Directors

Like the other major volume in the series ("Films") this is a really large, interesting book that has room for improvement. There's generally a very good (if superficial) write-up of all the world's major directors (except Mikio Naruse, Jiri Trnka, etc.) and quite a few of its minor (read: mediocre Hollywood) directors. The book gives a rundown of each director's films and a list of writings by/about each director. The problem is that the folks doing the writing aren't usually experts on who they're writing about, or they seem indifferent towards them. Why not get Ray Carney to write about John Cassavetes instead of Bill Wine? How about Tony Raynes on Edward Yang? In the end there often tends to be precious little piercing insight into the subjects of the book and so in the end "Directors" has less impact than it could. However limited it may be, "Directors" is still a wonderfully informative read because of its sheer scope, and its willingness to include current filmmakers is admirable.