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of All Time by the Writer's Guild of America |
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of All Time by the Writer's Guild of America (part 2, by reverse ranking) |
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Film Title (Year and Director) |
Scriptwriter(s) and Original or Adapted Source Material | Memorable Line of Dialogue
(Performer/Film Character) |
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High Noon(1952; dir. Fred Zinnemann) |
Screenplay by Carl Foreman,
based on short story "The Tin Star" by John W. Cunningham |
"You risk your skin catching
killers and the juries turn them loose so they can come back and shoot
at you again….. And in the end you wind up dying all alone on some
dirty street. For what? For nothing. For a tin star." — Lon Chaney as Martin Howe |
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Being John Malkovich (1999; dir. Spike Jonze) |
Written by Charlie Kaufman | "Do you know what a metaphysical
can of worms this portal is?" — John Cusack as Craig Schwartz |
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Amadeus (1984; dir. Milos Forman) |
Screenplay by Peter Shaffer, based on his play | "Forgive me, majesty. I
am a vulgar man. But I assure you my music is not." — Tom Hulce as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
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Thelma & Louise (1991; dir. Ridley Scott) |
Written by Callie Khouri | "You get what you settle
for." — Susan Sarandon as Louise Sawyer |
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The Lion in Winter (1968; dir. Anthony Harvey) |
Screenplay by James Goldman, based on the play by James Goldman | "I've snapped and plotted
all my life. There's no other way to be alive, king, and fifty all at
once." — Peter O'Toole as Henry II |
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The African Queen (1951; dir. John Huston) |
Screenplay by James Agee and John Huston, based on the novel by C.S. Forester | "Well I ain't sorry for
you no more, you crazy, psalm-singing, skinny old maid!" — Humphrey Bogart as Charlie Allnut |
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Dog Day Afternoon (1975; dir. Sidney Lumet) |
Screenplay by Frank Pierson, based on a magazine article by P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore | "Attica! Attica!" — Al Pacino as Sonny |
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Star Wars (1977; dir. George Lucas) |
Written by George Lucas | "I find your lack of faith
disturbing." — James Earl Jones (voice) as Darth Vader |
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E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982; dir. Steven Spielberg) |
Written by Melissa Mathison | "E.T. phone home." — E.T. |
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Jerry Maguire (1996; dir. Cameron Crowe) |
Written by Cameron Crowe | "Show me the money!" — Tom Cruise as Jerry Maguire |
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Singin’ in the Rain (1952; dir. Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly) |
Screen Story and Screenplay by Betty Comden & Adolph Green, based on the song by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown | "Well, if it isn't Ethel
Barrymore." — Gene Kelly as Don Lockwood |
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Terms
of Endearment (1983; dir. James L. Brooks) |
Screenplay by James L. Brooks, based on the novel by Larry McMurtry | "My daughter is in pain.
Can't you understand that? Give my daughter the shot!" — Shirley MacLaine as Aurora Greenway |
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Jaws (1975; dir. Steven Spielberg) |
Screenplay by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb, based on the novel by Peter Benchley | "You’re gonna need
a bigger boat." — Roy Scheider as Chief Brody |
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Moonstruck (1987; dir. Norman Jewison) |
Written by John Patrick Shanley | "Snap out of it!" — Cher as Loretta Castorini |
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The
Silence of the Lambs (1991; dir. Jonathan Demme) |
Screenplay by Ted Tally, based on the novel by Thomas Harris | "I ate his liver with some
fava beans and a nice chianti." — Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter |
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L.A. Confidential (1997; dir. Curtis Hanson) |
Screenplay by Brian Helgeland
& Curtis Hanson, based on the novel by James Ellroy |
"Something has to be done,
but nothing too original. Because, hey, this is Hollywood." — Danny De Vito as Sid Hudgens |
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It Happened One Night (1934; dir. Frank Capra) |
Screenplay by Robert Riskin, based on the story "Night Bus" by Samuel Hopkins Adams | "I was just wondering what
makes dames like you so dizzy." — Clark Gable as Peter Warne |
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Ordinary People (1980; dir. Robert Redford) |
Screenplay by Alvin Sargent, based on the novel by Judith Guest | "A little advice about
feelings, kiddo. Don't expect it always to tickle." — Judd Hirsch as Dr. Tyrone Berger |
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Crimes and Misdemeanors
(1989; dir. Woody Allen) |
Written by Woody Allen | "Where I grew up in Brooklyn,
we were too unhappy to commit suicide." — Woody Allen as Cliff Stern |
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Back to the Future (1985; dir. Robert Zemeckis) |
Written by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale | "I guess you guys aren't
ready for that yet. But your kids are gonna love it. " — Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly |
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Apocalypse Now (1979; dir. Francis Ford Coppola) |
Written by John Milius and Francis Coppola, narration by Michael Herr | "The horror, the horror."
— Marlon Brando as Col. Walter Kurtz |
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Manhattan (1979; dir. Woody Allen) |
Written by Woody Allen & Marshall Brickman | "I've never had the wrong
kind [of orgasm]…My worst one was right on the money." — Woody Allen as Isaac Davis |
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All the President’s
Men (1976; dir. Alan J. Pakula) |
Screenplay by William Goldman, based on the book by Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward | "We're under a lot of pressure,
you know. And you put us there. Nothing's riding on this except the…
first amendment to the Constitution, freedom of the press, and maybe the
future of the country. Not that any of that matters. But if you guys f--k
up again, I'm going to get mad. Goodnight." — Jason Robards as Ben Bradlee |
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The Lady Eve (1941; dir. Preston Sturges) |
Screenplay by Preston Sturges, story by Monckton Hoffe | "I need him like the ax
needs the turkey." — Barbara Stanwyck as Jean Harrington |
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Broadcast News (1987; dir. James L. Brooks) |
Written by James L. Brooks | "It was like great sex." — William Hurt as Tom Grunick |
