Rating: 
Summary: Authoritative
Review: Some here have said McKee is arrogant or trying to force his style. I say he speaks with confidence and authority. This book could almost be mistaken for a novel. His writing is so clear and interesting you feel you only need a warm fire and good drink to make for a great night. As an amateur with a good idea for a book/play/film, I struggled on how to write my script. After reading the first couple of chapters, I sat down and wrote more useable words in one evening than I had for several weeks. All instructive material should be written like this book.
Rating:
Summary: The Penultimate Guide to Writing Excellent Screenplays
Review: If you've ever wondered "Why aren't films very good these days?", you're not alone. Most of us have noticed that most movies being released are predictable, dull, and just plain boring. It doesn't matter that the films are packed with chase scenes and explosions -- we've seen it all before. Robert McKee is a visionary intent on bringing fresh creativity to movies in his classic reference book on screenwriting, STORY. He writes in the introduction to this book, "But my hope for you goes beyond competence and skill. I'm starved for great films. Over the last two decades I've seen good films and a few very good films, but rarely, rarely a film of staggering power and beauty." He adds, "I've wriitten STORY to empower your command of the craft, to free you to express an original vision of life, to lift your talent beyond convention to create films of distinctive substance, structure, and style." If you're a screenwriter or novelist, STORY is not a mere nicety, but is an absolute must! There simply isn't any better guide to writing excellent screenplays -- and this one covers every genre and structure. McKee is a master at the craft of coaching writers, and he excels at helping writers discover their own unique strengths and weaknesses. McKee is brilliant at explaining something so basic yet fundamental as the difference between mood and emotion in a scene -- and ideas so subtle as getting the beats just right in a given scene. McKee's passion for excellence and enthusiasm are contagious, and inspire me to make my writing the best it can be. I find myself so riveted to STORY that I feel adrenaline racing through my when I read this masterpiece. There simply aren't enough superlatives to describe how essential this book is -- do yourself a huge favor and read this awesome book!
Rating:
Summary: Read the Book before you take his Seminar
Review: Do yourself a favor, read the Book before you take his Seminar.
If you can attend one of Bob's seminars do it, it's worth it.
If you can't this year, get his book and digest it. That means, highlighters, and marking it up. It does you no good sitting on your bookshelf. Who knows, you might end up at the Oscar's because of Bob's book.
Rating:
Summary: Beats the Commute.
Review: If you like trying to put words together, you can't get better than the book Story by Robert McKee, and these tapes are great if you have a long commute to work and back. I've learned that my characters have to change and that my story needs some structure for it to be a "story" instead of just a scene.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy A Different Book
Review: ... This overblown, unnecessary book is pedantic and clearly McKee is enamored with the sound of his own voice (literarily speaking that is). He forces the reader to wade through such incredibly insignificant minutae on the most basic of principles. Here is someone that's set out to be the screenwriting "guru" and write his own "definitive bible" and so has invested hours and hours of his life coming up with unecessarily complex systems and structures to support his stature but offers no real insight. There are so many other better screenwriting books available. ... Spend your money there instead.
Rating:
Summary: PRACTICAL advice
Review: If you're sick of writing books that offer bland, generic advice like "struggle is the key to drama," "give your characters motivation," and so on, then this book is the answer. It offers practical GUIDELINES, with line by line breakdowns of popular movies. McKee also offers countless examples to illustrate other points like plot development, dialogue and so on...
Rating:
Summary: Great - Must Read
Review: McKee may come across as brash and arrogant but reading his book and listening to him speak has been inspirational for me. This guy knows his stuff. He explains the craft of storytelling like no other. He has done his research and breaks apart storytelling and then pieces it back together piece by piece. Who else do you know who can explain, in detail, what a beat is?
Rating:
Summary: Saved my butt
Review: I'm working on my first screenplay and bought about a dozen screenplay books. They seemed helpful until I was stuck and none of them had anything for me. On the advice of a real screenwirter, I bought Story, and man, am I unstuck now. McKee teaches how basic storytelling works, and digs deep into the fundamentals of what people react to. This is the best screenwriting book I've come across because it focuses on the fundamentals, the foundation you're basing your story on. What's it REALLY about? What's the true conflict? Once you do the hard work in figuring out the fundamentals (more than just those two questions, of course), the story itself comes quickly, and it's a blast - I'm having the most fun writing I've ever had (and I've published 10 books). I'm getting up at 5 a.m. just to have enough time to write, and I love it. If you're working on a screenplay, get this book. It gives you an essential clarity about the story you're working on. Seriously. It's a hard look at storytelling, nothing vague or touchy-feely about it. Seriously, I can't recommend it enough.
Rating:
Summary: This is as good as a book of this kind can be.
Review: Reviewers debate whether or not this is the bible. There is no bible, and there never will be. However, as far as a book that breaks down principles of successful storytelling, nothing I've read comes close to the wisdom in these pages. McKee has an understanding that surpasses Field and Seger big time. But their books also have some interesting points. So read McKee, read Syd Field, read Linda Seger, watch lots of movies, read lots of novels, live, experience, and write, but don't look for the bible. The bible is you.
Rating:
Summary: Seminar in a book
Review: This book is fantastic. I actually attended Mr. McKee's seminar and had the book in hand during the three days. This book is THE backbone of his excellent presentation... right down to his timely observations about Hollywood and successful writers (he believes most movies suck because the screenwriter and director can't tell a decent story...) Any wannabe screenwriter needs to study this tome. It will take your writing to a new level.
| 
