5 January 2004
another Kubrick in the wall
Once recently I was at a loss to come up with any of Stanley Kubrick's films other than The shining and A.I.. 2001 had slipped my mind, as well as A clockwork orange, both of which I've watched. I own Spartacus (and A.I. for that matter) and at one time also owned Eyes wide shut but traded that up for a Criterion Robocop. I even forgot the ones I'd liked, Full metal jacket and Dr. Strangelove. Why should I list them when imdb does it so much better? I hadn't known the guy even had his hand in The spy who loved me, one of the better Bond movies I've endured. Anyway, the whole point of this is that I don't appreciate ol' Stan for the work he's done. Take the film I watched tonight: The killing which he directed in 1956. It's a heist movie but it's so well made and unconventional to be elevated over what even then was already becoming a tired genre. Joe and the gang keep everything at a quick pace and the nonlinearity and narrator lend an original edge or two to the proceedings. I know now that the next Kubrick for me to watch won't be Lolita or Barry Lyndon but 1955's Killer's kiss, at least if I can track it down easily. Gradually I'm changing my opinion of the guy, and enjoying the process.
Without hesitation I'd say The Killing is one of the best movies I've seen this year, and without laughing I'd probably back it up for quite a while. Diner too would be on that list, and the more I think about it the more little things make me grin: the whole idea of holding a vengeance against a baseball team but explaining it only when only one is left to hit, throwaway lines about words like "nuance" and the immature guy banter are just the beginning. The rest of the movies this year are going to have an uphill fight to match these two gems, but that won't stop me from watching a whole bunch of them. Eventually I'll make a short list of the best films I watched last year; expect to see it in February, I'd guess.
This is unrelated to anything, but how cool would it be to have a song with the bass and/or guitar lines played backwards? I think such a thing would sound cool, though it may well have been done. This is something worth looking into, methinks.
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Actually I did it. A few times. Once I had the bass and guitar backwards, with the drums, vox, and synth normal. Either it sounds way too weird or you don't really notice the difference.
Spielberg said of Kubrick, "Once you start watching one of his films, you can't stop." Keep in mind that he switches genres like crazy and that is pretty brave. Have you seen Paths of Glory?
My neighborhood movie/pub, Studio 35 is showing Clockwork Orange this month. Warning: it's a bad date movie and the interior decorating is nightmarish.
I forgot all about The Killing. I went on a Kubrick kick last year and watched every one I could get my hands on.
Scott doesn't have as much of an appreciation like I do for watching movies and appreciating their impact during the time in which they were made, how they were ground breaking or exceptional or whatever, so I am glad I watched it on my own.
I checked imdb, and lo and behold there are others I need to see. Damn it!
idflux: good call on Paths of Glory -- haven't seen it but as soon as I get Killer's Kiss from the library I'm reserving that next. And Carina, the library's got all three of these on DVD! I'm not so great about appreciating the films for their impact at the time, but I am getting better with it. I think my stint of watching every Criterion DVD I could buy/find helped with that.
Clockwork Orange is a tempting movie to see again on the big screen. Very tempting. Especially if I could get my hands on some Moloko Milk Plus to do so...
If you watch Paths of Glory, Dr. Strangelove, and Full Metal Jacket in a row, I think it would be devastating. I can't think of any other film maker who captured life during wartime. He has more empathy with the soldier than with the ones who make war but don't actually fight.
I actually caught Clockwork Orange last year and I think that most of the crowd thought they were seeing a quaint film that was shocking 40 years ago. Well it really did disturb and upset a bunch of people. Kubrick's stuff is just as powerful years later.
An unimportant door is never locked.