Jean Epstein, Dziga Vertov, Bela Balazs, and Siegfried Kracauer viewed the cinema as an art of mass enlightenment that escapes the limits of human sight and reveals the true nature of reality. Here, Turvey offers a detailed exegesis of their work, showing how it constitutes a distinct tradition within film history, revelationism, that continues to have a profound influence on contemporary film theory. Criticizing and building on their arguments, he shows in what ways film is a genuinely revelatory art.

Malcolm Turvey is Professor of Film History and Chair of Visual Culture Department, Sarah Lawrence College. He is also editor and writer for October and co-editor of Wittgenstein, Theory and the Arts (Routledgem, 2001)

• Introduction


• 1: The Revelationist Tradition: Exegesis


• 2: The Revelationsit Tradition: Critique


• 3: Revelationism and Contemporary Film Theory


• 4: The Lure of Visual Skepticism


• Notes