European Film Theory and Cinema: A Critical Introduction

European Film Theory and Cinema explores the major film theories andmovements within European cinema since the early 1900s. An original and criticallyastute study, it considers film theory within the context of the intellectualclimate of the last two centuries. Ian Aitkin focuses particularly on the two majortraditions that dominate European film theory and cinema: the "intuitionistmodernist and realist" tradition and the "post-Saussurian" tradition.The first originates in a philosophical lineage that encompasses German idealistphilosophy, romanticism, phenomenology, and the Frankfurt School. Early intuitionistmodernist film culture and later theories and practices of cinematic realism areshown to be part of one continuous tradition. The post-Saussurian tradition includessemiotics, structuralism, and post-structuralism.