Gaming World Forums
General Category => Entertainment and Media => Topic started by: Roman on July 26, 2008, 08:12:49 pm
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Do you know whose birthday it is today? Well, it's mine, but it also just so happens to be GW's favorite director's (http://www.gamingw.net/forums/index.php?topic=72978.0) birthday. Who is that? You could click on the link and find out for yourself, orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I could just tell you that it's Stanley Kubrick. (edit: turns out the title kind of gave it away huh!) Yes, I have the same birthday as mother fucking Stanley Kubrick: this means that I am destined for greatness.
So I figured to celebrate his (and my) birthday, I would sit at home and write an article about, you know, his movies and stuff, instead of going out and doing mushrooms or something.
Stanley Kubrick was born 80 years ago today in New York, and blah blah blah, you can read his biography here (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000040/bio). Basically: when he turned thirteen, his dad gave him a camera. He started taking lots of pictures and eventually got hired by Look Magazine as an "apprentice photographer." I'm not entirely sure what that is, but whatever. Eventually he moved into film, and used his savings to make the short documentary Day of the Fight (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042384/). A series of other short documentary projects eventually led him to making his first feature length movie, Fear and Desire (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045758/). Despite being an apparently shitty movie, Fear and Desire led Kubrick to bigger and better projects, which brings us to where he is today. Uh, dead. Wait, I don't think that's what I meant to say.
Anyway! I think it's safe to say that Stanley Kubrick is one of the greatest directors of all time, ever, for real. His influence is widespread: many modern directors, including The Coen Brothers, claim that Kubrick, or one of his movies, has influenced them. Remember Heath Ledger? Remember how his role as The Joker in The Dark Knight almost singlehandedly caused it to break all kinds of records (http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/20/dark.knight.ap/index.html)? Do you know how he prepared for that role? Apparently he lived in a hotel room for a month and watched A Clockwork Orange. (Well... more or less). If you look for it, you can find Kubrick's influence practically everywhere in film.
Unfortunately, I haven't seen all of Kubrick's movies, but I have seen most of them. I wanted to say, "but I've seen the ones that count," but that's a stupid thing to say because every one of his movies "counts." That's not something you can say about a lot of directors. Even David Lynch, my personal favorite director, made Dune (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087182/). Stanley Kubrick has never made a bad movie in his career. I haven't seen Killer's Kiss (http://www.gamingw.net/forums/index.php?topic=7000.0), but from what I've heard, it's pretty good at worst. PRETTY GOOD AT WORST, and I'm pretty sure that's his worst movie.
So let's talk about his movies. I was originally going to go through every one of his movies and talk about them, but not only is that too time consuming, I haven't even seen all of them. Also, it's my birthday and I want to go out and celebrate. I already wrote up something about Paths of Glory, so I'll leave that in, but I think everybody already knows enough about every other Kubrick movie anyway.
Paths of Glory (1957)
IMDb Profile (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050825/)
There are two parts of this movie that really stick out to me (and probably to most people): the execution scene, and pub scene at the end. The execution scene deals with three French soldiers, each of whom have been picked from their respective platoons (or company or whatever, I've pretty much erased all MILITARY MUMBO-JUMBO BULLSHIT from my memory over the past two years) to be executed as an "example" to their platoons for not following orders (which were to attack another base or something; the platoons didn't follow orders because attacking that base was literally a suicide mission and the guy who ordered the attack was insane). The three men are tied to posts at the end of a long road facing a building (it's the French army headquarters or some shit, I don't really know what it is specifically). The man in the middle is crying like a little baby. The man on the right is stoic, aware of what is coming and not showing his fear. As if this isn't fucked up as it is, the man on the left got punched in the face the night before and suffered from a concussion or something. So he's unconscious, and he and his stretcher have been propped up against the pole. And a guard comes by and slaps him in the face so that he can be awake when he's shot. What the fuck! POWERFUL SCENE go check it out.
There's also the pub scene at the end of the movie, where a bunch of French soldiers listen to some German girl sing. It's kind of a strange way to end the movie, really. We just saw these guys get executed even though they certainly didn't deserve it, and now we're at a pub, listening to a German girl singing, not understanding what she's saying and yet still being moved by it. I always thought that this ending was meant to allow for a moment of reflection on what has happened throughout the course of this movie. And just like the soldiers don't understand what she's saying, nobody really understands how what just happens could be allowed to happen.
I wish I could talk about his other movies, but I don't have the time right now to do so, and I want to finish this topic TODAY, since, you know, it's Kubrick's birthday. So let me leave you with a few more things to know about Kubrick.
For one thing, Kubrick, from what I can tell, seemed to be a big fan of symmetry, and that's part of the beauty of his movies. All of his movies, to me, are largely visual experiences, more so than most movies. Just look at a lot of his movies and you'll notice that in a lot of shots, both sides of the frame are equally balanced. The execution scene in Paths of Glory, for example: in one shot, there's the three poles; one the middle, and one on either side of it. There's also the shot of the three men walking to the poles, with a long line of soldiers on either side of them. This is another way in which Kubrick has influenced movies today. Remember the ending of There Will Be Blood? Remember when the camera is aimed down the two bowling lanes? You can't tell me that Paul Thomas Anderson is not a fan of Kubrick (note: he is). Granted, Kubrick isn't the first person to use symmetry, but it was so significant to his style that you can't deny his influence in making it popular.
There's plenty more I could say about Kubrick but I think I'll leave it at that for now. Tell me what you think about Kubrick, his style of movie making, and his influence on modern movies. And, of course, don't forget to wish him a happy birthday!
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Happy Birthday Kubrick........................we wish you were still here.........
I will never forgive him for The Shining. That movie made me fucking crazy.
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I think for every day of the rest of this week, I'll just make a topic devoted to one of his movies. Honestly I really wanted to write a lot more in this topic but if I did I would be stuck home all day and I don't really feel like doing that! I think I'll give Paths of Glory it's own proper topic later.
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Roman, have you seen the movie The Ninth Configuration? It reminds me of some of Kubrick's stuff for some reason.
Also Happy Birthday!
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Roman, what did you mod in 2005 dude
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Even David Lynch, my personal favorite director, made Dune (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087182/).
Dune is awesome, man...
Stanley Kubrick is coo, happy birthday guys ^^
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I'm doing my film "autuer theory" paper on Paths of Glory. The idea behind both Paths of Gloery and Dr. Strangeluv is that the military mindset, the sort of absolutist thinking that has a man executed for not attacking a heavily fortified base singlehandedly, leads to disaster. This is actually an expression of Kubrick's broader criticism of the mechanisms of civilization, that somehow man has become trapped and helpless in the systems he has constructed.
My favourite scene is the one where Col. Dax (Kirk Douglas) confronts the another General about what fiendishness Mirot is doing in a room apart from a swancy dinner party wherein Mirot is dancing it up.
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I do not like Stanley Kubrick. I like THE SHINING a lot and I have had a lifetime of struggling whether I like or dislike Clockwork Orange. I honestly think 2001 is one of the worst movies ever made though.
Also I have to say that Dune is an awesome movie man. I don't know how you don't like it.
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I have had a lifetime of struggling whether I like or dislike Clockwork Orange. I honestly think 2001 is one of the worst movies ever made though.
This exactly. There are some parts of A Clockwork Orange that I liked, but I can't say that it's particularly good (or bad). 2001 was just a waste of my damn time. OK, it DID have some nice shots at least.
Other than that, I've enjoyed what I've seen. Not everything yet (not even The Shining), but a few here and there. All up, it's just: Spartacus, Strangelove, 2001, Clockwork, and Full Metal Jacket, I think. I liked Strangelove a lot, and think that Full Metal Jacket was really good.
I'm curious about his Lolita adaptation though. One of my teachers, who loves the book (and put me onto it--I loved it too) said it's kinda bad. Anyone have thoughts?
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I"m watching Lolita tonight in class, I will let you know.
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I do not like Stanley Kubrick. I like THE SHINING a lot and I have had a lifetime of struggling whether I like or dislike Clockwork Orange. I honestly think 2001 is one of the worst movies ever made though.
Also I have to say that Dune is an awesome movie man. I don't know how you don't like it.
Man bunnymilk when did you start having the worst taste in movies ever.
Also just to clarify there's David Lynch's Dune and then there's the TV mini series Dune (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0142032/) so maybe you guys are talking about that one huh! Even my friend who has this Dune obsession agrees that the David Lynch version is pretty bad.
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I think I enjoyed Dune because I am not a fan of the books. I also enjoy it in a RIDICULOUS way man. And it has STING in it. And yes I am talking about the David Lynch movie.
But yeah man, 2001 was the biggest fucking pretentious waste of time ever. It is a terrible fucking movie and I hate the way people pawn it off as some kind of fucking genius.
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I liked Strangelove a lot
I like you too
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Man bunnymilk when did you start having the worst taste in movies ever.
Also just to clarify there's David Lynch's Dune and then there's the TV mini series Dune (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0142032/) so maybe you guys are talking about that one huh! Even my friend who has this Dune obsession agrees that the David Lynch version is pretty bad.
I didn't think Dune was that bad and it definitley has that Lynch touch to it. Nothing is really quite right and there are some weird eerie scenes in it that probably have more to it than what meets the eye. Also, the sets and visuals are stunning.
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OK we watched 2001 instead and I am a fan of Kubrick but boy howdy what a snoozer. The last act is just yawns ahoy. First and third acts are pretty good though.
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Roman, have you seen the movie The Ninth Configuration? It reminds me of some of Kubrick's stuff for some reason.
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Roman, what did you mod in 2005 dude
Nothing, why?
Also JOJOFACE I have not seen The Ninth Configuration but I'll check it out some time.
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Okay, so I just saw A Clockwork Orange for the first time, and I wasn't awestruck like others seemed to be. It seemed fairly straightforward, not all that impressive. What are all your thoughts on A Clockwork Orange?
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A Clockwork Orange (as well as Mulholland Drive ALWAYS GOTTA LIST 'EM BOTH) is my favorite movie ever, mostly because it basically CHANGED MY LIFE. It was actually that movie that made me aware that there was a lot more to movies than just WOO THAT MOVIE WAS FUN HEE HEE (my favorite movie at the time was KILL BILL VOLUME 2 jesus christ). As soon as I saw it I decided that I wanted to be a director and HERE I AM TODAY.
But aside from holding a special place in my heart, it really is a fantastic movie, man. I don't know where you get IT SEEMED FAIRLY STRAIGHTFORWARD; did you see the scene where Alex raped a woman while singing "Singin' in the Rain"? Like, even by today's standards I don't see how that can not make you cringe. Also the synthesized music in the beginning aw man it's the best.
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I modded general in 2005. I quit GW for like 1.5 years two days after they made me mod.
Is clockwork orange good because I only remember someone telling me it's bad. I liked the book
edit: actually maybe it was 2002 I modded general for 2 days....... my memory is shot to hell jesus
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Nothing, why?
I was looking through C&C and I saw you had posts there like in 2005 and shit. I was just wondering.
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I was looking through C&C and I saw you had posts there like in 2005 and shit. I was just wondering.
Oh I used to be staff and back in the day they let staff post in C&C. Then the main site stopped being updated and Rowain disbanded the staff so yeah.
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But aside from holding a special place in my heart, it really is a fantastic movie, man. I don't know where you get IT SEEMED FAIRLY STRAIGHTFORWARD; did you see the scene where Alex raped a woman while singing "Singin' in the Rain"? Like, even by today's standards I don't see how that can not make you cringe. Also the synthesized music in the beginning aw man it's the best.
I dunno, maybe I just didn't find it as artful or complex as Kubrick's other works. The bathos was clear, the themes and characters are fairly flat. I didn't really find much of it as disturbing as people had made it out to be. Maybe I'm just becoming cynical, or I've been desentitized to his style by watching Strangelove, FMJ, and Paths of Glory too many times.
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By the way I just watched 2001 again for the first time in three years and it's one of if not the most visually stunning movies I have ever seen. Also it is all around fucking fantastic WAIT I DIDN'T GET THE ENDING URRGH URRGH PRETENTIOUS
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WHAT IS THAT BABY DOING FLOATING IN SPACE
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bunnymilk i am not going to take anything you say seriously ever again
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Roman, have you seen the movie The Ninth Configuration? It reminds me of some of Kubrick's stuff for some reason.
I think The Ninth Configuration is visually much different from the typical Stanley Kubrick movie, but I can see a connection of themes between them: insanity, the military, black humor. It's funny because I really didn't think anybody knew about this great movie. The DVD cover is what really caught my attention when I borrowed it from the library.
Also, I really think the director of The Ninth Configuration, William Peter Blatty, is his own mini-auteur in a way. The only two films he's directed, this and The Exorcist 3, are both really interesting and have an great atmosphere to them. Both are really worth watching. I also remember reading that they were both connected storywise, as one character is mentioned in the other film. I never really picked up on it but it is interesting to have two seemingly unrelated films share the same virtual world.
On topic, does anyone enjoy the cinematography in the later Kubrick films as much as I do? I remember the scene where the astronauts find the monolith in 2001, the camera points at these lights which create this interesting looking fades on the film. I remember seeing them in A Clockwork Orange and The Shining too. Like, the lighting is always super good, despite some things looking very much like a movie set. Maybe it's the crazy retro decor and patterns that make me like it too?
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2001 is probably the one stanley kubrick movie that bores me the least.
except from strangeluv.
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I think The Ninth Configuration is visually much different from the typical Stanley Kubrick movie, but I can see a connection of themes between them: insanity, the military, black humor. It's funny because I really didn't think anybody knew about this great movie. The DVD cover is what really caught my attention when I borrowed it from the library.
Also, I really think the director of The Ninth Configuration, William Peter Blatty, is his own mini-auteur in a way. The only two films he's directed, this and The Exorcist 3, are both really interesting and have an great atmosphere to them. Both are really worth watching. I also remember reading that they were both connected storywise, as one character is mentioned in the other film. I never really picked up on it but it is interesting to have two seemingly unrelated films share the same virtual world.
Yeah! I wish he'd do some more stuff, I think he's really talented. And yeah, there are like three or four characters from The Exorcist that return in the Ninth Configuration. The ending scenes are incredible. Great film.