---
product_id: 4120819
title: "On Directing Film"
price: "₩56126"
currency: KRW
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.kr/products/4120819-on-directing-film
store_origin: KR
region: South Korea
---

# On Directing Film

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On Directing Film [Mamet, David] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. On Directing Film

Review: Undid Every Falsehood I Had Been Taught - A few years ago I married a scoundrel--a delusional little man who had taken two whole classes one year at a presigious film school before announcing to the world that he was the next Steven Spielberg, who then spent the next twenty years refusing to get a job because filmmaking was his alleged "destiny." As it turned out, I really was his muse; obsessed with real-life cable crime dramas about psycho brides who kill their unsuspecting, purely innocent husbands, his family would later tell me, he had hoped that he could get me to snap and become the "write what you know" foil in the horror movie of the century, to gain the wealth, adulation and admiration he so richly deserved. In the years since our not-so-amicable divorce, I've been in real film school, taking classes and seminars wherever I can, and working every peon job on every set that will have me because, in a weird twist of life's true horror, I actually do want to make films, and I want to make them well. David Mamet is one of the great filmmakers that my Peter Pan wanted to pose as, but in reading this book I have learned that everything I had been told about the science of Mamet's method was completely false. Either Dopey had a far poorer grasp on reading (and watching) comprehension than I ever realised, or he just made it up as he went along. In truth, I learned in reading this book that Film Directing is much more creative and far less pretentious than I'd been led to believe, and this lecture series made me wish that I had chosen Columbia instead of Boise State way back when these classes were first taught. David Mamet's positive view that the film director is a "Dionysian extention of the screenwriter" makes the prospect much less dull. His philosophy about "letting the story evolve," how that happens, and allowing the subconcious mind to lead shot sequences and angles is brilliant. But his final advice to "stick to the channel, it's marked," is what makes this series of lessons timeless. All of the classes I have taken have left me feeling daunted, worried about the future direction of my path, losing focus in the minutiae of technicality, camera choices, light angles...resisting the urge to pummel bad actors. But then there is the clearheaded, short-and-sweet teaching of Mamet to follow first principles, plotting a sure course, summed up with: "The more time you have invested, and the more of yourself you have invested in the plan, the more secure you will feel in the face of terror, loneliness, or the unfeeling or ignorant comments of those from whom you are asking a whole bunch of money or indulgence." This book is truly a series of peptalks from a great and humble mentor, and is going into my war chest to be referred back to whenever I need to find the center again. It's so much more sensible than the ramblings of the idiot I married.
Review: If Not the Best Book on Film Directing, then Damn Close! - ON DIRECTING FILM, by David Mamet, is one of the best books ever written on the topic. Mamet, a writer/director himself, doesn't fill up the book's 107 pages with talk of the technical know-how required by a film director but instead writes about what makes a story compelling; how to communicate to a cast and crew with short and simple directions; how to not pander to an audience but still effectively communicate your film's intent; in short, how to make a better film. Part of the book consists of transcripts between film students and Mamet when he lectured on directing at Columbia Film School. Mamet and the student's talk through an imaginary scene, beat by beat, with Mamet never letting them choose the easy route at any time in the process, but instructing them to think like screenwriters, imagining the scene shot by shot. Mamet's extremely wide vocabulary and commitment to making this book as accessible as possible make it well worth your time to read and, like me, re-read.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #53,030 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #19 in Video Direction & Production (Books) #29 in Movie Direction & Production #35 in Screenwriting (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 961 Reviews |

## Images

![On Directing Film - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71ph+1t3GRL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Undid Every Falsehood I Had Been Taught
*by M***W on February 8, 2018*

A few years ago I married a scoundrel--a delusional little man who had taken two whole classes one year at a presigious film school before announcing to the world that he was the next Steven Spielberg, who then spent the next twenty years refusing to get a job because filmmaking was his alleged "destiny." As it turned out, I really was his muse; obsessed with real-life cable crime dramas about psycho brides who kill their unsuspecting, purely innocent husbands, his family would later tell me, he had hoped that he could get me to snap and become the "write what you know" foil in the horror movie of the century, to gain the wealth, adulation and admiration he so richly deserved. In the years since our not-so-amicable divorce, I've been in real film school, taking classes and seminars wherever I can, and working every peon job on every set that will have me because, in a weird twist of life's true horror, I actually do want to make films, and I want to make them well. David Mamet is one of the great filmmakers that my Peter Pan wanted to pose as, but in reading this book I have learned that everything I had been told about the science of Mamet's method was completely false. Either Dopey had a far poorer grasp on reading (and watching) comprehension than I ever realised, or he just made it up as he went along. In truth, I learned in reading this book that Film Directing is much more creative and far less pretentious than I'd been led to believe, and this lecture series made me wish that I had chosen Columbia instead of Boise State way back when these classes were first taught. David Mamet's positive view that the film director is a "Dionysian extention of the screenwriter" makes the prospect much less dull. His philosophy about "letting the story evolve," how that happens, and allowing the subconcious mind to lead shot sequences and angles is brilliant. But his final advice to "stick to the channel, it's marked," is what makes this series of lessons timeless. All of the classes I have taken have left me feeling daunted, worried about the future direction of my path, losing focus in the minutiae of technicality, camera choices, light angles...resisting the urge to pummel bad actors. But then there is the clearheaded, short-and-sweet teaching of Mamet to follow first principles, plotting a sure course, summed up with: "The more time you have invested, and the more of yourself you have invested in the plan, the more secure you will feel in the face of terror, loneliness, or the unfeeling or ignorant comments of those from whom you are asking a whole bunch of money or indulgence." This book is truly a series of peptalks from a great and humble mentor, and is going into my war chest to be referred back to whenever I need to find the center again. It's so much more sensible than the ramblings of the idiot I married.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ If Not the Best Book on Film Directing, then Damn Close!
*by S***7 on January 29, 2015*

ON DIRECTING FILM, by David Mamet, is one of the best books ever written on the topic. Mamet, a writer/director himself, doesn't fill up the book's 107 pages with talk of the technical know-how required by a film director but instead writes about what makes a story compelling; how to communicate to a cast and crew with short and simple directions; how to not pander to an audience but still effectively communicate your film's intent; in short, how to make a better film. Part of the book consists of transcripts between film students and Mamet when he lectured on directing at Columbia Film School. Mamet and the student's talk through an imaginary scene, beat by beat, with Mamet never letting them choose the easy route at any time in the process, but instructing them to think like screenwriters, imagining the scene shot by shot. Mamet's extremely wide vocabulary and commitment to making this book as accessible as possible make it well worth your time to read and, like me, re-read.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Mamet takes us to school
*by S***R on January 10, 2021*

On Directing film is a good introduction to directing film by one of my favorite screenwriters, David Mamet. Just like his films, the writing is direct and straight to the point. As someone who has always been interested in how movies are made, I loved the parts of the book where Mamet and the students he taught break down how they would approach filming a scene. You may not agree with Mamet's approach 100%, but it's worthy reading for anyone who enjoys movies, enjoys how they are made and—who knows—may want to make a movie themselves.

## Frequently Bought Together

- On Directing Film
- Making Movies
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*Last updated: 2026-01-29*