What do you think?
Rate this book
501 Réalisateurs
A copy of this valuable book is destined to find its way into the home of every true movie fan, cinema scholar, and film critic. It's a chronological compendium that profiles the 501 most important film directors of all time. Entries--augmented with a photo of each director plus movie stills from his or her films--describe such major figures as Sergei Eisenstein, Martin Scorsese, Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Lang, Leni Riefenstahl, Orson Welles, Federico Fellini, Steven Spielberg, Robert Altman, and many, many others. Written by an expert team of film critics and historians, this book was compiled under the direction of editor Steven J. Schneider, who's 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die has sold a half-million copies worldwide to date. Readers will learn--
Why D. W. Griffith is called the father of filmmaking
The details surrounding Martin Scorsese's fascination with New York
The truth about Alfred Hitchcock's stunning blondes . . . and much more
All filmmakers receive at least a one-page entry, which includes discussion of their work and influences, their complete filmography, and listing of awards they have received. Seventy-five directors of special importance are profiled in larger entries--two-page spreads--while 15 internationally acknowledged master directors are discussed and examined in two double-page spreads. Here is a comprehensive survey of the creative imaginations behind more than a hundred years of filmmaking. It's a wonderful book for browsing, for reference, and for gaining insights into the personalities who directed the most memorable movies ever made.
Why D. W. Griffith is called the father of filmmaking
The details surrounding Martin Scorsese's fascination with New York
The truth about Alfred Hitchcock's stunning blondes . . . and much more
All filmmakers receive at least a one-page entry, which includes discussion of their work and influences, their complete filmography, and listing of awards they have received. Seventy-five directors of special importance are profiled in larger entries--two-page spreads--while 15 internationally acknowledged master directors are discussed and examined in two double-page spreads. Here is a comprehensive survey of the creative imaginations behind more than a hundred years of filmmaking. It's a wonderful book for browsing, for reference, and for gaining insights into the personalities who directed the most memorable movies ever made.
640 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
11 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
About the author
Various
455k books1,341 followersVarious is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).
If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.
Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.
If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.
Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 11, 2019
A good resource for the film buff as it covers almost every talented director from silent films through modern times, including directors of cartoons and documentaries. It is international in scope so the reader may be unfamiliar with a few of the subjects but for the most part, the names will ring a bell of recognition. Lesser directors get one page of information while more prominent individuals are given a little more space. Plenty of photographs and interesting anecdotes.
The problem that I had which caused me to give it a lower rating that it may have deserved was the presentation of the material. The book was divided by the decade in which the director was born which is rather meaningless instead of the years when their finest work was realized. It would have been a easier read if it was arranged alphabetically for quick reference.But no complaints otherwise.
The problem that I had which caused me to give it a lower rating that it may have deserved was the presentation of the material. The book was divided by the decade in which the director was born which is rather meaningless instead of the years when their finest work was realized. It would have been a easier read if it was arranged alphabetically for quick reference.But no complaints otherwise.
July 8, 2022
A definitive guide to movie directors
September 5, 2008
I checked this out from the library, and now wish that I had it on my shelf as a reference.
January 22, 2021
Un essai-référence sur les réalisateurs. Chaque réalisateur est présenté avec une description et une liste de ses principaux films.
Le livre a attiré mon attention, car comme grand amateur de cinéma, je me suis aperçu depuis longtemps que le réalisateur, ainsi que le sujet du film, était un bien meilleur critère pour choisir un film que les acteurs.
Les meilleurs réalisateurs font très attention au choix du scénario; d'ailleurs plusieurs d'entre eux sont aussi scénaristes. John Carpenter a dit que les trois ingrédients pour un bon film sont : "Une bonne histoire, une bonne histoire et une bonne histoire".
Pour ma part, je dirais : Un bon scénario, un bon réalisateur entouré d'une bonne équipe et de bons acteurs correspondant bien aux personnages.
Points faibles :
- Je trouve que l'on a trop raclé les fonds de tiroir pour en arriver au chiffre de 501, à défaut de 1001 comme pour les autres ouvrages de la série.
- Le fait de consacrer à peu près le même nombre de pages à chaque réalisateur, peu importe sa stature, diminue de beaucoup l'utilité d'un tel ouvrage, qui ressemble, à cause de ce choix, à un catalogue.
- Plusieurs des rédacteurs, du livre, ont tendance à mettre l'accent sur la forme, alors que pour ma part, c'est le fond qui est important. Et je trouve que, par exemple, filmer une chandelle, pendant 4 heures, est ridicule,
Certains de mes réalisateurs préférés : John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, Sam Peckinpah, Billy Wylder, Sergio Leone, Brian de Palma, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Clint Eastwood, James Cameron, Zhang Jimou, etc.
Dommage que souvent aujourd'hui, on se base énormément sur le marketing, qui met le focus sur des reprises ou des suites de vieux succès et la mise en avant d'acteurs célèbres pour le financement, en minimisant l'importance du scénariste et du réalisateur, et qu'il y a tellement de livres qui n'attendent que d'être portés à l'écran.
Ma conclusion, j'ai aimé sans plus. Pas assez d'informations sur les réalisateurs importants et un paquet de réalisateurs dont je ne verrai jamais les films.
Le livre a attiré mon attention, car comme grand amateur de cinéma, je me suis aperçu depuis longtemps que le réalisateur, ainsi que le sujet du film, était un bien meilleur critère pour choisir un film que les acteurs.
Les meilleurs réalisateurs font très attention au choix du scénario; d'ailleurs plusieurs d'entre eux sont aussi scénaristes. John Carpenter a dit que les trois ingrédients pour un bon film sont : "Une bonne histoire, une bonne histoire et une bonne histoire".
Pour ma part, je dirais : Un bon scénario, un bon réalisateur entouré d'une bonne équipe et de bons acteurs correspondant bien aux personnages.
Points faibles :
- Je trouve que l'on a trop raclé les fonds de tiroir pour en arriver au chiffre de 501, à défaut de 1001 comme pour les autres ouvrages de la série.
- Le fait de consacrer à peu près le même nombre de pages à chaque réalisateur, peu importe sa stature, diminue de beaucoup l'utilité d'un tel ouvrage, qui ressemble, à cause de ce choix, à un catalogue.
- Plusieurs des rédacteurs, du livre, ont tendance à mettre l'accent sur la forme, alors que pour ma part, c'est le fond qui est important. Et je trouve que, par exemple, filmer une chandelle, pendant 4 heures, est ridicule,
Certains de mes réalisateurs préférés : John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, Sam Peckinpah, Billy Wylder, Sergio Leone, Brian de Palma, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Clint Eastwood, James Cameron, Zhang Jimou, etc.
Dommage que souvent aujourd'hui, on se base énormément sur le marketing, qui met le focus sur des reprises ou des suites de vieux succès et la mise en avant d'acteurs célèbres pour le financement, en minimisant l'importance du scénariste et du réalisateur, et qu'il y a tellement de livres qui n'attendent que d'être portés à l'écran.
Ma conclusion, j'ai aimé sans plus. Pas assez d'informations sur les réalisateurs importants et un paquet de réalisateurs dont je ne verrai jamais les films.
December 17, 2015
I’m a bit of a fan of ‘titbit’ books that you can pick up; gain something useful from by way of inspiration, information, motivation and probably any other of a hundred other words ending in –ion; and put down without worrying about losing your place!
This book certainly fulfils that criterion. This gives the reader a taster of some famous and not so famous movie directors from Georges Melies to David Gordon Green.
For a small book in terms of size it’s a truly weighty tome in terms of the amount of information it contains and should prove a very useful adjunct to anyone’s viewing experience whether you tend to agree with each reviewer’s view or not. All the ‘greats’ are, as you would expect, here, with their appearance, in terms of page number, dictated by their birth dates. This, I have to admit, seems a bit odd to me as I would have thought they might appear in order of their first appearance on the movie scene as a credited director.
But that’s a minor quibble. Each entry provides a list of their most prominent work (‘Top Takes’), a concise biography and an understandably brief critique of their work and motivation under a ‘tag line’ indicating their ‘directorial style’, which, again, I could quibble with since I think that is something of a misnomer.
All in all, for the price, makes for an excellent read!
This book certainly fulfils that criterion. This gives the reader a taster of some famous and not so famous movie directors from Georges Melies to David Gordon Green.
For a small book in terms of size it’s a truly weighty tome in terms of the amount of information it contains and should prove a very useful adjunct to anyone’s viewing experience whether you tend to agree with each reviewer’s view or not. All the ‘greats’ are, as you would expect, here, with their appearance, in terms of page number, dictated by their birth dates. This, I have to admit, seems a bit odd to me as I would have thought they might appear in order of their first appearance on the movie scene as a credited director.
But that’s a minor quibble. Each entry provides a list of their most prominent work (‘Top Takes’), a concise biography and an understandably brief critique of their work and motivation under a ‘tag line’ indicating their ‘directorial style’, which, again, I could quibble with since I think that is something of a misnomer.
All in all, for the price, makes for an excellent read!
September 17, 2015
It is a very good book.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews