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On Directing Film
by
David Mamet
Calling on his unique perspective as playwright, screenwriter, and director of his own critically acclaimed movies, House of Games and Things Change, David Mamet illuminates how a film comes to be. He looks at every aspect of directing—from script to cutting room—to show the many tasks directors undertake in reaching their prime objective: presenting a story that will be u...more
Paperback, 107 pages
Published
January 1st 1992
by Penguin Books
(first published 1991)
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It is an apology for handicraft. The basic ideas are all sound, and Mamet's recommendation for telling the story in a sequence of moments that speak for themselves is quite correct. I also enjoyed the analyses he develops in discussion with students - very informative and useful. However, his foaming anger against artistic film seems partially motivated by envy. In a crucial footnote, he bemoans that the Great actors winning prizes are not of the type he favours himself. Might be the same with d...more
P. 35
P. 38
One part at a time. The boat has to look like a boat; the sail doesn't have to look like a boat. Make each part do its job, and the original purpose of the totality will be achieved—as if by magic. Make the beats serve the scene, and the scene will be done; make the scenes, in the same way, the building blocks of the film, and the film will be done. Don’t make the beat do the service of the whole, don’t try to reiterate the play in the scene.
P. 38
In The Uses of Enchantment, Bruno Bettelheim...more
As short as it is, still seems padded and repetitive -- really the sweepings from a stint teaching at film school. Enough funny direct Mamet-isms to make it worthwhile, and a useful no-bullshit and absolutist summary of the Eisenstein/Bresson approach. The steadicam, and all it represents -- following the action around -- is mentioned a few times as a symbol of all that's wrong with American filmmaking today, because movies are made out of shots, and shots are of simple clear actions that don't...more
"Keep it simple, stupid" is the approach to this book, and the approach to filmmaking as described in this book. It's based on a series of classes that writer/director David Mamet conducted at Columbia University. The transcribed dialogue between Mamet and the students makes it a great lesson to follow.
He says a director has three questions to answer: What is a character doing and what does it mean to the scene? Where should the camera be placed? and What instructions should individual actors re...more
He says a director has three questions to answer: What is a character doing and what does it mean to the scene? Where should the camera be placed? and What instructions should individual actors re...more
A very simply stated approach to directing that is more than a little complicated. Mamet presents an approach dedicated to simplicity and juxtaposition. Though I think he oversimplifies at times, the perspective he offers is extremely valuable. Cut the dead weight that doesn't push the central action forward and focus on action.
Mamet's dismissive attitude toward modern American film and to schools of acting was, at first, obnoxious, but it fit his point. His focus being on the action and tellin...more
Mamet's dismissive attitude toward modern American film and to schools of acting was, at first, obnoxious, but it fit his point. His focus being on the action and tellin...more
This book isn't going to teach anyone how to direct a film. However, it's value comes in Mamet's emphasis on simplicity in preparation. Films are incredibly complex by nature, and must survive countless variables before reaching the screen. By promoting a simple, straightforward method for preparing a film, David Mamet offers a way to control the chaos, and provide a--wait for it--throughline for the production of the film. A fitting metaphor, considering that a director is truly the throughline...more
Thought-provoking but also a little annoying. Mamet's metaphors don't really work for me - I'm not buying the comparisons of crafting a film to crafting shoes, homes, or chairs. He makes some really great points about simplicity, planning, and montage, but his tangential rants, while entertaining (he REALLY hates performance art) weaken his points. Also, this is very Western philosophy / dude-centric / arrogant professor-style and that bugged me. I know that's vague, but the lack of even theoret...more
As Mamet states in the preface to this book, he had only directed two pictures (HOUSE OF GAMES in 1987 and THINGS CHANGE in 1988. Both markedly different than one another and both terrific.) when he was asked to teach a class on film directing at Columbia University - transcripts of which comprise a little more than half of the text. Some might consider that to be a bit foolish - a filmmaker with so few directorial credits teaching at one of the most prestigious film schools in the country - but...more
A very good, clear and accessible expression of Mamet's philosophy on filmmaking. Although it gets a little repetitive, he does leave the reader with a good understanding of the thought process behind the composition of the shots in a film. Even though I don't completely agree with his theories on dramatic form, they are thought-provoking and interesting, and I felt that I gained a few skills that will enhance the way I watch a film, which is probably the most important thing. The dialogues were...more
Mamet's book on acting,
True and False
, was a rather audacious protest against typical trends of theater "acting" wherein Mamet verbally reamed the kind of performers who create "characters" and strive to make "interesting" choices. Stanslavski is worthless to Mamet, as are, likewise, method actors (I wonder how he feels about Daniel-Day Lewis!) Acting, argues Mamet, is about understanding what the objective of the play's text is and executing the obtainment of that objective, thereby communica...more
A short and oddly beautiful treatise about the essence of storytelling. And it's applicable to any story. I think I liked it better for how he goes about telling what's NOT needed as much as what he says is needed, with examples.
His guiding principle is very simple, nearly absurdly simple, so I think the examples give it enough meat to be understandable. I loved the section about how people try to make sense out of everything they're given.
And I loved the sprinkling of quotes. *grins*
His guiding principle is very simple, nearly absurdly simple, so I think the examples give it enough meat to be understandable. I loved the section about how people try to make sense out of everything they're given.
And I loved the sprinkling of quotes. *grins*
A great little book on directing film. Mamet keeps it short and sweet. I don't agree with a lot of what is in here and I think in reading this I discovered why I don't care for him as a director. One reading this review is likely to ask: why the four star rating? And why I opened this review with stating that I thought the book was great? I have two reasons: 1. that while I don't agree with everything written down in these pages there is still a lot of gravy here. 2. I also think that he does he...more
اين كتاب، كتاب بسيار خطرناكي يه با يه اسم خطرناك تر. به نظر من اصلن نبايد اولين كتابي باشه كه كسي كه به كارگرداني علاقه داره، راجع به كارگرداني مي خونه. پر از اظهارنظرهاي شخصي و سليقه اي يه، به شكلي كه اصلن سعي اي در تلطيف شخصي بودن چيزهايي كه توش گفته مي شه نشده. براي همين مي تونه براي كسي كه اولين باره با كارگرداني و كتاب كارگرداني برخورد مي كنه، خطرناك باشه، چون امكان داره مغزش توسط حرفاي نويسنده -كه به نظر مي رسه به شدت طرف دار نظريه ي مونتاژ آيزنشتايني يه و اون رو به عنوان يه اصل، نه يه راه...more
Jan 11, 2010
Charles
added it
mamet cuts to the chase. good book, lots of attitude but then what would you expect from Mamet.
His theory of directing is more interesting than his practice of directing. I think I remember the Spanish Prisoner. But good stuff as I work on my own writing to think about what the viewer/reader wants.
His theory of directing is more interesting than his practice of directing. I think I remember the Spanish Prisoner. But good stuff as I work on my own writing to think about what the viewer/reader wants.
Mamet's writerly perspective on directing is interesting and it turns out that he's quite fond of Eisenstein's method of editing, although I wouldn't have guessed that from watching his movies. He always brings an original viewpoint although he can be a bit verbose and overwrought.
Mamet writes a short, to the point, book, not unlike the filmmaking approach he advocates. I wish I had read this prior to starting my Masters in film as it would have been quite beneficial. I learned more from this book than I have in film school thus far and will likely read it several more times. If you're interested in filmmaking as a craft, I cannot recommend this book enough.
Mostly a transcript of Mamet's classes, this adds little to the discerning film enthusiast's or budding filmmaker's library of books that concern themselves with the art and process of filmmaking. Fun to read, though.
The title is of questionable validity. Not much of a resource for the fledgling director as such, but great information on writing.
Excellent compact primer on how to refine a story for film.
Excellent compact primer on how to refine a story for film.
Deceptively simple to read, this fantastic little book is as much about how to write a scene as how to film it. One of my "go to" books whenever I'm blocked. All writers should read this.
Mamet's like a bullet every time. This time, he's talking about the grammar of film, with a little bit about directing. It's not really about directing -- a little, yes -- but I think the editors just packaged his Columbia lectures (the content of this book) that way so that it would sell better. Yes, the lectures were about "Directing" -- but Mamet's fundamentally a storyteller more than a director, so it's naturally weighted toward writing-->directing, rather than, say, design-->directing....more
Fantastic read. Short, sweet, and packed with usefull tips and tricks. I find David Mamet very easy to read and hugely insightful.
David Mamet is a genius. He offers great insight into directing, and he words it in a way he can call his own. I highly recommend this book.
"Get on with it, for the love of Mike. Get into the scene late, get out of the scene early, tell the story in the cut."
clear, direct, vigorous, if a bit bloviatic -- about what you'd expect from the guy who wrote Glengarry Glen Ross. the first short essay was helpful and insightful; the second part -- which takes up most of this book -- is a transcript of a way-too-interactive class he guest-lectured at a film school. it's skippable at best -- unless you like the feeling of sitting in a lecture hall full of grandstanding 20-year-old film students caught in a brown-nosing power-ego battle royale.
This short collection of essays is both sort of useful and unintentionally hilarious. Mamet has, or at least had, a very specific, dogmatic notion of how films should be directed. For every point he makes, I could think of plenty of counterexamples. So, a good chuckle, this.
I picked this up on the outdoor remainders table of Biography, in the West Village, this past summer, $5.95 + tax.
I picked this up on the outdoor remainders table of Biography, in the West Village, this past summer, $5.95 + tax.
Great story-structure book by one of America's great writers
While suffering a bit from his own inexperience, and his angry young man routine, young Mamet says much current Mamet would agree with. I think that a lot of the really intelligent thoughtful information gets clouded by the "The producers are brainless monkeys and deserve to die!" diatribes.
That being said, he manages to merge a lot of great stuff from a wealth of sources into one short, concise book with a clear line of insight into what directing a film is like. Certainly worth the read, alth...more
That being said, he manages to merge a lot of great stuff from a wealth of sources into one short, concise book with a clear line of insight into what directing a film is like. Certainly worth the read, alth...more
i dont care why you read this book.
if you need sense memories to motivate you, to think of the worse thing you've ever eaten or the loss of your puppy at age 7. i dont need to know what you were thinking about when you decided to read this book. i dont have any interest in the impulses your brain was giving off when you absorbed the text through your eyeballs. you should know that.
all i care about is that you do read the book and you read it now and in the moment and look the way i want you to l...more
if you need sense memories to motivate you, to think of the worse thing you've ever eaten or the loss of your puppy at age 7. i dont need to know what you were thinking about when you decided to read this book. i dont have any interest in the impulses your brain was giving off when you absorbed the text through your eyeballs. you should know that.
all i care about is that you do read the book and you read it now and in the moment and look the way i want you to l...more
Very useful for writing screenplays.
A simple basic treatise on directing.
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David Alan Mamet is an American author, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and film director. His works are known for their clever, terse, sometimes vulgar dialogue and arcane stylized phrasing, as well as for his exploration of masculinity.
As a playwright, he received Tony nominations for Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) and Speed-the-Plow (1988). As a screenwriter, he received Oscar nominations for Th...more
More about David Mamet...
As a playwright, he received Tony nominations for Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) and Speed-the-Plow (1988). As a screenwriter, he received Oscar nominations for Th...more
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Jul 07, 2010 11:19am