An Introduction to the Craft of the Director
by Alexander MacKendrick
Recommended by Brad Bird
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Recommended by 1 source and appears in Filmmaking, Art, and Nonfiction.
An invaluable analysis of the director's art and craft, from one of the most revered of all film school directors. Alexander 'Sandy' Mackendrick directed classic Ealing comedies plus a Hollywood masterpiece, Sweet Smell of Success. But after retiring from filmmaking in 1969, he then spent nearly 25 years teaching his craft at the California Instit...
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Why recommended
Recommended by 1 source and appears in Filmmaking, Art, and Nonfiction.
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
Brad Bird
“LOVE these. Great filmmaker. Wish I’d had him as a teacher. His book is ESSENTIAL. @mang0ld”
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Consider Accidental Presidents by Jared Cohen. Recommended by 10 sources.
“Accidental Presidents offers eight narrative portraits of men who succeeded to the U.S. presidency without election, using anecdote-rich scenes and readable context to show how personality and circumstance interact with office power. It’s strongest as a set of self-contained stories that make succession stakes concrete for non-specialist readers; it does not prioritize dense archival argument or exhaustive methodology, so expect some interpretive generalizations and repeated themes across cases. Use it for fast historical orientation rather than scholarly deep-dives.”
Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.
