Top 100 Screenplays
by Jackrabbit Slim
The Writer's Guild list can be found here:
http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1807
The problem with Casablanca as number one is that it was written as it was shot, the happiest accident in movie history. If we're talking about transcripts of finished films, yes, I can buy it as number one, but if we're talking about shooting scripts, well, no.
My choice would be Hannah and Her Sisters. Of all Woody Allen's screenplays, this one is the most rich and novelistic. I would also rank Pulp Fiction, The Godfather, A Hard Day's Night and Fargo high on the list.
http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1807
The problem with Casablanca as number one is that it was written as it was shot, the happiest accident in movie history. If we're talking about transcripts of finished films, yes, I can buy it as number one, but if we're talking about shooting scripts, well, no.
My choice would be Hannah and Her Sisters. Of all Woody Allen's screenplays, this one is the most rich and novelistic. I would also rank Pulp Fiction, The Godfather, A Hard Day's Night and Fargo high on the list.
|Link|12:29 PM
3 Comments:
I don't get the Casablanca choice either. What are they thinking exactly? Everyone knows the film started shooting with an unfinished screenplay, and was patched together over time. Like you said, a happy accident. Some kind of hint?
And Singin' In The Rain? Seriously?
And Tootsie gets placed 17, but La Grande Illusion 85? And what the hell is Rocky doing here?
It's a bullshit list.
Is Lawrence of Arabia really that great of a script? It's always seemed like more of a director's accomplishment than a writer's.
Star Wars is really a stretch, too. Even aside from the dialogue, I think the story is fairly disorganized and choppy.
Overall, though, I don't think it's that bad of a list, at least if you ignore the rankings and just focus on what's there. It's pretty predictable and there are some groaners, but a lot of these kinds of lists turn out much worse.
The inclusion of "Forrest Gump," a cinematic turd at best, renders this list completely useless ... Personally, I would make Woody's Manhattan No. 1, and would have moved Cool Hand Luke into the top 10.
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