The impact of French film critic André Bazin (1918-1958) on the development of film studies, though generally acknowledged, remains contested. A passionate initiator of film culture during his lifetime, his ideas have been challenged, defended and revived throughout his afterlife. Studying Film with André Bazin offers an entirely original interpretation of major concepts from Bazin’s legacy, such as auteur theory, realism, film language and the influence of film on other arts (poetry and painting in particular). By examining mostly unknown and uncollected texts, Blandine Joret explains Bazin’s methodology and adopts it in a contemporary reading, linking his ideas to major philosophical and scientific frameworks as well as more recent media practices such as advertising, CGI, 3D cinema and Virtual Reality. In tune with 21st-century concerns in media culture and film studies, this book addresses a wide readership of film scholars, students and cinephiles.

[Blandine Joret](https://www.uva.nl/profiel/j/o/b.joret/b.joret.html) is a lecturer in Film and Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam. Her current research looks at the intersection of immersion and pedagogy, with a specific emphasis on 3D and Virtual Reality.

PREFACECHAPTER I -- STUDYING FILM1.1 YOUNG ART, OLD CRITICS1.1.1 MYTH VERSUS HISTORY1.1.2 CASE STUDY: CHAPLIN AND THE TALKIES1.2 IN SEARCH OF A METHOD1.2.1 THE ASEPTIC STUDY OF FILMOLOGY1.2.2 A SOCIAL STUDY OF FILM1.3 BAZIN'S MAYONNAISE THEORYCHAPTER II - THE ART OF REALITY2.1 PARADOX: THE EXISTENCE OF FILM2.1.1 EDITING PROHIBITED? CGI AND THE DUMMY OF DANGER2.1.2 AUTHENTICITY: BAZIN'S SHARK AND SCHRÖDINGER'S CAT2.1.3 THIS IS CINEMA!2.2 INTEGRAL REALISM: REALITY AND CINEMA 'ULTIMATELY EQUAL'2.2.1 NO MOMENT SUPRÁME: BAZIN OPPOSES ELLIPSIS (AND PHOTOGÉNIE)2.2.2 BAZIN ON UMBERTO D: REFORMULATING THE PREGNANT INSTANT2.2.3 THE ASYMPTOTE OF REALITY: REALITY ? CINEMA2.3 BAZIN'S WAGER2.3.1 CALCULATED RISK2.3.2 LES JEUX SONT FAITS: RIEN NE VA PLUS?CHAPTER III - FILM AND THE OTHER ARTS3.1 DEBATES ON CONTEMPORARY ART: BAZIN, MARCEL AND PORTMANN3.1.1 THE INVENTION OF CINEMA IS A MYTH3.1.2 BRUEGEL CINEMATOGRAPHER3.1.3 'HOW EVERYTHING TURNS AWAY': ICARUS AS ANTI-WAR STATEMENT3.2 CINEMA AND PAINTING3.2.1 TWO REVOLUTIONS ON FILM: GEOGRAPHIC TEMPORALITY3.3 CASE STUDY: VAN GOGH'S EAR3.3.1 MYTHIC REALITY BECOMES FLESH3.3.2 SELF-PORTRAITS WITH BANDAGED EAR: MIRROR AND MASK3.4 RECREATION: THE LANGUAGE OF FILMCHAPTER IV - A MATTER OF FORM4.1 FORM + CONTENT4.1.1 FROM ADVERTISING TO POETRY IN BAZIN4.1.2 DEPTH, WATER AND THE EVOLUTION OF FORMS4.1.3 ON FLOATING BODIES: SERGE DANEY AND THE CASE OF LE GRAND BLEU4.2 PERSPECTIVES ON 3-D4.2.1 FROM A REALIST PERSPECTIVE: 'THE IMAGINARY IMAGE'4.2.2 'WILL THIS BE THE TRIUMPH OF THE FAT?'4.3 BAZIN PUT TO THE TEST: GODARD AND WENDERS4.3.1 GOODBYE TO LANGUAGE4.3.2 3D AS REALIST GRAMMAR4.4 VR: COMPLETE FILM, OR TOTAL CINEMA?EPILOGUE: UNKNOWN ARTS, NEW MEDIAICARUS IS THE INVENTOR OF FILMBAZIN'S HYPOTHESISBIBLIOGRAPHYINDEX