I’m a thirsty boi when it comes to cinema books. History, craft, theory. Gimme, gimme, gimme. So I shamelessly hustled some of Filmstack’s finest for recommendations under the flimsy pretence of a public reading list. What follows is exactly that, plus a few notes from each contributor on why their pick is worth your time.
While putting this together, I realised how many great writers are hanging out here. The list was threatening to get out of hand, so if you’re a Filmstacker not included this time, don’t worry, you’ll be lined up for the next one.
Alright then. Buckle up, it’s book time.
Dane Benko (Indulging a Second Look)
FILM EDITING - HISTORY, THEORY AND PRACTICE: LOOKING AT THE INVISIBLE; by Don Fairservice (2001)
“Film Editing - History, Theory and Practice by Don Fairservice is the best book I ever read that explains how narrative film editing functions, not because it describes the types of cuts and how they are supposed to function (shot/reverse shot, in-and-out of frame, match cut, etc), but because it organizes how those editing choices were figured out and innovated upon progressively over the history of cinema.
It takes you through the development linearly, from starting with the first discoveries of edits (the famous horse and cart turning into a hearse jump cut, for instance) and then through the challenges filmmakers confronted and, even in some cases, attempts to do it in other directions (such as, instead of cross-cutting to show parallel action, simply loading a second projector with a second reel and showing the two simultaneously, as well as other split-screen experiments).
There's no better way to more deeply understand how something works than to rebuild it yourself from principles. Accordingly, half of this book is dedicated entirely to the silent era, where most of these decisions, innovations, and discoveries were made. For the most part, after filmmakers figured out continuous sound, cinema has more or less standardized around these editing techniques and editing hasn't changed too much since.
In my mind there is no better single book to grok how narrative cinema functions than this one alone.”
is a filmmaker and artist behind . His essays ooze technical know-how and dry humour. If you’re new to his writing, start with his take on the 10 Most Influential Movies of the 21st Century.
Sophie (That Final Scene)
THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE; by Robert Evans (1994)
“I found this book after watching The Offer on Paramount+ and becoming obsessed with the idea that someone could hate-watch Al Pacino's screen test for The Godfather and declare that a runt will not play Michael. Evans really said this about one of cinema's most iconic performances, then wrote an entire memoir positioning himself as the misunderstood genius of the situation.
Evans was this former pants salesman turned studio head who saved Paramount by greenlighting Love Story, Rosemary's Baby, and The Godfather while married to Ali MacGraw and doing enough cocaine to power a small city. His memoir reads like it was dictated during a three-day bender - all swagger and self-mythology, but with enough specific details to make you believe he actually lived this ridiculous life.
The Pacino story alone makes the book essential reading. Evans wanted Warren Beatty or Robert Redford for Michael, called Pacino too short, and only agreed to cast him when Coppola threatened to walk. But here's the thing - Evans was wrong about Pacino and completely right about almost everything else. He turned Paramount from a failing studio into the most successful operation in Hollywood by trusting his instincts about what audiences wanted.
His memoir reveals how great films actually get made - through a combination of artistic vision, corporate manipulation, and sheer luck. Evans shows you the machinery behind the magic: how he convinced Gulf+Western to bankroll risky projects, how he protected directors from studio interference, and how he sold art to people who only understood profit margins.
Reading it gave me a completely different understanding of how film works as both art and business. Evans demonstrates how great movies emerge from impossible circumstances - studios that hate the material, directors who refuse to compromise, and producers who somehow hold it all together through strategic lying and occasional blackmail.”
After building a large following with her final-scene-focused Instagram,
has become one of the leading voices in the Filmstack movement. Her essays at are vital, personal, and incisive — the kind of writing that resists easy summary. Start with her death of cinema series, then keep going.If you’re enjoying Rough Cuts, please consider subscribing (it’s free!) I also have a Buy Me a Coffee page if you’re feeling flush…
Luke Honey (Weekend Flicks)
THE GO-BETWEEN; by L.P. Hartley (1953) (later adapted into a 1971 film by Joseph Losey, with a script by Harold Pinter).
“I first read The Go-Between at thirteen years old, and it has stayed with me ever since. Set in Norfolk during the long, haunted summer of 1900, L. P. Hartley's beautifully written novel explores themes of lost innocence, memory, and the passage of time, capturing the mind of a boy on the verge of adolescence — as reconstructed in the mind of his jaded, middle-aged self. Like it or not, we cannot escape the past: even if, as Hartley points out in his famous opening sentence, 'the past is a foreign country; they do things differently there...'“
Two hand-picked deep cuts every weekend. What more could you want? is a cornucopia of sharp, deeply researched film recommendations, all delivered with Luke’s characteristic good humour. Check out his piece on the film adaptation of The Go-Between.
Ted Hope (Hope For Film)
STORY OF THE EYE; by Georges Bataille (1928) | THE THREE STIGMATA OF PALMER ELDRITCH; by Phillip K. Dick (1964) | WAYS OF SEEING; by John Berger (1972) | CAMERA LUCIDA; by Roland Barthes (1980)
“When I am asked to recommend a book for filmmakers, I like to start with either Georges Bataille's Story of the Eye or Phillip K. Dick's The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. Neither are about movies, but each would make a great film (in the right hands). I recommend them because they blow my mind and take me to places I would never have gone on my own -- qualities that I want from all films. I believe many viewers have "seen it all" yet that doesn't mean you can't truly surprise or move them, make their hearts and minds soar into far off realms that they may never have thought possible. They both also to me speak in secret alphabets, the languages we don't know we know until they are spoken to us, which for me is another goal of great cinema.
If the person however insists on it being about cinema, I next suggest John Berger's Ways of Seeing or Barthes' Camera Lucida, both again not really about cinema, but each truly on "looking". Both help me see what I experience beyond the plot or action and help me focus on life and living when I am viewing.”
— legendary indie film producer and Filmstack’s godfather — publishes , an ever-growing treasure trove of resources, links, and hard-won reflections from decades in the trenches. This post officially fired the starting gun on Filmstack.
Charlotte Simmons (The Treatment)
I AM HEROD; by Richard Kelly Kemick (2019)
is a film critic and writer of . Her brave, bracing essays get under the skin of contemporary movies, turning them inside out and forcing us to look at them with new eyes. Her essay on Saltburn is a classic.“I Am Herod - a non-fiction title about the author's experience participating in the Canadian Badlands Passion Play - is a book I relate to many things, including film, and particularly the craft of film criticism. The filmic parallels with art and drama and performance are obvious, but more striking, I think, is how I Am Herod reflects on the idea of turmoil. This was the book that, for me, first identified art as an externalization of an internal struggle, and the paradox of that (and, indeed the paradox at the center of all turmoil) fascinated me as both an artist and a consumer of art, and has informed much of my criticism.
How can we most honestly externalize - in the form of art criticism - our internal experiences with a piece of art? What must we resist and/or accept in order to attain a more objective and/or utilitarian way of thinking about art (and, by extension, being)? Does resisting mean to accept? Does accepting mean to resist? Lots to think about here, which isn't surprising, given the subject matter.
Also, fun fact: I actually helped sell this book during my publishing/publicity internship at Goose Lane Editions back in 2019.”
Dario Llinares (Contrawise)
FILMMAKERS THINKING; by Adrian Martin (2024)
“When you have read as many film books as I have, it’s rare that a new work attacks your complacency through a multilayered excellence in stylistic dexterity, interpretive insight, depth and selection of research and, crucially, goes some way to address a perennial problem of an entire discipline. This last element I’m referring to is the relationship between theory and practice in the conception of cinematic knowledge and insight. Adrian Martin’s Filmmakers Thinking hones in on the many articulations of filmmakers on their own practice and on the nature of cinema itself, attending to their reflections and insights, both logical and abstract, with foresic seriousness, critical rigour and essential passion. I highly recommend this book to both burgeoning students of film and seasoned aficionados, as the glimpses of filmmakers’ thought, refracted through Martin’s thought, will undoubtedly furnish you with new ways thinking about cinema.”
is a film scholar and writer who has read just about every film theory book under the sun. His is consistently eye-opening and rewardingly challenging. Don’t miss his Monday film-studies reading recommendations. Dario was too modest to mention it, but he interviewed author Adrian Martin about this very book here.
Ray Banks (Under the Influence)
ON FILM-MAKING: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CRAFT OF THE DIRECTOR; by Alexander Mackendrick (2006)
"I say this without fear of hyperbole: Alexander Mackendrick's On Film-Making is the only book you need to read about movies. Other directors might give you the gossip, but you'd be hard pressed to find a more readable, clear-eyed, and pragmatic approach to film storytelling, and his "Slogans for the Screenwriter's Wall" should be branded into the brains of every writer, screen or otherwise."
is a novelist and film writer. His Substack, , explores underseen moves from the mid-1960s to 1980. His posts reliably make me: (1) desperate to see a film I’d never heard of, and (2) laugh. Start anywhere — how about this piece on the largely forgotten 1975 horror flick Murrain.
Amanda Sweikow (Talk Cinema, Save Cinema)
CINEMATIC STORYTELLING: THE 100 MOST POWERFUL FILM CONVENTIONS; by Jennifer Van Sijll (2005)
“This was the first book I discovered that truly explored how to write and craft films cinematically. Rather than focusing solely on traditional story elements like three-act structure or plot, it delves into how camerawork, lighting, screen direction, music, and other cinematic tools shape both story and character. It is very concise and written with clarity, it draws on examples from well-known scripts alongside the visuals that bring them to life. I think it's an invaluable starting point for any filmmaker seeking to tell stories in a way that feels purely and truly cinematic.”
is an award-winning filmmaker who, for many years, helped run the non-profit collective Filmmakers Alliance. I discovered her Substack,
, through her regular participation in the monthly Filmstack Challenges, and was struck by her curiosity, openness and the hard-won insights she brings from a long career in moviemaking. Here, she tackles the latest challenge: films that struck an emotional chord.Swabreen Bakr (Anti-Brain Rot)
MOVIES AND MEANING: AN INTRODUCTION TO FILM; by Stephen Prince (2012)
“A book that’s helped inform my writing and education on filmmaking process is Movies and Meaning. I found an old edition at a used bookstore and it’s great because it’s meant as a teaching tool so each chapter has bullet points on what you’ll learn plus helpful summaries/takeaways at the end. I recommend it to anyone who’s looking to better understand all the departments it takes to make a film and to understand the various types of critical writing styles you can pursue.”
is a former journalist turned digital marketer. Though I’m new to her work, I thoroughly enjoyed her sharp analysis of the sonic versus visual approaches in Kurosawa’s and Lee’s High and Low, as well as her thoughtful reappraisal of Jordan Peele’s Nope. I’m looking forward to digging into the archives.
Taylor Lewis (Luz Films & The Label)
THE SOCIETY OF THE SPECTACLE; by Guy Debord (1967) | A BOOK OF LUMINOUS THINGS; by Czeslaw Milosz (1998) | POETRY UNBOUND: 50 POEMS TO OPEN YOUR WORLD (2022); by Pádraig Ó Tuama
“I'd say Guy Debord's Society of the Spectacle should be required reading for modern filmmakers. But I suspect others might've already suggested it. Honestly I find sometimes the best education for "what cinema is" is to read poetry. The language of poetry is deeply visual and potently concentrated and I find studying how one is able to do so much with so little is essential to cinematic translation. There is an entire world pulsing in the confines of a single poem and that's what we, filmmakers, aspire to have built with each film we make - or watch.
Poetry to me, offers up Baldwin's concept of "a sentence as clean as a bone" but a great one is structured in such a way as to give you plenty of meat to chew on. That is my goal when I write every scene. For people just starting out, anthology books are good to go through. A Book of Luminous Things composed by Czeslaw Milosz and Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World compiled by Pádraig Ó Tuama are two good ones to begin.”
is a writer, filmmaker, and advocate for independent cinema. She has been central to the emergence of the FilmStack and NonDē movements, recently being featured in Ted Gioia’s Honest Broker. Her Substack, , is full of candid reflections on the cinema of today, while The Label, co-written with , is dedicated to the cinema of tomorrow.
Alex Rollins Berg (Underexposed)
THE SUSPENSE THRILLER: FILMS IN THE SHADOW OF ALFRED HITCHCOCK; by Charles Derry (1951) | A THIRD FACE; by Samuel Fuller (2002) | MISS MAY DOES NOT EXIST; by Carrie Courogen (2024)
“I’d recommend Charles Derry’s The Suspense Thriller: Films in the Shadow of Alfred Hitchcock. It really opened a window - a rear window, if you will - into the mechanics of suspense and the many shades of the thriller, which happens to be my favorite genre. If suspense isn’t your thing and you’d prefer something more biographical, I’d suggest Samuel Fuller’s memoir A Third Face or Carrie Courogen’s Miss May Does Not Exist, her wonderful biography of Elaine May.”
is a filmmaker and NYU film teacher. His Substack, Underexposed, lives up to its title: every Friday, it introduces me to a movement, filmmaker, or movie I’ve never heard of. The breadth of Underexposed is its superpower; it’s a weekly dose of cinematic curiosity. A couple of weeks ago, Alex posted one of his best issues yet, the S.N.O.B Manifesto.
"Story Of The Eye" is actually very short, so I'd recommend it for anyone younger in the house, as it's perfect for all ages.
Fromtheyardtothearthouse.substack.com
Great list. My recs are here (more Hollywood than NonDē): https://brandstofans.substack.com/p/my-top-5-books-on-hollywood 👍