There are a plethora of elements that go into making a movie that 90% of mainstream audiences do not think about and so all the fantastic work that is done by the likes of the production team, costume team, hair, and makeup, sound mixers, etc. etc. get underappreciated. One aspect of the film that can so easily get forgotten about is the script written by a/a team of screenwriters.
So often, screenplays are based on other pieces of literature, adapted screenplays, which every year are up for contention for the Oscar of the same name. Some of the greatest movies ever made have won this award, something to which IMDb can attest.
Casablanca (1942) – 8.4
One of the all-time greats of American cinema, Casablanca, is and forever will be a classic and is one of the most referenced and loved older movies in the pop culture zeitgeist of today.
The script for the film, written by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, and Howard Koch, is based on the play Everybody Came To Rick’s by Murray Burnett and Joan Allison. The film won Best Adapted Screenplay alongside Best Picture and Best Director for Michael Curtiz, alongside five other nominations.
The Departed (2006) – 8.5
Martin Scorsese is not only one of the most brilliant filmmakers alive, but one of the greatest to ever grace audiences with his films. Despite his storied career, he only holds one Oscar, Best Director, for this 2006 remake.
Scorsese has had two Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar nominations to his name, but he never wrote the script for this film. That was William Monahan, with the film a remake of the marvelous 2002 Hong Kong crime thriller Infernal Affairs, a movie many see as superior to The Departed .despite this film’s Best Picture win.
The Pianist (2002) – 8.5
For his powerful leading performance in The Pianist, Adrien Brody became the youngest winner of the Best Actor Oscar at twenty-nine. However, that was not the only win for the biographical-drama.
Ronald Hardwood won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for his script, which is based on the memoirs of Polish-Jewish pianist and composer Władysław Szpilman, which were also titled The Pianist.
Silence Of The Lambs (1991) – 8.6
Silence Of The Lambs is one of the most iconic psychological thriller/horror movies of all time and holds a record alongside One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, and It Happened One Night for winning the big five Oscars; Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay (original or adapted.)
It is the latter that gets the excellent movie mentioned here, with Ted Tally winning the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for his screenplay based on the novel of the same name by author Thomas Harris.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1974) – 8.6
Speaking of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, it is one of the greatest movies, perhaps ever, and definitely of the seventies, and a must-watch for any film fan, with the novel on which it is based a must-read also.
The screenwriters on the film were Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman, who picked up the award for their adaptation of Ken Kesey’s phenomenal book of the same name, even though Kesey himself is no fan of it.
Forrest Gump (1994) – 8.8
Over the years, Forrest Gump has gotten a lot of hate and has undoubtedly fallen in public opinion since it came out, with a significant factor to that being awards it won over superior films Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption.
Nevertheless, the film picked up the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for writer Eric Roth based on the novel of the same name from Winston Groom. The film also picked up Best Actor for Tom Hanks’ legendary outing, the now divisive Best Picture award over movies mentioned earlier, Best Director for Robert Zemeckis, and Best Visual Effects for Ken Ralston, George Murphy, Allen Hall, and Stephen Rosenbaum.
Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King (2003) – 8.9
The Lord Of The Rings trilogy is one of the greatest cinematic trilogies of all time, right in the conversation with the original trilogy, the Dark Knight trilogy, the Toy Story trilogy, and a small handful of others more. The final entry to the trilogy was record-breaking.
The film performed the largest Oscars sweep ever, simultaneously earning the joint most wins of any movie ever with eleven alongside Ben-Hur and Titanic. One of these many awards was for Best Adapted Screenplay, won by the film’s screenwriters Fran Walsh, Phillipa Boyens, and Peter Jackson, of course, based on the iconic books from J. R. R. Tolkein.
Schindler’s List (1993) – 8.9
Across his long and storied career, Stephen Spielberg has won three competitive Oscars, all in the nineties, two of which came for this epic historical drama, one for Best Director, and one for Best Picture.
The film won another five Oscars, Best Score (John Williams), Best Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski), Best Film Editing (Michael Kahn,) and Best Adapted Screenplay, which Steven Zaillian won for his adaptation of Thomas Keneally’s novel Schindlers Ark.
The Godfather: Part II (1974) – 9.0
When the conversation of the greatest films of all time comes up, it is a safe bet that most people in that conversation will point to The Godfather as a prime candidate. There are many, though, who see the sequel as superior.
There is no doubt that both are masterpieces, and this is one of the greatest sequels ever. It won six Oscars, Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Robert De Niro,) Best Director (Francis Ford Coppola,) Best Original Score (Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola,) Best Art Direction (Dean Tavoularis, Angelo P. Graham, and George Nelson,) and, of course, Best Adapted Screenplay for Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo for their adaptation of Puzo’s novel The Godfather.
The Godfather (1972) – 9.1
Sticking with the same adaptation, and the original from which the sequel followed, The Godfather is one of the best movies ever made, expertly crafted by all involved from an objective point of view.
The movie saw Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola picked up the same Oscar they would obtain three years later for their script from Puzo’s novel, with the movie also winning Best Picture and Best Actor for the legendary Marlon Brando.
