Stanley Kubrick Appreciation Thread

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  • Posts: 12,436
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    @FoxRox

    And so after four days of reading about 90 pages or so per day, I finished the book with a huge smile on my face. I'm a Stanley Kubrick fan and while this book is ultimately its own cinematic mystery adventure, a sort of popcorn version of a Dan Brown thriller, it keeps hammering Kubrick and his amazing set of films into one's head with an unbroken spirit. Searching for clues within Kubrick's movies was loads of fun. Also,
    having Spielberg and McDowell

    make cameo appearances was a lot of fun for sure!

    Thank you very much, friend. I wouldn't have known about this book if you hadn't mentioned it and now I'm glad I have read it! :D

    @DarthDimi

    Glad you enjoyed it! I loved those cameos as well!
  • Posts: 12,436
    Happy birthday Stanley; remembering you and your amazing movies today!
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    I have sadly not seen many of his earliest films, but ranking those I saw:

    1 SPARTACUS
    2 2001-A SPACE ODYSSEY
    3 BARRY LYNDON
    4 PATHS OF GLORY
    5 DR STRANGELOVE etc
    6 THE SHINING
    7 FULL METAL JACKET
    8 EYES WIDE SHUT
    9 A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Only film I haven t seen yet now is Killer s Kiss, so here is my new ranking.
    1 SPARTACUS
    2 2001-A SPACE ODYSSEY
    3 BARRY LYNDON
    4 THE KILLING
    5 PATHS OF GLORY
    6 DR STRANGELOVE etc
    7 LOLITA
    8 THE SHINING
    9 FULL METAL JACKET
    10 EYES WIDE SHUT
    11 A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
    12 FEAR AND DESIRE
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,115
    Have seen them all, multiple times. THE SHINING in theatres recently. Wonderful experience.

    This year marks the 50th anniversary of 2001. I'm hoping, from the bottom of my heart, to be able to see the film on a large screen!!
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    Have seen them all, multiple times. THE SHINING in theatres recently. Wonderful experience.

    This year marks the 50th anniversary of 2001. I'm hoping, from the bottom of my heart, to be able to see the film on a large screen!!

    I did once, and the copy broke down just when the trippy sequence at the end started. I demanded my money back.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,115
    And you were right to do so, indeed! That's pure blasphemy!
  • Posts: 1,165
    I'm doing my annual Kubrick-athon at the moment. Barry Lyndon is next up!
    3 years ago I read they Stanley Kubrick archives for more insight into each movie after viewing.
    This year I'm listening to a podcast called Kubrickcast which dedicates an episode to each movie. I love listening to it on the way to work.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    The Shining, A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket are the other films I have seen in the cinema. Would love to see Spartacus. And Barry Lyndon.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,788
    Just discussing 2001 with my Son... imagine this:
    The Starchild over Earth. It sees the orbital nuclear platforms... it detonates them. 100% of the Earth is bathed in light for a moment. Title appears: A NEW DAWN.
    THAT is what keeps this movie from being, for ME, THE best film ever made.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,115
    @chrisisall
    Initially, the plan was to go there. It was decided, last-minute, to leave things a tad more ambiguous. Personally, I treat the film and the book as perfectly complementary, despite one very particular detail disagreeing between them (Jupiter versus Saturn). What the film doesn't show or tell, the book can often answer. What happens after we see the Star Child? Clarke tells me. And this is one of those rare cases where I don't have to tap into "EU material" since book and film were developed simultaneously and by both artists. :)
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Clarke s book explains everything. The film does not.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,115
    I think that once Kubrick had decided to pull the voice-over narration from the film, he kept cutting out explicit hints.

    I saw the film a few times before I read the novel. For a while, even I went with the "is the monolith from God?" possibility. And it really could have been that; I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that reading... except that neither Clarke nor Kubrick were particularly Christian, so something bugged me about that idea. While reading Clarke's book, it all made sense to me suddenly. The book, along with its sequels, "completes" the film as it were.
  • Posts: 15,045
    Well Kubrick was not Christian at all he was Jewish. Not that he made a big deal about it in his films.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,115
    Kubrick was an atheist. I believe he mentioned it on various occasions. Unlike Spielberg, who does believe in God, Kubrick apparently didn't.

    Makes me conclude that Scientologist Tom Cruise is indeed a very professional actor. He and Kubrick worked on EWS for about two years, if I'm not mistaken. :)
  • Posts: 15,045
    I have read contradictory reports about Kubrick's beliefs or lack of. He seemed to be either an agnostic deist (at best) or an atheist. But I doubt he believed in an afterlife.

    But I was not talking of his faith but his background. He was Jewish of culture.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited January 2019 Posts: 15,710
    I'll be seeing a restored copy of Full Metal Jacket on the big screen this Friday. It's one of the few Kubrick films I haven't seen yet, one of those being The Shining, which I'll also get to watch a restored copy of on the big screen next month.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,115
    That is great news, @DaltonCraig007! You are in for a genuine treat. Please understand that FMJ comes in two vastly different parts. Halfway through the film, everything shifts gears.

    The Shining? You've never seen the Shi--look, have a great time, you hear me! I remember my THE SHINING deflowering and it was phenomenal.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,710
    @DarthDimi I've just arrived home from my showing of Full Metal Jacket. I really enjoyed it! As you said, I came prepared for the drastic change in style/tone at the half way point, and I have to say I preferred the first part, thanks to the late R. Lee Ermey's electrifying performance.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,115
    I'm so glad you enjoyed the movie, @DaltonCraig007.
    Now, let's do some running together. "This is my rifle, this is my gun; this is..."

    I'm so looking forward to you THE SHINING experience. :)
  • Posts: 1,911
    While on the subject of Full Metal Jacket, how do you guys feel about the film in comparison to other Vietnam-themed films of the time such as Platoon?

    One of the great what-ifs is if FMJ was released first would it have had more impact than Stone's film? A lot of critics at the time talked about this and the recurring point was the first half was so impactful the second couldn't possibly live up to it.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,903
    BT3366 wrote: »
    While on the subject of Full Metal Jacket, how do you guys feel about the film in comparison to other Vietnam-themed films of the time such as Platoon?

    One of the great what-ifs is if FMJ was released first would it have had more impact than Stone's film? A lot of critics at the time talked about this and the recurring point was the first half was so impactful the second couldn't possibly live up to it.

    It's still my favorite Vietnam War film, I'd say. Platoon is fantastic and almost just as good, but FMJ is too chilling and well shot for me to rank it anything but my favorite.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Right behind Apocalypse Now for me.
  • Posts: 1,911
    Apocalypse Now is probably my favorite as it's not just a great war film, but a great film that I learn something new and gain new appreciation for with each viewing. It's now in my informal all-time top 10 list.

    I saw Platoon before I saw FMJ. It was strange as it was at a drive-in theater as the second feature after Robocop, which had just come out in that summer of '87. While Robocop was outrageous, we weren't really prepared for Platoon. One of the friends who went with us had seen it when it was released and mentioned how sobering it was. I recall how unsettled we all were when it was finished. We were silent, just didn't know what to say, so it made quite an impact.

    I don't think I saw FMJ until it came to cable the next year and was just completely rattled by the training sequences, so much so that everything that came afterward was just a letdown, not in a bad way but just not anywhere near that grinder of an experience Kubrick puts you through to begin with. Where things like 2001: A Space Odyssey can go from the dawn of man right to the space sequences, it just doesn't work as well in FMJ. But the beauty of Kubrick films is you can always go back to see if there's new appreciation.

    R. Lee Ermey was a revelation and was able to make a nice career doing comedy and serious roles. His not getting an Oscar nomination was a typical Academy mistake from the time. If Platoon hadn't been so big at the previous year's awards then FMJ may have gotten more critical and awards love, so maybe it was too late there.

    I used to work at a large Air Force base on its newspaper and after I left for another job, a friend of mine got to interview Ermey when he was there promoting something and I really wished I'd have had the chance. I'd have likely brought a recorder and asked him to insult me like one of the FMJ recruits.

    A friend of mine who was a war movie fanatic had the FMJ soundtrack, and when I was in film school I used a song from it with Ermey's cadences for one of my student films that got a great reception.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,710
    Stanley Kubrick left us exactly 20 years ago, on March 7th 1999.
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,544
    Stanley Kubrick left us exactly 20 years ago, on March 7th 1999.

    He is truly amazing and missed. I hope to get a few books about him soon.
  • Posts: 1,165
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    Stanley Kubrick left us exactly 20 years ago, on March 7th 1999.

    He is truly amazing and missed. I hope to get a few books about him soon.
    I would strongly suggest the Stanley Kubrick Archives and Napoleon!
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,544
    TR007 wrote: »
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    Stanley Kubrick left us exactly 20 years ago, on March 7th 1999.

    He is truly amazing and missed. I hope to get a few books about him soon.
    I would strongly suggest the Stanley Kubrick Archives and Napoleon!

    That's the plan!
  • Posts: 15,045
    Stanley Kubrick left us exactly 20 years ago, on March 7th 1999.

    He was the greatest imo.
  • Posts: 12,436
    He was. No one ever better understood and executed tremendous film quality.
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