This book is designed for anyone with a serious interest in the art of film. It is both a history of film theory and an introduction to the work of the most important and influential writers on the subject - Munsterberg, Arnheim, Eisenstein, Balazs, Kracauer, Bazin, Mitry, and Metz. Andrew sets out these major theorists one against the other forcing them to speak to common issues, thereby making them reveal the bases of their thought. He compares the formative tradition with that of the realist to illustrate the development of both theories. The final section deals with contemporary French film theory which is still in the process of developing. Andrew locates these film theories in the context of larger intellectual movements, including Gestalt Psychology, Russian Formalism, Neo-Kantianism, and Existentialism. The final chapters show that the most modern French theories are actively contributing to today's dominant intellectual movements, semiotics, and phenomenology, while deriving directly from classical film theory.

This book is designed for anyone with a serious interest in the art of film. It is both a history of film theory and an introduction to the work of the most important and influential writers on the subject - Munsterberg, Arnheim, Eisenstein, Balazs, Kracauer, Bazin, Mitry, and Metz. Andrew sets out these major theorists one against the other forcing them to speak to common issues, thereby making them reveal the bases of their thought. He compares the formative tradition with that of the realist to illustrate the development of both theories. The final section deals with contemporary French film theory which is still in the process of developing. Andrew locates these film theories in the context of larger intellectual movements, including Gestalt Psychology, Russian Formalism, Neo-Kantianism, and Existentialism. The final chapters show that the most modern French theories are actively contributing to today's dominant intellectual movements, semiotics, and phenomenology, while deriving directly from classical film theory.