This is not turning out to be a great week for iconic writers. Not only have we lost Marvel hero Stan Lee, now we say goodbye to one of the greatest authors and screenwriters of movie history. William Goldman passed away at the age of 87 today (November 16), leaving behind a legacy of incredible literature and cinema.
The Princess Bride
Here are William Goldman's 10 greatest movies in ranking order:
1. The Princess Bride (1987)
This delightful fantasy adventure is by far William Goldman's greatest achievement. Based on his own novel, this 80s family classic starring Robin Wright, Chris Sarandon and André the Giant among others was directed by Rob Reiner and is a huge epic filled with romance, pirates, swashbuckling and magic. It's a cult classic that everyone needs to own.
2. All the President's Men (1976)
Based on the memoirs of Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, this 4-time Oscar winning biopic details the events behind the Watergate scandal. It was directed by Alan J. Pakula and starred Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford. Goldman worked with Redford on a number of other film projects in his career, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
3. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Definitely one of his most well-known movies, this Western biopic was Goldman's first collaboration with director George Roy Hill and Robert Redford with whom he would go on to reunite for 1975's The Great Waldo Pepper. This was another film to win four Academy Awards, including for Best Writing and Best Music.
4. Misery (1990)
Goldman's second collaboration with Rob Reiner was this Stephen King horror starring Kathy Bates who would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Actress. It features one of the most iconic moments in the history of horror cinema; that is the notorious "hobbling" scene. Goldman's last feature-length screenplay was another Stephen King story: 2003's Dreamcatcher.
5. Marathon Man (1976)
This crime thriller was another adaptation of one of Goldman's own novels. It was directed by John Schlesinger and saw him reteam with Dustin Hoffman, as well as the legendary Laurence Olivier who was nominated for an Oscar for his role as Nazi war criminal Dr. Christian Szell.
6. Magic (1978)
Goldman did a number of projects with director Richard Attenborough, including a Charlie Chaplin biopic with Robert Downey Jr., but Magic is one of the best. It's yet another adaptation of his own novel and starred Anthony Hopkins (with whom he also worked on Hearts in Atlantis) as an insane ventriloquist named Corky Withers.
7. Harper (1966)
Jack Smight directed this crime thriller based on the Ross Macdonald novel The Moving Target (who published the story under the name John Macdonald). It featured an ensemble cast with Paul Newman and Janet Leigh, and pays tribute to the 1946 film noir The Big Sleep, which in turn was based on the Raymond Chandler book.
8. A Bridge Too Far (1977)
This 3-time BAFTA winning war drama was another collaboration between Goldman and Richard Attenborough, and was based on the book by Cornelius Ryan. It stars Sean Connery and Michael Caine among others as officers during the failed Operation Market Garden mission during World War II.
9. The Hot Rock (1972)
From the novel by Donald E. Westlake, this Academy Award nominated crime comedy was directed by Peter Yates (with whom Goldman also worked on Year of the Comet), and starred Robert Redford and George Segal as diamond thieves who end up going on repeated heists to steal one rock.
10. The Stepford Wives (1975)
Bryan Forbes directs this iconic sci-fi thriller based on the Ira Levin novel. It stars Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, and Peter Masterson and is all about a slightly too perfect suburban town where all the women have been replaced by domesticated fembots. It received a reboot in 2004 starring Nicole Kidman.