What does a screenwriter watch for fun (and to study his craft)?
Here is an alphabetical list of the movies I rate in excess of 85/100. It’s an evolving list, because I re-watch and re-rate my top movies at regular intervals, and of course add others. Will you be able to spot the changes?
In the future I’ll be publishing books explaining in detail what makes my movie picks great, so follow me on Twitter and Facebook to make sure you don’t miss my updates on this project (and others).
Full disclosure: on this page, all links to movies are affiliate links. That means whenever you click on one, you’ll be taken to the relevant book page on Amazon. If you buy or rent the movie, I receive a small commission.
A Night to Remember (1958) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
A Room with a View (1986) (stream from Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.com)
About a Boy (2002) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Amadeus (1984) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
American Beauty (1999) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) (stream from Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.com / Amazon.ca)
Annie Hall (1977) (stream from Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.com / Amazon.ca)
As Good as It Gets (1997) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Babe (1995) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Babette’s Feast (1987) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Bagdad Café (1987) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Before Sunrise (1995) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Born Yesterday (1950) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Braveheart (1995) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Breaking Away (1979) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Brief Encounter (1946) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Brokeback Mountain (2006) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Casablanca (1942) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Casino (1995) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Chinatown (1974) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Clueless (1995) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Counsellor at Law (1933) (buy from Amazon.com / Amazon.ca)
Dances with Wolves (1990) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Dead Poets Society (1989) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Deliverance (1972) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Driving Miss Daisy (1989) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Emma (1996) (stream from Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Fatal Attraction (1987) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Finding Nemo (2003) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy on Blu-ray from Amazon.ca)
Forrest Gump (1994) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
French Kiss (1995) (buy from Amazon.com / Amazon.ca)
Ghost (1990) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Goodfellas (1990) (buy from Amazon.com) (buy on Blu-ray from Amazon.ca)
High Noon (1952) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy on Blu-ray with Amazon.ca)
Hope and Glory (1987) (buy from Amazon.com / Amazon.ca)
Howards End (1992) (stream from Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.com / Amazon.ca)
It Happened One Night (1934) (stream from Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
It’s a Wonderful Life (1947) (stream from Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.com / Amazon.ca)
JFK (1991) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Love with the Proper Stranger (1963) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Million Dollar Baby (2004) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Moonstruck (1987) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
On the Waterfront (1954) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) (watch with Amazon.com)
Out of Africa (1985) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Rain Man (1988) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Sense and Sensibility (1995) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Shadowlands (1993) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Shakespeare in Love (1998) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Shirley Valentine (1989) (buy from Amazon.com / Amazon.ca)
Sleepless in Seattle (1993) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Stand by Me (1986) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Sunset Boulevard (1950) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Tender Mercies (1983) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
The Apartment (1960) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) (stream from Netflix) (buy from Amazon.com / Amazon.ca)
The Bridges of Madison County (1995) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
The Commitments (1991) (stream from Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.com / Amazon.ca)
The Godfather (1972) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
The Graduate (1967) (stream from Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.com / Amazon.ca)
The Incredibles (2004) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
The Last Waltz (1978) (stream from Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
The Pianist (2002) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
The Sting (1973) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
The Verdict (1982) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy on Blu-ray from Amazon.ca)
The Wizard of Oz (1939) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Tootsie (1982) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Toy Story (1995) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Toy Story 3 (2010) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Unforgiven (1992) (stream from Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.com / Amazon.ca)
When Harry Met Sally (1989) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Witness (1985) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Working Girl (1988) (watch with Amazon.com) (buy from Amazon.ca)
Help me create more by becoming one of my Patreon patrons. If you’d like to support my work without spending money, I have just the page for you.
Sign up for my mailings to get discounts, private updates, and early access to my publications—plus a free copy of my 1980 short story, The Hermit, my first serious literary work.
