All filmmakers receive at least a one-page entry, which includes discussion of their work and influences, their complete filmography, and listing of awards they have received. Seventy-five directors of special importance are profiled in larger entries—two-page spreads—while 15 internationally acknowledged master directors are discussed and examined in two double-page spreads. Here is a comprehensive survey of the creative imaginations behind more than a hundred years of filmmaking. It’s a wonderful book for browsing, for reference, and for gaining insights into the personalities who directed the most memorable movies ever made.

Includes profiles for: Woody Allen -- Pedro Almodovar -- Robert Altman -- Wes Anderson -- Michael Apted -- Dario Argento -- Darren Aronofsky -- Mario Bava -- Warren Beatty -- Ingmar Bergman -- Busby Berkeley -- Bernardo Bertolucci -- Luc Bresson -- Danny Boyle -- Nick Broomfield -- Luis Buñuel -- Tim Burton -- James Cameron -- Frank Capra -- John Carpenter -- Youssef Chahine -- Joel Coen and Ethan Coen -- Sofia Coppola -- Wes Craven -- George Cukor -- Cecil B. DeMille -- Walt Disney -- Marguerite Duras -- Clint Eastwood -- Federico Fellini -- John Ford -- Stephen Frears -- Peter Greenaway -- Hal Hartley -- Amy Heckerling -- Alfred Hitchcock -- Peter Jackson -- Derek Jarman -- Jim Jarmusch -- Spike Jonze -- Abbas Kiarostami -- Elia Kazan -- Krzysztof Kieslowski -- Takeshi Kitano -- Stanley Kubrick -- Akira Kurosawa -- Beeban Kidron -- Spike Lee -- Ida Lupino -- Terrence Malick -- Fernando Meirelles -- Georges Melies -- Russ Meyer -- Takashi Miike -- Michael Moore -- Gaspar Noé -- Roman Polanski -- Otto Preminger -- Sam Raimi -- Satyajit Ray -- Jean Renoir -- Roberto Rossellini -- Martin Scorsese -- Ridley Scott -- Mack Sennett -- Don Siegel -- Aleksandr Sokurov -- Steven Spielberg -- Quentin Tarantino -- Bela Tarr -- Lars von Trier -- Wong Kar-wai -- John Woo -- William Wyler -- Zhang Yimou and more