The Directors Vision: A Concise Guide to the Art of 250 Great Filmmakers

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.

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.

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.

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.