# Top 101 Screenplays Of All Time--Ranked By The WGA **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-101-screenplays-of-all-time-ranked-by-the-wga/351860 "2006-04-08T14:56:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-101-screenplays-of-all-time-ranked-by-the-wga/351860/1 "2006-04-08T14:56:34Z")
Here’s the top ten of that list. Agree? Disagree? 1. Casablanca 2. The Godfather 3. Chinatown 4. Citizen Kane 5. All About Eve 6. Annie Hall 7. Sunset Boulevard 8. Network 9. Some Like It Hot 10. The Godfather II I pretty much agree, but with a caveat. I wonder which version of “Chinatown” they’re including. I own a copy of Towne’s first draft, and despite my admiration for the guy, it’s not (imho) as good as the uncredited Polanski rewrite which was shot. The key scene which everyone remembers “She’s my sister, she’s my daughter, she’s my sister, she’s my daughter,” etc. is not in Towne’s draft, Esteban just tells Jake about this fact in a rather unaffecting scene. Still, no less a personage than Harlan Ellison considers Towne’s version superior to what was shot, so what do I know? Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-101-screenplays-of-all-time-ranked-by-the-wga/351860/2 "2006-04-08T14:58:24Z")
It just occurs to me: did I misremember the police lieutenant’s name in my above post? I’ll go look. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-101-screenplays-of-all-time-ranked-by-the-wga/351860/3 "2006-04-08T15:01:42Z")
> [@Sir Rhosis](#): > > It just occurs to me: did I misremember the police lieutenant’s name in my above post? > > I’ll go look. > > Sir Rhosis I did. It is Andy Escobar in the first draft, and I think the character’s first name was changed before filming, though I can’t recall it for the life of me. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-101-screenplays-of-all-time-ranked-by-the-wga/351860/4 "2006-04-08T15:11:05Z")
Here’s the rest: 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 MacKinlay 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 Lucas 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 Rondi. 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 ## \*Voted on by the members of the Writers Guilds, west and East. Back to 101 Greatest Screenplays ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-101-screenplays-of-all-time-ranked-by-the-wga/351860/5 "2006-04-08T15:45:07Z")
A couple of caveats: The nominees had to be English-language screenplays, which excludes, among many others, _Grand Illusion_, _Rules of the Game_, _Children of Paradise_, _The Leopard_, _The Bicycle Thief_, _The Seventh Seal_, _The Virgin Spring_, _8 1/2_, _Amarcord_. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-101-screenplays-of-all-time-ranked-by-the-wga/351860/6 "2006-04-08T17:03:23Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > A couple of caveats: The nominees had to be English-language screenplays, which excludes, among many others, _Grand Illusion_, _Rules of the Game_, _Children of Paradise_, _The Leopard_, _The Bicycle Thief_, _The Seventh Seal_, _The Virgin Spring_, _8 1/2_, _Amarcord_. But _La Grande Illusion_ and _8 1/2_ are listed at 85 and 87 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-101-screenplays-of-all-time-ranked-by-the-wga/351860/7 "2006-04-08T17:42:01Z")
I’d add The Two Towers in there. Amazingly well written. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-101-screenplays-of-all-time-ranked-by-the-wga/351860/8 "2006-04-08T20:34:09Z")
Where can one find a copy of the Casablanca screenplay? I am asking, because they did not even know the ending while they were filming it - so how did that work out? ---
**Author:** ![marymargaret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@marymargaret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marymargaret)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-101-screenplays-of-all-time-ranked-by-the-wga/351860/9 "2006-04-08T20:38:51Z")
I think Pulp Fiction should have been higher up on the list. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-101-screenplays-of-all-time-ranked-by-the-wga/351860/10 "2006-04-08T20:41:44Z")
I don’t know if Star Wars is really one of the top screenplays of all time. And I think Memento could be higher on the list. I’ve seen eight of the top 10 and can’t argue too much about those movies. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-101-screenplays-of-all-time-ranked-by-the-wga/351860/11 "2006-04-08T21:04:20Z")
Yeah, “Star Wars” is kinda iffy as a screenplay nomination, in my opinion… but there do seem to be a few recent additions up there that belong even less. (Why is “The Producers” on that list, for instance?) A lot of what “Star Wars” did well was in the visual effects, the production design, and in the editing (which contributed to what was then a rapid-fire pace of exposition and which today seems quaintly slow). I’m not sure how much of that came out of the screenplay itself, or what the writing might have done which was revolutionary for the day. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-101-screenplays-of-all-time-ranked-by-the-wga/351860/12 "2006-04-08T21:11:18Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > A lot of what “Star Wars” did well was in the visual effects, the production design, and in the editing (which contributed to what was then a rapid-fire pace of exposition and which today seems quaintly slow). I’m not sure how much of that came out of the screenplay itself, or what the writing might have done which was revolutionary for the day. If anything, I’d say the writing was deliberately not revolutionary. None of the Star Wars movies has much in the way of writing. It has a lot of lines that have passed into common speech, and that probably has a lot to do with its ranking. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-101-screenplays-of-all-time-ranked-by-the-wga/351860/13 "2006-04-08T21:16:14Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > Yeah, “Star Wars” is kinda iffy as a screenplay nomination, in my opinion… but there do seem to be a few recent additions up there that belong even less. (Why is “The Producers” on that list, for instance?) The original screenplay won Mel Brooks an Oscar. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-101-screenplays-of-all-time-ranked-by-the-wga/351860/14 "2006-04-08T22:03:28Z")
I didn’t realize “The Producers” won an Oscar for its screenplay. I had seen the movie many times\* prior to the hoopla surrounding the Broadway version and I didn’t think it was great shakes, writing-wise. While in the hospital for nine weeks, one channel was evidently a DVD of “The Producers” on continuous loop. I watched it several times when there was nothing else on. ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-101-screenplays-of-all-time-ranked-by-the-wga/351860/15 "2006-04-12T07:05:23Z")
It surprises me that Eternal Sunshine is so high. Not because I don’t think it belongs there, but for the fact that the geniuses in Hollywood didn’t even give it a best picture nom (even though it was the best screenplay, had terrific special effects, excellent cinematography, smart performances and was just clever as shit from every angle). I just thought it was a movie to not ever get its fair due. Or that I was just really, really high on it (figuratively speaking). I think Jerry McGuire (66) was half a great-written work: the agent-athlete part was excellent, the boy-girl part didn’t ring true for me at all, felt like it was really reaching. I would never consider “Annie Hall” as the 6th best ever (although a cute movie, nontheless). I was not old enough to see it during its theatrical release so it may ring better with an older audience. Anybody for “Three Kings” making the list? ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-101-screenplays-of-all-time-ranked-by-the-wga/351860/16 "2006-04-12T12:17:32Z")
“The Big Lebowski” is a better screenplay than “Fargo”. It’s balanced, self-referential, logical (while appearing otherwise), humorous, touching, keeps hordes of characters going. It’s really an amazing piece of writing. It’s better than a lot of those. “Pulp Fiction” could have gone higher. There’s a lot of movies BELOW Star Wars that probably shouldn’t be. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-101-screenplays-of-all-time-ranked-by-the-wga/351860/17 "2006-04-12T12:59:15Z")
> [@Sir Rhosis](#): > > Here’s the top ten of that list. Agree? Disagree? > > 1. Casablanca I love Casablanca. I own the video. I have seen it maybe 30 times. It is maybe my all time favourite movie. But it is my all time favourite because of the combination of factors -great acting,directing, cinematography, music. I think the script is the weak point. From what I have read some of the most memorable quotes were ad-libbed by the actors or producers. It is a great script, but certainly not the best of all time. It is a very witty script with some great dialogue. But if you watch it as many times as I have you realise that the multiple story threads make the movie interesting but one realises that these threads are not resolved. That can be a good idea. But to me it is not satisfying (as for Casablanca).