Customer Reviews

The Director's Vision: A Concise Guide to the Art of 250 Great Filmmakers

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is by no means what it is advertised as: it's not a "concise guide" to the art of 250 directors, it doesn't tell you "how the world's greatest filmmakers create their spellbinding visions" and "the secrets behind their unique styles." In fact, it's rather misguided in my opinion because it uses auteur theory and assumes that the director is the one who creates the entire picture contained in the movie frame, as though the he or she is the "painter" of an entire film's moving image; but in fact a very large part of what goes into the frame is done by the cinematographer, the production designer, and many other people. It surprises me because I don't even think the word "cinematographer" is mentioned even once in the whole book, yet the cinematographer often puts at least as much work into a film's visuals as a director, if not more. The author of this book is also quite opinionated and really ticks me off sometimes when he bashes some of my favorite directors, claiming that their work is "half-baked humanism" and "insubstantial" while giving no real reasons to support his claims because he's only got half a page to tell us about the director, his life, his visual style, and his films.

On the other hand, though, this book is a blast to just flip through. I haven't heard of a lot of the directors in this book, and often one of the half-page frame grabs alone has made me want to go out and get one of a director's films from my local library. Indeed, a lot of great directors such as War-Kai Wong, Takeshi Kitano, Nicholas Roeg, and Krystof Kieslowski were introduced to me through this book, mainly through the stunning visuals of their movie stills; I actually don't value the text very much because of its heavily biased, opinionated nature, and the fact that sometimes the descriptions give spoilers for the films they describe, which is a shame for the films that I haven't seen yet. Rather, if I see a frame I'm really interested in, I'll briefly read the text for some basic information, and then go to the IMDB (Internet Movie Database) for a more objective view of the filmmaker's work.

Anyways, don't get this book if you really want "a concise guide to the art of 250 filmmakers;" *do* get this book if you just want to flip through the pages and see some of the most beautiful images you've ever laid your eyes on, and find out about some amazing directors you may have never heard of. Just make sure you take the author's opinions with a very big grain of salt.

This is an impressive study on a lot of different directors. It's well written, intelligent, and concise, and the Coen Brothers' foreword is a hoot. Still, I can't help thinking of those who didn't make the cut: Miyazake, Alex Proyas, Anthony Minghella, Ang Lee, Rob Reiner, Richard Donner and those that were questionable choices (Joe Dante? Are you kidding me?). I'm really hoping for a sequel to this book. Also there's probably going to be controversy about the scenes and movie selections. I really enjoy when the author goes into the actual technical details of the frames, such as the Blade Runner shot, yet there are times when judgements are too focussed on the filmmaker's career. But it makes a great conversation piece and gets the dialogue of film going. There are no easy answers in this book. Only information that generates excitement, wonder and interest. This is a film fan's book.

When I got this book, I was disappointed in the lack of text. I would have preferred less directors and more exposition. Still, I come back to it time and again for the beautiful photographs. For that reason, I would have give in four stars but for one fatal defect. THIS BOOK IS FULL OF SPOILERS! IMO, it is a crime to give away the ending of a movie like "The Bicycle Thief" to name only the most egregious example. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

The worth of this book is the great visual quality to it. Every page has a film still regarding which director is being discussed. I do agree with some earlier reviewers on the writing's poor quality. The author seems to give his own opinions rather than actually examine the film director. Just read the section on Oliver Stone, he comments on Stone's style, yes, but then the whole writing is just made up of the author's personal thoughts on Stone. There isn't detailed examination of any director's work. But it's still a very interesting book and I recommend it to those who already know their stuff regarding cinema, this will just be a pleasant breeze for them. And the photos are wonderful especially the stills for Fritz Lang, Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese, Akira Kurosawa and Sam Peckinpah. There are moments when the book is fascinating. There are some pictures you just can't keep your eyes off of which display how beautiful and rich cinema can be and how single images in a movie say a lot. Film buffs will like it, beginners, I suggest you a read a bit more before taking this book seriously.

The book is not good. It claims to be about the "Director's Vision", but each exposition is mostly made up the authors personal feelings about one film of each director. Hardly any information is given about the directors themselves, aside from one or two brief sentances at the very end of the paragraph. The movie stills, which are of extremely poor quality, take up half the page. In addition, no index had been made. The directors are listed alphabetically but if you want to find a certain movie or genre you have to skim each page individualy. The book is a failure and currently in my bathroom.

I was disappointed to find that the section on each director was only one page long! And most of that page is taken up by a movie still photograph, so there is really only one paragraph per director. Barely enough to introduce the director, let alone discuss their work. Andrew is quite opinionated, and he is not afraid to dismiss the work of some of the most popular and successful directors. Nevertheless, most of the time I found myself agreeing with his evaluations, in those cases when I was familar with the director's work. Valuable for a capsule intro to a variety of directors, but those wanting more serious and in-depth discussions should look elsewhere. Also, this was published in 1999, so all the important movies made since then are left out. For directors like Tarantino, David Lynch and the Coen brothers, this is a serious limitation.

The Director's Vision has been a great introduction to many filmmakers that I was previously unaware of. The book does not give much context to each filmmaker except for a 1/2 page blurb of a key film in their career and a short "see also" feature. What it has done for me is given me the groundwork to explore many different cinematic directions that I was previously unaware of. I was quite able to put these films into context after viewing them. In other words, I would much rather see a film and then discuss it than read extensively about it, put it in context, and then see it. This book is not for the well-read cinephile. It is simply an introduction that lets the film speak for itself.

Although I agree with some of the criticisms raised about this book (no mention of cinematographers; a few bad spoilers--don't read about Nicholas Roeg if you haven't seen Don't Look Now-- excluded directors (No Soderbergh? No Ang Lee??)), some other complaints are unwarranted (any decent film writer is going to be opinionated). It's also one book which manages to blend image and word extremely well; so many film books only contain words, and film is an incredibly visual medium.
The best thing about the volume is being introduced to new filmmakers one might not have heard of--Alexander Dovzhenko ("Earth"), Youssef Chahine, Len Lye, Hans-Jurgen Syberberg... which is not to say that the book is obscure--classic directors like Griffith, Welles, Godard and Truffaut.
It's also fun reading about one's favorite directors and seeing what Andrew has to say about them--Gilliam, Jarmusch, Jeunet & Caro, Antonioni, Kiarostami.
All in all, a fine addition to one's film library.

This book would be ideal for a college film class, as it discusses the merits of many famous directors as well as some you may not have known were so significant. The brief, one-page descriptions get to the heart of each director's significance. One still from each director's work exemplifies the point the author is making.

These descriptions made me want to seek out films by the directors. I am very interested in researching some of the lesser known ones in the book, based on the author's observations. This book looks at film as an art form and gives a glimpse at each director's personal style and contribution to the art form.

However, if you are looking for an in-depth study or a pop-culture overview, the brevity may leave you wanting. What you won't get is a complete survey of their careers, or lots of sensational stories. Those are best left to tell-tale bios and tabloids. This book is strictly about the art and artists. Highly recommended.

Simply put, this is exactly what it says with one page sections for each entry as well as a still for each as well. Though the comments are great, the filmographies are a bit light. Some glaring omissions however, and I'm going to list a bunch for you so you're forewarned:

Ron Howard, Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, Joel Schumacher, Robert Rodriguez, Wolfgang Peterson, Chang Cheh, Atom Egoyan, John McTiernan, Tsui Hark, Tony Scott, Michael Bay, Paul Verhoeven, Steven Soderbergh, Robert Wise, Darren Aronofsky, Hayao Miyazaki, Katsuhiro Otomo, Tom Tykwer, David Fincher, Don Bluth, Richard Donner, Blake Edwards, Rob Reiner, Ivan Reitman, Kevin Smith, Alex Proyas, Victor Fleming, the Farrellys, the Wachowskis, the Hughes, John Hughes, Chris Columbus, M. Night Shyamalan, Ken Burns, Paul Thomas Anderson, Wei Lo, the Zuckers, Chuck Jones, Frank Oz, Jim Henson, John G. Avildsen, Kenneth Branagh, Cameron Crowe, Brad Bird, Michael Moore, Neil Jordan, Don Coscarelli, Ralph Bakshi, Peter Jackson and director's making note since publication like Jonathan Mostow, Christopher Nolan, Guy Ritchie, Ang Lee and Bryan Singer and many more, making "Another 250" an easy task I'm sure.