Citizen Kane
Annie Hall
Lion in Winter
The Godfather
Splendor in the Grass
You know, I was going to say Casablanca, but I remembered that a lot of critics felt that the script was OK, but the movie was great because of the actors.
Weird list. Casablanca turned out great, but it was certainly screenplay-by-committee, and I’m surprised it came out as good as it did. Ditto on “The Wizard of Oz”.
So Robert Bolt gets credit for “Lawrence of Arabia”, but nothing for the much superior and more litrary “A Man for All Seasons”? What’s the sense in that?
and I agree that comedies are grossly under-represented. One of my all-time favorite scripts isn’t in evidence: “Arsenic and Old Lace”
and how about:
Twelve Angry Men
To Kill a Mockingbird
I’ll take The Day the Earth Stood Still over ET any day.
And — I don’t believe this – they included Star Wars! For screenplay? The movie about which Harrison Ford said “George, you can write this shit, but you can’t say it?” The movie with lines like “Your devotion to that ancient religion has not given you wisdom to find the Rebels’ hidden base, or clairvoyance enough to conjure up the hidden data tapes.”??
There are a lot of good screenplays on that list, but some of the inclusions and exclusions seem pretty weird, and I don’t think it’s just my personal taste.
Citizen Kane
The Godfather
Casablanca
The Thin Man
The 3 Faces of Eve.
Off the top guesses.
I really just guessed memorable films made before 1975.
There are much better picks by Dopers here than the committee!
Splendo in The Grass - Fargo - Pulp Fiction
Lawrence of Arabia (#14) and The Third Man (#33) are also non-American productions. Yes, foreign films, and particularly non-English language films are grossly underrepresented (as are films out of Hollywood’s “Golden Age”), but this was a survey of WGA writers, not film historians, and as such, they vote for films they know the best. There are, from my perspective, some peculiar omissions and some even more odd selections; Moonstruck? Jaws? Terms of Endearment? And while Groundhog Day could arguably belong on the list, does it really belong at #27? Where is Out Of The Past (a seminal noir film), The Killers, or Brazil? How come Pulp Fiction makes the list but the superior Reservoir Dogs doesn’t? The Producers but not Young Frankenstein or Blazing Saddles?
Actually, I thought the opposite. The lead actors were, well, okay, and the key plot driver makes no sense, but they were elevated by some great snappy dialog and terrific supporting players. There were also at least half a dozen uncredited writers that contributed to the script, in addition to the five listed by IMDb.
Stranger
Chinatown
Witness
The Godfather
Casablanca
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Casablanca was criticized by the writers themselves as being “slick” and unrealistic - none of the context of the movie existed. I guess they felt like it wasn’t “heartfelt.” But it was well-written, and a great story. I don’t think I’ve heard the script being criticized except as I just noted.
Chinatown is studied by everybody who takes any screenwriting classes, so I’m not surprised by that at all.
I personally don’t care for Citizen Kane. The script seems too…constructed…to me. I’m too aware of all the devices of storytelling as I watch it. Not smooth at all.
3 out of 5. I feel good.
Yeah, Moonstruck made that list.
When was the last time you heard someone praising a film by comparing it to Moonstruck, especially the screenplay?
Sailboat
In addition to those two there’s also:
-
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
Written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard -
AMADEUS
Screenplay by Peter Shaffer. Based on his play
Interestingly, classic British production like The Bridge on the River Kwai (co-written by Michael Wilson, also the co-writer of Lawrence of Arabia) and The Lion in Winter had American screenwriters.
I have seen only 2 of that list’s top 10 films. And I’m a card-carrying member of the Writers Guild!
I have to say that is rather surprising. I knew Casablanca would be #1, it is revered among screenwriters in large part due to the almost “magical” way it came together with the various screenwriters, re-writes, last minute changes and stuff.
- Casablanca
2.Chinatown
3.African Queen - The Godfather
- The Usual Suspects
Chinatown
American Beauty
Citizen Kane
Casablanca
Taxi Driver
OK, now I’ve looked at the entire llist.
Back to the Future is a TERRIBLE script. Just horrible.
One that should be on the list, but wasn’t because it got murdered in production, is Dead Poet’s Society. The script as written was a more interesting story that hinted Robin Williams’ character was gay, which made more of the plot make sense.
Better than Star Wars, certainly.
Ruthless People deserves a mention too. Incredibly clever intricate comedic plot.
Okay, as per the OP’s dare, I’ll take a stab and guess that the top five screenplays are “Chinatown”, “Network”, “the Godfather”(part I), “Rear Window” and “Ran.” The first three I’m pretty sure about, the latter two are kind of stabs in the dark. Now, to see if I’m right…
Two out of three, with a third choice coming in the top ten. Well I guess that ain’t bad, but I’m disappointed with myself that I couldn’t think of “Citizen Kane.”
Without going to page linked in the OP, here’s what I came up with (in order that they came to mind):
Sunset Boulevard
Citizen Kane
The Usual Suspects
The Manchurian Candidate
The Long Goodbye
Now I’m off to the site to see how I did…
Three out of five. Good, but that seems to be the average for this thread.
Of course, I’m referring to: