"Director" Author: [Poland] Sidney Lumet / Sidney Lumet Publisher: Strait Literature and Art Publishing House Original title: Making Movies

Recommended by the Directors Guild of America, the ultimate book on directing that has been read by generations of Hollywood filmmakers

"He made a great movie that Kubrick never made" Nolan, Spielberg and other famous directors strongly recommend

Director of "12 Angry Men" and "Murder on the Orient Express", winner of the Oscar Lifetime Achievement Award, practical notes on 45 films in 50 years

“Only by shooting it yourself can you know the truth!”

◎ Editor's Recommendation

Sidney Lumet, born into a stage family, performed on Broadway at a young age and later became a popular TV director. After accumulating experience in hundreds of TV series, he made a splash in the film industry when he first entered the film industry. With "12 Angry Men", he won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival and became the top of the Hollywood pyramid. With an average of one film per year, he continued to create classics in film history: "Murder on the Orient Express", "Dog Day's Afternoon", "Network"...

In the book "Director", this "artist who sees himself as a craftsman" tells his story and shares his creative experience and work philosophy without reservation - enjoying his work, and defending his artistic ideals with all his might while complying with all business rules.

Since its first edition in 1996, this book has been regarded as a must-read classic by filmmakers all over the world, and it is still in the top 1% of Amazon's best-selling books in the United States. Nolan said that "Batman: The Dark Knight" was inspired by this book and Lumet's works, and "Black Swan" director Darren Aronofsky listed this book as his No. 1 movie book, and Spielberg praised it as "the honor of all" in the film industry.

 A must-read classic that sells all over the world, a gold medal director textbook that is popular in art schools, and an enlightenment work for generations of Hollywood filmmakers

 Oscar Lifetime Achievement Award winner, practical notes of 45 films in 50 years, revealing "the truth that only you know after shooting it yourself"

 A guide full of practical information: "One shot to the end", leading us to immerse ourselves in the process of the birth of a movie (including high-quality "rush work" and money-saving tips)

 Precious sharing from the "Best Actor and Best Actress Maker" and "Actor's Dream Collaborator":

Paul Newman, Katharine Hepburn, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Sean Connery... In Lumet's career, he has worked with top actors more times than any other director. These superstars are willing to take the lowest pay to make his movies. This is because he can build deep trust with the actors, which often allows the actors to perform magically and contribute peak performances. In this book, Lumet is open about the secret world of acting, and affectionately depicts the courage of actors to "expose themselves", as well as the heartwarming story of directors and actors fighting side by side and overcoming difficulties together.

 A moving record of emotions on the set: breaking the myth of the "paranoid" director, counting the gentle leaders, how to make the crew work together, trust each other, achieve each other, and create great works together

 The writing style is frank and warm, and the words shine with kindness, respect, and understanding.

● Introduction

What kind of story is worth making into a movie? How can actors still be emotionally sincere after playing the role countless times? How can you shoot a gunfight in downtown New York with hundreds of extras and several cars colliding? How can a director keep the entire crew united under heavy pressure...

The great director Lumet takes us into the set, "shooting from beginning to end", recording the entire process from the first rehearsal to the final shot. This is a memoir, in which the artist candidly shares his creative life, and tells the story of working on the set with Hollywood stars (from Katharine Hepburn, Paul Newman, Marlon Brando to Al Pacino); this is also a director's growth guide full of practical information, which not only provides clear, efficient and inheritable working methods, but also tells the experience and wisdom of "old hands" when facing emergencies.

★ Excerpts of wonderful content

○ Only the art form of film uses "people" to record things that are larger than life.

○ I know there are still many young people in this world who borrow money from relatives or save their own pocket money to buy their first camera and make their first student film. Some of them dream of becoming famous and making a lot of money. But there are still some who dream of finding what is really important to them, dream of saying to themselves and everyone who is willing to listen: "I care."

○ I once asked Akira Kurosawa why he always framed the film in a certain way when shooting Ran. He answered: "If my camera had panned one inch to the left, we would have filmed the Sony factory; if it had panned one inch to the right, we would have filmed the airport. Neither of them should appear in this period film." Only those who actually make movies know why they make such decisions, and each decision will affect what kind of work will be made in the end.

○ I am not the kind of believer who has to wait for the so-called "great" script that can create a "masterpiece".

○ Many French directors always complain about the lack of screenwriters. It’s all because of this bullshit “author theory” that makes directors so omnipotent that most self-respecting screenwriters would refuse to participate in such films.

○ The "instrument" used by the actor is himself - his emotions, his appearance, his sensuality, his tears, his laughter, his anger, his romance, his tenderness, his evil aura, all of which will be presented to everyone on the big screen. This is by no means easy, in fact, it is often a painful thing.

○ I don’t want a life that is replicated on the big screen. I want a life that is created. The difference between the two is the degree to which the actor exposes himself.

If this exposure of self caused such distress to actors like Paul Newman, imagine how distressing it must have been for actresses, who were not only expected to make the same kind of self-exposure but were also treated as if they were sexual commodities.

○ Actors have a right to privacy; I would never deliberately dig into their personal experiences and invade their privacy. Some directors do that. There is no right or wrong here… If we can’t get the effect I want with technology, then so be it. There will always be some other way that will work just as well.

○ Many celebrity makeup artists and hairstylists will unknowingly eat away at the celebrities’ willpower, so the actors gradually become dependent on them. All of this will create certain dangers: on the one hand, a lot of money will be spent that will not have any effect on the big screen; on the other hand, the celebrities will have a strong sense of power, and this even meaningless thing will destroy their work.

○ Brando would secretly test the director one or two days after filming began. He would give you two shots that looked identical on the surface. The only difference was that in one shot he acted spontaneously from the heart, and in the other shot he just symbolically acted out "this emotion is like this." Then he would see which one you chose to "pass." If the director chose the wrong one, the one that was "superficial," he would know.

○ Film critics talk about style as something separate from the film because they want it to be obvious. The reason they need it to be obvious is because they don’t really see it.

○ Good style is not the style that is seen directly, but the style that is felt.

○ No critic could recognize the stylized things in The Prince of the City—it was one of the most stylized films I had ever made. But Kurosawa did. The most exciting moments in my career were when Kurosawa talked to me about the “beauty of the camerawork” and “the beauty of the film.”

○ The more limited and specific the choices, the more universal the results will become.

Self-deception is absolutely necessary for any kind of creative work. Creative work is very difficult, and it is necessary to deceive yourself to some extent just to get a good start.

○ Only three people know whether an edit is good or bad: the editor, the director, and the cinematographer.

○ Commercial success has nothing to do with the quality of a film. Good films can be big sellers, and good films can be flops. Bad films can make money, and bad films can lose money. The fact is that no one really knows what kind of film will make money or lose money.

○ The main thing about making a film is fighting. I had to fight for the script, fight for the right actors, then fight the heat in the middle of the desert, fight the fatigue, and overcome the British rules for extras. Now I have to fight again because of an idiotic ad.

☆ Celebrity recommendation

Lumet made great films that Kubrick never made. What amazes me is how diverse his style is, but he still has that Kubrick core.

—Christopher Nolan

If every director had to share his creative process, the definition of film would be improved. Today, Sidney Lumet, one of the greatest directors in Hollywood history, is willing to share his views with us so sincerely. It is a great honor for all of us.

—Steven Spielberg

When the book came out, I ordered it immediately, in hardcover, because I was in film school at the time, which was a lot of money for a student (I was broke). I devoured it over the weekend, digesting the stories about Dog Day Afternoon and 12 Angry Men. Lumet's review of his career is amazingly clear, honest, and precise, with a lot of wisdom about directing and making movies. Even though I had only made a few short films as a student assignment at the time, I could still resonate with the challenges he described and applied what he taught.

—Darren Aronofsky

Priceless treasure... From time to time, people ask me if there is a book for movie lovers that can help them understand how movies are made and what to watch when watching movies. This is it!

—Roger Ebert

Everyone should read it.

—David Bordwell

Sidney is a master of filmmaking... His books are like his films - candid, heartfelt, full of life and very, very smart. A must read for anyone interested in film.

—David Mamet

A film bible written by a master. It tells every step of the process of making a movie in detail. You will feel like you are on the set. And you have to.

——Quincy Jones, the most influential musician in Hollywood

◎ Media Recommendation

As an artist, Lumet shows admirable generosity in this book. He never seeks personal honors. He always remains a patient collaborator and mentor, and is very happy to impart his wisdom to readers - which also gives this book an extremely practical quality, making it the ideal learning tool that filmmakers dream of.

-- Directors Guild of America

Legendary director Lumet doesn’t see filmmaking as a magic trick, so he’s happy to share his secrets. He’s not just a visual master, but also very much a craftsman, who believes that having clear, efficient control of the set, making the shoot run smoothly, and letting the creative team do their best work. He uses a wealth of shot examples, flow arrangements, and practical templates to convey his ideas.

——New York Film Academy

What Lumet writes about in this book is the mystery of the art of narrative itself.

—The New York Times

Lumet's memoir is as dignified and moving as his writings.

——Los Angeles Times

Powerful, passionate, and wise... This book is so fascinating because Lumet speaks passionately and with conviction about things he has a right to express his opinions on.

—Stanley Kaufman, The New Republic

Lumet has written a fascinating memoir that conveys the joy he felt in making his own work, the great pleasure he took in filmmaking... Even if this book is just a concise and easy-to-understand introduction to how a film is made by an experienced craftsman, it is still very rich in the technical aspects of filmmaking.

--The Baltimore Sun