Premiere's Greatest 25 Screenplays
In the May issue of Premiere with the X-Men on the cover, they list what they consider to be the 25 greatest screenplays of all time. They are:
25. The Wizard of Oz
24. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
23. Gone with the Wind
22. The Shawshank Redemption
21. North by Northwest
20. It's a Wonderful Life
19. To Kill a Mockingbird
18. On the Waterfront
17. Tootsie
16. Pulp Fiction
15. The Apartment
14. Lawrence of Arabia
13. The Graduate
12. Dr. Stranglove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
11. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
10. The Godfather Part II
9. Some Like It Hot
8. Network
7. Sunset Boulevard
6. Annie Hall
5. All About Eve
4. Citizen Kane
3. Chinatown
2. The Godfather.
1. Casablanca
Interesting list and some great suggestions for movie rentals. The only one I really didn't care for was Dr. Strangelove. Perhaps I should see it again.
You and me, sitting in the aisle, Louie, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.
posted by John Choi @ 11:06 AM
4 Comments:
My question is how is Premiere's list pf best screenplays any different than a best picutre list? How are the criteria any different than what makes a good film, since in the end a good story makes a good film. In my opinion, Shawshank should be higher. The original Star Wars and Cool Hand Luke are better stories than a few of these on the list. Just my thoughts...
I think what they mean is, does it work on the written page without visual aids. I, too, feel Star Wars should at least warrant a mention, but perhaps the screenplay itself, sans music, visual effects, and so on, does not make for a very compelling read. I've read a few screenplays before seeing the movie and sometimes words on a page are not enough.
Right, so action/adventure movies won't look as good on paper as they do as the finished film product due to the additional fx. that makes sense.
I guess I just would have liked them to think outside the box a little bit more here because it seems like the list is too familar, like a recycled list of the best movies ever made, which there are already a plethora of. i mean it would it have killed them to put a movie like Reservoir Dogs on the list, because that is a very, very clever movie on paper, even without the music or action:) Fargo is another good story.
A better article would have been either 1) the best screenplays that you've never seen / forgot about (this list wouldn't be too hard after some thought) or 2) the best screenplays that turned into bad movies (they could have explored why it was a good screenplay and then discuss why they think it came out poorly on film). that IS an article i would like to read.
Just my thoughts ...
I am surprised that Eternal Sunshine made it on the list. It was a good movie, but I don't know about one the 25 Greatest Screenplays.
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