In my modest opinion, writing philosophically about film is not a common
practice and has not been a fruitful one as well. Philosophers are inclined
to write with certain disdain about film matters, and in some cases without
a minimal experience as filmgoers. I can think of Thedodor W. Adorno or
Jean-Paul Sartre as examples of people that can be very clever in various
subjects, but were blind about film. Philosophers tend to generalize and
that is lethal for apreciating film.
But, you can find an exeption to this rule in the two books by Gilles
Deleuze, *L'image mouvement* and *L'image temps* which are strong works in
film theory based on philosophers like Bresson and Peirce and also contain
wonderful insights in film history, directors and movies.
Anyway, for an aproach entirely new, fresh and brilliant on the subject
there are two books by the american philosopher Stanley Cavell, *The world
viewed* and *The pursuit of happiness*. Cavell thinks that it=B4s not only
possible but also neccesary to write about film and philosophy at the same
time. This books are absolutely unique, stimulating and they demolish the
artifficial barriers between academic studies and film critic and after
reading them you start to suspect that film studies should be based in
foundations entirely different from today=B4s tendencies.
 
Quintin
El Amante Cine Magazine
Buenos Aires
 
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