What Are the Best Screenplays of All Time?

Are you a fan of reading screenplays?

What are the pages that transported you into another realm? And who are the screenwriters who you think consistently take you to those places? If you regularly read No Film School, you know I love all things writing.

When I'm stuck in my own page, I frequently go back to the screenplays that got me into movies and see how those legendary scribes put together character arcs, balanced structure, and just finished scripts that got made and became landmark movies.

But what are the greatest screenplays of all time? The ones who everyone agrees are the best building blocks for the movies that came after? Or the scripts that challenged what was the status quo in Hollywood and changed everything that came after them? Or what about the scripts that feel so Hollywood, the ones that had a ton of writers tweaking and transforming pages up until the scenes were shot?

We're on a journey today to unlock the greatest screenplays of all time. Let's dive in.

The Best Screenplays of All Time

I want to get this out of the way up front—this will all be subjective.

The greatest screenplays are the ones that affect and move you or draw you to into the story and never let you go. I have lots of opinions on the greatest screenplay of all time. It's hard because I feel like you have to split them up via different genres. In fact, the WGA has made a lit of their favorite screenplays in comedy, 101 Funniest Screenplays of All Time, which covers movies from The Gold Rush (1925) to Bridesmaids (2011).

If I had to pick some of my favorites of all time, I'd lean into the classics like The Apartment, The Graduate, with a mix of current films like Juno and Superbad. I also love more serious dramas like Little Children, Manchester by the Sea, The Godfather, and Casablanca.

Then you have to think about writing action and adventure movies, like The Fugitive, Die Hard, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. And what about indie movies that don't get enough love like Your Sister's Sister, Donnie Darko, and Tangerine?

Another genre that doesn't get enough love is horror, from Get Out to Scream to The Exorcist. There are so many landmark screenplays that have shaped Hollywood and truly the genre's perception around the world.

And speaking of around the world, how do you qualify screenplays from a different country translated into English? I'm talking stories like Roshomon, City of God, Cinema Paradiso, and The 400 Blows.

As you can see, it's hard to pick the best screenplays of all time, but the WGA tried to do just that.

Top 100 Screenplays of All Time

Back in 2005, The Writer's Guild of America (WGA) sent out ballots to its members asking them to list up to 10 of their favorite produced screenplays. Any film, past or present, English-language or otherwise, was eligible. This caused a long debate as the votes were tallied. What resulted was a list that ranked the top 101 screenplays of all time written before 2005.

We have that list, in order, below. Let me know which are your favorites.

1. CASABLANCA

Screenplay by Julius J. & Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch. Based on the play "Everybody Comes to Rick's" by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison

2. THE GODFATHER
Screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola. Based on the novel by Mario Puzo

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. Based on "The Wisdom of Eve," a short story and radio play by Mary Orr

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. NETWORK
Written by Paddy Chayefsky

9. SOME LIKE IT HOT
Screenplay by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond. Based on "Fanfare of Love," a German film written by Robert Thoeren and M. Logan

10. THE GODFATHER II
Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo. Based on Mario Puzo's novel "The Godfather"

11. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID
Written by William Goldman

12. DR. STRANGELOVE
Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick and Peter George and Terry Southern. Based on novel "Red Alert" by Peter George

13. THE GRADUATE
Screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry. Based on the novel by Charles Webb

14. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
Screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. Based on the life and writings of Col. T.E. Lawrence

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. Story by Don McGuire and Larry Gelbart

18. ON THE WATERFRONT
Screen Story and Screenplay by Budd Schulberg. Based on "Crime on the Waterfront" articles by Malcolm Johnson

19. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Screenplay by Horton Foote. Based on the novel by Harper Lee

20. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
Screenplay by Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett & Frank Capra. Based on short story "The Greatest Gift" by Philip Van Doren Stern. Contributions to screenplay Michael Wilson and Jo Swerling

21. NORTH BY NORTHWEST
Written by Ernest Lehman

22. THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
Screenplay by Frank Darabont. Based on the short story "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" by Stephen King

23. GONE WITH THE WIND
Screenplay by Sidney Howard. Based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell

24. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman. Story by Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry & Pierre Bismuth

25. THE WIZARD OF OZ
Screenplay by Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf Adaptation by Noel Langley. Based on the novel by L. Frank Baum

26. DOUBLE INDEMNITY
Screenplay by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler. Based on the novel by James M. Cain

27. GROUNDHOG DAY
Screenplay by Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis. Story by Danny Rubin

28. SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
Written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard

29. SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS
Written by Preston Sturges

30. UNFORGIVEN
Written by David Webb Peoples

31. HIS GIRL FRIDAY
Screenplay by Charles Lederer. Based on the play "The Front Page" by Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur

32. FARGO
Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

33. THE THIRD MAN
Screenplay by Graham Greene. Story by Graham Greene. Based on the short story by Graham Greene

34. THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS
Screenplay by Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman. From a novelette by Ernest Lehman

35. THE USUAL SUSPECTS
Written by Christopher McQuarrie

36. MIDNIGHT COWBOY
Screenplay by Waldo Salt. Based on the novel by James Leo Herlihy

37. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY
Screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart. Based on the play by Philip Barry

38. AMERICAN BEAUTY
Written by Alan Ball

39. THE STING
Written by David S. Ward

40. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
Written by Nora Ephron

41. GOODFELLAS
Screenplay by Nicholas Pileggi & Martin Scorsese. Based on book "Wise Guy" by Nicholas Pileggi

42. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
Screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan. Story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman

43. TAXI DRIVER
Written by Paul Schrader

44. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES
Screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood. Based on novel "Glory For Me" by MacKinley Kantor

45. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
Screenplay by Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman. Based on the novel by Ken Kesey

46. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE
Screenplay by John Huston. Based on the novel by B. Traven

47. THE MALTESE FALCON
Screenplay by John Huston. Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett

48. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
Screenplay by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson. Based on the novel by Pierre Boulle

49. SCHINDLER'S LIST
Screenplay by Steven Zaillian. Based on the novel by Thomas Keneally

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. Story by Monckton Hoffe

53. ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN
Screenplay by William Goldman. Based on the book by Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward

54. MANHATTAN
Written by Woody Allen & Marshall Brickman

55. APOCALYPSE NOW
Written by John Milius and Francis Coppola. Narration by Michael Herr

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. Based on the novel by Judith Guest

59. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
Screenplay by Robert Riskin. Based on the story "Night Bus" by Samuel Hopkins Adams

60. L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
Screenplay by Brian Helgeland & Curtis Hanson. Based on the novel by James Ellroy

61. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
Screenplay by Ted Tally. Based on the novel by Thomas Harris

62. MOONSTRUCK
Written by John Patrick Shanley

63. JAWS
Screenplay by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb. Based on the novel by Peter Benchley

64. TERMS OF ENDEARMENT
Screenplay by James L. Brooks. Based on the novel by Larry McMurtry

65. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN
Screen Story and Screenplay by Betty Comden & Adolph Green. Based on the song by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown

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. Based on a magazine article by P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore

70. THE AFRICAN QUEEN
Screenplay by James Agee and John Huston. Based on the novel by C.S. Forester

71. THE LION IN WINTER
Screenplay by James Goldman. Based on the play by James Goldman

72. THELMA & LOUISE
Written by Callie Khouri

73. AMADEUS
Screenplay by Peter Shaffer. Based on his play

74. BEING JOHN MALKOVICH
Written by Charlie Kaufman

75. HIGH NOON
Screenplay by Carl Foreman. Based on short story "The Tin Star" by John W. Cunningham

76. RAGING BULL
Screenplay by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin. Based on the book by Jake La Motta with Joseph Carter and Peter Savage

77. ADAPTATION
Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman. Based on the book "The Orchid Thief" by Susan Orlean

78. ROCKY
Written by Sylvester Stallone

79. THE PRODUCERS
Written by Mel Brooks

80. WITNESS
Screenplay by Earl W. Wallace & William Kelley. Story by William Kelley and Pamela Wallace & Earl W. Wallace

81. BEING THERE
Screenplay by Jerzy Kosinski. Inspired by the novel by Jerzy Kosinski

82. COOL HAND LUKE
Screenplay by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson. Based on the novel by Donn Pearce

83. REAR WINDOW
Screenplay by John Michael Hayes. Based on the short story by Cornell Woolrich

84. THE PRINCESS BRIDE
Screenplay by William Goldman. Based on his novel

85. LA GRANDE ILLUSION
Written by Jean Renoir and Charles Spaak

86. HAROLD & MAUDE
Written by Colin Higgins

87. 8 1/2
Screenplay by Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, Brunello Rond. Story by Fellini, Flaiano

88. FIELD OF DREAMS
Screenplay by Phil Alden Robinson. Based on the book by W.P. Kinsella

89. FORREST GUMP
Screenplay by Eric Roth. Based on the novel by Winston Groom

90. SIDEWAYS
Screenplay by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor. Based on the novel by Rex Pickett

91. THE VERDICT
Screenplay by David Mamet. Based on the novel by Barry Reed

92. PSYCHO
Screenplay by Joseph Stefano. Based on the novel by Robert Bloch

93. DO THE RIGHT THING
Written by Spike Lee

94. PATTON
Screen Story and Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North. Based on "A Soldier's Story" by Omar H. Bradley and "Patton: Ordeal and Triumph" by Ladislas Farago

95. HANNAH AND HER SISTERS
Written by Woody Allen

96. THE HUSTLER
Screenplay by Sidney Carroll & Robert Rossen. Based on the novel by Walter Tevis

97. THE SEARCHERS
Screenplay by Frank S. Nugent. Based on the novel by Alan Le May

98. THE GRAPES OF WRATH
Screenplay by Nunnally Johnson. Based on the novel by John Steinbeck

99. THE WILD BUNCH
Screenplay by Walon Green and Sam Peckinpah. Story by Walon Green and Roy Sickner

100. MEMENTO
Screenplay by Christopher Nolan. Based on the short story "Memento Mori" by Jonathan Nolan

101. NOTORIOUS
Written by Ben Hecht

Summing Up the Best Screenplays of All Time

Now that you've checked out these exhaustive lists and read through the WGA's rankings, what are some scripts you think were left off the list of greatest screenplays of all time?

I want to hear all the titles you'd add from the last 15 years and hear the classic films and films from around the world that were left off this list above.

Let me know in the comments.