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Stanley Kubrick Appreciation Thread

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  • DwayneDwayne New York City
    Posts: 2,870
    In addition to the books that TR007 recommended, I would add “Space Odyssey: Kubrick, Clarke and the Making of a Masterpiece” by Michael Benson.

    While we normally picture Kubrick as being a control freak (requiring take after take of a scene and driving his collaborators crazy), in reading the book I learned that he was surprisingly open to the ideas of others.

    ..da Bronx kid done good!
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    edited March 2019 Posts: 41,011
    Kubrick belongs in the elite, he truly is one of the greatest directors of all time. Even his lesser loved films are still miles ahead of so much other fare. However, I'm still ashamed to admit a few of his classics I've yet to see, particularly 2001: A Space Odyssey.
  • bondsumbondsum
    Posts: 3,334
    There’s a great YouTube channel by Cinema Tyler on all things Kubrick.


    His 7 part documentary on the making of 2002 is very informative and worth a watch...
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,234
    bondsum wrote: »
    There’s a great YouTube channel by Cinema Tyler on all things Kubrick.


    His 7 part documentary on the making of 2002 is very informative and worth a watch...

    He's really good. Love his analysis.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Having now seen them all, here is the complete Thunderfinger ranking.

    1 SPARTACUS (1960)
    2 2001-A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
    3 BARRY LYNDON (1975)
    4 THE KILLING (1956)
    5 PATHS OF GLORY (1957)
    6 KILLER S KISS (1955)
    7 DR STRANGELOVE or HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB(1964)
    8 LOLITA (1962)
    9 THE SHINING (1980)
    10 FULL METAL JACKET (1987)
    11 EYES WIDE SHUT (1999)
    12 A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)
    13 FEAR AND DESIRE (1953)
  • TR007TR007
    Posts: 1,165
    My ranking:

    1. Dr. Strangelove
    2. 2001: A Space Odyssey
    3. The Killing
    4. A Clockwork Orange
    5. The Shining
    6. Fear and Desire
    7. Full Metal Jacket
    8. Eyes Wide Shut
    9. Barry Lyndon
    10. Lolita
    11. The Killing
    12. Paths of Glory
    13. Spartacus
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    TR007 wrote: »
    My ranking:

    1. Dr. Strangelove
    2. 2001: A Space Odyssey
    3. The Killing
    4. A Clockwork Orange
    5. The Shining
    6. Fear and Desire
    7. Full Metal Jacket
    8. Eyes Wide Shut
    9. Barry Lyndon
    10. Lolita
    11. The Killing
    12. Paths of Glory
    13. Spartacus

    Surely you mean KILLER S KISS at either 3 or 11.
  • TR007TR007
    Posts: 1,165
    Thunderfinger wrote: »
    TR007 wrote: »
    My ranking:

    1. Dr. Strangelove
    2. 2001: A Space Odyssey
    3. The Killing
    4. A Clockwork Orange
    5. The Shining
    6. Fear and Desire
    7. Full Metal Jacket
    8. Eyes Wide Shut
    9. Barry Lyndon
    10. Lolita
    11. The Killing
    12. Paths of Glory
    13. Spartacus

    Surely you mean KILLER S KISS at either 3 or 11.

    D’oh! Sorry. The Killing at 3 and Killers Kiss at 11.

  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    edited May 2019 Posts: 45,489
    I have not seen his documentaries. Do they showcase his brilliance as a filmmaker?
    I mean, how do they compare to his feature films?
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Found them on Youtube, but there may be some editing and the quality may not be all that great, but I will check them out.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    edited May 2019 Posts: 45,489


    The first one, from 1951. The full version is four minutes longer and also available on Youtube, but the quality sucks.

    The second is also from 1951
  • TR007TR007
    Posts: 1,165
    The Flying Padre is fantastic. I remember seeing it on the big screen prior to Fear and Desire. It’s wonderful to see Kubrick finding his feet in his early efforts.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,266
    The Padre docu showcases some of Kubrick's later trademark 'tricks'. It's not at all bad. Neither is Day of the Fight. The Seafarers is much less my thing since the subject matter doesn't interest me at all. Still, competently made and all that.

    My current ranking of Kubrick's films, minus the docus:

    1) 2001: A Space Odyssey
    2) Paths Of Glory
    3) The Shining
    4) A Clockwork Orange
    5) Barry Lyndon
    6) The Killing
    7) Lolita
    8) Spartacus
    9) Dr Strangelove
    10) Full Metal Jacket
    11) Eyes Wide Shut
    12) Killer's Kiss
    13) Fear and Desire
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    TR007 wrote: »
    The Flying Padre is fantastic. I remember seeing it on the big screen prior to Fear and Desire. It’s wonderful to see Kubrick finding his feet in his early efforts.

    Only 22 years old.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Here is the third documentary, from 1953.
  • TR007TR007
    Posts: 1,165
    I had the pleasure of going to the Kubrick exhibit at the design museum in London. It's a wonderful exhibit and one that took me a good 2.5 hours to walk through.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    TR007 wrote: »
    I had the pleasure of going to the Kubrick exhibit at the design museum in London. It's a wonderful exhibit and one that took me a good 2.5 hours to walk through.

    Any particularly interesting or surprising items?
  • TR007TR007
    Posts: 1,165
    They have Kubrick’s original annotated copy of the Shining and annotated copies of his shooting scripts for that and 2001. There’s also a wonderful full size replica of HAL and the wall of monitors surrounding him, along with a full size replica of the Hilton space station waiting room.
    Mintature models of the hedge maze and war room are super cool as are costumes for Spartacus, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon and Eyes Wide Shut. Well worth a visit.
  • PavloPavlo Ukraine
    Posts: 323
    Interesting enough that Cary Fukunaga, director of Bond 25, is attached to direct mini-series "Napoleon" for HBO based on Stanley's screenplay. Jan Harlan, old friend and long-time producer of Stanley, said that filming will start in 2020. Maybe Cary's next project after Bond 25 is 'Napoleon".
  • TR007TR007
    Posts: 1,165
    Pavlo wrote: »
    Interesting enough that Cary Fukunaga, director of Bond 25, is attached to direct mini-series "Napoleon" for HBO based on Stanley's screenplay. Jan Harlan, old friend and long-time producer of Stanley, said that filming will start in 2020. Maybe Cary's next project after Bond 25 is 'Napoleon".
    There’s a section of the Kubrick exhibit in London with concept art from his planned Napoleon project and quotes from Fukanaga about how ambitious it is.

  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    edited May 2019 Posts: 45,489
    Sounds interesting.

    If I should rank the documentaries:

    1 FLYING PADRE
    2 DAY OF THE FIGHT
    3 THE SEAFARERS
  • PavloPavlo Ukraine
    edited May 2019 Posts: 323
    TR007 wrote: »
    Pavlo wrote: »
    Interesting enough that Cary Fukunaga, director of Bond 25, is attached to direct mini-series "Napoleon" for HBO based on Stanley's screenplay. Jan Harlan, old friend and long-time producer of Stanley, said that filming will start in 2020. Maybe Cary's next project after Bond 25 is 'Napoleon".
    There’s a section of the Kubrick exhibit in London with concept art from his planned Napoleon project and quotes from Fukanaga about how ambitious it is.

    Can you, @TR007 , remember what Cary was actually saying about ambition of "Napoleon"?
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 4,089
    Watched Eyes Wide Shut for about the 4th time the other day and it really is a stunning piece of work that keeps me coming back to it. The photography itself in the film is a reason to see it.

    My only niggle with it is Nicole Kidman's character is such a C... !
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,266
    @LeonardPine
    I'm glad you like the movie. Too often must I read that people dismiss this one as Kubrick's weakest, or not a Kubrick film at all. Why? Because of the universal it's-cool-to-hate-on-Tom-Cruise-hysteria? Or because it's an exceptionally slow film? I don't know. I myself appreciate the tone of the film, the use of colours, the photography, the music and yes, the acting as well. Like almost every single film Kubrick has made, EWS is an acquired taste... but I have definitely acquired it.
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 4,089
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    @LeonardPine
    I'm glad you like the movie. Too often must I read that people dismiss this one as Kubrick's weakest, or not a Kubrick film at all. Why? Because of the universal it's-cool-to-hate-on-Tom-Cruise-hysteria? Or because it's an exceptionally slow film? I don't know. I myself appreciate the tone of the film, the use of colours, the photography, the music and yes, the acting as well. Like almost every single film Kubrick has made, EWS is an acquired taste... but I have definitely acquired it.

    I don't find it slow at all. I find it riveting from the start.

    Like you, i love the tone of the film and the use of colours.

    It's definitely an acquired taste. The first time i saw it my expectations were low and i was (and continue) to be suprised by it.
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 4,089
    Birdleson wrote: »
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    @LeonardPine
    I'm glad you like the movie. Too often must I read that people dismiss this one as Kubrick's weakest, or not a Kubrick film at all. Why? Because of the universal it's-cool-to-hate-on-Tom-Cruise-hysteria? Or because it's an exceptionally slow film? I don't know. I myself appreciate the tone of the film, the use of colours, the photography, the music and yes, the acting as well. Like almost every single film Kubrick has made, EWS is an acquired taste... but I have definitely acquired it.

    I loved it when I saw it the day it opened (at Mann’s Chinese in Hollywood, which was really cool). I found it to be exciting and intense. I didn’t see it again until my complete run through all Kubrick (only the documentaries were new for me) about five years ago. This was a complete reversal; I then found it self-important, silly (childish, even), and uninteresting. It dropped to near bottom of his oeuvre, for me.

    Interesting that it's gone down in your estimation. I find it gets better with each viewing.

    You're right, it is 'silly' but then i find that with a lot of Kubrick's films. Not that thats a criticism as i like that element of his films.
  • FoxRoxFoxRox
    edited May 2019 Posts: 12,525
    I love EWS. I never understood the quick dismissal of it among Kubrick's other films. I think it fits in perfectly with his amazing filmography, and was a very solid note to go out on. To be fair, I considered it one of Kubrick's weakest for a little bit, but always found it quite intriguing and certainly "Kubrickian." It only gets better and better every new watch for me. I'm saving a rewatch for this year's holiday season. Of Kubrick's films, the two I rewatched most recently were The Killing and Paths of Glory - my favorites of his early classics - earlier this year.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,266
    Birdleson wrote: »
    THE KILLING and PATHS OF GLORY are pretty much flawless (not hyperbole).

    Correct. Paths of Glory can still elicit a visceral response in me, despite its lack of exploitative material. It's a film so well-acted, well-staged and well-told that you get the point even without all the usual tricks. People keep listing war movies one should see to get a firm grip on the inhuman nature of war, but they rarely include Paths of Glory. I'd say this is one of the quintessential war movies, a perfect dissertation on the subject of "there's no good and evil; only evil" in war.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
  • DwayneDwayne New York City
    Posts: 2,870
    Those of you in the NYC area maybe interested to know that a special ‘2OO1’ exhibition will be coming to the Museum of the Moving Image in 2020. It will run from January 18th to July 19th. Given that Kubrick is among my favorite directors and ‘2OO1’ is – by far - my favorite movie, this is a no-brainer for me.

    https://www.indiewire.com/2019/07/2001-a-space-odyssey-exhibition-museum-of-moving-image-1202161217/

    Every July / August the museum plays a series of movies in 70mm as part of their “See it Big” series - with 2OO1 always serving as the centerpiece. “Roma”, “Dunkirk” and “Hamlet” (1996) are among the other offerings this year.
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