Product Description

"Story" deciphers the guiding structural principles that animate every classical and award-winning film, ranging from "Citizen Kane" through to modern acclaimed works like "The English Patient".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2876 in Books
• Published on: 1999-07-16
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Customer Reviews

Essential, if slightly flawed, reading for aspiring writers
While McKee's book is primarily pitched at screenwriters, it is also essential reading for novelists. If you don't have a decent idea or a healthy dose of talent then no book can help you. If you have the basic building blocks then this book is invaluable. If it can be considered a recommendation, I read STORY as I was starting out on my last novel. That novel is now available for pre-order on Amazon following a two-book deal with Random House. Is that a direct result of reading STORY? Of course not, but McKee's advice did help me keep my novel tightly structured and plotted, as well as bring depth to my characters.

STORY is not perfect, however. It might have benefited from some judicious editing here and there, and McKee can be overly verbose and prone to repetition. These are tiny niggles, though, and I can't recommend STORY enough. To get the most from it, I would suggest reading it while actually working on a project so that you can absorb the ideas through practical application. Reading it in isolation may not be as useful.

it's my Bible
The first chapter is rather densely written but don't let this put you off. Skip it, if need be, and come back to it later. The information this book contains is of phenomenal value. Don't bother with any other books on screenwriting that aren't this one. It's my Bible.

He ate a dictionary for breakfast!
I have little to add to what has already been said by other reviewers about the value of this book. I don't think anyone can reasonably argue that it has plenty to offer the aspiring scriptwriter.

My only gripe is that he appears to feel impelled to use the most obscure words he can find when a much simpler word or term would have sufficed. I don't consider myself to be particulary uneducated, but I found myself having to reach for the dictionary on more than one occasion. He is clearly a very clever chap, so surely he must know the advantages of keeping the language simple?!