50 of the Best Screenplays to Read and Download In Every Genre
If you’re looking for the best screenplays to read you’re in the right place. We’ve been strong advocates for the benefits of reading screenplays for a long time as it’s one of the simplest ways to learn how to write.
With that in mind, we’ve put together a mega list of the fifty best screenplays to read for aspiring screenwriters.
This list of the best screenplays to read is grouped into the five main genres you’ll find in Hollywood today: drama, comedy, action/adventure, thriller and horror. (We prefer to call sci-fi, western, romance, etc. sub-genres of these five and you’ll find examples of these in the lists below too.)
Both “shooting” movie scripts and “spec” movie scripts are included in this list. If you’re an aspiring screenwriter trying to break into the industry with a spec, it’s important to ignore all the little formatting quirks that often come with shooting movie scripts. Sluglines with periods instead of dashes, large chunks of descriptive text, excessive use of camera angles and so on, are all expressions of writers who’ve made it.
If you haven’t yet, keep things simple by sticking to regular spec script formatting. So, without further ado, it’s time to get to the first best screenplay in our list…
Best Screenplays to Read: Drama
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
screenplay by Charlie Kaufmann
Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy erases memories of being with girl. This typically Kaufmanesque story could arguably be called best screenplay he’s ever written. Watch out for the long chunks of description, though, as this style isn’t recommended in spec movie scripts.
2. Good Will Hunting
screenplay by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
This best screenplay winner began life as Damon’s final assignment for his Harvard playwriting class. Then he turned to Affleck to help turn it into a script. They then set about developing the story into a thriller about a young man targeted by the FBI. It was Rob Reiner who persuaded them to turn it into a drama and focus on the relationship between Will and his psychologist.
3. Jerry Maguire
screenplay by Cameron Crowe
Easily the best of Crowe’s screenplays to date and the one that broke him into the Hollywood A-list. Earned a Best Screenplay nomination and is a personal favorite of screenwriter Craig Mazin.
4. Little Children
screenplay by Todd Field and Tom Perrotta
Based on the novel by Tom Perrotta, this is a skillfully woven tale of suburban angst that retains a very novelistic feel. An excellent case study in how to make voiceover work for and not against your script.
5. Lost In Translation
screenplay by Sofia Coppola
Coppola spent six months writing a series of short stories and “impressions of Tokyo” that went on to become a seventy-page script. As understated as the movie itself, this screenplay is a real lesson in how to construct “small” scenes that move the story forward and keep the reader interested.
6. Straight Outta Compton
screenplay by Johnathan Herman and Andrea Berloff
Unsure of what direction the script should take, a first draft arose out of ten months of research, interviewing as many people associated with rap group NWA as possible. The result was this blistering account of the group’s rise and fall and was only Berloff’s second produced feature and Herman’s first.
7. The Truman Show
screenplay by Andrew M. Niccol
Originally a dark sci-fi thriller set in New York City and titled “The Malcolm Show,” Niccol’s one-page treatment would go on to become one of the greatest high concepts in movie history. Nominated for the best screenplay Oscar but lost out to the schmaltzy Shakespeare In Love.
8. Up In the Air
screenplay by Jason Reitman
Like The Truman Show, this is another screenplay that expertly weaves comedy into its overall drama. Adapted from the novel by Walter Kirn, this is a modern classic and definitely one of the best screenplays to read for aspiring screenwriters. No matter what their genre preference.
9. The Visitor
screenplay by Tom McCarthy
This is arguably a better script than the one McCarthy won the best screenplay Oscar for: Spotlight. Beautifully tight and sparse writing about a lonely professor learning to loosen up after discovering a couple of illegal immigrants living in his New York apartment.
10. Whiplash
screenplay by Damien Chazelle
Having already won acclaim as a short film of the same title, Chazelle decided to adapt it into a feature and the result is one of the best screenplays to read in recent years. You can really feel Andrew’s torment and passion in these pages.
Best Screenplays to Read: Comedy
1. (500) Days of Summer
screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber
Neustadter and Weber began this screenplay by simply writing down on index cards all of the most painful relationship experiences they’d ever had. Many of them wound up in the final draft and it’s this mixing of realism with its avant-garde structure that makes it a great script to read for the aspiring writer.
2. Bridesmaids
screenplay by Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig
This best screenplay choice broke new ground by having female characters indulge in moments of “poop humor” in a way not seen before on screen. But beyond the infamous wedding dress scene, there’s a heart to this script and a vulnerable protagonist with whom we can all identify.
3. The Hangover
screenplay by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore
Written on spec by writing team Lucas and Moore (Four Christmases, Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past), this script is a near-perfect execution of a very high concept. Along with (500) Days of Summer, this is probably the best screenplay to come out in 2009.
4. Hannah and Her Sisters
screenplay by Woody Allen
Bookended by Thanksgiving dinner parties and with a novelistic feel, this best screenplay Oscar winner is a perfect blend of comedy with weighty themes about the meaning of life. While Allen himself may remain dissatisfied with the ending, this is one of his best screenplays to read if you’re a comedy writer.
5. Mean Girls
screenplay by Tina Fey
Tina Fey turned her hand to feature writing with this adaptation from a book by Rosalind Wiseman. The writing is just as smart, funny and relevant as when the movie first came out over ten years ago.
6. Planes, Trains & Automobiles
screenplay by John Hughes
Some may put a movie like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or The Breakfast Club as their choice for quintessential John Hughes comedy. For us, it’s this Steve Martin/John Candy two-hander. Without a doubt, the best screenplay to read if you’re writing a comedy road trip movie. Or any comedy for that matter.
7. Sideways
screenplay by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor
Rex Pickett’s novel begins with Miles at home and takes a while before he hits the road with Jack. Payne and Taylor, however, get the story moving right off the bat by opening with Miles getting ready for the trip. And the pace doesn’t let up in this darkly funny story of middle-aged angst.
8. Stranger Than Fiction
screenplay by Zach Helm
Dismissed by some as Charlie Kaufman-lite, this is the best screenplay to read to get your creative juices flowing if you write dark comedy. Imaginative, thought-provoking, high concept and, best of all, extremely funny.
9. There’s Something About Mary
screenplay by Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly, John J. Strauss, and Ed Decter
One thing many aspiring comedy screenwriters fail to do is add set pieces to their spec screenplays. From Ted picking Mary up for prom, to getting arrested for cruising, this is the best screenplay to learn how to elevate a simple situation into a big comedic set piece.
10. When Harry Met Sally
screenplay by Nora Ephron
Heavily influenced by Woody Allen, this screenplay grew out of a simple conversation between Ephron and the movie’s director, Rob Reiner: can a man and woman ever remain just platonic friends? The result was this best screenplay Oscar nominee and a classic of the rom-com genre.
Best Screenplays to Read: Action/Adventure
1. The Bourne Ultimatum
screenplay by Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns, and George Nolfi
Reading this script feels like you’re watching Peter Greengrass’ choppy, frenetic direction. It’s all right there on the page and studying this script will really show you how to give action scenes a sense of urgency.
2. The Dark Knight
screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan helped bring a much darker edge to the Batman franchise with Batman Begins, and this collaboration with his brother is an even better screenplay. Absorb all you can from this exceptional piece of work.
3. Die Hard
screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. DeSouza
De Souza reportedly wrote the script to this seminal action movie as if the antagonist, Gruber, were the protagonist. He said, “If he had not planned the robbery and put it together, Bruce Willis would have just gone to the party and reconciled or not with his wife. You should sometimes think about looking at your movie through the point of view of the villain who is really driving the narrative.” Wise words indeed.
4. Ocean’s Eleven
screenplay by Ted Griffin
Griffin took the story and script from the 1960 version and, with the help of Steven Soderbergh’s direction, created one the coolest heist movies of all time. Definitely one of the best movie scripts to read and study if you’re an action writer.
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson
Screenwriters Walsh, Boyens and Jackson approached writing the screenplay by making significant edits to the novel and zeroing in on much more on Frodo’s story with the ring. Absolute required reading for any aspiring fantasy/adventure writers.
6. Inside Out
screenplay by Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, and Josh Cooley
There are so many writing lessons to be learned from reading this best screenplay Oscar-nominated script. The way all the characters’ emotions are chosen for optimal conflict. The way Riley isn’t interested in stereotypically feminine pursuits but is a hockey enthusiast. The way the theme of emotions connecting people together is thread through her journey, etc. Yet another Pixar classic.
7. Lone Survivor
screenplay by Peter Berg
The big takeaway from reading this screenplay is the value of research. Berg met the families of the deceased and had the story’s protagonist, Luttrell, move in with him while writing the script. Oh, and he also embedded with Navy Seals for a month in Iraq. Now that’s dedication to the craft.
8. Looper
screenplay by Rian Johnson
Johnson has said of writing the script he wanted it to be character based rather than focus on the mechanics of time-travel. He drew inspiration from movies such as The Terminator, 12 Monkeys, and Witness. One of the best screenplays to read if you love mixing sci-fi with ironic humor and time-travel.
9. The Matrix
screenplay by Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski
The Wachowski brothers pitched the script to Warner Bros. who were initially skeptical of its philosophical musings and tricky SFX for the time. The brothers then decided to bring on board underground comic book artists Steve Skroce and Geof Darrow to storyboard the entire film, shot-by-shot. Warners were impressed and the rest, as they say, is history.
10. Zombieland
screenplay by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick
Having kicked the idea around for several years, Reese and Wernick originally wrote the story as a TV spec. It was director Ruben Fleischer who helped develop it into a feature by adding in a specific destination to the characters’ road trip in the form of the amusement park.
Best Screenplays to Read: Thriller
1. Collateral
screenplay by Stuart Beattie, Frank Darabont and Michael Mann
Beattie originally had the idea for the movie aged seventeen while riding in the back of a cab in his native Sydney. He then worked up a two-page treatment called The Last Domino, which he turned into a screenplay. Later he was lucky enough to be put in touch with Darabont and then Mann who both contributed revisions.
2. The Departed
screenplay by William Monahan
Monahan’s reworking of the original Asian gangster movie Infernal Affairs as a fight between Boston’s police department and the Irish American crime scene is very impressive. In fact, it earned him a Best Screenplay (Adapted) award from not only the WGA but also the Academy Awards.
3. Flightplan
screenplay by Peter Dowling, Larry Cohen, Terry Hayes, and Billy Ray
This script is a great example of the “self-contained” thriller, perfect for any budding screenwriters looking to film on a low budget. Dowling’s original pitch involved an airport security guard’s son going missing on a business trip. But it was Ray’s idea to make the protagonist female and to place more emphasis on her shattered psyche in a post-9/11 world.
4. The Girl on the Train
screenplay by Erin Cressida Wilson
Yet another best screenplay nominee based on a novel. Much like the adaptation of Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity, this screenplay also moves the action from the UK to the US. Wilson also expertly plays with the reader’s perceptions of the protagonist, Rachel, and is one of the best screenplays to read in recent times.
5. Nightcrawler
screenplay by Dan Gilroy
Gilroy had the initial idea for Nightcrawler way back in 1988. He spent years developing the screenplay, making Lou a traditional “good guy” protagonist and the story a murder mystery. In order to break with the stereotype, though, he finally hit upon the idea of creating an “anti-hero success story” and the result is this exceptional (slugline free) screenplay.
6. No Country for Old Men
screenplay by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
This Coen brothers’ adaptation from the novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy is notable for its refusal to rely on dialogue to move the story forward. Reading the script you can see why Josh Brolin was initially nervous. “I mean it was a fear, for sure, because dialogue, that’s what you kind of rest upon as an actor, you know?” Won the best screenplay (adapted) category at the 80th Academy Awards.
7. Prisoners
screenplay by Aaron Guzikowski
Guzikowski based the script on his own short story, which in turn was inspired by The Tell-Tale Heart in which a father gets revenge on the man who kills his kid in a hit and run by sticking him down a well. The best screenplay we’ve read from an upcoming thriller writer in a while.
8. Reservoir Dogs
screenplay by Quentin Tarantino
Many of the tropes have been copied almost to the point of cliche by a generation of later writers. But this script was groundbreaking for its time and is impossible to ignore if you want to learn how to become a screenwriter.
9. Training Day
screenplay by David Ayer
When asked about whether he was surprised about the success of Training Day, Ayer replied “No. That was a shocker. I wrote that script on spec out of frustration. I was trying to make sales writing mediocre movie scripts, I guess, trying to anticipate what the studios would buy, and I wrote that for myself. I was tired of second-guessing the system and I just wanted to say something.” Great advice for any aspiring screenwriter.
10. The Usual Suspects
screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie
McQuarrie and director Bryan Singer both worked on the initial concept of five guys meeting in a police line-up. It came from an idea that occurred to Singer from Captain Renault’s line in Casablanca: “Round up the usual suspects.” McQuarrie then worked up this masterfully complex story from one of his own previously unproduced movie scripts.
Best Screenplays To Read: Horror
1. Alien
screenplay by Walter Hill, Dan O’Bannon, and David Giler
Famed for its minimal, vertical writing style, O’Bannan would say of his original draft, “I didn’t steal Alien from anybody. I stole it from everybody.” Classic 1950s sci-fi films such as Forbidden Planet, Thing From Another World and Planet Of The Vampires. They’re all in here.
2. Dawn Of The Dead (Remake)
screenplay by James Gunn and Michael Tolkin
The screenplay only credits Gunn and Tolkin as rewriters of this George A. Romero script. In fact, Scott Frank (Out Of Sight, Minority Report) was also brought in to add some oomph to the action sequences. A worthy remake of the 1978 original and one of Stephen King’s favorite movies.
3. Final Destination
screenplay by James Wong, Glen Morgan, and Jeffrey Roddick
The origins of this spec screenplay are just as creepy as the film. As Reddick recounts, he was given the idea by a real-life story of a woman whose life was saved by her mom who warned her not to take a flight that wound up crashing. Reddick then wrote the script as an X-Files spec but was advised by a friend to reshape it into a feature.
4. It Follows
screenplay by David Robert Mitchell
Not all famous movie scripts come from great loglines, as Mitchell found while writing It Follows. Realizing that the concept of a young woman being followed by a supernatural force after a sexual encounter sounded like “the worst thing ever,” he refused to discuss the story when asked about it.
5. Jennifer’s Body
screenplay by Diablo Cody
Fresh off her success with Juno, Cody originally intended to write a straight, slasher horror movie. But she notes, “the humor just kept sneaking in.” If you’re writing a horror movie with heavy doses of comedy involved, this is one of the best scripts to read.
6. The Omen
screenplay by David Seltzer
Seltzer was commissioned by the producer, Harvey Bernhard, to write a movie about the Antichrist after Bernhard was given the idea by a friend, Bob Munger. It took Seltzer exactly one year to write the screenplay and it would go on to be one of the most iconic horror movies of all time.
7. The Ring
screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Scott Frank
Frank was brought in to do a rewrite after Kruger had penned three drafts of the script. Eventually it went into production still incomplete. However, despite the inevitable complaints from fans of the original Japanese movie, Ringu, this is one of the best horror movie scripts out there. Well worth breaking down and studying.
8. Saw
screenplay by Leigh Whannell and James Wan
This script was born purely out of budgetary restrictions as writers Whannell and Wan deliberately wanted to write a horror film as cheaply as possible. One that they could finance themselves. Inspired by low-budget movies such as Pi and The Blair Witch Project, they decided on the concept of two actors, one room, and one dead body. Easily one of the best screenplays to read for horror writers.
9. Scream
screenplay by Kevin Williamson
Holed up in a hotel room in Palm Springs and desperate for a script sale, aspiring writer Williamson knocked out a draft of the then-titled “Scary Movie” in three days. Granted, this was in the golden age of spec sales in the 90s, but if you can write horror movie scripts as good as this, you’ll get hired.
10. The Sixth Sense
screenplay by M. Night Shyamalan
Already a working screenwriter, Shyamalan’s big breakthrough came with this best screenplay nominee that pulls the wool over the reader’s eyes until the very end. This is still one of the finest horror movie scripts ever written.
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BONUS SCREENPLAYS: You can download five more of the best screenplays to read in each genre in this post. Read as many movie scripts as you can and watch your screenwriting ability soar.
The best screenplay writers put everything right there on the page to make you connect with the story. Now it’s up to you to extract it and put it into your own movie scripts.
Which Best Screenplays to Read Did We Miss?
What are your favorite movie scripts? Which movie scripts do you consider required reading? Are they on our list? If not, please comment below and let us know what screenplays you think we’ve missed out.
Enjoyed This? Read More of the Best Screenplays to Read…
50 of the Best TV Scripts to Download and Study to Improve Your Writing
20 Best Comedy Scripts to Read and Download For Free
15 Screenplay Examples From Each Genre for You to Download and Study
[© Photo credits: Unsplash, Flickr]
Hi, neat post – looks like I’ve got some reading to do 🙂
Cheers, Izzy!
You guys have done an amazing job by sharing this with us
May God bless you.
You’re welcome, Vivek.
This is a fabulous haul of screenplays – thanks so much! I especially appreciate being able to download them so I can read them even when not connected to the internet. If you can give us some of the iconic Rom-Coms I would really appreciate that. Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral, You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle. And some of the British films would also be appreciated – Pride, The Full Monty, Calendar Girls, Trainspotting, A Fish Called Wanda, Love Actually. Thanks!
Read every one and i enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing this cuz i like reading them. My favourite script id love to read is Ted. Keep it up.
Yes that’s a great one 🙂
The list is impressive, but I would have liked to see Three Days of the Condor among that group of laudable scripts.
Thank you for sharing. I would have liked to see a few Fincher screenplays. Also more science fiction like Predestination, Arrival….
David Fincher doesn’t written a screenplays, so…?
Fantastic, great work guys. thanks so much for taking the time to put this together.
You’re welcome, Cal.
Thank you so much for sharing. I am new to screenwriting and I will now be able to study screenplays. Thank you again
No problem Julie-Anne, hope you find them useful.
I have to say thank you so much
I don’t have time to download all atm, I hope you keep this page up for awhile.
Thanks Rico!
Amazing! Next time please include mike Leigh and David fincher films.
No Wes Anderson on this list???
It would be great if you could include these films:
Apocalypse Now, Barry Lyndon, Blade Runner, and specially The Fight Club.
Thanks!
Thank you so much! Whats a beautiful work you are doing. Thank you again
Thanks Florencia, really appreciate it.
Many Thanks guys, saved all on my iBooks, currently working on my second feature, all these references really help.
You’re welcome, Tharun 🙂
Great – good luck with the draft!
Hello. fantastic job. I did nnot anticipate this. This is a
impressive list. Thanks!
Thanks Emmett.
Thank you so much! That’s a lot of reading material and hopefully, I’ll become a better writer because of it!
No problem, Jessie!
You’re welcome Jessie.
The Rover
Yes that’s a good one.
You really shouldn’t refer to the Wachowskis with their dead names any longer, as they’ve been famously out of the closet as trans for quite some time now.
I’d add Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds.. That’s a great one!
Sure is!
You guys rock, thank you so much!
Thanks a lot Johnathan!
Hi. Do you have Paris, Texas available for download at all?
No couldn’t find it.
American Beauty
You’ll find the script to American Beauty if you follow the bonus link at the end.
What a great resource! Thank you!
The only reason I mention this is because you’ve asked. Do you know where I can get scripts for the 1950 Cyrano de Bergerac and Steve Martin’s Roxanne?
Thanks Don. You can buy the Roxanne script on Amazon, not sure where you can get 1950 version though.
Thanks Don. Sorry couldn’t find these.
Τhat is such a great post. Keep it up guys, love this site.
Thanks Jack!
Thanks Jack.
Great scripts – thank you!!
You’re welcome, Dan.
You’re welcome Dan.
Firstly it’s Jerry McGuire not Jerry Maguire. Secondly I’ve read most of these anyway.
Pretty sure it’s “Maguire” 🙂
Cool.
Reading all these is going to take me some time but thank you so much for this. It’s definitly something I wasn’t doing enough of.
Glad we could help.
Get on it!
Love this website! You guys ROCK!
Thanks so much Lukas 🙂
Wonderful. THANK YOU SRP!!!
Do you have a copy of The Hunger Games?
Thanx,
Ronnie
Here’s an early 2012 draft.
Hello! thank you very much for the scripts, I’m from Brazil and I really enjoy reading in English to learn the language (mainly reading script’s from my favorite movies) I’ve been looking for script of My Own Private Idaho.. if You guys got it please let me know !! With love Anne !
This was the best version we could find.
A big thank you. I’m grateful beyond words can ever tell. I truly believe these scripts are going to make me a good writer. Thanks a lot.
You’re welcome Cynthia!
Thank you for sharing these.
Thanks for the scripts.
Thanks Jay.
My favorite is planes, trains and automobiles by John Hughes! JH is the best!
Yes, that’s a classic 🙂
Too many cheesy screenplays. Just a few i like. No 1 Eternal Sunshine certainly ranks high.
Eternal Sunshine’s a fantastic movie, and screenplay.
I’m such a big fan of Sofia Coppola and her genius script lost in translation. Thanks for sharing it with others.
Hercules(2014)
The second I saw Eternal Sunshine, I knew I was in the right place. Thank you for this fantastic list!
Ermm… could you throw in High Fidelity next time? The usage of the fourth wall is brilliant
Thanks – yes High Fidelity’s great.
I think the 1969 movie Women in Love script is great to have, even if I did not see yet. Hope that happens soon.
Thanks for the heads up, Kevin.
Thanks a lot, I think this will be helpful
You’re welcome, Sylvester!
Thank you alot guys … This is really gonna help me
You’re welcome 🙂
Wonderful!! Thank you guys !!
Thanks!
Hi, I really need Stonewall movie script. Can you help me how to get that? I am having difficult where I can get that. I am gona make analyze about that film as my rules to graduate at mu school. You can email me [email protected]
Who really needs film school when you have an amazing library of scripts you’ve presented to us, I will pick one each from different genres and delve into it. Thank you so much!
Exactly 😉 Thanks for the comment, Dunstan.
WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!!!!
THANKS BROTHER FROM ANOTHER MOTHER!!!!
I DON’T USUALLY USE HIGH CASE CHARACTERS
THANKS THANKS THANKS
You’re welcome!
Great list.
Though I’d suggest You read “Raiders of the lost ark.” It has to be #1 on the action/adventure category.
Agreed. What a classic.
May God bless you.
Sorcerer by Walon Green
Double Indemnity by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler
Two great choices 🙂
Love love LOVE this, thank you soooo much people. A Few Good men is one of my favourites that I would have loved to see too.
I just grabbed a bunch of them.
This is soon good. Thanks guys
Cool!
Thank you!
I thought Reservoir Dogs was a copy of a Hong Kong flick, one starring Chow Yung Fat.
La Grande Belleza… I’d love to read it. I’ve herd it’s written as a novel and Paolo Sorretino used to add music to feel the atmosphere while reading. Please add this Beauty in!
Braveheart. Legends of the Fall
Excellent choices!
Quality! Thanks guys.
Thank you one million times over – these are awesome!!!
This site is like finding a treasure chest. Thanks so much!
Thanks Jeff – welcome aboard!
Script reader pro, you guys are awesome. I have been working on a project then suddenly I got lost, not knowing what to do. Stumbling upon this page really made my day.words alone cannot quantify how grateful I am. Thank you
Thanks so much for the feedback!
Hi Script Reader Pro
Thanks so much for posting these great scripts, such a wonderful resource. Maybe it’s just me, or I’ve tried to download too long after the original post, but the links to the following don’t seem to be working…
Good Will Hunting, The Truman Show, Jerry Maguire, and Bridesmaids.
Thanks, Ali
Thanks for the heads up, Ali – they’re all fixed now. 🙂
When I were a lad, you had to get on a train, go to a bookshop, and pay actual money for a screenplay. Kids these days! Never had it so good. 😉
I’m reading one a day! Thanks so much for this list!!!
Can’t wait to dive deep with these this weekend!
Chinatown (1974)… Without a doubt one of the top 50 screenplays out there.
Yup, good call.
Roommates by cris case
I love them all….Hangover….
josh…thank you
Hello to the team,
Thank YOU! just a little problem… it seems The Bourne Ultimatum download link isn’t working… or is it me?
Thanks for the heads up, Remy, fixed!
Hey Guys, would be great to have The Descent Part I, Unbreakable, Marathon Man, Split, Interstellar and Red Sparrow screenplays available for download.
Thanks a lot!
Remy
My pleasure!
You, guys, rock!
Thank you so much for it!
You’re welcome, Carol!
Hi.
Great site thanks, I would love to see the scrip for About Time and also Upside Down, The Majestic, The Adjustment Bureau, Source Code, Oblivion and Edge.of.Tomorrow to name a few.
Thanks very much.
Thanks for the comment!
Dances with wolves ( 1990 ) without a doubt one of the top 50 screenplaye out there
Hi script read pro!
I hope you are haveng a great time
I wanted to thank you for sharing this with others and solving the problem of writing a script.
If its not too much trouble I would like to ask you some script questions in private.
Thanks
Hanieh
Hi Hanieh, thanks for the comment – yes please sign up to our newsletter where we answer all reader questions.
Include the script by satyajit ray from india.appriciated,thanx.
Thank you! Excellent resource. Would love to read The Exorcist, Inception, Captain America The Winter Soldier, and The Silence of the Lambs.
OH WOW.
I received the subscription email a few days ago and procrastinated before opening this link. And when I finally did, I was half expecting to get merely a few pages and got directed straight to a paid subscription site for the full script. The fact that you’ve proven me wrong is just amazing.
I feel like a kid in a candy store now.
Thank you guys so much!!
You’re welcome Putri – enjoy!
I love it! Thanks scriptreaderpro.com, you are amazing! Best to luck to all of you who are working valiantly on your scripts!
Thanks, Didi, much appreciated!
Wow!!! I’m totally in awe of the work you guys are doing!!! I am new to scriptwriting but you’ve simplified a lot of things for me and for that I’m eternally grateful!
That’s so great to hear – thanks, Tiffany!
excelente post, en serio gracias por compartir pero te cuento NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MAN esta roto el link, podrias actualizarlo
Impressive list.
Thanks!
My favorite movie is Days of Thunder
Thank you very much.
Thanks, Oyebanji.
Thank you for this amazing resource! Would love to read the screenplay for some classic drama, Ordinary People and All The President’s Men come to mind. Thanks!
This is an amazing service you guys have provided. This will give young inspiring screenwriters to have a greater opportunity to make it and give new voices a platform in the industry! Thankx!
Thanks for the feedback, Mohamed!
I wish you guys had the screenplay Set It Off. It’s amazing movie.
Thanks, Jack – will check it out.
Thanks for this service, i have enjoyed and a hope i will develop my script writing career. Nothing more be blessed guys
Thanks a lot for the feedback!
Piece of writing writing is also a fun, if you be familiar
with after that you can write or else it
is difficult to write.
This is awesome —but I was hoping to see some examples of successful Bio-Pics/Period Piece ( 100 years ago) That is what I am working on now —a film adapted from someone’s autobiography ! Any suggestions?
I know there is Ray,Joy, Lust for Life…
Thanks !
You have a lot of great movies in here…some Mainstays…but seriously great.
It’s good to learn more about iconic screenplays. My son wants to try and make transcripts for films, so I’m sure he’ll want to read this. Good Will Hunting would be great for him to study, I think!
Thanks a lot you guys. I think I was leaping, now I believe I run.
Thanks for the comment 🙂
Moonlight
Moonlight
“White Hunter, Black Heart.” A 1990 film starring Clint Eastwood. Probably one of his best performances. Great film.
Good call!
Just read “Lost in Translation” simple, beautiful and inspiring, thank you so much for including, really helped me with my script x
That’s great, thanks for the comment, Lara!
The Dark Knight link doesn’t work. It takes you to a website.
gud work work guys
thank you
Thanks, Taera!
Network (1976)
thank for the reading mater. some I seen in mover
MY Favorite movie is NOW YOU SEE ME AND THE TWILIGHT SAGA
Nice this screenplays are helped me lot to write my script.
Good stuff, Ajit!
hey ya, this is so awesome and very helpful! Do you guys have any sports dramas, have and idea for a story and Id love to see how the sports action mixed with dialogue and general scenes.
Varsity Blues, The Natural, Remember The Titans
CHINA TOWN..
..NO IDEA HOW THIS IS MISSING?!
OMG THIS IS SO NICE ITS COOL AND INTERIESING OMG THIS IS NICE MOVE AND SCRIPTS
The Wizard of Oz is a great script, the story is amazing
It’s a classic 🙂
Thank you for such great scripts, Inspiring…l could see pictures, movements just from reading..Awesome
Thank you So much for such great scripts, l could see pictures, movements just from reading…Awesome.
Thanks a lot, Steve!
I want American beauty csript
You can find it here.
My choices are pretty high brow and combinations of genres. My favorite genre is crime/thriller. I saw The Usual Suspects, which I downloaded, but my choice is the foreign film, City of God. For comedy, alone, the Woody Allen movie, Blue Jasmine. Horror , with a dash of comedy, another classic, American Werewolf in London. For Drama, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. And finally for action, a Jackie Chan film, The Foreigner. Those are my choices. Love this script service!
Thanks, Vernon! Great list.
Thank you so much.
You’re welcome, Lee!
Hi Everyone!
For the last few weeks, I’ve been working on my first class for
Skillshare and today it’s officially live!
If you’re not familiar, Skillshare is an online learning community
with thousands of classes on everything from business to graphic
design to fashion – it’s the Netflix of learning.
Where you’ll learn SCREENPLAY IDEA. I’m proud of what I’ve created,
and I’d really appreciate if you’d help me out by watching my class
Not only is this an awesome deal, but your enrollment will help my
class trend on Skillshare, which means that more students will be able
to discover it.
If you know of anyone else that’d be interested to learn Screenplay
SKILLS, I’d appreciate if you’d share it with them too.
Thanks so much!
houshang falahrezaei
thanks for your sharing, so useful.
You’re welcome, thanks, Sue!
Awesome! Thank you for sharing! Do you have the script for the original film “The Amityville Horror” from 1979? Loved that movie!
PULP FICTION
Can’t believe I had the good fortune to stumble onto this website. Thanks for doing the Lord’s work.
Welcome aboard, Arcadio!
Hi, I read a commentary by Robert Towne, who said that the narrative skills in older movies is superior. He said more about how it costs the characters a lot to do the right thing in them, which makes it more believable, enjoyable, and funny. For this reason I think Billy Wilder is essential reading, especially:
SOME LIKE IT HOT and THE APARTMENT
He was able to make the story turn on very simple plot-points without the need to thread endless spaghetti.
Fantastic Post – Thank you
Thanks for reading, Penelope!
Thanks for amazing screenplays to read. Its asset for emerging filmmakers to understand the writing.
Salman Sirhindi from Pakistan
Thanks for reaching out, Salman.
Hi, thanks for taking the effort out to make this list. But I would like to know what the basis for selecting these particular scripts is. Have these films been critically analysed to understand whether they’re good, watertight scripts or is it based more on popular and critical consensus? I only ask because I’m really thrown off by The Dark Knight being on this and being described as a superior screenplay to Batman Begins and a good one in general. The film is ridden with plot holes and contrivances.
I would love to see
Rom-Com WORKING GIRL, still one of my faves
Musical MARY POPPINS RETURNS for the sweet charm of it and for the placement of songs
And for its sheer brilliance on every level, BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE. I really can’t understand how this critically praised thriller didn’t do better at the box office. It would help us to see how the TONS of music was integrated into this very intricate, bizarre and riveting storyline.
Thank you!
Brilliant compilation, thanks a million. Any chance of Red Sparrow script for download? Cheers
A few of my favorites,
Shakespeare in Love
The Abyss
Mission to Mars
Jerry Maguire
Pulp Fiction
Shawshank Redemption
Thank you! These are invaluable. Love to see “Doc Hollywood”.
Thanks, Patrick!
Thankyou for sharing.My favourite is the Bourne
Thanks alot guys for sharing, it’s really a great help to me
You’re welcome, Amanda!
YOU ALL NEED PIE IN YOUR LIVES!!!
THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT
One of Shane Black’s best action scripts with an incredible female protagonist.
The link for Zombieland doesn’t seem to be working 🙁
Amadeus and Gosford Park are great period pieces to read. For a more recent period (the 80s), the pilot for The Americans is great.
Thank you so much, its a good blog!
Hi I’m Prentiss and I’ve written the best love story script ever! ( Jesus died for our sins & in my scrip “Lacey died to save our world) best love story ever told.
You guys are awesome. The only thing I would like to see for this site would be the Taken series. Keep up the good work!
Thanks a lot, Logan!
What about some of the classics? i.e. To Have and Have Not!
The classics are great but the style of formatting and writing was definitely different back then. That’s why we’ve stuck to modern ones.
Any special advice on writing screen plays based on historical figures or events ?
Pulp fiction?
What about “Her” by Spike Jonze?
You guys just gave me something new to get addicted to. It feels special when I read the script first, visualise the scene and then watch the movie.
That’s great to hear – thanks, Vishnu!
if a whole world will gonna believe me, i will rankin this site as a best site on our planet… really amzn
Thanks, Aminu.
i was just wondering which ones are spec scripts
I am literally blown away by what you are providing here! Many many thanks! Most appreciatively, Tom
Thanks a lot, Tom – really appreciate it!
Quite resourceful, for an upstart like me.. Thank you for this database.
You’re welcome!
Thank you so much for your inexhaustible sources of information to make us all better screenwriters! The screenplay I would love to read is Bird Cage starring Robin Williams! I have a screenplay I am writing with a mix of “There’s Something About Mary and Birdcage! Knowing how to write suspenseful comedy is a blessing and I’d love to learned how to be blessed in this genre!
Thanks for all you do!
Thanks, Ingrid! Best of luck with the script, and you know where we are if you need any guidance with it 🙂
most grateful
You’re welcome, Rey!
Goodfellas is an example of a near perfect screenplay.
Is there any full script of movie Spy(2015) here? As a pdf file?
You guys have done an amazing job
Thanks, Subin! Happy reading.
Good one guys but I’d like to see Once Upon A Prince screenplay
I’d really like to see Once Upon A Prince screenplay ‘cos’ I want to learn something there
I’m an aspiring screenwriter by the way
Thank you so much.
It’s been most helpful.
Cheers, thanks for the comment!
I enjoy reading all the scripts above and I have really known how to write coz at first I had the ideas but I didn’t know how to out them on a paper, but through reading the above scripts, I can now now write my scripts everyday.
short film on humanities and moral values script
Spider Man 2 (written by Alvin Sargent) is super hard to find. But it is the gem of the superhero movie genre. I’d love to read it… If you can use your magic powers a lot of us would be grateful.
Good work Guys. Thanks for sharing.
Can you guys please share vantage point pdf.
Great resource, but sadly no musical genre section, *sniff. If anyone has the script for the musical film CHICAGO (not the stage musical), then I would be eternally grateful if you could please forward! Email: [email protected]
Please upload Mel Gibson’s APOCALYPTO . Thank you .
This are great works. Help full. Thank you.
Glad it helped, cheers!
Girl on the Train link broken?
Thanks for the heads-up, Walter – fixed 🙂
Thank you so much!!!
I am really grateful to the holder of this site who has shared this
fantastic paragraph at at this time.
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I was looking for a PDF of the script for The Others and found your page. Reading the titles of the scripts you have culled here made my heart sing with the love of cinema that started my long journey into the film biz. Recently I have been pessimistic and disheartened about the lack of quality films coming out these days. But looking at these titles made me feel totally invigorated and optimistic.
That’s great to hear, George. Glad we were able to help inspire you 🙂
Fantastic effort providing this shopping list of essential scripts for the aspiring. Having trouble finding the script for City of Women (citta delle donne) anywhere online.
Any assistance is appreciated.
Cheers,
CB
Great post, but where’s a Spike Lee script?
Thanks, TJ!