Explores the relationship between cinema and existentialism, in terms of their mutual ability to describe the human condition. This book combines analyses of topics in the philosophy of film with an exploration of specific existentialist themes expressed in the films of Fellini, Bergman and Woody Allen, among others.
"Existentialist Cinema" uses the works of such film artists as Antonioni, Bergman, Fellini, and Allen to critically assess the philosophy of the major existentialists. Film and philosophy is an area of rapidly increasing academic interest. This is the first time film has been used to support a sustained critical assessment of existentialism. It includes analysis of popular and widely-studied films e.g. "La Dolce Vita", "Manhattan", and "Dead Poets Society".The book provides new discussions of popular existentialist themes like freedom, bad faith, authenticity, and religiosity; describes how filmic techniques can uniquely convey the human condition in ways that a philosophical essay cannot; and employs clear explanations of concepts in philosophy and film theory that makes the book very accessible to non-specialists.An exploration of the relationship between cinema and existentialism, in terms of their mutual ability to describe the human condition, this book combines analyses of topics in the philosophy of film with an exploration of specific existentialist themes expressed in the films of Fellini, Bergman and Woody Allen, among others.
List of Illustrations; Introduction; PART I: SETTING THE STAGE: THEORETICAL ISSUES; Existentialism: An Overview of Important Themes and Figures; Film as Tool for Philosophical Investigation; Film Realism and Narrative Identity; PART II: MEANINGFUL MOVIES; Antonioni: Meaninglessness and the Modern World; Religiosity in the Films of Ingmar Bergman; Rethinking Raskolnikov: Exploring Contemporary Ethical Challenges in the Films of Woody Allen; Authenticity in the Films of Federico Fellini; The Nietzschean Free Spirit in Dead Poets Society and Harold and Maude; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.
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