A History of Movie Directors

In little more than a century of cinema, the role of the director has utterly transformed: from a functionary part of an industrial process to a figure whose vision and leadership are at the very core of the enterprise of movie-making. David Thompson shares a unique and exhilarating history of the movies through the work of its most accomplished artists. And he explores what role the future holds, asking whether the status of the director can survive the age of prestige TV, where writers and showrunners rule supreme.