The WGA 100
I guess you guys want to discuss it… so here is the list, after the jump…
P.S. If Casablanca is the best screenplay of all time, I am a monkey’s uncle. Do you know that “beautiful friendship” was dubbed in after the film was shown to the execs?
Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption are ridiculously high… someone wanted to look cool. And Shakespeare In Love, if on this list at all, should be down at the bottom.
I would have lots of arguments with, but the ability to live with, most of the rest. But you get the feeling that they wanted current scripts represented… and current guild leaders represented.
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
2. THE GODFATHER
Screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola. Based on the novel by Mario Puzo
3. CHINATOWN
Written by Robert Towne
4. CITIZEN KANE
Written by Herman Mankiewicz and Orson Welles
5. ALL ABOUT EVE
Screenplay by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Based on “The Wisdom of Eve,” a short story and radio play by Mary Orr
6. ANNIE HALL
Written by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman
7. SUNSET BLVD.
Written by Charles Brackett & Billy Wilder and D.M. Marshman, Jr.
8. NETWORK
Written by Paddy Chayefsky
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
10. THE GODFATHER II
Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo. Based on Mario Puzo’s novel “The Godfather”
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
I’m impressed that “Eternal Sunshine” placed so high.
I agree with DP on “Shawshank,” which I think is unfathomably overrated and pedestrian, but “Pulp Fiction” is about right.
Shawshank, Memento and Usual Suspects are all wrong.
Pulp Fiction, Adaptation and Fargo are all on the money. I’ll even throw Kamikaze a bone and say that Shakespeare is completely deserving.
But leaving out Midnight Run, Bull Durham and The Empire Strikes Back is heresy.
nice to see Crimes and Misdemeanors mentioned. Bullshit that the Coen Bros. aren’t on here more than once. Preston Sturges should have a couple more as well. I’m sure we could all think of great screenplays that could have been on here, but the first two that come to mind are Wings of Desire and Sex Lies & Videotape.
Also, not that it doesn’t belong on this list any less than some others, but I’m getting a huge laugh out of seeing Stallone’s name.
And thank god there’s no Paul Haggis.
Oh yeah, I’m sure everyone’s noticed the almost total absence of foreign films, but isn’t it weird to include 8 1/2 and The Grand Illusion, and make absolutely no mention of Bergman? Come on. And I can’t believe Renoir was acknowledged but not for Rules of the Game. Some other foreign entries missing would include Kielowski (I would put Three Colors in the top 25) and for the love of god a Tuffaut should have been obvious.
Oh God, I totally missed “The Usual Suspects” at 35. My mind, it is boggled. That was an ending in search of a movie.
The WGA just lowered itself to the level (maybe below?) of all those stupid AFI-list wankfests….
I agree, THX… and I wonder whether WGA membership is required to be on the list, thus the lack of foreign films.
I don’t doubt it.
Where’s Brokeback Mountain on that list? It’s one of the most quotable movies in years.
I’m wondering whether original screenplays and adaptations even belong on the same list.
(But yeah, overall it looks like a self-congratulatory wankfest.)
Re: The Godfather, Jaws and Tootsie
Robert Towne did an uncredited script polish on The Godfather.
Tootsie started filming without a completed script; it was reportedly snagged in many rewrites by a host of uncredited scribes, including Elaine May.
As for Jaws, the 25th anniversary DVD has a featurette where Spielberg revealed that he took a stab at rewriting Benchley’s draft before bringing in John Milius, who did an uncredited rewrite. Robert Shaw (Quint) contributed to his character’s U.S.S. Indianapolis monologue. Supposedly, the rest of the cast ad-libbed a fair portion of dialogue; Roy Scheider gave us one of the great movie lines of all time – “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” Carl Gottlieb said it was a terrific ad-lib.
Makes me wonder what was the WGA’s criteria for this list. Or maybe, “Why did the Guild even bother to rank these screenplays/films?”
I believe Aaron Sorkin rewrote Schindler’s List’s dialogue as well.
I burned out on these kind of lists about a decade ago. Entertainment Weekly used to do this kind of shit on a near monthly basis, and after AFI’s first “100 Years 100 Movies” list (which I liked), they blew it with the increasingly dreary “100 Years 100 Villains”, “100 Years 100 Laughs”, “100 Years Blowjobs” ad infinitum.
There’s only so much we as movie fans can take, and by this point I don’t think anyone can raise too many eyebrows for the WGA’s wankery.
It’s just another list, and lists are stupid. Ultimately, the classics (mostly) survive and the tripe fades away.
these lists are aways a downer. I am glad to see Strangelove and Lawrence but then I look above them and say How is a list like this possible?
what’s with this crazy weather anyway? God must be upset with this list. That or She’s mad at Astoria.
Ya know, Casablanca may have had “Of all the gin joints..,” but Airplane had “Oh Stewardess, I speak jive.”
A best screenplay list without the ZAZ guys isn’t a list at all.
I’m missing Raising Arizona and The Big Sleep. And, you know, foreign movies in general.
“Robert Towne did an uncredited script polish on The Godfather.”
didn’t Towne just write the scene between Don and Michael on the porch? That’s what I read anyway.
And, Eddie, YES! Airplane (or Flying High over here) has one of THE best screenplays. So hilarious. “I speak jive” is classic (as is about 2 thirds of that movie).
But as I said in the other thread, I don’t understand the Shakespeare in Love hate. Seriously, were you people even watching that movie when you saw it or were you preordained to scorn it for all eternity. That screenplay is genius. Seriously, you’ve got to be fooling yourself if you don’t think that’s a great screenplay. Bah, some people just cannot be pleased.
And as I also said in the other thread, my #1 would be Allen’s “Manhattan”.
But of course, lists like these are rediculously scrutinisable based on personal tastes. But still, Shakespeare in Love? Brilliant screenplay (say what you will about the film though).
Not as brilliant as Rosenkrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead… not by a long shot.
These sorts of list never cease to be, tiring. However, I think we can all agree, that the best script ever; Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey. Never have words on paper create a more brilliant experience via sight and sound! Plus, kicking Death’s ass at Twister, easily a comedic moment for the ages! Maybe next year, the WGA can present the top 101 “SCRIPTS IN LANGUAGES WE DONT UNDERSTAND!”
Big up to the poster who mentioned Midnight Run – that is one fantastic screenplay. The more you watch it, the more you realise that virtually every single line pushes along both the plot and the characters, how many wonderful running jokes there are and how beautifully they pay off (the ‘Marvin, watch out!’ gambit for example), and how the movie manages to be a buddy movie and a comedy inside of a thriller, earning a genuinely emotional payoff rare for this genre. It’s a good example of a movie that is great because of it’s screenplay rather than it’s direction (Martin Brest has never really had much of a visual sense). On the other side of the coin, you have movies that are great almost in spite of the screenplay, where we have to thank the director for elevating the material (examples of great movies with average screenplays? I would say Black Hawk Down, Titanic, Saving Private Ryan and Jurassic Park for a start). So i look forward to a list of the 100 best directed movies…..
I love that Groundhog Day is in there. It’s utterly rewatchable and the high concept is matched with some great dialogue and fascinating moral quandaries.
Biggest snub: no animation. Couldn’t we agree that something like Toy Story deserved a place here?
It is an odd list for the omissions, the lack of foreign films, but really the WGA-credited writers on each as if to further lionize these men and their work (rightly so in many cases) as more and more movies are simply vast teams rotating through with execs and producers. I wonder if “The Dirty Dozen” will start a trend as Scott Rosenberg was hired alongside a pair of “Alias” writers to all collaborate on the script. While hiring competitive teams – what happened on “X-Men 3” – to write behind one another is happening more and more often, just hiring a bunch of writers like a TV staff to put together a movie is interesting. Look at the seamless collaboration of Sam and Ivan Raimi, Alvin Sargent and Laura Ziskin on the “Spider-Man 3” screenplay, for instance.
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Oh man, I vote for Pimer.
..that was supposed to have “Maybe next year, the WGA can present the top 101 “SCRIPTS IN LANGUAGES WE DONT UNDERSTAND!” ” preceding it.
Great.
..and Pimer was supposed to be Primer.
That’s it, I’m going back to bed.
For a Kubrick film I would have went with A Clockwork Orange. Especially given the difficulty of Burgess’ original language.
Also, nothing by David Lynch? Blue Velvet is an exceedingly well written screenplay and a much more complex look at the darkness under suburban life than the increasingly facile American Beauty.
I also think James L. Brooks is very overrepresented on this list…and perhaps so is even Woody Allen (even though he should have some recognition).
I would have argued for the inclusion of Wendell Mayes for Otto Preminger’s Anatomy of a Murder.
Ditto for John Hughes and The Breakfast Club.
There is far too much post 1970’s cinema on this list. Just watched Harold and Maude two weeks ago. Very dated. Didn’t age well at all.
As for films like Sideways…can we wait at least a decade before calling a film a classic? It is the inclusion of films with a less than 10 year lifespan that hurt’s lists like this.
This list is much more about modern ‘pop’ Hollywood than it is about real greatness.
Although I was very pleased with the inclusion of THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS. It is easily Michael J. Fox’s best work. Helen Slater as the love interest made the classic nature of the witty urban dialogue shine. Bravo WGA! That set piece in the pool where his pants get pulled down as he lets out a gurgled YAWP…classic!
??????
Nicol, that last one was baffling…unless you’re not really you (the lower case kind of gives it away).
If it was you, then perhaps you should really look up that movie on IMDB.
No, it’s me.
The last one was actually just a joke.
‘Member the 1987 film The Secret of My Success?
It was one of the last films I saw with my dad before he died so it kind of has a special place for me.
Just checking.
Yeah, I do remember that one…there are some great moments in there like him conducting to his neighbor’s sex. Sorry bout your dad.
Geez, I just saw parts of “The Secret of My Success” THIS MORNING on cable. I hadn’t even thought of that movie in 15 years.
Oddly enough, The Secret of My Success, has been on regular cable for the last 15 years on an almost weekly basis. To finally see it again on pay cable, represents the return of Michael J. Fox as a KEN doll. What place does this have in a WGA list discussion? Absolutely none, but it has to be mentioned. Because it’s funny, to someone, mainly me.
Its screenplay is probably the best thing about “Shakespeare in Love,” especially the part written by the eponymous hero.
More great Coen screenplays: Raising Arizona, Miller’s Crossing, O Brother Where Art Thou.
Shawshank Redemption was a great screenplay. You’re just sick of it being on TNT every week for the past 12 years. His Girl Friday should be in the Top 20.
How about a Top 100 list for Best Written TV Shows Ever…
Well, it’s obvious the list is a crapshoot because of the lack of anything not from America.
Whoever said The Breakfast Club is a genius. I’m doing my own countdown on my blog. The Breakfast Club is #9 original. Of course I haven’t seen a lot of older movies and so forth. I tried my best though.
I’ll also throw the screenplay for Scream out there if anyone is willing to accept it.
Maybe for a top 300 but not 100.
Lethal Weapon, by Shane Black I think is another script that could potentially be on that list.
For it’s influence and wit in the action genre, it is pretty hard to beat.
It also elevated screenwriters to another level.
Ordinary People is one I would scratch off. Does anyone still watch that film?
I’m mystified that the words “Big” and “Lebowski” aren’t together on there somewhere.
Fucking facists.
How those dual Linklater films Before Sunset, Before Sunrise?
How “about”…sorry for the typo.
While I’m at it, I love the writing on Die Hard…yipee kay yay!
Charlie Kaufman has had five screenplays produced. Three are on this list. Not too bad, Charlie.
Hopscotch, with regard to THE BIG LEBOWSKI, I think you mean, fucking NIHILISTS.
I agree with Die Hard.
Again, one of the most influencial scripts/concepts of the past 20 years and emminently quotable.
Action films tend to be very underrated when they are good.
We could go on…Beverly Hills Cop, 48 Hrs.
I know Murphy makes a lot of that dialogue shine and there is improv involved but I wonder if those scripts would get mentioned if it was even the top 500.
As for the person who mentioned Midnight Run. Exactly! That film is fantastic! Again, another Martin Brest film.
“Did you ever fuck a chicken, Jack?”
I go to tears when I watch that. The performances are so droll. Also a great Elman score.
Grodin was some sort of comedic genius who never really hit his stride.
Actuall lawnorder, the Dude says that when the cop throws the coffee cup at him. Don’t know why, but Bridges’ delivery on that line just cracks me up.
I play poker once a week, been doing so for a few years, and not a night goes by when the Big Lebowski doesn’t get quoted. It’s the comedy of our times.
The other one I don’t see in here that I think is very influential is SWINGERS. That’s a great script. Great 3-act structure, great lines, it resolves itself nice and tidy. I’d put that one on there.
Hard To Kill had the great “I’ll take you to the bank..the BLOOD bank!”
Also, let’s not forget the arguably most on-the-nose/lazy throwaway line in cinema history:
“This is for my wife–Fuck you and die!”
And you people are talking about how great Robert Towne is. Sheesh..
“Maybe for a top 300 but not 100.”
Well, if they split it into Original and Adapted like they should’ve then it could’ve been done easily.
“Again, one of the most influencial scripts/concepts of the past 20 years and emminently quotable.
Action films tend to be very underrated when they are good.”
Replace the word “Action” with “Horror” or “Teen” and you have my feelings regarding both Scream, The Breakfast Club, Clueless, Heathers… the WGA just seemed to nominate all the acclaimed movies and forget about how great things such as “one liners” can be. “Airplane” should’ve gotten in by the amount of one-liners alone.
I agree with what you say. Heathers is a fantastic script/concept.
There are too many genre’s that are not respected because of the genre they are in…not the quality of the film they are.
It is no coincidence that when the great directors are often asked what influenced them they often site genre/exploitation pictures that many think are sub par.
I recently watched Scorsese’s history of cinema. He was easily as influenced by pictures and genre films as he was the ‘classics’.
I tend to think those are the films that genuinely make people love cinema…not just the ‘art’ or ‘Oscar’ films.
Yes, because people with middle-brow taste turn into snobs and thus we get films like Crash.
“Sideways” is really just “Swingers” with older actors.
Is it bad that I didn’t too much like Sideways. Thought it was “good” but nowhere near as great as people said. I felt like I was the only one left unpuzzled by Paul Giamatti’s Oscar snub.
And as Nicol says, it’s the genre films that really create people. Where would Tarantino be without samurai and splatter flicks? What about all the current up-and-comers? I doubt many would say “Casablanca” was their reason for wanting to become a movie director. Althought I’m sure some do.
Sideways was as good as you could relate to its main characters.
Where’s the Robert Altman on this list by the way? I know there’s improv going on in the films, but still…The Player, Nashville, Mash, etc.
Groundhog Day, Fargo, and Eternal Sunshine. Yay!!!
Mulholland Drive by David Lynch. Wherefore art thou?
LAWRENCE IS DEFINITELY THE BEST SCREENPLAY EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a serious question: if it’s the best screenplay ever, why does the movie end so anticlimactically? The whole second half is just one long trailing-off from the brilliant first half.