Best movies that are oscar winners in writing (screenplay based on material from another medium) category

Amadeus(1984)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 86

The incredible story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, told by his peer and secret rival Antonio Salieri - now confined to an insane asylum.



Driving Miss Daisy(1989)

Combined Rating:
81
Combined Critics Rating: 76

An old Jewish woman and her African-American chauffeur in the American South have a relationship that grows and improves over the years.



Kramer vs. Kramer(1979)

Combined Rating:
80
Combined Critics Rating: 73

Ted Kramer's wife leaves her husband, allowing for a lost bond to be rediscovered between Ted and his son, Billy. But a heated custody battle ensues over the divorced couple's son, deepening the wounds left by the separation.



Ordinary People(1980)

Combined Rating:
80
Combined Critics Rating: 78

The accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father, and the guilt-ridden younger son.



The Last Emperor(1987)

Combined Rating:
80
Combined Critics Rating: 75

The story of the final Emperor of China.





Dances with Wolves(1990)

Combined Rating:
77
Combined Critics Rating: 67

Lt. John Dunbar, exiled to a remote western Civil War outpost, befriends wolves and Indians, making him an intolerable aberration in the military.



Dangerous Liaisons(1988)

Combined Rating:
67
Combined Critics Rating: 56

A scheming widow and her manipulative ex-lover make a bet regarding the corruption of a recently married woman.



Out of Africa(1985)

Combined Rating:
52
Combined Critics Rating: 33

In 20th-century colonial Kenya, a Danish baroness/plantation owner has a passionate love affair with a free-spirited big-game hunter.



Midnight Express(1978)

Combined Rating:
41
Combined Critics Rating: 17

Billy Hayes, an American college student, is caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey and thrown into prison.



On Golden Pond(1981)

Combined Rating:
41
Combined Critics Rating: 23

Norman is a curmudgeon with an estranged relationship with his daughter Chelsea. At Golden Pond, he and his wife nevertheless agree to care for Billy, the son of Chelsea's new boyfriend, and a most unexpected relationship blooms.



Missing(1982)

Combined Rating:
23
Combined Critics Rating: 0

When an idealistic American writer disappears during the Chilean coup d'état in September 1973, his wife and father try to find him.