Cinema, Truth, and Time: The Falsifier: Lecture 2, 22 November 1983

<p><em>The Deleuze Seminars</em> is a collection of audio recordings, transcriptions, and English translations of, and supplemental materials from, the lectures French philosopher Gilles Deleuze gave during his career at the University of Paris 8.</p>

<p>“Cinema, Truth, and Time: The Falsifier” was a 22-lecture seminar given from November 1983 to June 1984. This seminar, the third of four consecutive seminars Deleuze gave on cinema, shifts focus from the movement-image to the time-image. In these lectures, Deleuze continues to elaborate his theory of cinema through various theoretical and aesthetic frames including: Ancient Greek philosophy; Nietzsche’s reconsideration of the concept of truth; principles of formal logic; literature; the time-image as crystallization; and the filmmakers he thinks are particularly influential in creating the time-image. As a precursor to the publication of Deleuze’s second of two volumes on cinema, <em>Cinema 2: The Time-Image</em> (<em>Cinéma II. L'image-temps</em>, 1985), this seminar is a valuable resource to researchers interested in Deleuze’s film theory, as well as his larger philosophical oeuvre.</p>

<p>In session 2, 22 November 1983, after reviewing material developed in the previous session, Deleuze justifies the crystalline formations in contrast to organic forms by drawing from Bergson’s <em>Matter and Memory</em>, then links crystalline formations to “descriptions” through Robbe-Grillet's comments on “Last Year in Marienbad”, particularly his theories of description and narration. Developing a distinction between “organic description” and “crystalline description”, Deleuze adds “the falsifier” as the creator of the crystal-image or crystalline formation, a first definition that he then examines within cinema (Robbe-Grillet, Fellini, Godard). Concluding that this creation leads to “voyance” (illuminated vision) and thus to power of the false, Deleuze suggests that the falsifier author inserts himself within the crystalline formation and, in fact, (second definition) exists not in the singular, but in a multiplicity, a chain of falsifiers. Then starting “applications”, that is, examples of the falsifier and powers of the false in description and narration, Deleuze considers Melville’s <em>The Confidence-Man, </em>then powers of the false in Welles, Robbe-Grillet and Resnais, and in certain directors of Third World cinema. Deleuze thereby prepares the important encounter between the problem of time and powers of the false, insofar as the powers of the false overlap with filmmakers of the direct time-image.</p>

<p>This dataset includes: the complete French transcription and English translation of the recorded lecture in Open Document Text (odt) format, the complete recording in mp3 format, and the original Paris 8 French transcript. [Please note: neither the 3 parts of the recording, nor the aggregate recording corresponds to the session transcribed and translated here: part 1 of this recording corresponds to the beginning of the following session, 29 November 1983; part 2 of this recording is actually its first part; part 3 of this recording correctly corresponds to part 3, meaning that the entirety of part 2 is missing, approx. 60". The transcription and the translation follow the YouTube recording posted by WebDeleuze which correctly presents the second session] [WebDeleuze was founded by Richard Pinhas -- a student in Deleuze's seminars -- who, with the Deleuze family's support, developed transcripts and translations of many of the seminars.]</p>

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<p><em>Les Séminaires de Deleuze</em> sont une collection d'enregistrements audio, de transcriptions et de traductions en anglais et de documents complémentaires des conférences que le philosophe français Gilles Deleuze a donné lors de sa carrière à l'Université de Paris 8.</p>

<p>«Cinéma, vérité et temps: le faussaire» était un séminaire de 22 conférences donné de novembre 1983 à juin 1984. Ce séminaire, le troisième des quatre séminaires consécutifs que Deleuze a donnés sur le cinéma, met l'accent sur l'’image-mouvement vers l’image-temps. En tant que précurseur de la publication du deuxième de deux volumes de Deleuze sur le cinéma, <em>Cinéma II. L'Image-temps</em> (1985), ce séminaire est une ressource précieuse pour les chercheurs intéressés par la théorie du film de Deleuze, ainsi que sa plus grande œuvre philosophique.</p>

<p>Dans la séance 2, le 22 novembre 1983, après avoir repris les points développés dans la séance précédente, Deleuze justifie les formations cristallines par opposition aux formes organiques en s'appuyant sur <em>Matière et mémoire</em> de Bergson, puis relie les formations cristallines aux « descriptions » à travers les commentaires de Robbe-Grillet sur « L'Année dernière à Marienbad », en particulier ses théories de la description et de la narration. Deleuze ajoute « le faussaire » comme créateur de l'image cristalline ou de la formation cristalline et suggère que l'auteur faussaire s'insère dans la formation cristalline et, de fait, (seconde définition) existe non pas au singulier, mais dans une multiplicité, une chaîne de falsificateurs. Puis, Deleuze considère <em>The Confidence Man</em> de Melville, puis les pouvoirs du faux chez Welles, Robbe-Grillet et Resnais, et chez certains réalisateurs du cinéma du tiers-monde.</p>