Kubrick films

[Johnny Swallow]

I wondered who here (besides rougerum) was much of a Kubrick fan? I've been getting into his films lately, DR. Strangelove and 2001 mainly. Out of his films, what are your favorites? Do you like all of his films on whole or do you have any that you dislike?

I've always been a huge Strangelove fan from the first time I saw it, but I've found his other films not as easily accessible. I've not yet seen A Clockwork Orange, and from what I'm not sure that I'll like it as much as his other films. But anyway, I can't really start much of a discussion on Kubrick since I'm just recently getting into his other films....just tell me whatever you think about his movies or style. I need whatever insight you can lend to me.

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AIM: JuanSwallow

[Lemonite]

Oooh, This is a good thread, I too have not seen all of the films, as My english teacher soo arrogantly told us when we studied Dr. Strangelove in Class...

But I will say that I really like Dr. Strangelove, It's very accessable for me, and I don't find myself getting caught in huuuge deep thought... And I'm not saying that I don't like movies that make you think, Those tend to be my favorites, but It's just that The thinking is sooo intense, and soo deep that it just wears me out.. And Maybe that's why I like Dr. Strangelove, Because all the deep issues are hidden by comedy, and you're allowed to either think or just enjoy...

Now, His others, I've seen 2001, Clockwork Orange, and The Shining...
The shining was too far back to really remember any sort of analytical aspect, but I remember thinking I liked it but couldn't watch it a lot..

2001 and C. Orange, I find these to be just too intense, I do agree and say they are excellent excellent films, and are tops in their goal and aspirations, but It just takes me too much out of me.. I find the enormous sort of 'listening to the movie as if you are in some sort of sound muddling bubble' and the extended times with just silence in the background, very unsettling, because you've got the film and that's it.

I just saw Clockwork Orange the other day and thought it was an amazing film, but Whoa.. It took all I had in me to get through it without havaing a stroke popping all my capillaries,

Still, I do want to watch them all, and just to experience them to educate myself of them and his true film genius. haha, and my mom wouldn't let me see eyes wide shut either...

[U2Bama]

"The Shining" freaks me out in the way it is supposed to; "A Clockwork Orange" freaks me out in a bad way; some of my friends actually enjoys it, but I don't.

~U2Alabama

[Danospano]

Johnny, I've been a fan since the first time I saw 2001 on video. This may sound strange, but my mother actually encouraged me to watch A Clockwork Orange when I was in 8th grade (Of course, she watched it with me and fast-forwarded through the graphic scenes).

I would say that all of his films are worthy of a viewing, but some are definately better than others. Spartacus was phenomeanal, but doesn't really feel like his later work. Stanely only directed that film, because the original dropped out and Kirk Douglas handpicked Kubrick to essentially finish the project. Dr. Strangelove and 2001 are probably his most influencial films. A Clockwork Orange is unlike anything I've ever seen on film. Barry Lyndon is possibly the least controversial of his works. It's full of beautiful scenery and was shot completely with natural light. No sound stages or electrial lights...it was all done with either candles or sunlight. The Shining is one of the scariest film in my opinion, and Full Metal Jacket is considered to be the definitive Vietnam War film. I personally think that the last half is subpar, but the beginning is stunning. Eye Wide Shut is a hit-and-miss. I would recommend watching Spartacus, A Clockwork Orange, and The Shining, before moving on to the others.

Other Kubrick films include The Killing (1956), Lolita (1962), Paths of Glory (1957) and Killer's Kiss (1955). Those are among his earlier films and do not include his trademark cinematography.

[unforgettableFOXfire]

The only Kubrick film Ive seen is Full Metal Jacket. Its an incredibly good movie for those who havent seen it, but I cant say much otherwise simply because I dont know enough about his works...

[CannibalisticArtist]

REDRUM!!!!

[jp0d41]

The Shining has to be one of the scariest horror flicks of all time. The way Kubrick throws stuff into his films, such as the 2 twin girls in the hotel room, or the blood flowing through the hotel hallways, is just pure genius. Full Metal Jacket is a great movie also, i just bought it on DVD a week ago. The way he portrays basic training for a Marine in the 60's is pretty shocking but not far from how it really was. A friend of my fathers's is a vietnam vet and he claims that the way the soldiers were treated in the film was not far from how he was treated in basic training. i saw 2001 A Space Odyssey and i think that it was so far ahead of it's time. A Clockwork Orange was good but it was way over my head. i was tripping on psilocybin mushrooms when i watched it so it was very entertaining but did not make a bit of sense to me. if anyone understood this movie please explain it to me. but overall i think Stanley Kubrick is nothing less than a genius and the best film maker of this century.

[U2Bama]

Originally posted by jp0d41:
The way Kubrick throws stuff into his films, such as the 2 twin girls in the hotel room, or the blood flowing through the hotel hallways, is just pure genius.

What about that weird costumed teddy bear or whatever it is in the hotel room with the man?

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

Kubrick is awesome. Just saw Clockwork Orange a few years ago, pretty intense.

I know that this was more of a posthumous collaboration more than anything else, but what did you all think of "A.I"?

I liked it OK, just wish that Speilberg had retained some of the more sci-fi aspects of the film instead of turning it into a sappy ET wannabe.

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I know your garden's full
But is there sweetness at all?

[wannabe]

Kubrick makes one think for sure. I enjoyed A Clockwork Orange, I feel he adapted it well from the book. I saw 2001 and Dr. Strangelove after rougerum recommended them to me. Full Metal Jacket was a pretty intense movie.

[foray]

I enjoy Kubrick's films a lot because they are visually and intellectually appealing. He is one of the most succinct directors ever, like he once said, he doesn't do interviews because everything should have already been said in his movies. I think it is remarkable that he tackled an extremely wide spectrum of topics throughout his career, from deviated sexuality in Lolita to the nature of violence in society (Clockwork Orange to fidelity in Eyes Wide Shut to the subject of man's place in the universe (2001).

My personal favourite is Lolita because it's a lovely complementary to the book. I thought it was still too conservative considering Nabokov himself wrote the screenplay. The first time I watched this version of Lolita, I vividly recall being absolutely amazed at the direction. I don't know how it came through in the movie; maybe it was the way the actors smoothly went through every scene. I can't even imagine how many times he must have made them repeat the scenes but the amazing thing was that it all appeared impromptu and natural.

Next in line, I like Space Odyssey 2001 and Clockwork Orange. Even though Clockwork was highly disturbing, I think even more so because I am female and found the rape scenes very frightening, I thought it was very well presented and thought provoking. The visuals were very appealing in this one, especially the decor and backdrops, giving it a timeless atmosphere; as if to say that these things can happen during our time as well. I was also surprised to find myself pitying Alex the protagonist, who, in the first half of the movie, was the absolute spawn of satan, the most evil boy ever to set foot on the planet! This movie really gives you the run around.

Dr. Strangelove is so hilarious! I love quoting it. Best part is the 'Dmitri' speech by the President. I had a crush on Peter Sellers for the longest time after watching this film; he is such a great actor (and a much better Quilty than the recent adaptation of Lolita!).

I never watched The Shining - intentionally - because I am chicken shit.


foray

[Anthony]

Stanley Kubrick is one of the most over-rated film-makers of all time, next to George Lucas.

There isn't ONE of his films that I consider to be amazing, or a fantastic piece of art; all I get is questions, questions and more questions, and really, I go to a movie so I can get questions AND answers, not just the former. Also, Kubrick's cold and detached style of film-making is not particularly appealing to me. Let me go through the films I've seen;

SPARTACUS;
A competent roman epic, perhaps the GLADIATOR of its time, however, it was overlong and overblown. Laurence Olivier's performance was the best thing to watch here, then again, the man was a dramatic genius.

LOLITA;
I LOVE the novel, I think its an amazing piece of work, and I admit that it was difficult to make this movie then, however, I prefer the new version by Adrian Lyne. I just do, I find it more powerful.

2001: A SPACE ODDYSEY;
How can anyone possibly find this film entertaining, when it has the worst momentum ever experienced in any movie EVER made; it has no momentum. A fantastic story drowned in Kubrick's typical pretentiousness (though sometimes he puts such pretentiousness to good use)and taste for cold and removed directing. I probably miss the point of the whole robot-style directing, however, the main reason I like a movie is if I find it entertaining, not becuase others have hailed it as a masterpiece.

THS SHINING;
This is my fave Kubrick film. He masterfully took a hokey supernatural story (didn't like the book all that much) and changed it into something more, almost a family drama gone wrong. Also, it features one of my favourite actors - Jack Nicholson. This IS an entertaining movie, and it seems that Kubrick is cut out for directing moments of terror.

EYES WIDE SHUT;
I don't remember it very well, as it was most unmemorable and not to mention over-indulgent. A simple story about sex and fidelity wishing to be something more; how misguided. An interesting premise, a wonderful middle bit (the beginning of the cult ritual was terrifying, with the masks and all that.... Kubrick's style of remoteness was put to good use, the production design was also simply awesome). However, I despise Tom Cruise and didn't think he was credible, though Kidman did her best with a pretty thankless role. It also had the most laughable end line ever. After all that epic rollercoaster ride of emotions and experiences, we are left with this stunning conclusion;

Kidman: I think there is something we have to do as soon as possible.
Cruise: What? (He asks so innocently).
Kidman: Fuck.
(And then the porno music starts up...)

What a complete let down. So, while Kubrick is clearly talented for some material, he is NOT a genius, atleast, I don't think his work is genius.

Ant.

[foray]

I beg to differ, Ant... on Eyes Wide Shut. The conclusion of the movie wasn't that excerpt you pointed out but the dialogue just before that when they were discussing how some dreams may be more real than we think etc. They were saying that most affairs seem unreal, like dreams that just drift in and out one's life then go away forever... but the fact is that some dreams seem so real that they are real. Like how Tom Cruise's character thought the whole orgy-cult thingy was responsible for a girl's murder when in fact it wasn't.

Even though this is not my favourite movie, I think it is Kubrick's best in terms of dealing with the subject matter. Effective parallels in the movie, tight themes and accessible ideas.

foray

[foray]

post-script: By "conclusion" I was referring to the "answers" that you were expecting from the movie. The whole movie tied up very neatly in that little dialogue I pointed out.

[Klodomir]

Anthony, nice to see that someone had the nerve to say that. Not many people would, since any criticism of Kubrick's work is usually met with extremely arrogant responses.

[adam's_mistress]

Originally posted by LarryMullen's_POPAngel:


I know that this was more of a posthumous collaboration more than anything else, but what did you all think of "A.I"?

I liked it OK, just wish that Speilberg had retained some of the more sci-fi aspects of the film instead of turning it into a sappy ET wannabe.

My husband and I were the only ones out of our group of friends that actually liked A.I.. I actually can't wait for it to come out on DVD. I thought Haley Joel Osmont did an incredible job, his role was very complex. Jude Law was excellent. The movie overall was a great piece of eye candy with some astounding special effects and I think Spielberg tried very hard to keep Kubrick's moviestle integrity in tact. He did not butcher the story, just merely finished and polished up what Kubrick had started. The movie was epic.

I thought in no way was this movie an E.T. wannabe. I have no idea why people say that, perhaps they didn't see the film, or are just judging Spielberg on a movie he made 20 years ago. A.I. had a lot more depth to it than E.T. could've ever had, the characters were much more complex, and the story was very very dark and tragic yet it raised questions about what we define as 'real' and what happens when human arrogance bordering omnipotence takes hold and creates things that are more almost human than human.

Without spoiling the end for those who haven't seen A.I., I really liked it. We can say humans are arrogant and omnipotent, we can say people are so stupidly smart and in the end mixed with arrogance it's what's going to get us all killed as a human society - but I think the message overall indicates sheer pure human brilliance, that a lot of the times human genius is overlooked and chucked aside as mere arrogance (which isn't ruled out in the movie, the film is practically littered with it)

My only complaint was that the movie was too long, and it wasn't meant to be a popcorn flick which is what I think a lot of people expected. I don't think people had any idea how dark the movie would be - the whole human vs. nonorganics. I knew walking out of the theater after I saw it that it was going to get bad reviews from moviegoers because they didn't get it. The previews at least did a poor job I think, quickly summing up the premise as being robotic fluff. The thing was, that movie was kept secret for so long and when the previews hit theaters and television, people wrote it up as being another E.T.

I likened that movie to Blade Runner more than anything else. And for me, Blade Runner is sacred ground so that's no small feat. There hasn't been a movie anywhere near like it in film making opulence from sets to effects to acting, until A.I..

[foray]

Originally posted by Klodomir:
Anthony, nice to see that someone had the nerve to say that. Not many people would, since any criticism of Kubrick's work is usually met with extremely arrogant responses.

I remember rougerum posted a thread on Kubrick and the latter's beliefs on aliens and God, yet many people opposed it.

foray

[Anthony]

Adam's_mistress;

Its good to see someone praise those two AMAZING movies. I absolutely adored AI, and thought it was one of the best movies of the decade. I didn't think Speilberg was at all soppy with the material, while the actors were simply amazing. I am proud to say that the movie moved me to tears by the end, though that is more to do with the 'mother connection', as I miss her terribly. However, WHAT a movie, it deserved a far better reception than it got...

But if AI was amazing, then BLADERUNNER is simply a masterpiece. Harrison Ford is fantastic, but even more so is Ridley Scott's directing and Rutger Hauer's moving rendition of the android, Batty, with a BEAUTIFUL speech at the end. After a hoorifying chase of cat and mouse where Batty is hell-bent on revenge (after all, Ford's character HAS just killed his girlfriend), Batty saves him and delivers the best dying words ever....

'I have seen things you people wouldn't believe; attack ships on fire off the shores of Orion. I watched sea-beams glitter through the darkness at 'Ten Hours of Gate'. And all those moments will be lost in Time like tears in rain...'

'Tears in rain'. Aaahh, one of the few moments in movies that makes me melt. I can never recover emotionally for about half an hour after I see the movie, it puts me into a state, not to mention Vangelis' score which is simply heart-breakingly beautiful.

Ah, BLADERUNNER and AI, two of the best
sci-fi films ever.

Ant.

"I am... I was".
Gigolo Joe

[Anthony]

Originally posted by foray:
I beg to differ, Ant... on Eyes Wide Shut. The conclusion of the movie wasn't that excerpt you pointed out but the dialogue just before that when they were discussing how some dreams may be more real than we think etc. They were saying that most affairs seem unreal, like dreams that just drift in and out one's life then go away forever... but the fact is that some dreams seem so real that they are real. Like how Tom Cruise's character thought the whole orgy-cult thingy was responsible for a girl's murder when in fact it wasn't. foray

Ok, foray, I grant you that. That WAS the movie's stunning conclusion, but it was all so overblown it really stank of pretensiouness. It was a simple movie that said 'don't sleep around', that 'things aren't what they appear to be' and for that I could have seen any old movie. I'm sorry, it just didn't move me.

Ant.

[foray]

I found it to be very uplifting and optimistic. Maybe his most optimistic one. He was grappling with this subject for a long time, as his wife revealed, and so perhaps this is his most personal movie.

foray