On Film 2e (Thinking in Action) - Stephen Mulhall.pdf - Film - labiedronka

Reviews of the ﬁrst edition:

‘Mulhall’s philosophical discussion of each ﬁlm is highly

stimulating. A provocative and engaging book which

makes for stimulating reading for anyone interested in

both ﬁlm and philosophy.’

Matthew Kieran, Philosophical Books

‘The themes he identiﬁes as central – most crucially, a

concern with human embodiment and thus, with both

human generativity and mortality – are explored con-

vincingly, even brilliantly at times. ... Despite the

amount of closely argued material which is packed into a

relatively short book, the clarity and precision of the

writing make it something of a page-turner.’

Deborah Thomas, European Journal of Communication

ON FILM

In this signiﬁcantly expanded new edition of his acclaimed

exploration of the relation between philosophy and ﬁlm, Stephen

Mulhall broadens the focus of his work from science ﬁction to the

espionage thriller and beyond.

The ﬁrst part of the book discusses the four Alien movies. Mul-

hall argues that the sexual signiﬁcance of the aliens themselves,

and of Ripley’s resistance to them, takes us deep into the question

of what it is to be human. These four chapters develop a highly

original and controversial argument that ﬁlms themselves can

philosophize – a claim Mulhall expands upon and defends in part

two of this book, before applying his interpretative model to

another sequence of contemporary Hollywood movies: the Mis-

sion: Impossible series.

A new chapter is devoted to each of the three ﬁlms in that

series, discussing them in the context of other ﬁlms by the rele-

vant directors. In this discussion, the nature of television becomes

as central a concern as the nature of cinema; and this shift in

genre also makes room for a detailed reading of Spielberg’s Min-

ority Report.

On Film, Second Edition is essential reading for anyone interested in

philosophy, ﬁlm theory and cultural studies, and in the way phi-

losophy can enrich our understanding of cinema.

Stephen Mulhall is Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at New Col-

lege, Oxford, and author of Heidegger and Being and Time (Routledge)

and The Conversation of Humanity.

On Film 2e (Thinking in Action) - Stephen Mulhall.pdf