Top 15 Adadpted Screenplays

Let's just start at number 1, shall we?


1. All About Eve (1950) - Written & Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz - Adapted from the story "The Wisdom of Eve" by Erich Kastner & Mary Orr

For being the wittiest by double. For dialogue that cracks. For giving Bette the role of a lifetime. For improving with age.

2. East of Eden (1955) - Written by Paul Osborn, Directed by Elia Kazan - Adapted from the novel "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

For turning an epic book into an intimate beauty. For giving us so much. For that opening sequence.

3. Lantana (2001 - Written by Andrew Bovell, Directed by Ray Lawrence - Adapted from the play "Speaking in Tongues" by Andrew Bovell

For being an Australian milestone. For being the best multi-narrative tale around. For at least 6 scenes of absolute perfection. For "You know what's so easy, Leon? It's so easy to go out and find somebody. You know what's hard? What's hard is not to."

4. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) - Written & Directed by Orson Welles - Adapted from the novel "The Magnificent Amberson" by Booth Tarkington

For being majestic in scope. For still being brilliant despite being torn apart by studios. For the details of life.

5. 12 Angry Men (1957) - Written by Reginald Rose, Directed by Sidney Lumet - Adapted from the story by Reginald Rose

For dialogue that works on so many levels. For being sneaky. For being the best the genre has ever been.

6. Rebel Without a Cause (1955) - Written by Stewart Stern, Directed by Nicholas Ray - Adapted from a story by Nicholas Ray and Irving Shulman

For being my #1 film of all time. For speaking to so many. For flying in the face of others. For "You're tearing me apart!"

7. Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Written by Diana Ossana & Larry McMurtry, Directed by Ang Lee - Adapted from the short story "Brokeback Mountain" by E. Annie Proulx

For expressing so much with so few words. For expanding a beautiful story into an even more beautiful film. For extra depth. For the power of words.

8. On the Waterfront (1954) - Written by Budd Schulberg, Directed by Elia Kazan - Adapted from a story, suggest by news print articles, by Budd Schulberg and Malcolm Johnson

For enthralling me. For the ability to tell a story and be about something at the same time, without being brutal. For that scene in the car.

9. Psycho (1960) - Written by Joseph Stefano, Directed by Alfred Hitchcock - Adapted from the novel "Psycho" written by Robert Block


For turning a blah novel into a brilliant movie. For subversion. For creating scenes that will live forever. For leading the pack.

10. The Last Picture Show (1971) - Written by Larry McMurtry & Peter Bogdanovich, Directed by Peter Bogdanovich - Adapted from the novel "The Last Picture Show" by Larry McMurtry

For recreating an era so effortlessly. For dialogue that is oh-so-perfect. For doing everything great cinema should.

11. The Godfather (1972) - Written by Mario Puzo & Francis Ford Coppola, Directed by Francis Ford Coppola - Adapted from the novel The Godfather by Mario Puzo

For being epic. For not playing it safe. For scene after scene of brilliance. For those one-liners.

12. Some Like It Hot (1959) - Written by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond, Directed by Billy Wilder - Adapted from the story by Robert Thoeren & Michael Logan

For being the original and the best. For being hilarious. For those one-liners. For "Nobody's perfect!"

13. American Psycho (2000) - Written by Mary Harron & Guinevere Turner, Directed by Mary Harron - Adapted from the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

For being the bravest film of the year. For turning a blah novel into a brilliant movie. For so many one-liners and hilarious dialogue. For being about something completely different to what people think.

14. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) - Written & Directed by Frank Darabont - Adapted from the short story "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" by Steven King

For being beautiful on so many levels. For being feel-good but not saccarine. For wonderfully expanding the story. For being a love of mine. (I know a lot of people hate this movie nowadays - every movie that has such radical devotion from so many people is bound to have naysayers - but I sorta don't care. Plus, like Shakespeare in Love i studied this film at school for a looong time, I know it all too well)

15. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) - Written by Horton Foote, Directed by Robert Mulligan - Adapted from the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

For being classical in the most tradition sense. For the magic of words. For staying true and faithful to the novel.

well... that's it. More lists in the very near future! If you like those then you're lucky.