Top 5 Screenplays of All Time
Each brother's #1 was the other's #4, Good Will Hunting and The Social Network.
Hear it on episode 9 at 49:16 →
Jeff's picks
№ 1
Good Will Hunting (1997)Gus Van Sant
The bar scene and the "how do you like them apples" payoff are classics; Robin Williams' "had to see about a girl" story stuck with him for years.
№ 2
Inglourious Basterds (2009)Quentin Tarantino
The farmhouse opening and basement tavern scenes are iconic, capped by a gleefully rewritten ending to World War Two.
№ 3
Dead Poets Society (1989)Peter Weir
Robin Williams' Carpe Diem speeches shaped how Jeff thinks about conformity versus individuality.
№ 4
The Social Network (2010)David Fincher
Rapid-fire Sorkin dialogue that tells the Facebook origin story in a compelling, if not entirely realistic, way.
№ 5
Inception (2010)Christopher Nolan
An original idea this good doesn't come along often, with nested dream layers that still hold up on a full rewatch.
Matt's picks
№ 1
The Social Network (2010)David Fincher
Sorkin's script is sharp and witty scene after scene, right down to Eduardo's confrontation with Zuckerberg.
№ 2
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)Frank Darabont
Frank Darabont's adaptation of the Stephen King novella, full of hope and a beautifully unpacked ending.
№ 3
Million Dollar Baby (2004)Clint Eastwood
Paul Haggis wrote it on spec and Clint Eastwood shot it almost as written; emotional from start to finish.
№ 4
Good Will Hunting (1997)Gus Van Sant
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's screenplay is packed with some of the best dialogue and character work he's seen.
№ 5
Pulp Fiction (1994)Quentin Tarantino
The nonlinear structure and razor-sharp dialogue, all from a script Tarantino wrote and then directed himself.
The criteria: a screenplay nominated for an Academy Award, original or adapted. The brothers' top three didn't overlap, but their #1 and #4 swapped exactly: Jeff's #1, Good Will Hunting, was Matt's #4, and Matt's #1, The Social Network, was Jeff's #4. Inception, Pulp Fiction, Dead Poets Society, Million Dollar Baby, Inglourious Basterds, and The Shawshank Redemption rounded out the rest of the field.