Reading and watching the films of the 101 greatest screenplays ever written.
I started this exercise about a year ago as a way to understand film a bit more. I was really interested in how screen plays were written and what was the craft and skill of it.
So I did a search on best screen plays, and I would read a screen play before watching the said film, especially when I was on the tube going backwards and fowards in London.
I really, really enjoyed reading the screen plays of what these big films started of at, and I remember the feeling that 'this X actor has read this script at one point in time.
That feeling was really great, especially reading scripts such as 'Back to the Future', 'Being John Malkovich', 'Rocky' 'Cool Hand Luke' 'Broadcast News'.
That's just some of them that I enjoyed.
Some of the best scripts really flipped me, because the standard of the writing on some of the old films, the depth of the dialogue backwards and forwards, was incredible of the time they were written. It made me feel like each generation adds to the craft of film and by looking backwards its amazing to see a film where the screenplay was so strong and it was written in 1960.
Forgive my generational small mindedness, but I didn't know writing was that good then. I don't want to say those screenplays were better than today's, because I believe time moves on and each generation adds to the best that is on the table.
But I'll tell you all the screenplays I read and films I watched.
1. CASABLANCA Screenplay by Julius J. & Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch.
2.THE GODFATHER Screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola
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.
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 NETWORKWritten by Paddy Chayefsky
9.SOME LIKE IT HOTScreenplay by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond.
10.THE GODFATHER IIScreenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo.
11.BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID Written by William Goldman
12.DR. STRANGELOVE Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick and Peter George and Terry Southern.
13.THE GRADUATE Screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry.
14.LAWRENCE OF ARABIA Screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson.
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.
18. ON THE WATERFRONTScreen Story and Screenplay by Budd Schulberg
19. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRDScreenplay by Horton Foote
20. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFEScreenplay by Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett & Frank Capra.
21. NORTH BY NORTHWESTWritten by Ernest Lehman
22. THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTIONScreenplay by Frank Darabon
23. GONE WITH THE WINDScreenplay by Sidney Howard
24. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MINDScreenplay by Charlie Kaufman.
25. THE WIZARD OF OZScreenplay by Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson
26. DOUBLE INDEMNITYScreenplay by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler
27. GROUNDHOG DAYScreenplay by Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis
28. SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE Written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard
29. SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS Written by Preston Sturges
30.UNFORGIVENWritten by David Webb Peoples
31.HIS GIRL FRIDAY Screenplay by Charles Lederer.
32 .FARGO Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
33.THE THIRD MAN Screenplay by Graham Greene.
34.THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS Screenplay by Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman.
35.THE USUAL SUSPECTS Written by Christopher McQuarrie
36. MIDNIGHT COWBOYScreenplay by Waldo Salt.
37.THE PHILADELPHIA STORY Screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart.
38.AMERICAN BEAUTYWritten by Alan Ball
39.THE STING Written by David S. Ward
40. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
41.GOODFELLAS Screenplay by Nicholas Pileggi & Martin Scorsese.
42.RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK Screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan.
43.TAXI RIVER Written by Paul Schrader
44.THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES Screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood.
45.ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST Screenplay by Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman. 46.THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE Screenplay by John Huston.
47.THE MALTESE FALCON Screenplay by John Huston.
48.THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI Screenplay by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson.
49.SCHINDLER'S LIST Screenplay by Steven Zaillian.
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.
53.ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN Screenplay by William Goldman.
54. MANHATTAN Written by Woody Allen & Marshall Brickman
55.APOCALYPSE NOW Written by John Milius and Francis Coppola.
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.
59.IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT Screenplay by Robert Riskin.
60.L.A. CONFIDENTIALScreenplay by Brian Helgeland & Curtis Hanson.
61.THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS Screenplay by Ted Tally.
62.MOONSTRUCK Written by John Patrick Shanley
63. JAWSScreenplay by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb.
64.TERMS OF ENDEARMENT Screenplay by James L. Brooks.
65. SINGIN' IN THE RAINScreen Story and Screenplay by Betty Comden & Adolph Green.
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.
70.THE AFRICAN QUEENScreenplay by James Agee and John Huston.
71.THE LION IN WINTER Screenplay by James Goldman.
72.THELMA & LOUISEWritten by Callie Khouri
73. AMADEUS Screenplay by Peter Shaffer.
74. BEING JOHN MALKOVICH Written by Charlie Kaufman
75.HIGH NOONScreenplay by Carl Foreman. Based on short story "The Tin Star" by John W. Cunningham
76.RAGING BULLScreenplay by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin.
77.ADAPTATION Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman.
78.ROCKY Written by Sylvester Stallone
79.THE PRODUCERS Written by Mel Brooks
80. WITNESSScreenplay by Earl W. Wallace & William Kelley.
81.BEING THERE Screenplay by Jerzy Kosinski.
82.COOL HAND LUKE Screenplay by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson.
83.REAR WINDOW Screenplay by John Michael Hayes.
84.THE PRINCESS BRIDE Screenplay by William Goldman.
85.LA GRANDE ILLUSIONWritten by Jean Renoir and Charles Spaak
86.HAROLD & MAUDEWritten by Colin Higgins
87.8 1/2Screenplay by Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, Brunello Rond.
88.FIELD OF DREAMS Screenplay by Phil Alden Robinson.
89. FORREST GUMP Screenplay by Eric Roth.
90.SIDEWAYS Screenplay by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor.
91.THE VERDICTScreenplay by David Mamet.
92.PSYCHO Screenplay by Joseph Stefano.
93.DO THE RIGHT THING Written by Spike Lee
94.PATTON Screen Story and Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North. 95.HANNAH AND HER SISTERS Written by Woody Allen
96.THE HUSTLERScreenplay by Sidney Carroll & Robert Rossen.
97.THE SEARCHERS Screenplay by Frank S. Nugent.
98.THE GRAPES OF WRATH Screenplay by Nunnally Johnson.
99.THE WILD BUNCH Screenplay by Walon Green and Sam Peckinpah.
100.MEMENTO Screenplay by Christopher Nolan.
101.NOTORIOUSWritten by Ben Hecht
So these are all the films I read the screenplays and saw the film. I couldnt talk individually about the films but I definitely agree these were some amazing films, funny, serious, grave, light, emotiona rollercosters and great acting by all who starred in these films.
Definitely a good exercise to do and my next challenge is to watch the 75 greatest edited films.
Many of them are in the 101 greatest screenplays, so this could take some time as I need to re-watch these films with an editors mind, and already I'm impressed, I watched 'All that Jazz' yesterday and enjoyed the dancing cuts they did without technology, the speed and precision of the dancers routines, and the lead-Rob Schneiders morning ritual, I think the fast cuts alongside the sounds of the routine, Alarm radio turned off, morning opera music set to play and played, getting into the showers, taking an amphetamine, all these shots reminded me of when M&S adverts would do quick cuts and shots of food being made.
From the bag being open, chips falling on the tray, oven door opening, sound and shot of food going in, all these shots techniques for me has come from this film.
So its come to me that its always good to look backwards to go forwards when it comes to creativity.
Thanks for reading.
-Adrian.
