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Summary: Make this book LAST on your list!
Review: There are many good works on screenwriting available. I have read several, including those by Field, Seger, and others. They have all been helpful and offer something valuable. By reading several of these books, I have gained much more than reading just one. At the very least I understand the different approaches to story, structure, etc., and am better equipped to employ my own style and method.That said, Story by Robert McKee is the cream of the crop. The book is beautifully written, tremendously insightful. I have gleaned more from this book than any of the others. Anyone with a pen and paper or typewriter can write a screenplay. For those who wish to create a masterwork with feeling characters in compelling situations, this book is a must read. It explains the why and the how, and reveals what we as screenwriters struggle toward: a good story, well told. My only gripe was that I didn't want it to end. So I have started reading it again. My work is decidedly better thanks to Robert McKee's book. Now I fear that any books I read from this point will pale in comparison. I hope that I find another gem, and am proven wrong, but to save others from this fate, I urge you to read this book last!
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Summary: Like finding two boxes already stacked beneath the bananas.
Review: If this book doesn't raise your fictional IQ 50 points, you're fighting it.
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Summary: This is the story book you're looking for
Review: If you want to write better stories or find out if you've got what it takes to write...get this book. You'll be inspired, you'll be challenged, you may end up depressed. But, in the end, you'll be able to create a better story. Or, at the least, you'll know you shouldn't force someone else to read you story and tell you it's bad.
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Summary: Concur with Boston reader
Review: Hear, hear! I must say I was pretty embarrassed to read what the so-called reader from USC wrote. Makes you wonder who's teaching reading over there, let alone writing. USC's comments were just the kind that make people think an intellectual Angeleno is an oxymoron. I can only hope they give their copy to someone more capable of understanding it - which, judging by the number of McKee's fans, shouldn't be too hard. By the way USC, it's "Seger." USC Grad should remember this if they can: "readable" does not necessarily mean "best." If that were the case, Dr. Seuss would suffice, instead of Dr. McKee. The book is a gem. If you can only buy one book, this is the one to get. It's a slow read all right, but that has to with the reader's stopping in pleasure and amazement to admire the guy's insight and impact. His writing style itself is forthright and to the point, again and again. I picked this book up almost a year ago, but didn't get around to reading it for a few months. When I did, it not only helped me pinpoint the weaknesses in my current script, but helped me see and apply the solutions to fix it. The script now is very different, and 1,000% better. Thanks, McKee!
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Summary: Rebuttal to the reviewer from Los Angeles below
Review: Perhaps the reader from Los Angeles did not understand "STORY" because he or she was not smart enough. Perhaps he/she preferred a more color-by-the-numbers approach, which you can get if you see one of the many genetic Hollywood films that has been diluted by too many writers. Or if you read Syd Field. What is the definition of "intellecutal" anyway? Stupid people enjoy reducing their idea of anyone who thinks to "intellecutal." And who ever said that people who go to FILM school know how to write? I went to NYU Film, and most of the students I knew there were the worst educated writers I've ever seen. Granted, they could shoot a mean picture, but the writing in most cases was dismal. (Because the NYU art school tragically neglects the necessity of hooking people from its film program up with people from its dramatic writing program.)
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Summary: INTELLECTUAL BS!
Review: I am a graduate of the USC film school and I thought I would really benefit for reading this book. But I was sooooooo disappointed. It's so intellectual that I could hardly get through the first chapter. I struggled and struggled, and finally gave up. Words, words, pompous words. Let's get real here!! Other books are much better: Syd Field's Problem Solver, (number one,) Linda Segar are more readable. Don't waste your time!
Rating: 
Summary: Very formulaic and by the numbers.
Review: I felt the book was too much a paint by numbers approach to screenwriting. Having graduated from the Masters Screenwriting Program at UCLA and having studied at the feet of some of the best writers in Hollywood, I know that writing a screenplay is dynamic and every story unique in structure and potential. While there are structural elements necessary in almost every screenplay, the vision for writing a screenplay must be approached with emotion and passion! Lew Hunters 434 is a much better book!
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Summary: This is a bible.
Review: And just like thee Bible, it is NOT easy to read and understand. Some critics say it is very theoretical. It is ! But it is worth the effort. Don't miss it.
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Summary: Turning Points Galore!
Review: Every scene should end in a turning point, REAL treatments are up to and beyond 90 pages, REAL writers work from the"inside out" -- these are some of the revelations in store for readers of Story, a necessary addition for any serious writer (screenplay or otherwise). My gripes are that the book could've been more succinct -- a little less on the analytical rigamorale, and McKee DOES get some famous plot points and dialogue missed up, ex. -- that's "Use the Force" not "Go with the Force" and note the confusion over the inciting incident of Leaving Las Vegas [compare pages 198 & 307]. Despite these and other fumblings (Did Travis in Taxi Driver REALLY obsess on assasination and NOT Cybil Shepard before meeting Jodie? Did Vader ACTUALLY do and say things just that way in Empire Strikes Back?), the book remains a worthwhile venture. As McKee puts it so well: More than anything else -- before fancy dialogue or description, it's the STORY that matters.
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Summary: Freedom from the idea of formula!
Review: McKee frees the reader of the idea of formula. Absolutely ingenius, a must have book for any writer of fiction. An incredible bit of work.
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