Iconic Directors – serie

Gangster movie, Western, film noir, rom com, screwball, musical, even the Biblical epic... There are few genres left untouched and untwisted by sibling visionaries Joel and Ethan Coen. Since 1984's Blood Simple, the inscrutable brothers have effortlessly forged their own cinematic path, avoiding prevailing trends while crafting bold, stylish and witty movies that feel fresh and distinctive despite being deeply rooted in their creators' filmic passion and knowledge.This is a definitive guide to that path, bringing the reader through Joel and Ethan's 20 features (not counting the mezzanine) and exploring the themes, the tropes, the gags, the familiar faces - while also taking in all the Coen curios that litter this quirkily winding byway.From Texas to Minnesota, from Homer to Shakespeare, from Bluegrass to Busby Berkeley, from wrestling to bowling, from lost hats to severed toes, this book covers everything that one might reasonably consider (to use a word that would likely make Joel and Ethan wince) 'Coenesque'... And then some.

Quentin Tarantino is one of the most iconic and best loved movie directors of the last two decades. Whether he's shooting up the Deep South, slicing through the Japanese underworld, blasting Nazi-occupied France or taking a flamethrower to '60s Los Angeles, Tarantino is a director who combines a radical vision with a sense of history: making movies precisely the way he wants, to celebrate the movies he loves. Featuring insights into his inspirations - from martial-arts epics to Spaghetti Westerns - and dishing up fascinating details from his productions, this is an indispensable guide to Tarantino's thrilling and sometimes controversial body of work.It takes in his searing debut Reservoir Dogs, the era-defining Pulp Fiction and the genre-subverting Django Unchained, among other modern classics, right up to his nostalgic masterpiece Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. Above all, this is a celebration of a filmmaker who has arguably made a bigger impact on modern pop culture than any other.

Ground breaker. Game changer. The King of the World. Director James Cameron went from cult sci-fi rising star to box-office dominator at faster than light speed.As much a technical innovator as he is a visionary artist, Cameron has proven himself the master of his own cinematic destiny. His methods have often been controversial, but the results are undeniably impactful.Taking in his scrappy early days, his impressive breakthrough with The Terminator, his colossal triumph with Titanic, his real-life adventures in planet Earth's most extreme environment, and his astonishing world-building success with Avatar, this is a truly essential guide to Cameron's stellar filmography.

Few filmmakers have made such a seismic impact on Hollywood during the past two decades as Christopher Nolan. Whether mind-twisting crime thrillers or vast sci-fi epics, his films are consistently huge crowd pleasers, despite his bold and complex visions never being compromised.Featuring fresh insights from a writer who has witnessed Nolan at work first-hand on several of his films, this is the definitive guide to the most significant British director since Hitchcock. From Memento to The Dark Knight Trilogy to Inception to Oppenheimer, it takes you on a cinematic odyssey that is truly like no other.

With just eight feature films to date, Sofia Coppola has crafted a distinctive hyper-feminine aesthetic, establishing herself as one of the world's finest directors. From her acclaimed first short film, Lick the Star, to her Oscar-winning Lost in Translation and beyond, Coppola's vision and storytelling never cease to amaze.Featuring fresh insights and critical analysis of her oeuvre, this book celebrates the director's ability to capture the female experience in a way that is real, complex and empowering. Whether it be Marie Antoinette or Priscilla, this guide takes an intimate look at the narrative threads connecting Coppola's films and offers a glimpse behind the curtain of each of her productions. Written by Christina Newland, veteran film critic and historian for Sky Arts, BBC and Empire, this book is perfect for fans of women's stories and budding cinephiles. It is the ultimate guide unveiling all there is to know about Sofia Coppola's filmography.