There are books on directing that are pure shit and there are books that are the shit. This one by Peter Milne came out in 1922 is of the latter category (Stphen D. Katz’s book being another). You’ll notice how little of the modern day BS used in books are used in this one. Here’s a short excerpt from the Frank Borzage chapter (a great one, by the way):
“Characterization is what makes pictures attractive,” Mr. Borzage says, “Sincere, true characterization. There isn’t too much of it in the average picture of today. There is too much dealing with the surface things, the superficial things. The majority of directors don’t go deep enough into the personalities with which they deal.”
Still true 85 years later. Chapter 13 on ‘Tempo’ is also great. Read the whole book for free.
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