FILMOSOPHY

Filmosophy is a provocative new manifesto for a radically philosophical way of understanding cinema. The book coalesces twentieth-century ideas of film as thought (from Hugo Münsterberg to Gilles Deleuze) into a practical theory of ‘film-thinking’, arguing that film style conveys poetic ideas through a constant dramatic ‘intent’ about the characters, spaces and events of film. With discussions of contemporary filmmakers such as Béla Tarr, Michael Haneke and the Dardenne brothers, this timely intervention into the study of film and philosophy will stir argument and discussion among both filmgoers and filmmakers alike.

FILMOSOPHY® is a registered U.S. trademark owned by Valentin Stoilov (http://www.filmosophy.com) for educational services in the field of motion picture history, theory and production. Mr. Stoilov is not the source or origin of this book and has not sponsored or endorsed it or its author.

January 2006
256 pages

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Daniel Frampton is a London-based writer and filmmaker, and the founding editor of the salon-journal Film-Philosophy.

'Filmosophy proposes a kind of 'intelligent design' for film. Movies are so beautiful, complex and rich, Frampton has decided, that there must be some great Being behind each of them. This is why his book is so moving. Like Heidegger, he at times writes like a dream. He adores cinema and believes that there is a kind of god for every film, rendering Filmosophy a book of religious intensity. Irritating, invaluable, wrong, unforgettable – and daft as a brush. Book of the Month'
– Mark Cousins, Sight and Sound, November 2006

'As compelling as it is original, the book offers nothing less than an entirely new approach to films studies from a more spectatorial point of view. Although Frampton cites major film theorists of the past 50 years with easy assurance, he adds an entirely new perspective to the ongoing discussion... Essential.'
– W. W. Dixon, Choice magazine, June 2007

'Frampton's concepts of 'film-thinking' and the 'filmind' strike me as brilliant, as timely (in response to contemporary cinema), and as evocative and explanatory ... Gritty, impassioned and engaged, Filmosophy challenges its readers to think afresh their experience in the cinema.'
– Emma Wilson, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University

'Filmosophy functions as a wonderful introduction and overview...The idea that film produces thinking or is related to the human mind has always been around in the history of cinema, but it has never been so rigorously discussed or elaborated upon as in Frampton's book. Filmosophy truly lays down an outline as well as a clear start off point for a new way of thinking about cinematic images.'
– Ils Huygens, Scope: An Online Journal of Film and TV Studies

'Frampton's marvellously wrought genealogies is a fine refresher course in film-theoretical writing, and engaging with his ideas is a stimulating way to rethink one's own notions of what cinema is, can be and should be... If there is truth in Frampton's claim that for filmosophy ‘film is the beginning and the future of our thought, then his commitment to innovative theory and forward-looking criticism is necessary, timely and welcome.'
- David Sterritt, Film International

'The link between philosophy and cinema is one of the most fertile areas of contemporary film studies. Filmosophy establishes a vocabulary and an original perspective for understanding that link. New cinematic forms require new ways of thinking; indeed, this book suggests that these forms are new ways of thinking. Powerfully and provocatively, Filmosophy revises what we thought we knew about cinema, and asks us to look again at what cinema might know about us.'
– Prof. Colin Davies, Royal Holloway, University of London

'A thorough and detailed defense of the idea that cinema is itself a kind of mind- the film thinks in its own way, merging with the thought of the filmgoer. And although the general idea that movies and the mind share essential features has been around since cinema was invented, Frampton develops it with great erudition and care, leading us to experience film as it should be experienced- as a unique form of consciousness.'
– Colin McGinn, Rutgers University

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FILMOSOPHY® is a registered U.S. trademark owned by Valentin Stoilov (http://www.filmosophy.com) for educational services in the field of motion picture history, theory and production. Mr. Stoilov is not the source or origin of this book and has not sponsored or endorsed it or its author.