One of the best ways to get better at writing is to read more. Below are links to fifteen amazing screenplays. Pay attention to how the dialogue says more than the characters do and how what they don’t say is as important as what they do say. Read the action and notice how they set scenes and introduce characters. Lastly, notice how sequences string together scenes to creative narrative arcs.
If you like horror, Alien and Scream are genre-bending takes on scary movies. Double Indemnity and Chinatown are film noir mysteries that show the darker sides of life. When Harry Met Sally, Lost in Translation, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind bring very different interpretations to love stories. If you like action, The Dark Knight and Die Hard have plenty of it. For taught thrillers, try The Usual Suspects and No Country for Old Men. Lastly, anybody’s list of greatest scripts has to include classics like Casablanca, The Third Man, and The Godfather.
Scream – https://www.scriptslug.com/assets/uploads/scripts/scream-1993.pdf
Alien – https://www.avpgalaxy.net/files/scripts/alien-1978-10-04.pdf
No Country for Old Men – http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/picture/upload/image/scripts/No_Country%20_(Shooting).pdf
The Dark Knight – https://www.nolanfans.com/library/pdf/thedarkknight-screenplay.pdf
When Harry Met Sally – http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/whenharrymesally.pdf
The Truman Show – https://thescriptsavant.com/pdf/The_Truman_Show.pdf
Lost in Translation – http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/lost_in_translation.pdf
The Third Man – https://thescriptsavant.com/pdf/The_Third_Man.pdf
Casablanca – http://mckeestory.com/wp-content/uploads/Digital-CASABLANCA.pdf
The Godfather – https://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Godfather.html
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – https://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Eternal-Sunshine-of-the-Spotless-Mind.html
Chinatown – https://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Chinatown.html
The Usual Suspects – https://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Usual-Suspects,-The.html
Double Indemnity – https://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Double-Indemnity.html
Die Hard – https://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Die-Hard.html