Plato’s Cave and the Cinema

In his Cave Allegory (Republic, c.360 BCE), Plato presents a strikingly visual account of the distinction between knowledge and belief and, in doing so, provides us with what may be considered the earliest picture-house.

Thinking Through Film course starts Thursday 14 January

This part-time evening course at The University of Edinburgh will begin by taking a look at Plato’s Allegory of the cave through the glazzballs of Alex in Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange. There are still some places available, so if you would like to spend the next 10 weeks watching and thinking seriously about film please follow the […]

The Lobster – now showing

We’re huge fans of Greek weird-wave director Yorgos Lanthimos here at Filmosophy, and have been since the Dogtooth days. Looking forward immensely to The Lobster opening this weekend.

Filmosophy returns for a fifth season of original and thought-provoking films. This season will focus on the theme of ‘regeneration’ and is offered in association with the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine. The MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine is a world leading research centre studying stem cells, disease and tissue repair to advance human health. […]

An Introduction to Philosophy – starts Thursday 1 October @UoEShortCourses

What can we know? Does God exist? Do I have free will? How should I act? Does life have meaning? This course offers an introduction to the main areas of philosophy through discussion of some of the most interesting questions in each field. Click here for more information or to book online.

Filmosophy: Regeneration!

The fifth season of Filmosophy will return to the Filmhouse in the Autumn/ Winter of 2015 and will focus on the theme of ‘regeneration’. This season will be offered in association with the Centre for Regenerative Medicine. The MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CRM) is a world leading research centre studying stem cells, disease and tissue repair to advance human health.

3-Iron: tonight (Tue 21 Apr), 6pm at Filmhouse Edinburgh

Korean writer-director Kim Ki-duk captures raw realities about modern life while telling a genuinely touching romance using virtually no dialogue. Tae-suk (Jae Hee) is a young man who takes up residence in homes that sit empty while the occupants are on holiday. He cleans, does the laundry, indulges in subtle practical jokes, then moves on. […]

Film Narrative

In our discussion of form, we said that a film’s form included both narrative and stylistic elements. In this session we are going to focus on the narrative elements. Humans are ‘the storytelling animal’ – it is through stories that we make sense of ourselves and the world around us. When we speak about films […]

Show, don’t tell. 35 Shots of Rum (Denis 2008)

When you have a superb filmmaker (Denis), first-class actors, blocking, cinematography and a soundtrack like this, you don’t need words to tell a story.

Film Style and Citizen kane

In The Importance of Film Form we considered the formal elements at the filmmaker’s command, and the the overall pattern of these elements that make up the film’s formal system. This post focuses on the elements of film style – mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, and sound – providing a few examples of how Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941) utilises […]

The importance of Form: introduction to film studies

Form and Content In What is Film Studies?, I stated that films have form, and distinguished between content (the subject of a film) and form (how the content is expressed). A useful way to clarify the distinction is to consider the difference between a film in which a robbery is taking place and surveillance footage of an actual robbery. When people […]

Filmosophy – now booking

Filmosophy returns for a fourth season of original and thought-provoking films. This season focuses on the distinction between appearance and reality. Each film provides a unique perspective on this philosophical problem, using the notions of sight and blindness as powerful metaphors. Questions addressed include: What is the ultimate nature of reality? How do we gain […]

filmosophy

film and philosophy