Presenting a study of film as storytelling, this book examines how the great works of cinema history have used the principles of myth to create stories which are dramatic, entertaining, and psychologically true. The author looks not only at how outstanding figures from Hitchcock to Lucas, Spielberg and Tarantino have used mythic structure to create powerful stories, but also offers step-by-step guidelines designed to help readers to incorporate effective plot structure and characterization in their own writing.