Product Details

• Actors: Slavoj Zizek, Cornel West, Peter Singer, Judith Butler, Kwame Anthony Appiah
• Directors: Astra Taylor
• Format: Anamorphic, Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Zeitgeist Films
• DVD Release Date: February 23, 2010
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002VBQEEW
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #118,233 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Examined Life" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Review

This film is good for your soul! So engaging, hopeful and against-the-grain that it becomes a must-see cinematic tonic for these confusing times. --Scott Macaulay, Filmmaker Magazine

A stimulating quest for meaning.... It's as inviting and accessible as a smart conversation with fascinating friends. --Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times

Ideas beam out from Astra Taylor's engaging new philoso-doc Examined Life; the viewer basks in the intelligence on-screen and, occasionally, soaks up the rays. --J. Hoberman, The Village Voice

Product Description

In Examined Life, filmmaker Astra Taylor (Zizek!) liberates philosophy from the sterile world of academia through entertaining and thought-provoking excursions with some of today's most famous and influential thinkers. Peter Singer's thoughts on the ethics of consumption are amplified against the backdrop of Fifth Avenue's posh boutiques. Slavoj Zizek questions current beliefs about the environment while sifting through a garbage dump. Michael Hardt ponders the nature of revolution while surrounded by symbols of wealth and leisure. Judith Butler and Sunaura Taylor stroll through San Francisco's Mission District questioning our culture's fixation on individualism. And while driving through Manhattan, Cornel West--called "a genius" and "an oracle" by President Obama--compares philosophy to jazz and blues, reminding us how intense and invigorating a life of the mind can be. Offering privileged moments with great thinkers from fields ranging from ethics to cultural theory, Examined Life reveals philosophy's power to transform the way we see the world around us and imagine our place in it.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- 16:9 anamorphic transfer, enhanced for widescreen TVs
- Two extra philosopher walks
- Q&A's with Cornel West, Avital Ronell, Kwame Anthony Appiah and director Astra Taylor
- Theatrical trailers
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
- Philosopher bios and selected bibliographies

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Questions with Good Philosophers December 30, 2009

By M. DeWitt

Format:DVD

I shall first mention that I have not seen the bonus features.

Now with that procedural matter out of the way--I would like to comment that this film is wonderful. It does not lend itself to a detailed study of the philosophers that appear in the film. Rather, small doses of the personalities and individual styles of each of the philosophers is presented in the snippets--sometimes in unexpected ways. The very intelligent Martha Nussbaum comes across as being slightly detached and cold. The often combative and difficult writing of Judith Butler is erased or at least belied by her interactions with the sister of the director.

This film is good because it gives multiple perspectives, though favouring continental thought, about what it means to lead an examined life. What does it mean to become a philosopher and most importantly what does it mean to philosophize? These thinkers deal with these difficult questions, and perhaps it is these questions that are the root and possibility of philosophy itself.

This is not a film for people looking to learn about a particular philosophy. The film is heavily edited and does not go into detailed arguments about each line of thinking.

The film is great for style. Avital Ronell, the dark lady of deconstruction, talks in the language of Derrida and Heidegger as she walks in a "hermeneutic" path of circling ideas. Cornel West gives his sporadic and enthusiastic responses in the back of a cab. Nussbaum walks along straight paths and over bridges. Michael Hardt talks about revolution while rowing a boat( an upper class pastime) while surrounded with the tools of the proletariat(bull dozers). Zizek is surrounded by garbage (a classic move) moving with his tic-ish hand gestures and nose rubs. Singer walks on Fifth Avenue commenting on consumer society.

Overall, a great film for someone interested in philosophy and learning about the philosophers' styles. (Though Heidegger cautioned us against biographies of the thinkers, remember all we need to know is that Aristotle was born. He thought. He died...).

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Philosophers, Ethicists and Other Contemporary Prophets Take to the Streets February 23, 2010

By David Crumm TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

I know that "Examined Life" is fascinating to viewers from a wide range of ages, because I'm fascinated in my mid-50s by the questions filmmaker Astra Taylor raises among these top philosophers. Then, in addition, I showed portions of this film to a high school class and they were intrigued. Because our time was limited, I fast-forwarded through one sequence, which led one boy to pop up with: "Wait. We'll miss what she's saying if you do that." If you're familiar with high school classes, you'll know that's a surprising response to a documentary about philosophers.

After class, a girl in the group asked if she could borrow the DVD to see the film from start to finish. There were no grades involved in this. She was genuinely hooked by these heady questions raised by men and women from a wide range of philosophical disciplines--literally walking and talking in the streets.

That's a sign of Taylor's success with her guerrilla, street-level, quick-hit version of life's big philosophical questions. One example of the film's almost break-neck pace is that Cornell West is filmed while riding in a car cruising down a street in Manhattan as if he might jump out at the next corner and vanish. So, he seems to pile his words of wisdom quickly on top of each other.

What??? We wonder: Did Cornell West just summarize several thousand years of human civilization in less than 3 minutes? Zoom! And we're on to the next philosopher.

This is fun, mind-bending stuff. If you don't care for one philosopher's digression into George W. Bush's morality--hey, don't worry. You'll be across town on a different street--or maybe in an airport--or maybe somewhere else--with yet another philosopher in just a moment.

Great film. If you watch it with friends or a discussion circle, you'll have no shortage of stuff to talk about--and to (politely and compassionately, I hope)--debate!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Enjoyable and Accessible February 20, 2010

By Films McMoviewatcher

Format:DVD

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. For the most part, the ideas were presented clearly and in plain English (a rarity when it comes to philosophy) and the philosophies were enlivened by the diverse personalities of the presenters.
What I enjoy about Philosophy is finding new ways to think about things and there were plenty of these to be had in this film.