In 2004 Greengrass'adaptation of Robert Ludlum's spy thriller, The Bourne Supremacy, gave the shooting of action an entirely new cinematic syntax - urgent, visceral, immersive, immediate - that everyone rushed to copy, from Bond to Mission Impossible.
The Greengrass Papers is based on exclusive access to the filmmaker
A veteran of Granada TV's groundbreaking current affairs program, World in Action, Greengrass uses documentary techniques to imbue his thrillers and docudramas - Bloody Sunday, The Bourne Ultimatum, United 93,, Captain Phillips - with the heat and crackle of chaotic, fast-moving, real-life events.
How does he do it? How does he give his films more visceral power than any other British director working today?
For the first time since he began making movies three decades ago, the director has agreed to collaborate on a book - with never-before-seen behind-the-scenes photographs - to share the story of the revolution he brought to Hollywood filmmaking.
More than just a portrait of a film-maker, the book is a deep-dive into the world of espionage, assassination, and political violence that Greengrass has laid bare in his films.
A rabble-rouser. A trouble-maker. A speaker of truth to power. The Greengrass Papers is based on exclusive access to the filmmaker as he prepares to make his 13th feature.
- ISBN10 0571373224
- ISBN13 9780571373222
- Publish Date 6 November 2025 (first published 6 May 2025)
- Publish Status Forthcoming
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Faber & Faber
- Edition Main
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 448
- Language English