Rating: 
Summary: Great gift for a film fan or student
Review: Bogdanovich interviews film directors from across the spectrum. The one common element is that all these artists left a distinct stamp on the films with which they were involved. I particularly got a lot out of the interviews with Hitchcock, Leo McCarey, and Chuck Jones. Worth a read or several, definitely.
Rating: 
Summary: Essential Reading for the Film Fan
Review: Bogdanovich's book has joined Bach's "Final Cut" and Dunne's "The Studio" among the dozen or so absolutely essential books on film, whether for the professional or the casual fan. It's a treasure trove of opinion, technique, and just plain gossip, and even the most ardent film lover will close the book at the end with a double-handful of movies they haven't seen and now can't go another day without. Bogdanovich is kind of a strange authority for this, but the respect he gives his interviewees, coupled with extensive knowledge and a clear desire to give equal space both to the heavyweights (Hitchcock, Hawks) and the now-forgotten (Dwan, Louis) makes this a hands-down MUST READ.
Rating:
Summary: Would be better w/o Bogdonavich's endless blather
Review: I have to give this book only 4 stars due to the overbearing writing voice of Peter Bog. The guy tries so hard to make sure the reader knows that he's had a close personal relationship with the great directors that it's painful to read. He also tries to put himself in this group as a director, for example, when he remarks on a play that a few of the directors in this books have staged, noting that he, too, has staged this play.
Really, it's not what he's saying, it's how he's saying it. Anyway, if you can tune out Bogdonovich, the rest of the book is okay.
Rating:
Summary: Forget other movie reference books. Buy this!
Review: I wonder if we (the movie fans) appreciate that we have two of the greatest film historians ever still with us today? Peter Bogdanovich and Martin Scorsese not only make movies, they also have gone to great lengths to give us insight into those who came before them in filmmaking - Scorsese with his personal journey through American films and Bogdanovich with his insightful interviews of Welles, Ford and the long list of pioneers he included in this massive volume. Here we are given more than 800 pages of interviews, some of which are fully developed and others which are but snipets of interesting careers. We should be thankful he included the snipets with the others, because in many cases these are the only true looks we have into these men who led today's young filmmakers to find their way. From Allan Dwan to Chuck Jones, Bogdanovich explores with his interviews what was behind the eyes of the men who did many things in filmmaking for the first time and with distinction. He includes some who were there when filmmaking was in its infancy, and some who started in television and moved to movies. The length and some of the lesser-known names among the subjects at first gave me pause in tackling this book, but I surprisingly found each of the interviews interesting and now count this among the best (among many) reference books I own about movies. I've gone back to it several times when viewing some of the films these men have made, and that, for me, makes this a valuable posession.
Rating:
Summary: A treasury of film knowledge and personalities
Review: Peter Bogdanovich has written a book that is for the movie enthusiast. I suspect the general reader may find some of the interviewees obscure, and the topics technical. I feel that is their loss. For the student of film or film history, this is a treasure trove of information, ideas, experiences, and feelings about films taken from interviews with some of the most distinguished directors in movie history. The author's selection is not encyclopedic, but the directors' experience spans from the earliest years of silent film to the present. These men are not just informative, but their strong and distinctive personalities show in each interview, giving the sense that one has actually met and understood many of them. Some of the interviews are brief, or even very idiosyncratic, but the best are delightfully personal. This is a long book, but affords many pleasant evenings of good conversation. It also makes one want to go back and see the films again!
Rating:
Summary: Indispensable
Review: Peter Bogdanovich pioneered the director interview in English, and this wonderful collection will give endless pleasure to film buffs. The book-length interview with Allan Dwan alone is worth the price of admission. Bogdanovich always did vast amounts of study before sitting down to talk with his subjects, and his expertise and enthusiasm encouraged them to open up in a way they usually did not with other interviewers. Anyone writing about the careers of the directors Bogdanovich interviews has to start with his work on them. A fitting companion piece is Bogdanovich's encyclopedic interview book "This Is Orson Welles."
Rating:
Summary: Indispensable
Review: Peter Bogdanovich pioneered the director interview in English, and this wonderful collection will give endless pleasure to film buffs. The book-length interview with Allan Dwan alone is worth the price of admission. Bogdanovich always did vast amounts of study before sitting down to talk with his subjects, and his expertise and enthusiasm encouraged them to open up in a way they usually did not with other interviewers. Anyone writing about the careers of the directors Bogdanovich interviews has to start with his work on them. A fitting companion piece is Bogdanovich's encyclopedic interview book "This Is Orson Welles."
Rating:
Summary: Critical access to the creative process
Review: Regardless of one's feelings about the egomania of author Bogdanovich (and it certainly bleeds through every page), he provides the creative world a great service by sharing his many years of interviews with some of the masters of American Film. Contained within these pages is a critical access to the creative process. Each director interviewed (obviously some more than others) provides invaluable insight into the nuts and bolts of film directing. Bogdanovich has compiled with this book, an indispensable historical document that does much to inspire, educate and guide any aspiring film director. I particularly valued Alan Dwan's insights into the importance of communicating character relationships into the narrative. I have incorperated much of the late director's invaluable advice into my attempts at stage direction. All in all a must have for anybody interested in directing or gaining insight into the creative process.
Rating:
Summary: Access to Genius Otherwise Unavailable
Review: The title was suggested by Howard Hawks who once observed, "...I liked almost anybody that made you realize who in the devil was making the picture...Because the director's the storyteller and should have his own method of telling it." Hawks is one of the 16 "legendary film directors" represented in this volume. It is important to keep in mind that these are conversations rather than interviews such as those conducted by Robert J. Emery in The Directors: Take One and its sequel, The Directors Take Two, as well as interviews conducted by Richard Schickel in The Men Who Made the Movies. It is also worth noting that Bogdanovich is himself a distinguished director of films such as The Last Picture Show, What's Up, Doc?, They All Laughed (a personal favorite of mine), and Texasville. As a result of his own background, Bogdanovich's questions and comments reflect somewhat different interests and perspectives than do those of Emery and Schickel. I rate all of these books Five Stars but probably enjoyed reading Bogdanovich's book the most because the conversations ramble along somewhat messily, as most of my own conversations tend to do, and also because Bogdanovich is more actively involved in the interaction than Emery and Schickel are. As a reader, I feel as if I were really an eavesdropper as 16 directors casually share their opinions, information about specific films and actors, gossip, "war stories," and overall evaluations of their careers' various successes and failures. At no time does Bogdanovich seem intrusive or manipulative. Moreover, perhaps to an extent he did not realize when writing this book, he also reveals a great deal about himself...much of it endearing and some of it admirable. His passion for film making and his appreciation of the great directors are almost palpable. Readers' interests about various directors and their respective films obviously vary. I include myself among those who are die-hard film buffs and so I enjoyed reading every chapter and every word in each chapter. Indeed, each conversation was for this amateur "gourmet" a feast to be consumed with delight and, yes, gratitude.
Rating:
Summary: Conversation With Filmmakers
Review: This is an incredible book that contains Bogdanovich's various interviews with some of Hollywood's greatest filmmakers. These are not detailed biographies however, they are an in-depth conversation about the filmmaker's films and his own feelings about them. While some go into the individual's past it is just so you can get an idea of the personality of the filmmaker. This is a must-have book. A good way to look at it is to read it through once and become familiar with all of the directors, some of whom may be new to you. Then as you view their films go back and read what they have to say. Though sometimes their comments are very brief, it's one of the few sources you'll find where the film-maker makes direct reference back to a film. And I don't know what it is about Bogdanovich but he always brings out gems of truth from those he interviews.
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