A Philosophy of Cinematic Art

A wide-ranging and accessible study of cinema as an art form, discussing traditional photographic films, digital cinema, and videogames.

Berys Gaut (Author)

9780521822442, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 14 January 2010

340 pages, 9 b/w illus.
23.5 x 15.5 x 2 cm, 0.66 kg

'… [one of] the most important publications on the topic … will provide theoretical groundwork for analytically inclined film students for a long time …' Szilárd Orosz, Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies

A Philosophy of Cinematic Art is a systematic study of cinema as an art form, showing how the medium conditions fundamental features of cinematic artworks. It discusses the status of cinema as an art form, whether there is a language of film, realism in cinema, cinematic authorship, intentionalist and constructivist theories of interpretation, cinematic narration, the role of emotions in responses to films, the possibility of identification with characters, and the nature of the cinematic medium. Groundbreaking in its coverage of a wide range of contemporary cinematic media, it analyses not only traditional photographic films, but also digital cinema, and a variety of interactive cinematic works, including videogames. Written in a clear and accessible style, the book examines the work of leading film theorists and philosophers of film, and develops a powerful framework with which to think about cinema as an art.

Introduction
1. The challenges to cinema as an art
2. Language and realism
3. Cinematic authorship
4. Understanding cinema
5. Cinematic narration
6. Emotion and identification
7. The role of the medium
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Philosophy [HP], Film, TV & radio [AP]