heightened dialogue of film noir.
Random Line: “I am big. It’s the pictures that got small.”

1) THE GODFATHER: Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola. Based on the novel by Puzo
WGA RANK: 2
Every scene, perfectly balanced so that you can’t think of changing a word. The tone is both gritty and artistic. Operatic in scope, but small and nuanced with the characters. From the opening monologue to the final dramatic beat, THE GODFATHER is the one screenplay equal to Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Random Line: “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.”


The Rest Of The Top 50
21) SCHINDLER'S LIST
22) ON THE WATERFRONT
23) MANHATTAN
24) SINGIN' IN THE RAIN
25) LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
26) CITIZEN KANE
27) THE SEARCHERS
28) TOOTSIE
29) THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
30) ANNIE HALL
31) BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID
32) JAWS
33) MEMENTO
34) UNFORGIVEN
35) SOME LIKE IT HOT
36) AMADEUS
37) IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
38) THE GODFATHER II
39) THE HUSTLER
40) HIS GIRL FRIDAY
41) NORTH BY NORTHWEST
42) APOCALYPSE NOW
43) DO THE RIGHT THING
44) THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
45) AMERICAN BEAUTY
46) DOUBLE INDEMNITY
47) FARGO
48) BACK TO THE FUTURE
49) NOTORIOUS
50) REAR WINDOW