"Other Worlds Than These" episode 026.

026: On Directing Film.

Renowned playwright and screenwriter David Mamet wrote a book on directing film, appropriately titled On Directing Film, after he made his first two features. As a director, Mamet is no Kubrick (hey, who is?), but he definitely has a style, and when it works (as in The Spanish Prisoner, State and Main, and Spartan), it works like gangbusters.

I don't agree with all the ideas Mamet puts forth in On Directing Film, but, at worst, they provide some good food for thought. And several of his suggestions, such as studying good animation for ideas on shot composition, are quite valuable.