Romanticism and Film

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The relationship between Romanticism and film is often overlooked in film theory, with much analysis centered on Richard Wagner's music-dramas. A fresh approach involves moving beyond Wagner to develop a concept of audio-visual explanation grounded in Romantic philosophical aesthetics, which can be applied to film discourse and representation. This concept is used to explore the cultural image of Hungarian pianist and composer Franz Liszt, a contemporary of Wagner and a key figure in Romantic audio-visual aesthetics, through case studies of films like Song Without End (1960) and Lisztomania (1975). This study utilizes Liszt as a central theme to examine Romanticism's broader connection to film. It draws on innovative theories of representation linked to schematic cognition, the philosophy of explanation, and Jacques Rancière's contemporary film theory. Individual chapters delve into the historical context of audio-visual explanation within Romantic aesthetics, Liszt's influence on film and film music, and various cinematic portrayals of Liszt and his works. Throughout, the author investigates how films articulate and clarify ideas through a Romantic blend of sound and vision.