Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

This is IMDB's poll for today.. Pulp Fiction was leading far off.
Wanted to see what MoFos opinions were.

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

I went with Casablanca, not because it was the best movie (I'd go with Godfather) ,but because as writing goes it is perfect, tightly plotted, no structural flaws, and memorable, witty dialogue.

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

I am having a hard time deciding.. It's either Citizen Kane or Casablanca.

Many might not agree with Citizen Kane, but I found it really well written.

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

Unless you've read all these scripts, one can't really say. And I don't mean a transcript of the movie, but the script in its final draft or at least shooting version. Until then you don't know how much was added or subtracted by the director and actors on the set, or by the director and editor in the editing room. You're judging by the final product on the screen, which may be attributed to the screenplay and its writing in varying degrees.

Casablanca is rather famous for being written very much as they were shooting, that there wasn't a "finished" script with full structure and dialogue even as the cameras were rolling, instead being changed as they went. The Godfathers and Rashômon are adaptation of existing material, and Strangelove a loose adaptation. Pulp Fiction has uncredited nods to many sources. Kane, Rashômon, Pulp Fiction, Strangelove and The Godfathers have their directors as credited co-writers. Hannah and Her Sisters is the only one that has a singular writer who was also the director and heavily involved in the editing process, so that film would have to be the most "pure" from page to screen, and any alterations along the way were by the same voice and mind that created the script, discounting what each actor added and the set dresser and the cinematographer and on an on..

So you're judging by, what? Consistency of voice? Complexity of narrative? Or just the movie you like the best and, therefore, it must have the "best" screenplay?

What about Chinatown? Robert Towne wrote that and didn't they use his script to shoot it? Although I think I read someplace that the ending is Polanski's as it's darker than the original ending.

maybe the one that according to you translated really well to the screen regardless of whether it followed the original writer's work or not.

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

I have read the Casablanca screenplay, but I dont know if it was the actual shooting script. I guess ironically it was the only one of these films where the scripting was done Hollywood fashion with different writers independently rewriting the other. Two writesr started it together, the Epstein Brothers, had other commitments, and Howard Koch took over, and possibly one or two others doing a further uncredited polish. It was based on an unproduced play that attracted the interest of competing studios and was bought at much more than the then going rate. Everyone who has seen the play performed agree the screenplay is considerably better, but it contains the same basic story and even some dialogue, including the inclusion of the song "As Time Goes By.'

If you go strictly by writing there's no question Pulp Fiction wins hands down.

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

Pulp Fiction, by far.

How many of the others have you actually seen to make that statement?

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

I voted Casablanca. Pretty much for the same reason as Will. Written and scripted beautifully.

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

To me, dynamic is important in a script and the only two here that have it are Rashomon and Pulp Fiction, but everyone picks the latter so I voted Rashomon

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

Pulp Fiction has great dialogue and interesting structure, but I'd rate the screenolay below the two C's, two GFs, and Strangelove.

It's hard for me to judge the screenplay of a foreign film because unless you speak the language, you're not really getting the dialogue as written. I can judge it overall as a movie, but not from isolating the screenplay.

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

I remember a couple of months ago few MoFos judging IMDB voters just coz some of the movies they didn't care about made it in the IMDB Top 250.

Just remembered it.

I would say Chinatown. Though of the most innovative I'd say probably say Rashomon is another close bet. Pulp Fiction seems to get a lot of leads and the only way I can possibly fathom this is that many people, (who aren't entirely devoted to film or its century-long history), lack a certain understanding of films that precurse Star Wars. Not that either film is bad, but there are certainly better films out there that are better.

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

This is a strange one for me as a poll, as Pulp Fiction (even The Godfather too) is so new compared to the others. I wouldn't like to compare them. I would like to vote, but I haven't seen all of them to really make a true call.

Makes for a great discussion though! :)

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

I would be interested to know how many of them have won awards for best screenplay? Not that I put a lot of weight into awards shows, but still be interested to know :)

I voted for Chinatown. This was very difficult. My first thought was that it was between Kane, Chinatown and The Godfather. Then I started to think, if all these films were made by competent, but not exceptional, jobbing directors, which do I think would be the best film. Of course, I can only judge by the finished project and the mythology/stories and facts about each film, but, IMO, that film was Chinatown.

I will say that I've not seen Hannah & Her Sisters. I don't know if you can judge a film's screenplay in a foreign language you don't speak. However, like will, I felt I was unable to, so I admit I wrote these two films out of the running for these reasons.

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

I would like to see more polls like this in the future. Very interesting thread!

They all won Oscars except Strangelove and Roshomon. Strangelove was nominated. I am not sure about Roshomon, don't think so. Might have won a screenplay award somewhere else.

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

I realize that Holden's post did try to qualify what constitutes a screenplay, but I do not see how you cannot "judge" a movie screenplay based on not knowing the language. A very significant part of any screenplay is the plot. I know you're not saying that you cannot understand the plot of a non-English-language flick, correct? As far as dialogue goes, you do get subtitles, so for all you know, the subtitles may well improve on the original dialogue, so I don't accept that as another reason to not count "foreign" films.

Anyway, no biggie. You do notice how I haven't voted. :cool:

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

if you ever looked at different translations of a novel in a foreign language, the difference in the words are quite noticeable. The subtitles could improce on the original dialogue, but that wouldn't be the original dialogue. Besides, most subtitles always seen at least a little stilted in places. I remember seeing examples of two different translations of the manga Lone Wolf and Cub and the words were never the same, sometimes very different, and the dialogue in both seemed a little awkward and clumsy.

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

I think it's difficult to compare original and adapted screenplays (probably why they have different categories for them at the Oscars). My first thought on looking at that list was The Godfather, I think the film improved on the book greatly, but I would hesitate to say whether it was a 'better written' film than, say, Pulp Fiction, since adapting a book or other source is a very different process than writing an original screenplay.

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

I went with the godfather but i also love the mafia

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

I honestly don't think I've seen enough on the list to vote on this one.

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

I voted Casablanca. The movies a work of art. It has great dialogue with many memorable quotes.

how so ?

I voted for Network, because it was so ahead of its time.

Very difficult. I agree with Holden to an extent about how to go about judging a film's screenplay, but in the end, I just went with how which story impacted me the most, and how well the dialogue flowed within the story and plot points as well as the challenges of structure. In the end, I could only go with Citizen Kane, but I wouldn't have felt bad for choosing Pulp Fiction, too. How come Memento isn't listed?

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

How come Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf isn't listed?
What about Midnight Cowboy?
Mulholland Drive?

There are tons of movies that deserved to be in this poll.. I am sure other could even add more.
But that was not the point of the thread, the point was to bring the IMDB poll to MoFo for further discussion, to see how people react to these popular limited options.

If it's about the best movie ever written without a poll, the thread would go on to be an endless list of suggestions.

I personally thought Memento was just about an average thriller..

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

definitely Pulp Fiction

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

Pulp fiction, because of the great dialogue. But for it's time, Casablanca is pretty awesome.

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

What makes Pulp Fiction one of the best written?
It's a great movie no doubt, but I don't think it's the best written film from that list.

Hardly even the best of the year it was released in.

For it's time? I didn't get this.

I went with Dr. Strangelove. :) (which noone has mentioned)

My selection was a knee-jerk reaction to the poll as I opened the thread. Obviously, Holden's post make sense. But I thought about the satire and the dialogue that went into that film and voted for it. It was all about the words such as "this is the war room."

When I think "well-written," I look at the dialogue more than plot. Does anyone else?

I really cannot see how Pulp Fiction is thought to be so well-written. *shrugs*

well-written = dialogue, story, structure, grabbing, blah blah, you can find all of that in the script alone. Dialogue just moves the plot most of the time, but if you can use it succinctly and still make it powerful, you're doing well. That's why I voted for Rashomon.

I was torn between Pulp Fiction and Casablanca--I'm a huge fan of Tarantino. I love both films, but to me the setting itself acually tips the scales towards Casablanca; the heaviosity of people living in a desperate limbo under the shadow of the Nazis outweighs a loose-knit group of charismatic L.A. criminals. (Sorry Quentin, I still would unconditionally pay to see anything you make without question.)

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

Is it the pace that makes people consider Pulp Fiction as the best movie ever written?
Then, I guess it has tough competition from The Rock & Con Air.

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

Looking at the votes, I'm surprised the Godfather movies are not doing very well. I am not surprised the only movie to receive no votes so far is Hannah and her Sisters. Even though the screenplay won an Oscar, it is clearly the least of the movies listed. Is it even Woody Allen's best screenplay?

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

i went with pulp fiction.

Which of the others mentioned do you think were good as well?

Hell no. Love and Death or anything from that era is better.

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

That is a tough one. hmmmm

Re: Which of these films would you say is the best written?
 

I remember that quote by Simon Pegg from How To alienate people & lose friends.

Hillarious film.