100 Best Cinema Books of All Time (Updated for 2026)

1

Hitchcock. Edition définitive

François Truffaut

5.0

En 1955, François Truffaut rencontre Alfred Hitchcock pour les Cahiers du cinéma. En 1962, Jules et Jim vient consacrer son talent de cinéaste et il prépare La peau douce (1964), de son aveu même le plus hitchcockien de ses films. Aux États-Unis, Hitchcock, avec Frenzy (1962), est au faîte de sa créativité et de son succès. Mais les critiques restent réticents.
Naît alors l'idée du «Hitchbook» : un

Recommended by Darren Aronofsky and Mat Whitecross.

Darren Aronofsky

This book is an amazing guide to Hitchcock’s thought process…Truffaut got Hitchcock to reveal a lot of the different techniques that he used to put together his monumental body of work. [source]

Mat Whitecross

One of the best books on film ever written. [source]

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2

Sculpting in Time

Andrey Tarkovsky, Kitty Hunter-Blair

4.8

An alternate cover edition can be found here.

Andrey Tarkovsky, the genius of modern Russian cinema--hailed by Ingmar Bergman as "the most important director of our time"--died an exile in Paris in December 1986. In Sculpting in Time, he has left his artistic testament, a remarkable revelation of both his life and work. Since Ivan's Childhood won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1962,

3

Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting

Robert McKee

4.7

Preview Summary

Robert McKee's screenwriting workshops have earned him an international reputation for inspiring novices, refining works in progress and putting major screenwriting careers back on track. Quincy Jones, Diane Keaton, Gloria Steinem, Julia Roberts, John Cleese and David Bowie are just a few of his celebrity alumni. Writers, producers, development executives and agents all flock to his lecture series

Recommended by Bill Liao.

Bill Liao

The human world occurs in language so best get good at it! [source]

4

Making Movies

Sidney Lumet

4.6

From one of America's most acclaimed directors comes a book that is both a professional memoir and a definitive guide to the art, craft, and business of the motion picture. Drawing on 40 years of experience on movies ranging from Long Day's Journey Into Night to The Verdict, Lumet explains the painstaking labor that results in two hours of screen magic.

Recommended by Darren Aronofsky.

Darren Aronofsky

It’s an incredibly clear, honest, and precise discussion of the films Lumet made over the course of his career. There are many pearls of wisdom about directing and filmmaking in the book. [source]

5

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls

Peter Biskind

4.5

This down-and-dirty romp through Hollywood in the 1970s introduces the young filmmakers--Coppola, Scorsese, Lucas, Spielberg, Altman, and Beatty--and recreates an era that transformed American culture forever.

Recommended by B.J. Novak and Darren Aronofsky.

B.J. Novak

Highly recommend it. … About filmmaking in the glory days of the '70s. [source]

Darren Aronofsky

This is an incredibly delicious read—just a great, great account of that era from Easy Rider (’69) through the mid-’70s. It’s the story of all those great filmmakers—my icons—Scorsese, Coppola, Friedkin, and Bogdanovich. They changed the way movies were made in America. It recounts their adventures in making movies. [source]

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6

My Last Sigh

Luis Bunuel

4.5

This long out-of-paint autobiography provides insight into the genesis of Bunuel's films and conveys his frank opinions on dwarves, Catholicism, the Marquis de Sade, food, and smoking, not to mention his recipe for a good dry martini!

Recommended by Jason Webster.

Jason Webster

Yes. He is fantastic at the celebration of the non-rational which is one of the things that I find very appealing about Spain. This is Buñuel’s autobiography where he talks about how important it is to let his mind wander and to daydream even though it is becoming more and more unfashionable. He is almost like a prophet of non-rationality in this very rational world. He’s lucky in that he lived during a time when other non-rationalists were doing something similar. His group included Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Federico García Lorca. So he was part of the surrealist movement for a while, although the surrealists are seen as a strangely hierarchical sort of structure. They don’t seem to be very freedom-loving when it comes to how they act. They were constantly bickering amongst themselves and then kicking people out of their group if it offended their ideas, which is a bit of a contradiction in terms. [source]

7

Notes on the Cinematograph

Robert Bresson

4.5

A key influence on the French New Wave and the director of such iconic works as Pickpocket and A Man Escaped, Robert Bresson is one of the central figures of French cinema. Notes on the Cinematograph is not only his definitive treatise on film—its inherent peculiarity and potential—but an ascetic meditation on how art transcends, and is transformed by, the senses.

Bresson upends inherited truths

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8

The Magic Lantern

Ingmar Bergman, Joan Tate

4.5

“When a film is not a document, it is a dream. . . . At the editing table, when I run the strip of film through, frame by frame, I still feel that dizzy sense of magic of my childhood.” Bergman, who has conveyed this heady sense of wonder and vision to moviegoers for decades, traces his lifelong love affair with film in his breathtakingly visual autobiography, The Magic Lantern.

More grand mosaic t

9

Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need

Blake Snyder

4.4

This ultimate insider's guide reveals the secrets that none dare admit, told by a show biz veteran who's proven that you can sell your script if you can save the cat!

Recommended by Eric Weinstein, Vinod Khosla, Vinod Khosla, and 2 others.

Eric Weinstein

Managing Director/Thiel Capital

Eric Weinstein recommended this book on Twitter. [source]

Bill Liao

The human world occurs in language so best get good at it! [source]

Neville Medhora

It takes you through 11 different 'archetypes' of screenplays you can write, and the exact elements each needs to be a great story. [source]

10

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

Ed Catmull

4.4

Preview Summary

“What does it mean to manage well?”
From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, comes an incisive book about creativity in business—sure to appeal to readers of Daniel Pink, Tom Peters, and Chip and Dan Heath. Creativity, Inc. is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, a manual for anyone who strives for originality, and t

Recommended by Mark Zuckerberg, Timothy Ferriss, Ezra Klein, and 21 others.

Mark Zuckerberg

Founder/Facebook

This book is written by the founder of Pixar and is about his experience building a culture that fosters creativity. His theory is that people are fundamentally creative, but many forces stand in the way of people being able to do their best work. I love reading first-hand accounts about how people build great companies like Pixar and nurture innovation and creativity. This should be inspiring to anyone looking to do the same, and hopefully there will be lessons we can apply to connecting the world! [source]

Timothy Ferriss

Author & Entrepreneur

No matter your circumstances, storytelling and creativity are two 'meta-skills' that can take your business and life to the next level. Ed is a master. [source]

Ezra Klein

An amazing, amazing book. [source]

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11

Lynch on Lynch

David Lynch

4.4

David Lynch erupted onto the cinema landscape in 1977 with Eraserhead, establishing himself as one of the most original and imaginative directors at work in contemporary cinema. Over the course of his career, he has remained true to a vision of the innocent lost in darkness and confusion, balancing hallucination and surrealism with a sense of Americana that is as pure and simple as his compelling

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12

Film Art: An Introduction

David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson

4.4

Film Art is often assigned to college students taking their first film class. Authors David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson do not follow the traditional method of teaching film art through a close analysis of individual films. Instead, they provide an overview of the major issues students confront when they watch movies. In clear, straightforward prose, the authors describe and dissect the complexi

13

In the Blink of an Eye

Walter Murch

4.4

In the Blink of an Eye is celebrated film editor Walter Murch's vivid, multifaceted, thought-provoking essay on film editing. Starting with what might be the most basic editing question - Why do cuts work? - Murch treats the reader to a wonderful ride through the aesthetics and practical concerns of cutting film. Along the way, he offers his unique insights on such subjects as continuity and disco

Recommended by Austin Kleon.

Austin Kleon

A short, brilliant book about film editing that has quite a few lessons for writers, too. (It would make an excellent companion to Sidney Lumet’s Making Movies.) I first read about Murch in Lawrence Weschler’s book about his adventures in astrophysics, Waves Passing In The Night, which I picked randomly off my local library’s New Arrivals shelf. [source]

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14

Something Like an Autobiography

Akira Kurosawa

4.4

"A first rate book and a joy to read...It's doubtful that a complete understanding of the director's artistry can be obtained without reading this book...Also indispensable for budding directors are the addenda, in which Kurosawa lays out his beliefs on the primacy of a good script, on scriptwriting as an essential tool for directors, on directing actors, on camera placement, and on the value of s

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15

What is Cinema?: Volume 1

Andre Bazin, Hugh Gray, Jean Renoir, Dudley Andrew

4.3

André Bazin's What Is Cinema? (volumes I and II) have been classics of film studies for as long as they've been available and are considered the gold standard in the field of film criticism. Although Bazin made no films, his name has been one of the most important in French cinema since World War II. He was co-founder of the influential Cahiers du Cinéma, which under his leadership became one of t

Recommended by Andrew Sarris.

Andrew Sarris

Bazin believed that films should be smooth, and needn’t be so socially weighty; he felt that films should have a realism to them. [source]

16

Rebel Without a Crew: Or, How a 23-year-old Film Maker with $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player

Robert Rodriguez

4.3

The film-maker Robert Rodriguez describes how he made El Mariachi for $7000, demonstrating many ways in which a film-maker can do for nothing what professionals spend thousands of dollars doing without a second thought.

Recommended by Mat Whitecross.

Mat Whitecross

Yes, I remember growing up and really wanting to be a film-maker. I didn’t understand how films were made. There wasn’t a huge amount of information at the time. It seemed like an impossible dream to go off and become a director – there was no sure-fire route. There still isn’t. I remember going to the careers adviser at school and saying I want to be a director and he pretty much laughed at me and said, ‘Well you can’t!’ [source]

17

Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity

David Lynch

4.3

Where do ideas come from?

In Catching the Big Fish, internationally acclaimed filmmaker David Lynch provides a rare window into his methods as an artist, his personal working style, and the immense creative benefits he has experienced from the practice of meditation.

Lynch describes the experience of "diving within" and "catching" ideas like fish - and then preparing them for television or movie scr

Recommended by Emma Watson.

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18

This Is Orson Welles

Orson Welles, Peter Bogdanovich, Jonathan Rosenbaum

4.3

Innovative film and theater director, radio producer, actor, writer, painter, narrator, and magician, Orson Welles (1915–1985) was the last true Renaissance man of the twentieth century. From such great radio works as "War of the Worlds" to his cinematic masterpieces Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, Othello, Macbeth, Touch of Evil, and Chimes at Midnight, Welles was a master storyteller, a

Recommended by Mat Whitecross.

Mat Whitecross

Orson Welles has always been my favourite director. I remember catching films of his late at night. One of the first films I saw of his was Touch of Evil; I had never seen anything like it. And the book is incredibly inspiring. He is sitting down with his friend Peter Bogdanovich, who is another great film director, and the two of them just talk about Orson Welles’s career. Welles is a great conversationalist. [source]

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19

Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood

Mark Harris

4.3

Explores the epic human drama behind the making of the five movies nominated for Best Picture in 1967-Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Graduate, In the Heat of the Night, Doctor Doolittle, and Bonnie and Clyde-and through them, the larger story of the cultural revolution that transformed Hollywood, and America, forever.

Recommended by Josh Charles and Kyle Russell.

Josh Charles

@MarkHarrisNYC I love this so much Mark. Can’t wait to read this book! [source]

Kyle Russell

Found my new "recommends in every coffee meeting" book - "Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood," telling the stories behind the 5 Best Picture nominees in 1968 https://t.co/xpghc74OWy [source]

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20

Herzog on Herzog

Paul Cronin, Werner Herzog

4.3

An invaluable set of career-length interviews with the German genius hailed by François Truffaut as "the most important film director alive"

Most of what we've heard about Werner Herzog is untrue. The sheer number of false rumors and downright lies disseminated about the man and his films is truly astonishing. Yet Herzog's body of work is one of the most important in postwar European cinema.
His in

21

The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers

Christopher Vogler

4.3

Provides new insights and observations from Vogler's pioneering work in mythic structure for writers.

Recommended by Darren Aronofsky.

Darren Aronofsky

It’s the Bible for screenwriters. I think it’s the best book on how to write a screenplay ever written. It helped me get through so many roadblocks as a writer. [source]

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22

Film Form: Essays In Film Theory

Sergei Eisenstein, Jay Leyda

4.3

Twelve essays written between 1928 and 1945 that demonstrate key points in the development of Eisenstein’s film theory and in particular his analysis of the sound-film medium. Edited, translated, and with an Introduction by Jay Leyda; Index; photographs and diagrams.

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23

Cinema 2: The Time-Image

Gilles Deleuze

4.3

Cinema 2: The Time-Image brings to completion Gilles Deleuze's work on the theoretical implications of the cinematographic image. In Cinema 1: The Movement-Image, Deleuze proposed a new way to understand narrative cinema, based on Henri Bergson's notion of the movement-image and C.S. Pierce's classification of images and signs. In Cinema 2, he explains why, since World War II, time has come to dom

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24

The Story of Film

Mark Cousins

4.3

25

The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller

John Truby

4.3

John Truby is one of the most respected and sought-after story consultants in the film industry, and his students have gone on to pen some of Hollywood's most successful films, including Sleepless in Seattle, Scream, and Shrek. The Anatomy of Story is his long-awaited first book, and it shares all of his secrets for writing a compelling script. Based on the lessons in his award-winning class, Grea

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26

The Films in My Life

François Truffaut

4.2

François Truffaut (1932-1984), perhaps the most respected member of the New Wave group of French moviemakers, left a legacy of beloved and influential films that include The 400 Blows, Jules and Jim, Stolen Kisses, Day for Night and The Story of Adele H. Equally fascinating is the very large body of film criticism Truffaut wrote over many years for Cahiers du Cinema and other leading film journals

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27

Cinema 1: The Movement-Image

Gilles Deleuze

4.2

28

Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting

Syd Field

4.2

A generation of screenwriters has used Syd Field’s bestselling books to ignite successful careers in film. Now the celebrated producer, lecturer, teacher, and bestselling author has updated his classic guide for a new generation of filmmakers, offering a fresh insider’s perspective on the film industry today. From concept to character, from opening scene to finished script, here are easily underst

29

The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film

Michael Ondaatje

4.2

The Conversations is a treasure, essential for any lover or student of film, and a rare, intimate glimpse into the worlds of two accomplished artists who share a great passion for film and storytelling, and whose knowledge and love of the crafts of writing and film shine through.

It was on the set of the movie adaptation of his Booker Prize-winning novel, The English Patient, that Michael Ondaatje

30

Adventures in the Screen Trade

William Goldman

4.2

Now available as an ebook for the first time!

No one knows the writer's Hollywood more intimately than William Goldman. Two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter and the bestselling author of Marathon Man, Tinsel, Boys and Girls Together, and other novels, Goldman now takes you into Hollywood's inner sanctums...on and behind the scenes for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's

Recommended by Timothy Ferriss.

31

Hollywood Babylon: The Legendary Underground Classic of Hollywood's Darkest and Best Kept Secrets

Kenneth Anger

4.2

"Hollywood Babylon" was originally published in Paris, and quickly became an underground legend. Not a word has been changed. Not a story omitted. Here is the hot, luscious plum of sizzling scandal that continues to shock the world.

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32

My Autobiography

Charlie Chaplin

4.2

Chaplin’s heartfelt and hilarious autobiography tells the story of his childhood, the challenge of identifying and perfecting his talent, his subsequent film career and worldwide celebrity. In this, one of the very first celebrity memoirs, Chaplin displays all the charms, peculiarities and deeply-held beliefs that made him such an endearing and lasting character.

Re-issued as part of Melville House

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33

Images: My Life in Film

Ingmar Bergman, Marianne Ruuth

4.2

Following the success of his bestselling autobiography The Magic Lantern, the most influential film director of our time shares his wisdom and insights about himself and his cinematic work. Bergman's career spanned 40 years and produced over 50 films, many of which are considered classics. Over 200 photos.

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34

Film History: An Introduction

David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson

4.2

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35

Moviemakers' Master Class

Laurent Tirard

4.2

From Scorsese and Lynch to Wenders and Godard: interviews with twenty of the world's greatest directors on how they make films - and why.

Each great film-maker has a secret method to his moviemaking - and each is different. In Moviemakers' Masterclass, Laurent Tirard talks to an illustrious collection of today's greatest directors to get to the core of their approach to cinema. The results shed a u

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36

The Great Movies

Roger Ebert

4.2

America’s most trusted and best-known film critic Roger Ebert presents one hundred brilliant essays on some of the best movies ever made.

For the past five years Roger Ebert, the famed film writer and critic, has been writing biweekly essays for a feature called "The Great Movies," in which he offers a fresh and fervent appreciation of a great film. The Great Movies collects one hundred of these

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37

Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer

Paul Schrader

4.2

With a new introduction, acclaimed director and screenwriter Paul Schrader revisits and updates his contemplation of slow cinema over the past fifty years. Unlike the style of psychological realism, which dominates film, the transcendental style expresses a spiritual state by means of austere camerawork, acting devoid of self-consciousness, and editing that avoids editorial comment. This seminal t

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38

Cassavetes on Cassavetes

John Cassavetes, Ray Carney

4.2

Since his death in 1989, John Cassavettes has become increasingly renowned as a cinematic hero--a renegade loner who fought the Hollywood system, steering his own creative course in a career spanning thirty years. Having already established himself as an actor, he struck out as a filmmaker in 1959 with Shadows, and proceeded to build a formidable body of work, including such classics as Faces, Wom

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39

Qu'est ce que le cinéma?

André Bazin

4.2

40

Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life

Steve Martin

4.2

In the midseventies, Steve Martin exploded onto the comedy scene. By 1978 he was the biggest concert draw in the history of stand-up. In 1981 he quit forever. This book is, in his own words, the story of "why I did stand-up and why I walked away."

Emmy and Grammy Award winner, author of the acclaimed New York Times bestsellers Shopgirl and The Pleasure of My Company, and a regular contributor to T

Recommended by Adam Savage, James Altucher, Bill Nye, and 2 others.

Adam Savage

On a big road trip, I read it out loud to my wife, she read it out loud to me. Then we got the audio book and we listened to Steve Martin read it. [source]

James Altucher

Founder/StockPickr

And while you are at it, throw in “Bounce” by Mathew Syed, who was the UK Ping Pong champion when he was younger. I love any book where someone took their passion, documented it, and shared it with us. That’s when you can see the subleties, the hard work, the luck, the talent, the skill, all come together to form a champion. Heck, throw in, “An Astronaut’s Guide to Earth” by Commander Chris Hadfield. [source]

Bill Nye

This is the story of my hero. The guy who inspired me to do what I do now. [source]

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41

Film as a Subversive Art: By Amos Vogel

Amos Vogel, Scott MacDonald

4.2

A classic returns! The original edition of Amos Vogel's seminal book, "Film as a Subversive Art" was first published in 1974, and has been out of print since 1987. According to Vogel--founder of Cinema 16, North America's legendary film society--the book details the "accelerating worldwide trend toward a more liberated cinema, in which subjects and forms hitherto considered unthinkable or forbidde

42

What is Cinema?: Volume 2

André Bazin, Hugh Gray, Dudley Andrew, Francois Truffaut

4.2

André Bazin's What Is Cinema? (volumes I and II) have been classics of film studies for as long as they've been available and are considered the gold standard in the field of film criticism. Although Bazin made no films, his name has been one of the most important in French cinema since World War II. He was co-founder of the influential Cahiers du Cinéma, which under his leadership became one of t

43

Room to Dream

David Lynch

4.2

The extraordinary, highly anticipated memoir from visionary filmmaker David Lynch

In this memoir, David Lynch, co-creator of Twin Peaks and writer and director of groundbreaking films like Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive, opens up about a lifetime of extraordinary creativity, the friendships he has made along the way and the struggles he has faced--sometimes successfu

44

Film Directing: Shot by Shot - 25th Anniversary Edition: Visualizing from Concept to Screen

Steven D. Katz

4.2

This international best-seller is filled with visual techniques for filmmakers and screenwriters who want to expand their stylistic knowledge.

45

The Wes Anderson Collection

Matt Zoller Seitz

4.2

Wes Anderson is one of the most influential voices from the past two decades of American cinema. A true auteur, Anderson is known for the visual artistry, inimitable tone, and idiosyncratic characterizations that make each of his films—Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Moonrise Kingdom—instantly recogni

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46

Godard on Godard: Critical Writings

Jean-Luc Godard, Tom Milne, Annette Michelson

4.2

Jean-Luc Godard, like many of his European contemporaries, came to filmmaking through film criticism. This collection of essays and interviews, ranging from his early efforts for La Gazette du Cinéma to his later writings for Cahiers du Cinéma, reflects his dazzling intelligence, biting wit, maddening judgments, and complete unpredictability. In writing about Hitchcock, Welles, Bergman, Truffaut,

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47

From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film

Siegfried Kracauer

4.2

A landmark, now classic, study of the rich cinematic history of the Weimar Republic, From Caligari to Hitler was first published by Princeton University Press in 1947. Siegfried Kracauer--a prominent German film critic and member of Walter Benjamin's and Theodor Adorno's intellectual circle--broke new ground in exploring the connections between film aesthetics, the prevailing psychological state o

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48

Scorsese on Scorsese

David Thompson, Ian Christie, Michael Powell

4.2

The interviews with the director Martin Scorsese which make up this book reveal a man with an unbridled passion for film. This revised edition contains material on GoodFellas, Cape Fear, The Age of Innocence, and other projects up to Casino.

49

The Five C's of Cinematography: Motion Picture Filming Techniques

Joseph V Mascelli

4.2

With the aid of photographs and diagrams, this text concisely presents concepts and techniques of motion picture camerawork and the allied areas of film-making with which they interact with and impact. Included are discussions on: cinematic time and space; compositional rules; and types of editing.

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50

Conquest of the Useless: Reflections from the Making of Fitzcarraldo

Werner Herzog

4.2

Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man) is one of the most revered and enigmatic filmmakers of our time, and Fitzcarraldo is one of his most honored and admired films. More than just Herzog’s journal of the making of the monumental, problematical motion picture, which involved, among other things, major cast changes and reshoots, and the hauling (without the use of special effects) of a 360-ton steamship over

51

Cinematography: Theory and Practice: Image Making for Cinematographers and Directors

Blain Brown

4.2

The world of cinematography has changed more in the last few years than it has since it has in 1929, when sound recording was introduced. New technology, new tools and new methods have revolutionized the art and craft of telling stories visually. While some aspects of visual language, lighting and color are eternal, shooting methods, workflow and cameras have changed radically. Even experienced fi

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52

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride

Cary Elwes, Joe Layden, Rob Reiner

4.1

From actor Cary Elwes, who played the iconic role of Westley in The Princess Bride, comes a first-person account and behind-the-scenes look at the making of the cult classic film filled with never-before-told stories, exclusive photographs, and interviews with costars Robin Wright, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, and Mandy Patinkin, as well as author and screenwriter William Goldm

53

On Directing Film

David Mamet

4.1

According to David Mamet, a film director must, above all things, think visually. Most of this instructive and funny book is written in dialogue form and based on film classes Mamet taught at Columbia University. He encourages his students to tell their stories not with words, but through the juxtaposition of uninflected images. The best films, Mamet argues, are composed of simple shots. The great

54

The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era

Thomas Schatz

4.1

At a time when the studio is making a stunning comeback, film historian Thomas Schatz provides an indispensable account of Hollywood's tradional blend of business and art. This book lays to rest the persistent myth that businesspeople and producers stifle artistic talent and reveals instead the genius of a system of collaboration and conflict. Working from industry documents, Schatz traces the dev

Recommended by Jane Root and Marina Hyde.

Jane Root

This is an amazing book. It’s an academic book, but it reads like a novel. It was a very important book for me when I was studying film and television. Film theory was dominated for many years by the idea of the auteur, the single visionary director who managed, in the hell of the industrial system that was Hollywood’s studio system, to nonetheless produce amazing individual work. Thomas Schatz’s book is a complete antidote to that. While he doesn’t in any way argue that Alfred Hitchcock or John Ford weren’t great directors, he talks about the vigour and energy of the classical Hollywood system. It’s not about these maverick individuals succeeding by fighting against the system. [source]

Marina Hyde

It’s about how gradually the stars became more savvy: they started saying I want to do this or that kind of movie, because people don’t like to be told they’re one sort of star. But people didn’t want to see Bogart going insane for example: he’s a cynic, and also a romantic, and you want to see that Warners’ style. That’s something Schatz deals with – that all the major studios developed a very specific house style. MGM was the kind of massive, prestige house – they famously said they never made B-grade movies – whereas Warners had this reputation for gang movies, and Jimmy Cagney was their big star. Universal developed the horror genre which was cheap, and as a result the players that were contracted to these studios fitted those house styles. But the stars become more important, and eventually the directors did too, largely down to Hitchcock, who inspired auteurs like Spielberg, Cimino and Coppola. [source]

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55

Conversations with Wilder

Cameron Crowe

4.1

In Conversations with Wilder, Hollywood's legendary and famously elusive director Billy Wilder agrees for the first time to talk extensively about his life and work.

Here, in an extraordinary book with more than 650 black-and-white photographs -- including film posters, stills, grabs, and never-before-seen pictures from Wilder's own collection -- the ninety-three-year-old icon talks to Cameron Crow

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56

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Steven Jay Schneider

4.1

Updated with brand-new entries to describe the most recent major motion pictures, this critically-acclaimed volume spans more than a century of moviemaking, concisely describing 1001 of the best films from around the world. New in this edition are entries to describe such film hits as "Lord of the Rings", "Mystic River", "Fahrenheit 9/11", and "Million Dollar Baby". But in fact, this volume's team

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57

Kieslowski on Kieslowski

Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzystof Kieslowski, Danusia Stok

4.1

Decalogue, The Double Life of Veronique and his trilogy, Three Colours, earned Kieslowski his reputation as a world-class film-maker. Kieslowski was notoriously reticent, and even dismissive of his work and talent, but these frank and detailed discussions show a passion for film-making and a career which was often threatened by political and economic change within Poland. In the book he talks at l

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58

How to Read a Film: The World of Movies, Media, Multimedia: Language, History, Theory

James Monaco

4.1

First published in 1977, this popular book has become the source on film and media. Now, James Monaco offers a revised and rewritten third edition incorporating every major aspect of this dynamic medium right up to the present.
Looking at film from many vantage points, How to Read a Film: Movies, Media, Multimedia explores the medium as both art and craft, sensibility and science, tradition and te

59

The New Biographical Dictionary of Film

David Thomson

4.1

David Thomson’s New Biographical Dictionary of Film topped Sight & Sound magazine’s 2010 poll of international critics and writers as the best film book of all time.

Now in its fifth edition, updated, and with more than 130 new entries—from Judd Apatow to Lena Horne—the classic, beloved film book is better than ever.

For thirty-five years, David Thomson’s Biographical Dictionary of Film has been “fi

Recommended by Andrew Sarris.

Andrew Sarris

This volume is a compendium of biographical profiles of just about every major figure in film. But it is really much more than a movie reference book. [source]

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60

Everything Is Cinema: The Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard

Richard Brody

4.1

A landmark biography explores the crucial resonances among the life, work, and times of one of the most influential filmmakers of our age

When Jean-Luc Godard wed the ideals of filmmaking to the realities of autobiography and current events, he changed the nature of cinema. Unlike any earlier films, Godard's work shifts fluidly from fiction to documentary, from criticism to art. The man himself a

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61

The Films of Akira Kurosawa

Donald Richie

4.1

In an epilogue provided for his incomparable study of Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), Donald Richie reflects on Kurosawa's life work of thirty feature films and describes his last, unfinished project, a film set in the Edo period to be called The Ocean Was Watching.

Kurosawa remains unchallenged as one of the century's greatest film directors. Through his long and distinguished career he managed, like

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62

Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film

Peter Biskind

4.1

DOWN AND DIRTY PICTURES chronicles the rise of independent filmmakers and of the twin engines the Sundance Film Festival and Miramax Films that have powered them. Peter Biskind profiles the people who took the independent movement from obscurity to the Oscars, most notably Sundance founder Robert Redford and Harvey Weinstein, who with his brother, Bob, made Miramax an indie powerhouse. Candid, pen

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63

Avatar The Last Airbender: The Art of the Animated Series

Bryan Konietzko, Michael DiMartino

4.1

A stunning masterpiece of animated storytelling.

Avatar: The Last Airbender has been syndicated to more than 120 countries around the world, inspiring millions of fans and industry professionals alike and garnering numerous industry honors--including wins at the prestigious Annie, Peabody, and Primetime Emmy awards.

Join series creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino for an unprecend

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64

Cabinet of Curiosities: My Notebooks, Collections, and Other Obsessions

Guillermo del Toro, Marc Zicree

4.1

Over the last two decades, writer-director Guillermo del Toro has mapped out a territory in the popular imagination that is uniquely his own, astonishing audiences with Cronos, Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth, and a host of other films and creative endeavors. Now, for the first time, del Toro reveals the inspirations behind his signature artistic motifs, sharing the contents of his personal notebooks, co

65

The Animator's Survival Kit: A Manual of Methods, Principles and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion and Internet Animators

Richard Williams

4.1

The definitive book on animation, from the Academy Award-winning animator behind Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Animation is one of the hottest areas of filmmaking today--and the master animator who bridges the old generation and the new is Richard Williams. During his fifty years in the business, Williams has been one of the true innovators, winning three Academy Awards and serving as the link between D

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66

Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings

Leo Braudy, Marshall Cohen

4.1

Since publication of the first edition in 1974, Film Theory and Criticism has been the most widely used and cited anthology of critical writings about film. Extensively revised and updated, this sixth edition highlights both classic texts and cutting edge essays from more than a century of thought and writing about the movies. Editors Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen have reformulated the book's sect

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67

On Filmmaking: An Introduction to the Craft of the Director

Alexander Mackendrick, Paul Cronin, Martin Scorsese

4.1

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 film-making in 1969, he then spent nearly 25 years teaching his craft at the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles.

Mackendrick produce

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68

Theory of Film: The Redemption of Physical Reality

Siegfried Kracauer, Miriam Bratu Hansen

4.1

Siegfried Kracauer's classic study, originally published in 1960, explores the distinctive qualities of the cinematic medium. The book takes its place alongside works in classical film theory by such figures as Béla Balázs, Rudolf Arnheim, and André Bazin, among others, and has met with much critical dispute. In this new edition, Miriam Bratu Hansen, examining the book in the context of Kracauer's

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69

Stanley Kubrick: Interviews

Gene D. Phillips

4.0

From his first feature film, Fear and Desire (1953), to his final, posthumously released Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Stanley Kubrick excelled at probing the dark corners of human consciousness. In doing so, he adapted such popular novels as The Killing, Lolita, A Clockwork Orange, and The Shining and selected a wide variety of genres for his films -- black comedy (Dr. Strangelove), science fiction (200

70

Vagabond: A Memoir

Tim Curry and Grand Central Publishing

4.0

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71

The Stanley Kubrick Archives

Alison Castle

4.0

The first book to explore Stanley Kubrick's archives is also the most comprehensive study of the filmmaker to date Part 1: The films In 1968, when Stanley Kubrick was asked to comment on the metaphysical significance of 2001: A Space Odyssey, he replied: ?It's not a message I ever intended to convey in words. 2001 is a nonverbal experience?. I tried to create a visual experience, one that bypasses

72

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Lost Adventures

Aaron Ehasz

4.0

For three years, millions of eager fans tuned in to watch new episodes of Nickelodeon's hit animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Ever since, fans have been hungry for more, and now their wait is finally over!

This volume collects the long-out-of-print, fan-favorite comics previously published in Nickelodeon Magazine and with the Airbender DVDs, plus over seventy brand-new comics pages. That'

73

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse: The Animated Story

Charlie Mackesy

4.0

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74

The Haunted Screen: Expressionism in the German Cinema and the Influence of Max Reinhardt

Lotte Eisner

4.0

The Golden Age of German cinema began at the end of the First World War and ended shortly after the coming of sound. From The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari onwards the principal films of this period were characterized by two influences: literary Expressionism, and the innovations of the theatre directors of this period, in particular Max Reinhardt. This book demonstrates the connection between German Ro

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75

Woody Allen on Woody Allen

Woody Allen, Stig Bjorkman

4.0

Over the course of his long directing career, Woody Allen has portrayed contemporary American life with an unmistakable mixture of irony, neurotic obsession, and humor. Woody Allen on Woody Allen is a unique self-portrait of this uncompromising filmmaker that offers a revealing account of his life and work. In a series of rare, in-depth interviews, Allen brings us onto the sets and behind the scen

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76

Signs and Meaning in the Cinema, New and Enlarged Edition

Peter Wollen

4.0

"This new and enlarged edition of Peter Wollen's influential and higly regarded work explores the way in which new approaches to the cinema can be combined with a new approach to aesthetics. Divided into three sections, Part One deals with the work of S.M. Eisenstein, both as a director and theorist of his art. Part two concerns the auteur theory and investigates the recurrence of themes and image

77

Accidentally Wes Anderson

Wally Koval

4.0

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA visual adventure of Wes Anderson proportions, with a foreword by the legendary filmmaker himself. This gorgeous book features stunning photographs of real-life places that seem plucked from the world of his films, with the fascinating stories behind each façade.Accidentally Wes Anderson began as a travel bucket list, a catalog of visually striking and historically uniq

78

The Big Screen: The Story of the Movies

David Thomson

4.0

79

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay

J.K. Rowling

4.0

J.K. Rowling's screenwriting debut is captured in this exciting hardcover edition of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them screenplay.

When Magizoologist Newt Scamander arrives in New York, he intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when his magical case is misplaced and some of Newt's fantastic beasts escape, it spells trouble for everyone…

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Th

80

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse -The Art of the Movie

Ramin Zahed

4.0

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the creative minds behind The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street, bring their unique talents to a fresh vision of a different Spider-Man Universe, with a groundbreaking visual style that’s the first of its kind. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse introduces Brooklyn teen Miles Morales, and the limitless possibilities of the Spider-Verse where more than one wears the mas

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81

The Major Film Theories: An Introduction

J. Dudley Andrew

4.0

Both a history of film theory and an introduction to the work of the most important writers in the field, Andrew's volume reveals the bases of thought of such major theorists as Munsterberg, Arnheim, Eisenstein, Balazs, Kracauer, Bazin, Mitry, and Metz.

82

Disney Mystery Coloring: Pixar: A Color by Number Book

Disney

4.0

See your favorite Pixar characters in a whole new light with this magical mystery coloring book that reveals the final artwork as you color!This coloring book offers a visual tour through many of Pixar's most beloved films, including Toy Story, Monsters Inc., WALL-E, Brave, and Ratatouille...with a twist. The character featured on each page is a mystery until you color them in! Watch the magical w

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83

Conversations with Woody Allen: His Films, the Movies, and Moviemaking

Eric Lax

4.0

From the author of the bestselling biography Woody Allen comes this collection of the most revealing conversations from Laxs 36 years of interviewing the great comedian and filmmaker. Photographs throughout.

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84

Poetics of Cinema

Raul Ruiz

4.0

Chilean filmmaker Raoul Ruiz is the author of some 100 feature-length films, along with numerous plays and multi-media installations. In Poetics of Cinema, Ruiz takes a fresh approach to the major themes haunting our audio-visual civilization: the filmic unconscious, questions of utopia, the inter-contamination of images, the art of the copy, the relations between artistic practices and institutio

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85

Conversations with Scorsese

Richard Schickel

4.0

Mean Streets, Taxi Driver,Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, Kundun, The Departed, The Aviator, Shutter Island: these are just a few of the critically acclaimed films, startling experimental works, and spectacular commercial blockbusters with which Martin Scorsese has forever enriched American cinema. Here is a rare and wonderfully insightful chance to experience all of these films, and t

86

The Art of Spirited Away

Hayao Miyazaki

4.0

The Art of Spirited Away collects colour illustrations of Spirited Away for the first time in an English edition! This book includes paintings and designs from the new animated film from the director of Kiki's Delivery Service and Princess Mononoke. Large-size, hardcover coffee-table book featuring artwork from the renowned animated film, Spirited Away, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Features comment

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87

Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics

Michael Rabiger and Mick Hurbis-Cherrier

4.0

This comprehensive manual has inspired tens of thousands of readers worldwide to realize their artistic vision and produce well-constructed films. Filled with practical advice on every stage of production, this is the book you will return to throughout your career.

Directing covers the methods, technologies, thought processes, and judgments that a director must use throughout the fascinating proc

88

The Art of Howl's Moving Castle

Hayao Miyazaki

4.0

Shortly after reaping the rewards from his movie Spirited Away, a project that earned him an Academy Award in 2003, director Hayao Miyazaki set his sites on his next film, Howl's Moving Castle.Based on the novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle gave the internationally renowned director an opportunity to bring to life a fantastical time in 19th century Europe when science

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89

Journal 1970-1986

Andreï Arsenievitch Tarkovski

4.0

90

The Filmmaker's Eye: Learning (and Breaking) the Rules of Cinematic Composition

Gustavo Mercado

4.0

This is the only book that combines conceptual and practical instruction on creating polished and eloquent images for film and video with the technical know-how to achieve them.

Loaded with hundreds of full-color examples, The Filmmaker's Eye is a focused, easy-to-reference guide that shows you how to become a strong visual storyteller through smart, effective choices for your shots. This book has

91

Directing Actors

Judith Weston

4.0

Internationally-renowned directing coach Weston demonstrates what constitutes a good performance, what actors want from a director, what directors do wrong, script analysis and preparation, how actors work, and shares insights into the director/actor relationship.

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92

A Hundred Years of Japanese Film: A Concise History

Donald Richie, Paul Schrader

4.0

The authoritative guide to Japanese film, completely revised and updated.

Now available in paperback for the first time, A Hundred Years of Japanese Film by Donald Richie, the foremost Western expert on Japanese film, gives us an incisive, detailed, and fully illustrated history of the country's cinema.

Called "the dean of Japan's arts critics" by Time magazine, Richie takes us from the inception of

93

Disney Dreams Collection by Thomas Kinkade Studios 2027 Wall Calendar

Thomas Kinkade

4.0

Created to inspire Disney dreamers of every generation, the Disney Dreams Collection by Thomas Kinkade Studios 2027 Wall Calendar adds Disney enchantment and Thomas Kinkade Studios’ luminous beauty to any space, featuring fan-favorite characters including Disney’s Mickey and Minnie, Elsa, Winnie the Pooh, the family Madrigal, and more.Each bright and heartwarming spread of this full-sized 12-month

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94

The Art of Over the Garden Wall

Patrick McHale

4.0

Venture into the Unknown! A complete tour through the development and production of the Emmy-winning animated miniseries Over the Garden Wall, this volume contains hundreds of pieces of concept art and sketches, and a comprehensive look at the show's breathtaking production art. From the original Tome of the Unknown: Harvest Melody pilot, through each of the episodes, and beyond, take a strange an

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95

But What I Really Want to Do Is Direct: Lessons from a Life Behind the Camera

Ken Kwapis

4.0

For over three decades, director Ken Kwapis has charted a career full of exceptional movies and television, from seminal shows like The Office to beloved films like He’s Just Not That Into You. He is among the most respected directors in show business, but getting there wasn’t easy. He struggled just like everyone else. With each triumph came the occasional faceplant. Using his background and insi

96

Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece

Michael Benson

4.0

The definitive story of the making of 2001: A Space Odyssey, acclaimed today as one of the greatest films ever made, and of director Stanley Kubrick and writer Arthur C. Clarke—“a tremendous explication of a tremendous film….Breathtaking” (The Washington Post).

Fifty years ago a strikingly original film had its premiere. Still acclaimed as one of the most remarkable and important motion pictures ev

97

Framed Ink: Drawing and Composition for Visual Storytellers

Marcos Mateu-Mestre

4.0

The ultimate guide to visual storytelling! How to make the audience "feel" the story while they are "reading" the story. Using his experiences from working in the comic book industry, movie studios and teaching, Marcos introduces the reader to a step-by-step system that will create the most successful storyboards and graphics for the best visual communication.

After a brief discussion on narrative

98

Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination

Neal Gabler

4.0

The definitive portrait of one of the most important cultural figures in American history.

Walt Disney was a true visionary whose desire for escape, iron determination and obsessive perfectionism transformed animation from a novelty to an art form, first with Mickey Mouse and then with his feature films–most notably Snow White, Fantasia, and Bambi. In his superb biography, Neal Gabler shows us how

Recommended by Brian Chesky, Marc Andreessen, and DJ Vlad.

Brian Chesky

Co-Founder & CEO/AirBnb

Walt Disney … was a hero, he left behind an unbelievable legacy. You kinda hold him regard as the iconic successful founder. He was brilliant. The thing that's amazing is Walt bet everything over and over, was always on the brink of bankruptcy, and almost should never have been successful. [source]

Marc Andreessen

Co-Founder/Andreessen Horowitz

Both Marc and Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, have read and recommended Neal Gabler's biography of Walt Disney. [source]

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99

Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie

Ralph McQuarrie

4.0

Ralph McQuarrie is the most iconic artist in the history of Star Wars. He worked hand-in-hand with George Lucas to help establish the saga’s visual aesthetic, its inimitable look and feel. Beyond designing Darth Vader, C-3PO, and R2-D2, McQuarrie produced hundreds of pieces of Star Wars artwork, including conceptual paintings, costume designs, storyboards, and matte paintings, as well as posters,

100

Avatar: The Last Airbender: Legacy of The Fire Nation

Joshua Pruett

4.0