Physical reality: the role of the empirical in the film theory of Siegfried Kracauer, John Grierson, André Bazin and Georg Lukács

Abstract

The article explores conceptions of empirical filmic representation in the film theories of Grierson, Bazin, Kracauer and Lukacs. The article begins by exploring the concept of ‘intuitionist cinematic realism’, then turns to Kracauer's analysis of documentary films by Paul Rotha, and Ruttmann's Berlin: Symphony of a Great City. Following this, the article looks at Bazin's analysis of Dreyer's the Passion of Joan of Arc, and Heyerdahl's Kon Tiki. The article closes with an exploration of the thought of Georg Lukacs in relation to questions of empirical representation and filmic realism.

Keywords:

• cinematic realism
• Bazin
• Grierson
• Lukacs
• Kracauer
• intuitionist realism