Saturday, December 31, 2005

Writer’s Guild of America: 101 Greatest Film Screenplays of All Time

Writers Guild of America:

101 Greatest Film Screenplays of All Time

In 2005, the Writer’s Guild of America asked its members to submit their lists of top ten screenplays. The results were compiled into the list below.

1. Casablanca (1942)
2. The Godfather (1972)
3. Chinatown (1974)
4. Citizen Kane (1941)
5. All About Eve (1950)
6. Annie Hall (1977)
7. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
8. Network (1976)
9. Some Like It Hot (1959)
10. The Godfather Part II (1974)

11. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
12. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
13. The Graduate (1967)
14. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
15. The Apartment (1960)
16. Pulp Fiction (1994)
17. Tootsie (1982)
18. On the Waterfront (1954)
19. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
20. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

21. North by Northwest (1959)
22. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
23. Gone with the Wind (1939)
24. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
25. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
26. Double Indemnity (1944)
27. Groundhog Day (1993)
28. Shakespeare in Love (1998)
29. Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
30. Unforgiven (1992)

31. His Girl Friday (1940)
32. Fargo (1996)
33. The Third Man (1949)
34. The Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
35. The Usual Suspects (1995)
36. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
37. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
38. American Beauty (1999)
39. The Sting (1973)
40. When Harry Met Sally… (1989)

41. Goodfellas (1990)
42. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
43. Taxi Driver (1976)
44. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
45. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
46. The Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948) 47. The Maltese Falcon (1941) 48. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) 49. Schindler’s List (1993)
50. The Sixth Sense (1999)

51. Broadcast News (1987) 52. The Lady Eve (1941) 53. All the President’s Men (1976) 54. Manhattan (1979) 55. Apocalypse Now (1979)
56. Back to the Future (1985)
57. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
58. Ordinary People (1980)
59. It Happened One Night (1984)
60. L.A. Confidential (1997)

61. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
62. Moonstruck (1987)
63. Jaws (1975)
64. Terms of Endearment (1983)
65. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
66. Jerry Maguire (1996)
67. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
68. Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
69. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
70. The African Queen (1951)

71. The Lion in Winter (1968)
72. Thelma & Louise (1991)
73. Amadeus (1984)
74. Being John Malkovich (1999)
75. High Noon (1952)
76. Raging Bull (1980)
77. Adaptation (2002)
78. Rocky (1976)
79. The Producers (1968)
80. Witness (1985)

81. Being There (1979)
82. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
83. Rear Window (1954)
84. The Princess Bride (1987)
85. Grand Illusion (La Grande Illusion) (1937)
86. Harold and Maude (1971)
87. 8 ½ (Otto e Mezzo) (1963)
88. Field of Dreams (1988)
89. Forrest Gump (1994)
90. Sideways (2004)

91. The Verdict (1982)
92. Psycho (1960)
93. Do the Right Thing (1989)
94. Patton (1970)
95. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
96. The Hustler (1961)
97. The Searchers (1956)
98. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
99. The Wild Bunch (1969)
100. Memento (2001)
101. Notorious (1946)

Resources:

Originally posted 8/20/2019; last updated 5/28/2023.
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Monday, July 25, 2005

50 years ago: The Night of the Hunter - part film noir, part fairy tale - released

The Night of the Hunter

Released: July 26, 1955

Studio: United Artists

Genre: crime drama/film noir

Box Office (numbers in millions):

Domestic: 0.65 Worldwide: ?

Adjusted for Inflation:

Domestic: 2.70 Worldwide: ?

Directing: Charles Laughton

Screenwriting: James Agee

Starring: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish

Review:

This “somber tale of good vs. evil” A07 is “a stark…black-and-white thriller” FS which was “a huge box-office failure” ML that was also initially panned by critics. MSN However, it is “now one for the ages,” RS thanks in part to “its ability to straddle both children’s fairytale and film noir.” MSN “If the Grimm brothers had made movies, they would have been life this.” ML

It features “a haunting, chilling lead performance by Robert Mitchum,” FS who “was playing charismatic psychopaths before De Niro or Walken entered high school.” PM Night of the Hunter is marked by “the absolute authority of Mitchum’s performance – easy, charming, infinitely sinister.” T95

He plays Harry Powell, “a murderous preacher” PM “prowling the Ohio River Valley” FS in rural America in the 1930s. With LOVE and HATE tattooed on his knuckles, he’s “convinced he’s carrying out the Lord’s wishes.” PM “It was – and is – a shocking depiction of a man of God.” PM

He “weds a dead condemned killer’s lonely widow (Winters), and then relentlessly hunts his own innocent step-children across the Depression Era Bible Belt to get at their father’s stolen fortune of $10,000.” FS “The final segment pits the Preacher against Lillian Gish as a symbol of protecting Goodness, rocking at night on a porch with a shotgun across her lap, while he sings his perverse hymn in counterpoint: ‘Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.’” FS

The film was adapted from a novel by Davis Grubb and was the only directorial effort from “esteemed British actor” MSN Charles Laughton. His “deliberately old-fashioned direction throws up a startling array of images: an amalgam of Mark Twain-like exteriors (idyllic riverside life) and expressionist interiors, full of moody nighttime shadows. The style reaches its pitch in the extraordinary moonlight flight of the two children downriver, gliding silently in the distance, watched over by animals seen in huge close-up, filling up the foreground of the screen.” T95

Sources:

Awards/Honors/Lists:

Dave’s Movie Database Lists:

Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists:

Awards:

Oscars:

Wins: 0

Nominations: 0

Other Lists/Honors:

Critics’ Picks:

First posted 6/4/2023.
 
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Saturday, February 12, 2005

Time Magazine: “All-TIME 100 Movies”

Time:

All-TIME 100 Movies

These movies were selected by Time magazine’s Richard Corliss and Richard Schickel. As the website says, “The idea was to assemble 100 estimable films since Time began, with the March 3, 1923 issue.” The two film critics each created lists of 100+ films. They had 31 movies in common (with The Godfather and The Godfather Part II considered as one entry) and then negotiated with each other to flesh out the remainder.

The original Time list was presented unranked. However, this list has been ranked based on the movies’ overall status in Dave’s Movie Database with the shared films ranked and then the remaining films ranked.

Maddingly, this list does NOT add up to 100 titles. The Godfather and The Godfather Part II are listed as one entry, as are the two-part Olympia, the Apu Trilogy and Lord of the Rings. If these titles were broken out separately, the list would be…105 titles? Someone at Time needs to learn to count (or I’ve missed a movie somewhere, despite checking this list several times).

1. The Godfather (1972) / The Godfather Part II (1974)
2. Citizen Kane (1941)
3. Casablanca (1942)
4. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
5. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
6. Taxi Driver (1976)
7. Chinatown (1974)
8. Double Indemnity (1944)
9. City Lights (1931)
10. King Kong (1933)

11. 8 ½ (Otto e Mezzo) (1963)
12. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
13. Pinocchio (1940)
14. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
15. Persona (aka “Masks”) (1966)
16. The Manchurian Candidate (1961)
17. His Girl Friday (1940)
18. Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
19. Sherlock, Jr. (1924)
20. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes) (1972)

21. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
22. The Lady Eve (1941)
23. Children of Paradise (Les Enfants du Paradis) (1945)
24. Yojimbo (1961)
25. Ugetsu (aka “Ugetsu Mongatari” or “Tales of a Pale Moon After the Rain”) (1953)
26. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
27. White Heat (1949)
28. Ikiru (1952)
29. Detour (1945)
30. Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)

31. Talk to Her (Hable Con Ella) (2002)
32. Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
33. The Lord of the Rings:

34. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
35. Psycho (1960)
36. Raging Bull (1980)
37. Pulp Fiction (1994)
38. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
39. Some Like It Hot (1959)
40. Goodfellas (1990)

41. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
42. On the Waterfront (1954)
43. The Searchers (1956)
44. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
45. Blade Runner (1982)
46. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
47. Finding Nemo (2003)
48. Unforgiven (1992)
49. Tokyo Story (Tôkyô Monogatari) (1953)
50. Metropolis (1927)

51. Once Upon a Time in the West (C’era Una Volta Il West) (1968)
52. The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups) (1959)
53. Brazil (1985)
54. Notorious (1946)
55. A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
56. City of God (Cidade de Deus) (2002)
57. Swing Time (1936)
58. Barry Lyndon (1975)
59. Out of the Past (1947)
60. The Apu Trilogy:

  • Pather Panchali (1955)
  • Aparajito (1956)
  • The World of Apu (Apur Sansar) (1959)

61. Miller’s Crossing (1990)
62. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
63. Ninotchka (1939)
64. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise (Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie) (1972)
65. Wings of Desire (Der Himmel uber Berlin) (1988)
66. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
67. Dodsworth (1936)
68. Man with a Movie Camera (Chelovek s Kinoapparatom) (1929)
69. The Crowd (1928)
70. The Awful Truth (1937)

71. In a Lonely Place (1950)
72. Chungking Express (1994)
73. It’s a Gift (1934)
74. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
75. Day for Night (La Nuit Américaine) (1973)
76. Umberto D. (1952)
77. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
78. Closely Watched Trains (Ostre Sledované Vlaky) (1966)
79. The Decalogue (Dekalog) (1988)
80. Camille (1937)

81. Farewell My Concubine (1993)
82. Olympia (1938)
83. My American Uncle (Mon Oncle D’Amrique) (1980)
84. Léolo (1992)
85. The Fly (1986)
86. A Touch of Zen (Xia Nü) (1969)
87. The Last Command (1928)
88. Nayakan (1987)
89. The Singing Detective (1986)
90. Pyaasa (1957)

91. Charade (1963)
92. Drunken Master II (1994)
93. Band of Outsiders (Bande à Part) (1964)
94. Mouchette (1967)
95. Baby Face (1933)
96. Ulysses’ Gaze (1995)
97. The Crime of Monsieur Lange (Le Crime de Monsieur Lange) (1936)
98. Kandahar (aka The Sun Behind the Moon”) (2002)
99. Berlin Alexanderplatz (1931)

Resources:

Originally posted 7/30/2019; last updated 6/2/2023.
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Tuesday, February 1, 2005

Halliwell’s Best Films: Top 100

Leslie Halliwell/John Walker:

Top 100 Films

From ThePendragonSociety.com: “The Halliwell film guide was a highly respected English publication, originally complied by Leslie Halliwell until his death in 1989 in partnership with John Walker. Walker continued to publish the guide into the 21st century and brought out a book listing what he considered to be the best 1000 films in 2005.” Listed here are the top 100.

1. Tokyo Story (Tôkyô Monogatari) (1953)
2. The Rules of the Game (La Règle du Jeu) (1939)
3. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
4. The Godfather (1972) / The Godfather Part II (1974) / The Godfather Part III (1990)
5. The Seven Samurai (Schichinin no Samurai) (1954)
6. Citizen Kane (1941)
7. Raging Bull (1980)
8. Vertigo (1958)
9. Some Like It Hot (1959)
10. 8 ½ (Otto e Mezzo) (1963)

11. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
12. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
13. Taxi Driver (1976)
14. The Searchers (1956)
15. The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde Inseglet) (1957)
16. Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
17. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
18. The Third Man (1949)
19. The Apu Trilogy:

  • Pather Panchali (1955)
  • Aparajito (1956)
  • The World of Apu (1959)
20. Children of Paradise (Les Enfants du Paradis) (1945)

21. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise (Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie) (1972)
22. Andrei Rublev (1996)
23. The Passion of Joan of Arc (La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc) (1928)
24. Viridana (1961)
25. Toy Story (1995)
26. Rashômon (1950)
27. Wild Strawberries (Smultronstället) (1957)
28. To Be Or Not to Be (1942)
29. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
30. The Lord of the Rings:

31. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
32. The Battle of Algiers (La Battaglia di Algeria) (1966)
33. Alexander Nevsky (Aleksandr Nevskiy) (1938)
34. Beauty of the Day (Belle de Jour) (1967)
35. Casablanca (1942)
36. Goodfellas (1990)
37. Tristana (1970)
38. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
39. Breaking the Waves (1996)
40. Sullivan’s Travels (1941)

41. Frankenstein (1931)
42. Battleship Potemkin (Bronenosets Potyomkin) (1925)
43. Double Indemnity (1944)
44. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
45. Week End (1967)
46. Jules and Jim (Jules et Jim) (1961)
47. Breathless (A Bout de Souffle) (1959)
48. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
49. Wings of Desire (Der Himmel uber Berlin) (1988)
50. Fitzcarraldo (1982)

51. If… (1968)
52. The Wild Bunch (1969)
53. The Red Shoes (1948)
54. Annie Hall (1977)
55. Tom Jones (1963)
56. On the Waterfront (1954)
57. West Side Story (1961)
58. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)
59. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
60. Great Expectations (1946)

61. The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) (1963)
62. Schindler’s List (1993)
63. Ashes and Diamonds (Popiól I Diament) (1958)
64. Liberty for Us (À Nous la Liberté) (1931)
65. Antoine Doinel Tetralogy:

  • The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups) (1959)
  • Stolen Kisses (1968)
  • Bed and Board (1970)
  • Love on the Run (1979)
66. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
67. Mr. Hulot’s Holiday (Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot’s) (1953)
68. Laurel & Hardy short films (1921-1943)
69. Chinatown (1974)
70. Star Wars:

71. Gosford Park (2001)
72. Rear Window (1954)
73. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes) (1972)
74. A Short Film About Killing (1987)
75. M*A*S*H (1970)
76. Cries and Whispers (Viskningar Och Rop) (1972)
77. All the President’s Men (1976)
78. The Nights of Cabiria (Le Notti di Cabiria) (1957) *
79. King Kong (1933)
80. Gone with the Wind (1939)

81. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
82. Fanny and Alexander (Fanny och Alexander) (1982)
83. North by Northwest (1959)
84. The Band Wagon (1953)
85. Yojimbo (1961)
86. Brief Encounter (1946)
87. Deliverance (1972)
88. Fargo (1996)
89. Cabaret (1972)
90. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

91. Days of Heaven (1978)
92. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
93. High Noon (1952)
94. His Girl Friday (1940)
95. Manhattan (1979)
96. Duck Soup (1933)
97. Henry V (1944)
98. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
99. Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
100. The Graduate (1967)

Resources:

Originally posted 8/22/2019; last updated 6/9/2023.
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