Description
Book SynopsisThe Thin Red Line is the third feature-length film from acclaimed director Terrence Malick, set during the struggle between American and Japanese forces for Guadalcanal in the South Pacific during World War Two. It is a powerful, enigmatic and complex film that raises important philosophical questions, ranging from the existential and phenomenological to the artistic and technical.
This is the first collection dedicated to exploring the philosophical aspects of Malickâs film. Opening with a helpful introduction that places the film in context, five essays, four of which were specially commissioned for this collection, go on to examine the following:
- the exploration of Heideggerian themes â such as being-towards-death and the vulnerability of Daseinâs world â in The Thin Red Line
- how Malickâs film explores and cinematically expresses the embodied nature of our experience of, and agency in, the world
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Trade Review‘The Thin Red Line is an intense and illuminating collection of essays, covering a breadth of approaches to this film, ranging from philosophical film analysis motivated by a Heideggerian approach to an in-depth discussion of filmic techniques. As such, it is a valuable contribution to the growing field of film and philosophy… Its emphasis on the philosophical significance of human limitations and finitude brings out what is unique and important about The Thin Red Line in clear and intelligent prose, shedding much-needed light on this extraordinary film.’ - Havi Carel, UWE Bristol, UK
'This is an exciting new anthology on one of the most philosophical of filmmakers. The essays are original, provocative, and ruminative - just like Malick's work - and explore how film itself may serve as a spur to our philosophical reflections regarding death, calm, humanity, sense, and nature.' - Daniel Flory, Montana State University, USA
'The Thin Red Line is an intense and illuminating collection of essays, covering a breadth of approaches to this film, ranging from philosophical film analysis motivated by a Heideggerian approach to an in-depth discussion of filmic techniques. As such, it is a valuable contribution to the growing field of film and philosophy… Its emphasis on the philosophical significance of human limitations and finitude brings out what is unique and important about The Thin Red Line in clear and intelligent prose, shedding much-needed light on this extraordinary film.' – Havi Carel, UWE Bristol, UK
'This is an exciting new anthology on one of the most philosophical of filmmakers. The essays are original, provocative, and ruminative - just like Malick's work - and explore how film itself may serve as a spur to our philosophical reflections regarding death, calm, humanity, sense, and nature.' – Daniel Flory, Montana State University, USA
Table of Contents1. Introduction David Davies 2. Calm—On Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line Simon Critchley 3. The Thin Red Line: Dying without Demise, Demise Without Dying Hubert Dreyfus and Camilo Prince 4. Vision, Touch and Embodiment in The Thin Red Line David Davies 5. Form and Feeling in Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line Amy Coplan 6. Nature and the Will to Power in Terrence Malick’s The New World Iain Macdonald
