The 101 Greatest Screenplays of All Time

DavidBeier said:
Sideways? Forest Gump? Field of Dreams? The Wizard of Oz? It's a Wonderful Life? Some Like it Hot?
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WTF?!​

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:furious3::Drogar-Angry(DBG)::angry::eek:
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:banned:​
 
It is, of course, hard not to take all of this with a grain of salt.

It's almost impossible to judge a screenplay separately from the movie which was made from it.

And every screenplay gets changed on the fly, ad-libbed by actors, edited into something entirely different from what was on the page, etc. . . .

So, what's actually being judged?
 
I'm guessing it is based primarily on dialogue, David...more specifically original dialogue that wasn't carried over in part or in whole from another source (if the script was sired by another work, that is.)

Edit:
For what it's worth, the WGA did aide in the determination process.
 
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Yeah, but Script-O-Rama should be taken with a grain of salt, too. I've read "original" scripts from there which are word-for-word identical with the final films -- i.e., someone typed it verbatim and submitted it as the "original."
 
David Jimerson said:
Yeah, but Script-O-Rama should be taken with a grain of salt, too. I've read "original" scripts from there which are word-for-word identical with the final films -- i.e., someone typed it verbatim and submitted it as the "original."
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Very true, David. There are some "transcript scripts" to watch out for, but normally they are listed as such.:beer:
 
Blaine said:
I am totally flabbergasted. This was indeed a fine list. But it has missed one of the finest SCRIPTS ever written: Body Heat. Body Heat was a very good movie, one of my favorites. But the script was incredible, damned near perfect.
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i think i know why "bodyheat" isn't on it. It's an awesome script and a model for screenplay classes. but from what i hear, the concept is heavily derivative apparently. was it "double indemnity"? not sure but apparently it's a knock off so perhaps that's the reason it's not listed.
 
brianluce said:
i think i know why "bodyheat" isn't on it. It's an awesome script and a model for screenplay classes. but from what i hear, the concept is heavily derivative apparently. was it "double indemnity"? not sure but apparently it's a knock off so perhaps that's the reason it's not listed.
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I didn't want to chime in on this one, Blaine...but brianluce just nailed why it was excluded.
 
CallaghanFilms said:
I didn't want to chime in on this one, Blaine...but brianluce just nailed why it was excluded.
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Well, I agree that both movies had a man fall for a woman and then she got him to do her husband in but other than that, the movies are quite different. Using that logic, The Postman Always Rings Twice falls into the same trap. A man lured into an horrific act by a femme fatale is standard fare for film noir.

Having read both scripts, I feel that Body Heat is a better script than Double Indemnity.

Oh, well. So it goes. :thumbsup:

EDIT: Lawrence Kasdan, you was robbed. :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
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Blaine said:
Well, I agree that both movies had a man fall for a woman and then she got him to do her husband in but other than that, the movies are quite different. Using that logic, The Postman Always Rings Twice falls into the same trap. A man lured into an horrific act by a femme fatale is standard fare for film noir.

Having read both scripts, I feel that Body Heat is a better script than Double Indemnity.

Oh, well. So it goes. :thumbsup:

EDIT: Lawrence Kasdan, you was robbed. :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
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Very true.
And it could be argued, like you said, that Body Heat also drew inspiration from The Postman Always Rings Twice; and even from The Lady From Shanghai.

But I always saw the most parallels between itself and Double Indemnity (above and beyond the obvious surface ones.) I honestly don't recall if I read the script for Body Heat or not...but Double Indemnity is one of my favorite screenplays.
 
http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/BodyHeat.pdf

I place Body Heat 6th on my all time best movie list. Two bad things about the movie, though: 1. It made me think William Hurt was a good actor. That belief was soon dispelled with his performances that followed. But I wasted precious hours of my life watching to find that out. 2. It made me think that Kathleen Turner was a good actress. While she did have a few decent movies after Body Heat, she never lived up to her potential.

A sampling of dialogue:

Ned: Maybe you shouldn't dress like that.
Matty: This is a blouse and a skirt. I don't know what you're talking about.
Ned: You shouldn't wear that body.

Matty: [to Ned] You aren't too bright. I like that in a man.
Ned: What else do you like? Lazy? Ugly? Horny? I got 'em all.
Matty: You don't look lazy.

Peter: I think I've underestimated you Ned. I don't know why it took me so long. You've started using your incompetence as a weapon.
Ned: My defense was evolving. You guys got scared.

Ned: Can I buy you a drink?
Matty: I told you. I've got a husband.
Ned: I'll buy him one too.
Matty: He's out of town.
Ned: My favorite kind. We'll drink to him.
Matty: Only comes up on weekends.
Ned: I'm liking him better all the time.

Oscar: Whatcha got for pie today Stella?
Stella: I got cherry, cherry and cherry.
Oscar: Well, what do you recommend?
Stella: I like the cherry.
Oscar: Bring it on

Judge: Mr. Racine, the next time you come into my courtroom I hope you've got either a better defense, or a better class of client.
 
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Sunset Boulevard has always been one of my favorites, also.

I included a link to the pdf version of Body Heat in the previous post, just in case you have time to read it sometime. :thumbsup:
 
Okay, maybe I missed it....

But 80% (at least) of those scripts are not even in the same league as A Man For All Seasons. And it's not like it's some obscure film. It won the Best Pic Oscar in '66 and Starred Paul Scofield, Orson Welles, and Robert friggin Shaw.

That screenplay is one of the best EVER WRITTEN.

Did I miss it? PLEASE tell me I missed it. I watched Sideways the other night...it was good, but better than AMFAS? Never.

Heathens
 
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