Filmosophy

[An] elegant, deftly argued book… Essential.–CHOICE

You hold in your hands an extremely daring book. Filmosophy
does not present a philosophy of film, nor does it explore how film
contributes material for philosophical interpretation. Rather, in a
lucid and clear style, Daniel Frampton argues that film is philosophy;
it is itself, aesthetically, philosophical expression a medium for
thinking and an accompaniment to thought. In conceptualising
film as an “organic intelligence”, Frampton draws from the lessons of
both Gilles Deleuze and Stanley Cavell to propose one of the most
original film philosophies of the last thirty years.
D. N. RODOWICK, HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Filmosophy is a provocative and significant intervention in the
contemporary dialogue about the cinema as manifest philosophy,
expressed in both thought and action. Frampton s expansive
rhetoric is refreshing, his film references eclectic and his prose
a pleasure to read.
VIVIAN SOBCHACK, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES

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.
COLIN DAVIES, ROYAL HOLLOWAY, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

A thorough and detailed defense of the idea that cinema is itself
a kind of mind that 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

Frampton s striking thesis is that film should be understood as
“minded” that it expresses thoughts, intentions and emotions
about the world it depicts. This position is elaborated in detail in
Filmosophy, and presented with great originality and subtlety. As the
author himself points out, his approach has a number antecedents
in the history of film theory, but such a position has never been
defended with the theoretical power and the illustrative detail that
is contained in this remarkable volume.
GEORGE M. WILSON, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Filmosophy offers a sympathetic and persuasive argument in favour
of a new engagement with film which sweeps aside the shibboleths
of current film studies and returns the spectator to a position of
empathetic involvement with the filmgoing experience, mapping
out a poetic-philosophical approach so different from the prosaic
aridity of much writing on film. There is no doubting the originality
of Filmosophy, or the fact that it constitutes a major contribution to
the philosophy of film.
GEOFFREY NOWELL-SMITH, QUEEN MARY, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

Filmosophy, a sprightly treatment of the ways that cinema makes
us think, tells us why cinephilia is deeply rooted in perception and
reflection. When Frampton tells us “the thinking of a film should
be seen as free and fluid” he brings his readers to the threshold of
creative criticism. Every reader will appreciate the energy, force and
breadth of the author s appreciation of cinema.
TOM CONLEY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Filmosophy is a decidedly continental approach to film-
philosophising, drawing heavily on the writings of Deleuze,
Heidegger and Nietzsche. Frampton seeks to transform
audiences from passive viewers into active co-creators of the
cinematic experience, while leveling a withering critique of the
cognitivism that dominates Anglo-American philosophy of film.
His neologisms are both witty and to the point, and his film
readings are not to be missed.
DAN SHAW, LOCK HAVEN UNIVERSITY

An ambitious attempt to outline a new way of thinking about
cinema, Filmosophy also gives a sympathetic and often perceptive
account of Deleuze s position, seeking to justify his contention
that film is a form of thought. Its publication will make a valuable
contribution to the debate about the contemporary understanding
of cinema.
IAN CHRISTIE, BIRKBECK COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

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