My Favorite Screenplays (Part One)

When it comes to admiring a screenplay, you're looking at the moviemaking process at its basic level: plotting, characterization, and dialogue. Movies are often ruined in the various following stages of production, but a completed script contains the magic of potential just waiting to be unlocked. My favorite screenplays are not always the greatest movies ever made. Many times the script is let down by a poor performance, sloppy direction, or ridiculous special effects. But, looking past those faults, one can sometimes find amazing stories, characters, and moments. Here are ten of my favorites: THE REMAINS OF THE DAY. The final film was criminally overlooked by the majority of moviegoers at the time of its release, although it was nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Screenplay. While the film is bolstered by incredible leading performances from Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, the script is a study in the power of restraint. Weaving carefully between two separate time periods, the script builds a desperate story about unrequited and repressed love. It's one of the few examples of how a script can say as much without words as it can with them. THE FOUR SEASONS. Written by actor Alan Alda, the film details the friendship between three couples over the course of time. The plot device is a little ham-handed, but effective. It allows a place for the characters to develop in different circumstances. The script has some amazing characterizations, which were then wonderfully realized by a talented cast that included Carol Burnett, Rita Moreno, and Jack Weston. Burnett's showdown with Alda in a hotel room is one for the ages. A FISH CALLED WANDA. One of the first films I ever watched where I marveled at the script as much as any other factor of the film. Written in the best tradition of British farce, the film successfully melds a caper comedy with some laser-precise character writing and some clever social commentary. My only complain is the fairly ridiculous end that Kevin Kline meets while stuck to the airport tarmac. Other than that, it's a perfect thing. VICTOR / VICTORIA. In my mind, the best farce ever brought to the screen. Put aside the bevy of amazing performances, the unforgettable songs, or the machined perfection of Blake Edwards' direction. The script contains some of the sharpest and wittiest lines ever, and the main plot point - "a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman" - is a killer. This is the script every screenwriter in Hollywood wishes he could cough up. SWAMP THING. Sure, the costumes were atrocious and unbelievable, and the film is directed like it's on a Sci-Fi double bill with Mansquito. This script is lean and mean, with memorable characters and whiz-bang dialogue that crackles. Adrienne Barbeau's tits only add to the pleasure. E.T. THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL. I realize that it's the popular thing to bag on this little film that made it big. Somehow, this movie became unpopular among movie fans. But the truth is that, beneath all the Spielbergian bluster, kiddie histrionics, and dazzling effects, there is an amazing screenplay that believably renders the childhood experience. It deftly balances tenderness and humor, striking a near-perfect balance. ALIEN. Horror is a difficult genre to write effectively, especially in script format, which requires stage directions. But this script by Dan O'Bannon has a killer concept, and the script milks it for all it's worth. The script also ratchets up the tension by forcing its characters into realistic situations, and making them speak in ways that feel real as well. The characters are well delineated yet believably connected, as if from the same universe. This is another example of a very quiet yet effective screenplay. FARGO. The screenplay slowly brings the viewer into the crime in progress, giving us careful bits of information until the entire picture is clear. I also love the bravery of holding back the hero of the film until nearly 30 minutes in ... and what a hero she is! One of the most original characters ever graces this screenplay, and every character around her bubbles with life and originality. Stunning. CITIZEN KANE. Of course this would be here. Bucking the trends of its day, the script was several decades ahead of its time. It masterfully connects the dots in the life of Charles Foster Kane, leaping back and forth through time. The dialogue is gritty, thoughtful, and realistic, something new to the audiences who first experienced it. The central mystery to the film - the iconic Rosebud - is a movie touchstone. TOY STORY 2. The first film was also a masterpiece, but in my mind, this film managed to improve on its predecessor. Not only is the story more complex, it is also emotionally deeper, enlarging on the inner worlds of the inventive characters introduced in the first film. I remember sitting in the theater watching this film and thinking, "Wow, what a screenplay!" That's a pretty good indicator of the power of a great script. Of course, almost every Pixar script could go on this list as well ... they are proven masters of the screenplay. Well, those are my first ten choices. Do you have any thoughts on my picks? Do you have any you liked in particular? Let me know!