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The Writers Guild of America West

1. CASABLANCA Screenplay by Julius J. & Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch.
2. THE GODFATHER Screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola
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.
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.
10. THE GODFATHER II Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo.
11. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID Written by William Goldman
12. DR. STRANGELOVE Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick and Peter George and Terry Southern.
13. THE GRADUATE Screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry.
14. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA Screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson.
15. THE APARTMENT Written by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond
16. PULP FICTION Written by Quentin Tarantino.
17. TOOTSIE Screenplay by Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal.
18. ON THE WATERFRONT Screen Story and Screenplay by Budd Schulberg.
19. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Screenplay by Horton Foote.
20. IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE Screenplay by Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett & Frank Capra.
21. NORTH BY NORTHWEST Written by Ernest Lehman
22. THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION Screenplay by Frank Darabont.
23. GONE WITH THE WIND Screenplay by Sidney Howard.
24. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman.
25. THE WIZARD OF OZ Screenplay by Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf
26. DOUBLE INDEMNITY Screenplay by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler.
27. GROUNDHOG DAY Screenplay by Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis.
28. 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.
32. FARGO Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
33. THE THIRD MAN Screenplay by Graham Greene.
34. THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS Screenplay by Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman
35. THE USUAL SUSPECTS Written by Christopher McQuarrie
36. MIDNIGHT COWBOY Screenplay by Waldo Salt.
37. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY Screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart.
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.
42. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK Screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan.
43. TAXI DRIVER Written by Paul Schrader
44. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES Screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood.
45. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST Screenplay by Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman.
46. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE Screenplay by John Huston.
47. THE MALTESE FALCON Screenplay by John Huston.
48. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI Screenplay by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson.
49. SCHINDLER’S LIST Screenplay by Steven Zaillian.
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.
53. ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN Screenplay by William Goldman.
54. MANHATTAN Written by Woody Allen & Marshall Brickman
55. APOCALYPSE NOW Written by John Milius and Francis Coppola.
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.
59. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT Screenplay by Robert Riskin.
60. L.A. CONFIDENTIAL Screenplay by Brian Helgeland & Curtis Hanson.
61. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS Screenplay by Ted Tally.
62. MOONSTRUCK Written by John Patrick Shanley
63. JAWS Screenplay by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb.
64. TERMS OF ENDEARMENT Screenplay by James L. Brooks.
65. SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN Screen Story and Screenplay by Betty Comden & Adolph Green.
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.
70. THE AFRICAN QUEEN Screenplay by James Agee and John Huston.
71. THE LION IN WINTER Screenplay by James Goldman.
72. 72. THELMA & LOUISE Written by Callie Khouri
73. AMADEUS Screenplay by Peter Shaffer.
74. BEING JOHN MALKOVICH Written by Charlie Kaufman
75. HIGH NOON Screenplay by Carl Foreman.
76. RAGING BULL Screenplay by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin.
77. ADAPTATION Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman.
78. ROCKY Written by Sylvester Stallone
79. THE PRODUCERS Written by Mel Brooks
80. WITNESS Screenplay by Earl W. Wallace & William Kelley.
81. BEING THERE Screenplay by Jerzy Kosinski.
82. COOL HAND LUKE Screenplay by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson.
83. REAR WINDOW Screenplay by John Michael Hayes.
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.
88. FIELD OF DREAMS Screenplay by Phil Alden Robinson.
89. FORREST GUMP Screenplay by Eric Roth.
90. SIDEWAYS Screenplay by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor.
91. THE VERDICT Screenplay by David Mamet.
92. PSYCHO Screenplay by Joseph Stefano.
93. DO THE RIGHT THING Written by Spike Lee
94. PATTON Screen Story and Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North.
95. HANNAH AND HER SISTERS Written by Woody Allen
96. THE HUSTLER Screenplay by Sidney Carroll & Robert Rossen.
97. THE SEARCHERS Screenplay by Frank S. Nugent.
98. THE GRAPES OF WRATH Screenplay by Nunnally Johnson.
99. THE WILD BUNCH Screenplay by Walon Green and Sam Peckinpah.
100. MEMENTO Screenplay by Christopher Nolan.
101. NOTORIOUS Written by Ben Hecht

If  you haven’t already committed to reading the Top 101 screenplays, now is the time to get started. You can visit simplyscripts.com or Go into the story  to access many of the above listed screenplays.

Shivawn Hill is a writer, wander, and visual storyteller at heart. She’s currently in production with her short documentary film, Lifting Crowns. She believes that one day soon she’ll form the ultimate group of storyteller who will travel the world to tell the stories of creative peculiar people. You can come hang with her on Instagram.