There is perhaps no profession in the art form of filmmaking as foundational as screenwriting. It’s the script and all that it entails — ideas, themes, characters, plot points — that serves as the seed that later blooms into a proper motion picture. There’s no set formula for what makes a screenplay great, which is precisely what’s allowed an admirable variety of scripts to excel throughout the years. Whether it’s a character-driven fantasy epic, a subtext-filled dramedy, an explosive action thriller, or whatever other kind of film one can think of, absolutely anything can make for an exceptional screenplay.
Great scripts are rare enough,but one that reaches what can be called true perfection is a gemthat’s only come about a handful of times throughout history. From modern masterworks likeJordan Peele’sGet Outto classics that have influenced generations of writers likeReginald Rose’s12 Angry Men, the few screenplays that are truly flawless throughout prove just how important a good script is to an overall film production.
10’The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' (2003)
Written by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens
For a long time, it wasn’t unreasonable to believe that a mythos as massive asJ.R.R. Tolkien’s Legendarium was simply impossible to turn into a film that fully lived up to the material. New Zealand cult filmmakerPeter Jacksonproved those doubts wrong between 2001 and 2003 when he blew everyone away with his adaptations ofThe Lord of the Rings. Of the three installments, the practically undisputed best is the last,Return of the King. In it, the Fellowship leads the World of Men against Sauron’s army in a last stand meant to distract the enemy from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring.
The movie’s Oscar-winning script is far more than justa simple hero’s journey fare. Indeed, it’sa satisfying conclusion to the story in every single sense possible, delivering some of the most epic battles and emotionally stirring moments that the fantasy genre has ever seen. It’s a nearly 3-and-a-half-hour-long adventure without a single dead spot in its gargantuan story. Great, poetic dialogue, grand character arcs, and moving payoffs all populate what’s easily the best script of any fantasy epic.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
9’Pulp Fiction' (1994)
Written by Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary
Many people’s favorite screenwriter of all time isQuentin Tarantino, and it’s impossible to blame them. The filmmaker has written some of the most exciting and creative scripts in history, his very best arguably being the phenomenalPulp Fiction. It’s a multi-narrative story following the lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits as they intertwine in a tale of violence and redemption.
There are plenty of things that makePulp Fictiona legendary cult classic,from the iconic castto Tarantino’s vibrant direction,but its best attribute is easily its screenplay. The way that Tarantino weaved different stories so masterfully was revolutionary at the time, and it influenced a wave of similar films in the following few years. The humor, characters, and pastiche pulpy tone are all some of Tarantino’s best work, and — of course — the dialogue, perhaps his best skill as a writer, is as polished and memorable as it’s ever been here.
Pulp Fiction
8’Get Out' (2017)
Written by Jordan Peele
Who knew that sketch comedianJordan Peelehad it in him to write what’s celebrated as one ofthe best horror movie screenplays of all time? Certainly not the vast majority of audiences, who were taken aback by just how extraordinary his directing debut feature,Get Out, turned out to be. It’s a dark comedy about a young Black man visiting his white girlfriend’s parents for the weekend. There, his simmering uneasiness about their reception starts proving to be well-founded in the most terrifying ways possible.
By far one of the most flawless writing efforts of the 21st century thus far,Get Outcemented Peele as a voice to look out for in contemporary horror. Balancing humor and scariness as very few writers can, Peele crafts a thematically intricate tale aboutthe Black experience and the commodified value of Black bodies. Of course, the outstanding performances and Peele’s stunning direction add an awful lot to the film, but without such a perfect screenplay, it wouldn’t have worked even half as well as it does.
7’Some Like It Hot' (1959)
Written by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond
I.A.L. Diamondwas one of the greatest screenwriters of Hollywood’s Golden Age, and writer-directorBilly Wildermay just bethe greatest screenwriter of all time. As such, it’s no surprise that their collaboration produced the most perfect rom-com script ever.Some Like It Hot, a screwball comedy where, after two male musicians witness a mob hit, they have to flee the state disguised as women in an all-female band.
Some Like It Hotis one of the funniest and smartest comedies, not just of the ’50s but of all time.Wilder’s direction is fantastic andMarilyn Monroe,Tony Curtis, andJack Lemmonare dynamite in their roles, but the screenplay is what the movie lives or dies by. With stellar character writing and the rare love triangle that actually works, absolutely hilarious jokes and surprisingly effective emotional moments, and one of the greatest third acts in movie history,it’s the kind of script that all wannabe comedy screenwriters should watch at least once. The far-ahead-of-their-time social themes regarding gender roles are just the cherry on top of an already-spotless work of art.
Some Like It Hot
6’Casablanca' (1942)
Written by Julius J. Epstein, Phillip G. Epstein, and Howard Koch
One of the biggest cinematic icons of the ’40s and Classical Hollywood in general,the endlessly quotableCasablancareigns supreme above all other romantic dramas. It’s about a cynical American cafe owner living in French Morocco, struggling to decide whether he should help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape Nazi persecution.There were many extraordinary movies made during World War II, but this is perhaps the best one.
With what many would praise asthe best war movie screenplay ever,Casablancacharms and enchants with its memorable and layered characters, endlessly quotable dialogue, and engrossing central romance. It’s thanks to this perfect template that directorMichael Curtizwas able to direct an equally perfect movie, where every single element works in favor of the thoroughly entertaining story.
Casablanca
5’Being John Malkovich' (1999)
Written by Charlie Kaufman
Perhaps the best screenwriter working today,Charlie Kaufmanis often as much of an auteurial force in every film he’s ever written as the men who have directed them. That is certainly the case in what may just bethe best writing debut of the modern era, the brilliantSpike Jonze’sBeing John Malkovich. It’s a fantasy satire where a puppeteer discovers a portal in his office that leads literally into the head of esteemed character actorJohn Malkovich.
An existentialist masterpiece that’s as irresistibly hilarious as it is deeply thought-provoking.
PerhapsKaufman’s best film and best script,Being John Malkovichisa genius deconstruction of identity, stardom, and yearning. Packed with the cynicism, neuroticism, and ridiculously absurdist humor that would go on to characterize the writer,this one-of-a-kind exercise in ego isan existentialist masterpiece that’s as irresistibly hilariousas it is deeply thought-provoking.
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4'12 Angry Men' (1957)
Written by Reginald Rose
You don’t need a grand, complex story with multiple locations to craft a masterpiece.Sidney Lumetproved that in 1957 with his engrossing legal drama12 Angry Men, which is almost all set in a locked courthouse room. It follows the jury in a New York City murder trial, frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully examine the evidence before jumping to a verdict.
What does one of the most perfect screenplays of all time create? Well, one ofthe most perfect movies of the 1950s, of course. Indeed, in just a few pages, Reginald Rose creates a script thatfeels very reminiscent of a stage playin all the best ways: it’sintimate but high-stakes, verbose but introspective. Finding all of its juicy drama in its characters and the complicated dynamics between them, the screenplay of12 Angry Menshows how good dialogue and compelling characters are all it takes for a film to be fascinating.
12 Angry Men
3’Chinatown' (1974)
Written by Robert Towne and Roman Polanski
Problematic associations with its director,Roman Polanski, aside,Chinatownis one of the most perfect noir films ever made. It’s a hard-boiled conspiracy thriller where a private detective is hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles. What at first seems like a simple enough run-of-the-mill case soon finds the detective caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.
Written by the legendaryRobert Towne,Chinatown’s screenplay is as much of a masterwork as the film itself, as well as one ofthe best film noir screenplays ever written. Whereas most crime mysteries see the character take on a case that seems too complex to solve and then slowly narrow things down until they get to the satisfying solution,Towne inverts that traditional structure.Chinatown’s protagonist enters what could make for a very typical detective thriller, and the audience slowly gets to see that mystery turn into a conspiracy far larger than anything anyone could handle.It’s a dark, tragic, merciless script, and it shows that Towne truly was one of the best to ever do it.
2’The Godfather' (1972)
Written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola
There are many who would callFrancis Ford Coppola’s magnum opus,The Godfather, the greatest film ever made, and it’s by no means a crazy claim. This 3-hour-long gangster epic is about the aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty who has to transfer control of his empire to his reluctant youngest son. It’s one of the most finely-crafted, gorgeously-written dramas of all time, with a script penned by Coppola himself and the author of the novel the film is based on,Mario Puzo.
There’sa now pretty well-known storythat, after his experience writingThe Godfather, Puzo went and bought a book about screenwriting to try and hone his craft. In the first chapter, he found the tip “studyThe Godfather.” No more should need to be said about one ofthe most obligatory screenplay readsfor any cinephile or aspiring screenwriteron the planet.The Godfatheris the ultimate familial tragedy, an inverse hero’s journey that remains as riveting today as it was almost fifty years ago.
The Godfather
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1’Citizen Kane' (1941)
Written by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles
A good number of people who don’t seeThe Godfatheras the greatest film ever would instead go forOrson Welles’s jaw-dropping directing, writing, and acting debut,Citizen Kane. It’s an epic character study where, following the death of powerful tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final word: “Rosebud.”
At the time,Citizen Kanewas revolutionary in pretty much every sense that mattered— cinematography, acting, directing, and, of course, writing. One ofthe first non-linear narratives(and, to this day, perhaps the best), an unprecedentedly deep study of its characters, tremendous amounts of subtext and symbolism, and a fascinatingly complex protagonist all populate this incredibly powerful screenplay, which is utterly perfect from start to finish.
