of All Time by the Writer's Guild of America |
The Writer's Guild of America (WGA) sent out ballots to its members in the summer of 2005, asking them to list up to ten of their favorite produced screenplays (accessible online). This is the result of the polling as voted upon by the organization's professional film and television writers - a list of the 101 Greatest (Film) Screenplays of All-Time, to celebrate the greatest achievements in film writing in cinematic history. A subset of the list, chosen 10 years later in 2015, was composed of the 101 Funniest Screenplays of All-Time. The new list spanned 86 years of great comedy screenwriting, from The Gold Rush (1925) to Bridesmaids (2011). Facts and Commentary About the 101 Greatest Film Screenplays:
|
of All Time by the Writer's Guild of America (part 1, by reverse ranking) |
|
Film Title (Year and Director) |
Scriptwriter(s) and Original or Adapted Source Material | Memorable Line of Dialogue
(Performer/Film Character) |
|
Notorious (1946; dir. Alfred Hitchcock) |
Written by Ben Hecht | "I'm a fatheaded guy, full
of pain. It tore me up not having you." Cary Grant as T. R. Devlin |
|
Memento (2000; dir. Christopher Nolan) |
Screenplay by Christopher Nolan,
based on the short story "Memento Mori" by Jonathan Nolan |
"Just because there are
things I don't remember, doesn't mean my actions are meaningless. The
whole world doesn't just disappear when you close your eyes, does it?" Guy Pearce as Leonard |
|
The Wild Bunch (1969; dir. Sam Peckinpah) |
Screenplay by Walon Green and Sam Peckinpah, story by Walon Green and Roy Sickner | "When you side with a man,
you stay with him. And if you can't do that, you're like some animal.
You're finished. We're finished. All of us." William Holden as Pike Bishop |
|
The Grapes of Wrath (1940; dir. John Ford) |
Screenplay by Nunnally Johnson, based on the novel by John Steinbeck | "We are the people that
live." Jane Darwell as Ma Joad |
|
The Searchers (1956; dir. John Ford) |
Screenplay by Frank S. Nugent, based on the novel by Alan Le May | "That'll be the day." John Wayne as Ethan Edwards |
|
The
Hustler (1961; dir. Robert Rossen) |
Screenplay by Sidney Carroll & Robert Rossen, based on the novel by Walter Tevis | "Admit it. I'm the best
you ever seen, Fats. I'm the best there is. And even if you beat me, I'm
still the best." Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Felson |
|
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986; dir. Woody Allen) |
Written by Woody Allen | "I had a great evening;
it was like the Nuremberg Trials." Woody Allen as Mickey Sachs |
|
Patton (1970; dir. Franklin J. Schaffner) |
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 | "We're not just going to
shoot the bastards. We're going to cut out their living guts and use them
to grease the treads on our tanks." George C. Scott as General George S. Patton |
|
Do The Right Thing (1989; dir. Spike Lee) |
Written by Spike Lee | "Who told you to step on
my sneakers? Who told you to walk on my side of the block? Who told you
to be in my neighborhood?" Giancarlo Esposito as Buggin' Out |
|
Psycho (1960; dir. Alfred Hitchcock) |
Screenplay by Joseph Stefano, based on the novel by Robert Bloch | "Mother
What is the
phrase? She isn't herself today." Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates |
|
The Verdict (1982; dir. Sidney Lumet) |
Screenplay by David Mamet, based on the novel by Barry Reed | "I changed my life today.
What did you do?" Paul Newman as Frank Galvin |
|
Sideways (2004; dir. Alexander Payne) |
Screenplay by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor, based on the novel by Rex Pickett | "Come on, man
. Hemingway,
Sexton, Plath, Woolf. You can't kill yourself before you're even published." Paul Giamatti as Miles Raymond |
|
Forrest Gump (1994; dir. Robert Zemeckis) |
Screenplay by Eric Roth, based on the novel by Winston Groom | "Mama always said, 'Life
is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get.'" Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump |
|
Field
of Dreams (1988; dir. Phil Alden Robinson) |
Screenplay by Phil Alden Robinson, based on the book by W.P. Kinsella | "Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta): "Is this heaven?" Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner): "No, it's Iowa." |
|
8 1/2 (1963; dir. Federico Fellini) |
Screenplay by Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, Brunello Rondi. Story by Fellini, Flaiano | "Happiness consists of
being able to tell the truth without hurting anyone." Marcello Mastroianni as Guido Anselmi |
|
Harold and Maude (1971; dir. Hal Ashby) |
Written by Colin Higgins |
"I haven't lived
But I've died a few times." Bud Cort as Harold Chasen |
|
La Grande Illusion (1937; dir. Jean Renoir) |
Written by Jean Renoir and Charles Spaak | "The theater is too deep
for me. I prefer bicycling." Jean Gabin as Lieutenant Maréchal |
|
The Princess Bride (1987; dir. Rob Reiner) |
Screenplay by William Goldman, based on his novel | "My name is Inigo Montoya.
You killed my father. Prepare to die!" Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya |
|
Rear Window (1954; dir. Alfred Hitchcock) |
Screenplay by John Michael Hayes,
based on the short story by Cornell Woolrich |
"She's too perfect, she's
too talented, she's too beautiful, she's too sophisticated, she's too
everything but what I want." James Stewart as L.B. "Jeff" Jefferies |
|
Cool
Hand Luke (1967; dir. Stuart Rosenberg) |
Screenplay by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson, based on the novel by Donn Pearce | "I can eat fifty eggs." Paul Newman as Luke Jackson |
|
Being
There (1979; dir. Hal Ashby) |
Screenplay by Jerzy Kosinski, inspired by the novel by Jerzy Kosinski | "There will be growth in
the spring." Peter Sellers as Chance |
|
Witness (1985; dir. Peter Weir) |
Screenplay by Earl W. Wallace
& William Kelley, story by William Kelley and Pamela Wallace &
Earl W. Wallace |
"Listen, lady, you take
my picture and I'm going to rip off your brassiere and strangle you with
it." Harrison Ford as John Book |
|
The Producers (1968; dir. Mel Brooks) |
Written by Mel Brooks | "How could this happen?
I was so careful. I picked the wrong play, the wrong director, the wrong
cast. Where did I go right?" Zero Mostel as Max Bialystock |
|
Rocky (1976; dir. John G. Avildsen) |
Written by Sylvester Stallone | "Adrian!" Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa |
|
Adaptation (2002; dir. Spike Jonze) |
Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman, based on the book "The Orchid Thief" by Susan Orlean | "Coffee would
help me think
. Coffee and a muffin." Nicolas Cage as Charlie Kaufman |
|
Raging Bull (1980; dir. Martin Scorsese) |
Screenplay by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin, based on the book by Jake La Motta with Joseph Carter and Peter Savage | "You win, you win. You
lose, you still win." Joe Pesci as Joey La Motta |