Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer

230 Pages·2018·126.99 MB·English

by  Paul Schrader

Transcendental Style
in Film
Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer
Paul Schrader
With a New Introduction:
Rethinking Transcendental Style
university of california press
Praise for Paul Schrader’s Transcendental Style in Film,
with a New Introduction
“ Schrader’s book is a classic—one of the very few seminal books on religion/
spirituality and fi lm. His new introduction linking transcendental style to the
time-images of Deleuze and Tarkovsky, as well as slow cinema, which
followed, only adds to its importance. A must-read!”
—Robert K. Johnston, Professor of Theology and Culture,
Fuller Theological Seminary, and author of Reel
Spirituality: Theology and Film in Dialogue
“ If the reputation of the author and the original text serves to draw us in,
it is the compelling case the author makes for viewing slow cinema as an
outcropping of the mid-century transcendental style that encourages us to
read on. And as we read on, the book consistently urges us, with its evocative
prose and nimble associations, to keep exploring the world of the art fi lm.
Schrader brings an impressive range of new fi lms and video works to bear on
the question of slow cinema’s origins and development.”
—Colin Burnett, Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies,
Washington University in St. Louis, and author of The Invention of
Robert Bresson: The Auteur and His Market
“ Paul Schrader’s Transcendental Style in Film was a work of striking
originality when it appeared some forty-fi ve years ago. Though the term
‘transcendental style’ was in the air, no one before Schrader had identifi ed
and analyzed the style with such acuity and depth as he did, and with such
wide acquaintance with the relevant literature of philosophical aesthetics and
fi lm theory. Since then, the book has become a classic in the history of fi lm
theory; its re-issuance, with a lengthy new introduction by Schrader, is
welcome.”
—Nicholas Wolterstorff , Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of
Philosophical Theology, Yale University, and author of Art Rethought
“ As a materialist, I have issues with a transcendental approach toward style,
even while supporting Paul Schrader’s critical gifts and his passionate interest
in three of my favorite fi lmmakers. But in his new introduction, his
observations about slow cinema from Tarkovsky to Kiarostami to Tarr are
every bit as compelling as his earlier insights into fi lm noir.”
—Jonathan Rosenbaum, author of Placing
Movies: The Practice of Film Criticism
“ With an extensive new introduction, Paul Schrader brings his infl uential
work on transcendental style up to date, relating it to contemporary slow
cinema and to recent developments in fi lm criticism. This book is essential
for anyone interested in the means by which narrative fi lm can encourage
spectators to ‘lean into’ the fi lm, to experience contemplation and the
transcendent.”
—Carl Plantinga, author of Screen Stories: Emotion
and the Ethics of Engagement
“ Before most of us, Paul Schrader sensed, deep in the bones of cinematic form,
a potential for spiritual expression. This seminal work has set the terms of
the fi lm and religion discussion for decades now. Whether you are fully
persuaded by his argument or not, Schrader compels you to take both
cinematic form and the impulse toward transcendence seriously. This book
remains essential.”
—Joseph G. Kickasola, Professor of Film and Digital Media,
Baylor University, and author of The Films of Krzysztof
Kieslowski: The Liminal Image
Transcendental Style in Film
The publisher and the University of California Press
Foundation gratefully acknowledge the generous support
of the Eric Papenfuse and Catherine Lawrence Endowment
Fund in Film and Media Studies.
Transcendental Style
in Film
Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer
Paul Schrader
With a New Introduction:
Rethinking Transcendental Style
university of california press
University of California Press, one of the most
distinguished university presses in the United States,
enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship
in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its
activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and
by philanthropic contributions from individuals and
institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu.
University of California Press
Oakland, California
© 2018 by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Schrader, Paul, 1946– author.
Title: Transcendental style in fi lm : Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer /
Paul Schrader ; with a new Introduction.
Description: Oakland, California : University of California
Press, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and
index. |
Identifi ers: lccn 2017058336 (print) |
lccn 2018000082 (ebook) | isbn 9780520969148
(ebook) | isbn 9780520296817 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: lcsh: Motion pictures—Aesthetics. | Ozu,
Yasujiro, 1903–1963—Criticism and interpretation. |
Bresson, Robert—Criticism and interpretation. |
Dreyer, Carl Theodor, 1889–1968—Criticism and
interpretation.
Classifi cation: lcc pn1995 (ebook) | lcc pn1995 .s417
2018 (print) | ddc 791.4301—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017058336
27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Religion and art
are parallel lines
which intersect only at infi nity,
and meet in God.
— Gerardus van der Leeuw

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Rethinking Transcendental Style 1
Introduction to the Original Edition 35
Ozu 45
Bresson 85
Dreyer 133
Conclusion 169
Notes 187
Selected Bibliography 197
Index 207