quote:
I feel like I've grown out of Kubrick. He's a wonderful visual stylist, and he makes some of the most beautiful movies ever put to film. That said, his movies are just so cold. He hasn't an ounce of humanity in him, it seems, and his characters rarely resemble anything approximating an actual human being. I've become much more humanist as I've grown older, and Kubrick, who really was the first director I truly loved, just doesn't appeal to me like he did when I was an Angry Young Man.

I agree with this for the most part. A Clockwork Orange, when you see that at 15 or 16, it's jsut mind-blowing. Now? Not so much. And frankly, I think The Shining is maybe the only film where he really cares about characters, where humanity gets through, especially with Danny's plight. It might be my favorite Kubrick now.

Because of this my Kubrick rankings have significantly changed....

quote:
I'd say Barry Lyndon is my least favorite Kubrick, as it represents all of my problems with Kubrick. It is weighted down by a wooden performance by his lead actor, and his actions are just an excuse to shoot truly beautiful scenes. It's like the movie equivalent of Macbeth: full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Lyndon used to be my favorite Kubrick, but I have to agree here. It's still a solid piece of film making, outstanding even. But it has fallen in recent years, just because it's too much "film," and not enough of everything else. I love it and I'll always love it, so I can't say it's my least favorite.

That award probably goes to Full Metal Jacket, after boot camp it just falters more than any other Kubrick film. And yeah, I think Kubrick had a tough time displaying any sort of humanity in this one too.

This post was edited on 8/22/14 at 11:10 am

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Posted by Ace Midnight

Between sanity and madness

Member since Dec 2006

89811 posts

Posted on 8/22/14 at 11:16 am to Freauxzen

quote:
That award probably goes to Full Metal Jacket, after boot camp it just falters more than any other Kubrick film.

This is the same problem with people who don't like Apocalypse Now! after the bridge - and I know, because I was one of those people - for both films.

You're missing a large part of the point. The Vietnam scenes are the soul of FMJ - there is no soul in the basic training sequence until the very end.

And I get the comments about the films feeling "cold" - because, like Pink Floyd - Kubrick was a master of the silence - the spaces between - things unsaid and unseen. That can come off as cold - but what's really happening is that your imagination is being given an opportunity work. Lynch does this as well, as do the Coen Brothers (at times) and Aronofsky (to at least acknowledge that point in the thread - I do not agree with Aronofsky being in Kubrick's league, but I do agree that he at least attempts to mimic the style, and has successfully recreated that vibe in some of his films).

However, if your imagination is shut off, because you're a product of the overstimulated, overteched, "Michael Bay, J.J. Abrams hit-them-over-the-head-every-millisecond" film audience, then you're going to miss the true genius of an artist like Kubrick.

Film is a visual medium - in most cases, Kubrick's films are enjoyable with the sound turned down. Stunning.

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Posted by SlowFlowPro

Simple Solutions to Complex Probs

Member since Jan 2004

425883 posts

Posted on 8/22/14 at 11:18 am to Freauxzen

i think barry lyndon being a complete sociopath trying to improve himself fits in perfectly with how kubrick presented it

i am not thinking about the character barry lyndon in terms of kubrick's entire canon, just as a character

i do think that the final duel scene shows a ton of development/anger with a very small use of film

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