The Best 100 Screenplays of All Time
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
We have finally reached the last list of my decades project. It has been a wild ride, and I thank everyone who has tuned in for these two years. I won’t be doing any other film lists of this magnitude (no acting, editing, sets, costumes, anything) until we reach the end of the 2020’s, when I will detail the top one hundred films of that decade. Until then, the only similar lists coming down the pipeline are television related (look forward to those!). Let’s get back to the program here with this current list: the best one hundred screenplays of all time. Like the last few lists (any music based list and the best shot films list), this is a little more in fun than anything else. However, I think there is more in common here with my Wall of Directors than those other lists, particularly because I see a different kind of potential.
In the same way that I will be ranking the filmographies of each filmmaker that is featured on my Wall of Directors, I will be resurrecting a short lived series on Films Fatale (Post Script: audio lectures on why my favourite screenplays of all time work so well) and connecting these episodes with the films below. That will be at least one hundred episodes of Post Script (I will occasionally be covering screenplays that didn’t make the final cut here) coming your way, and tons of content on the back burner. As a result — especially because I can’t find enough ways to explain in textual form how great these screenplays are — you will only find the entries below. Additionally, I’m attaching some of my single lines of dialogue from each film here; these aren’t necessarily the best lines or most representative pieces of each film, but random pieces I wanted to share for each work. I wouldn’t read too deeply into these. Instead, await the Post Script episodes I will have for each entry (there will be extensive lessons on each film that a paragraph can’t match).
Last but not least, what was my criteria for this list? As lovely as dialogue is (and I’m featuring one hundred lines here), good screenplays must have great character development and gestations, proper setting establishment, plot and scenario structure, and the kind of timelessness and pizzazz that matter. Furthermore, these just have to flat out be good stories (I think this counts). These are one hundred revolutionary, breathtaking pieces of writing that have either complimented cinema or have transcended the medium in a myriad of ways. Here are the best one hundred screenplays of all time.
100. SPOTLIGHT
He's one of the lucky ones. He's still alive.
99. My Dinner with Andre
I'm adequate to do any sort of a task, but I'm not adequate just to be a human being.
98. CRIES AND WHISPERS
I wanted to cling to that moment, and I thought, "Come what may, this is happiness. I cannot wish for anything better. Now, for a few minutes, I can experience perfection and I feel profoundly grateful to my life, which gives me so much."
97. Marty
See, dogs like us, we ain't such dogs as we think we are.
96. REAR WINDOW
A murderer would never parade his crime in front of an open window.
95. The Departed
My theory on Feds is that they're like mushrooms: feed them shit, and keep them in the dark
94. Call Me By Your Name
Right now, you may not want to feel anything. Maybe you never wanted to feel anything, and maybe it's not to me you'll want to speak about these things. But feel something you obviously did.
93. BLUE VELVET
Now, it's dark...
92. Crimes and Misdemeanors
Comedy is tragedy plus time.
91. Being There
All I've got left is that room upstairs.
90. Her
Sometimes I think I have felt everything I'm ever gonna feel, and from here on out, I'm not gonna feel anything new. Just lesser versions of what I've already felt.
89. My Man Godfrey
Life in this family is one subpoena after another.
88. There Will Be Blood
I thank God I have none of you in me.
87. The Grapes of Wrath
Seems like the government's got more interest in a dead man than a live one.
86. It’s Such a Beautiful Day
As the sun continues to set, he finally comes to realize the dumb irony in how he had been waiting for this moment his entire life; this stupid awkward moment of death that had invaded and distracted so many days with stress and wasted time.
85. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
In this world, there’s two types of people: those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig.
84. High and Low
I'm not afraid of death. I don't care if I go to hell. My life has been hell since the day I was born.
83. Amadeus
Mediocrities everywhere... I absolve you... I absolve you all.
82. The Big Short
I'm going to find moral redemption at the roulette table.
81. Charade
Being murdered in cold blood is not nonsense. Why don't you try it sometime?
80. All the Presidents Men
Woodward. Bernstein. You're both on the story. Now don't fuck it up.
79. Groundhog Day
You want a prediction about the weather, you're asking the wrong Phil. I'll give you a winter prediction: It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life.
78. Once Upon a Time in the West
You know, ma'am, when you've killed four, it's easy to make it five.
77. Withnail & I
Yes, we'll buy this place and we'll install a fucking jukebox in here and liven all you stiffs up a bit!
76. Inglourious Basterds
My name is Shosanna Dreyfus and this is the face of Jewish vengeance.
75. Memento
We all lie to ourselves to be happy.
74. The Piano
I think of my piano in its ocean grave, and sometimes of myself floating above it. Down there everything is so still and silent that it lulls me to sleep. It is a weird lullaby and so it is. It is mine.
73. La Grande Illusion
To be killed in a war is a tragedy for a commoner. For you and me, it's a good way out.
72. The Silence of the Lambs
You're very frank, Clarice. I think it would be quite something to know you in private life.
71. A Separation
He does not know me but i know that he is my father.
70. Rashomon
It's human to lie. Most of the time, we can't even be honest with ourselves.
69. Hannah and Her Sisters
Look at all these people, trying to stave off the inevitable decay of their bodies.
68. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
A man becomes a critic when he cannot be an artist, the same way that a man becomes an informer when he cannot be a soldier.
67. Goodfellas
Whenever we needed money, we'd rob the airport. To us, it was better than Citibank.
66. Notorious
An old friend is never an extra guest.
65. Divorce Italian Style
Please don’t start with the same old story.
64. Get Out
Now you're in the sunken place.
63. The Before Series
Even being alone it's better than sitting next to your lover and feeling lonely.
62. The Searchers
Figure a man's only good for one oath at a time. I took mine to the Confederate States of America.
61. Rushmore
She's in love with a dead guy anyway.
60. Moonlight
You the only man that's ever touched me. You were the only one. I haven’t really touched anyone since.
59. Sweet Smell of Success
Maybe I left my sense of humour in my other suit.
58. Ninotchka
It's never too late to change. I used to belong to the petty bourgeoisie, myself. My father and mother wanted me to stay and work on the farm. But, I preferred the bayonet.
57. Last Year at Marienbad
At first sight, along these stone paths and amidst these statues, where you were already losing your way forever in the still night alone with me.
56. Unforgiven
It's a hell of a thing, killing a man: take away all he's got, and all he's ever gonna have.
55. PSYCHO
Sometimes Saturday night has a lonely sound, you ever notice that Lila?
54. Synecdoche, New York
We're all hurtling towards death, yet here we are for the moment: alive. Each of us knowing we're going to die. Each of us secretly believing we won't.
53. Brief Encounter
I had no thoughts at all. Only an overwhelming desire not to feel anything ever again.
52. Magnolia
I really do have love to give. I just don't know where to put it.
51. Tokyo Story
If I had known things would come to this, I'd have been kinder to her while she was alive.
50. Reservoir Dogs
If you shoot this man, you die next. I repeat. If you shoot this man, you die next.
49. City Lights
Yes. I can see now.
48. 12 ANGRY MEN
Gentlemen, that's a very sad thing: to be nothing.
47. Adaptation.
What I came to understand is that change is not a choice: not for a species of plant, and not for me.
46. North by Northwest
I didn't realize you were an art collector. I thought you just collected corpses.
45. Talk to Her
There's nothing worse than leaving someone you still love.
44. The Third Man
A person doesn't change just because you find out more.
43. Lost in Translation
I just feel so alone, even when I'm surrounded by other people.
42. Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
The repression is our vaccine. Repression and civilization!
41. Fargo
So we got a trooper pulls someone over, we got a shooting, these folks drive by, there's a high-speed pursuit, ends here and then this execution-type deal.
40. L’Argent
You have me on your conscience. You have to answer for that now.
39. The Social Network
You're not an asshole, Mark. You're just trying so hard to be.
38. Taxi Driver
Loneliness has followed me my whole life. Everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There's no escape. I'm God's lonely man.
37. American Beauty
This isn't life. It's just stuff, and it has become more important to you than living.
36. Seven Samurai
The farmers have won. Not us.
35. The Sting
Try not to live up to all my expectations.
34. L’Atalante
Don’t you know you can see the one you love in the water?
33. Lawrence of Arabia
My name is for my friends. None of my friends is a murderer.
32. Some Like It Hot
Well, nobody's perfect!
31. No Country for Old Men
That's the best deal you're gonna get. I won't tell you you can save yourself, because you can't.
30. Annie Hall
A relationship, I think, is like a shark. It has to constantly move forward or it dies, and I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark.
29. His Girl Friday
I'll tell you what you do: you come back to work on the paper. If we find we can't get along on a friendly fashion, we'll get married again.
28. 8 1/2
All the confusion of my life has been a reflection of myself. Myself as I am. Not as I'd like to be.
27. Apocalypse Now
You have to have men who are moral, and at the same time who are able to utilize their primordial instincts to kill without feeling. Without passion. Without judgment. Without judgment, because it's judgment that defeats us.
26. Raging Bull
I've done a lot of bad things, Joey. Maybe it's comin' back to me. Who knows? I'm a jinx maybe.
25. Do the Right Thing
We ain't gonna stand for this shit no more, Sal. You hear me?
24. Naked
What if God just put us here for his own entertainment? That's all we are: just something for him to have a bit of a laugh at.
23. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
I can no longer sit back and allow communist infiltration, communist indoctrination, communist subversion, and the international communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.
22. Parasite
Nice because she's rich. You know? Hell, if I had all this money, I'd be nice too.
21. Double Indemnity
Perhaps it was worth it to her.
20. The Rules of the Game
The awful thing about life is this: everybody has their reasons.
19. All About Eve
Imagine: to know every night that different hundreds of people love you. They smile. Their eyes shine. You've pleased them. They want you. You belong. Just that alone is worth anything.
18. Ikiru
I don't know what I've been doing with my life for all these years.
17. On the Waterfront
I could of had class. I could of been a contender. I could of been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.
16. All About My Mother
Success has got no taste or smell, and when you get used to it, it's as if it didn't exist.
15. Being John Malkovich
What makes you think I won't be seeing what you're seeing... in court?!
14. THE APARTMENT
Some people take, some people get took, end they know they're getting took and there's nothing they can do about it.
13. Vertigo
You shouldn't keep souvenirs of a killing. You shouldn't have been that sentimental.
12. In the Mood for Love
I didn't know married life would be so complicated. When your single, you are only responsible to yourself. Once you're married, doing well on your own is not enough.
11. SUNSET BOULEVARD
No one ever leaves a star. That's what makes one a star.
10. Mulholland Drive
It'll be just like in the movies: pretending to be somebody else.
9. L.A. Confidential
You know, when I came out to L.A., this isn't exactly where I saw myself ending up.
8. The Seventh Seal
Faith is a torment. It is like loving someone who is out there in the darkness but never appears no matter how loudly you call.
7. Pulp Fiction
The truth is you're the weak, and I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm trying, Ringo. I'm trying real hard to be the shepherd.
6. Casablanca
I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
5. The Godfather Parts I & II
You talk about vengeance. Is vengeance going to bring your son back to you? Or my boy to me?
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
What a loss to spend that much time with someone, only to find out that she's a stranger.
3. Citizen Kane
That's all he ever wanted out of life: was love. That's the tragedy of Charles Foster Kane. He just didn't have any to give.
2. Network
At the bottom of all of our terrified souls, we know that democracy is a dying giant; a sick, sick, dying, decaying political concept, riling in its final pain.
1. Chinatown
You see, Mr. Gittes, most people never have to face the fact that at the right time and the right place, they're capable of anything.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.