Stanley Kubrick Special Edition

Stanley Kubrick Special | Editor's Pen

Friends,

I was introduced to Stanley by Ali when he technically tortured me with a four hour description of 2001. When I saw 2001, it was not my first Kubrick film. Lolita was. His filmography was interesting. Different kinds of films and polar opinions. When I told that we can do a Kubrick special, I saw a wry smile on Ali's face.

Legacy of Stanley Kubrick is more than just some films. Infact its less about those films and more about the influence they had on the audience and the budding filmmakers. His films like 2001, A Clockwork Orange and Dr. Strangelove influence many filmmakers of 80-current era. One such name is Spielberg. In this edition, we are trying to pay a tribute to the man who inspired us to think beyond our vision.

Stanley, we miss you.

Love
Sujoy

Stanley Kubrick | Notions And Reasons | Statesmen

If I have to name 5 directors with immense impact on world cinema, Kubrick will be one of them. If I have to pick three of them, Kubrick will be still there. If I am forced to pick only one, I think I will pick Kubrick. One of the most misunderstood filmmakers of all time, Kubrick has established himself as the most pathbreaking filmmaker of all time. In over 100 years of cinema, nobody made such iconic gems spreading over every genre one can think of.

At the age of twelve, he learnt chess and when he was thirteen, his father gifted him a camera. These two things shaped his personality and his cinema. His passion for stills taught him deeper nuances of cinematography. Chess, on the other hand, made him patient and intellectually more receptive to ideas and visions. As a scholar he was average by any standards.

As a filmmaker, Kubrick was always a darling of cinebuffs. He toyed around with numerous subjects and made films which are considered to be milestones. Anti war films like Paths Of Glory and Dr. Strangelove, sci-fi like 2001 - A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange, horror like Shining, period like Barry Lyndon and borderline erotica like Lolita and Eyes Wide Shut. Most of his films are not only landmarks, the approach to handle the subject is unique. He explored multiple layers in the story and allowed viewer to interpret them. Probably the best example is 2001 - A Space Odyssey.

Kubrick was a true visionary and his biggest achievement was his ability to carry visions of his colleagues along with his own. He allowed them to interpret their roles and was always ready to discuss them in detail. He was a perfectionist. Some of his actors complained of sore back. Some were tricked into doing things to add the shock value to the visual. Creative liberty and his intelligence was widely acknowledged by people who worked with him for almost five decades.

Kubrick influenced filmmakers like Woody Allen, Tarantino, James Cameroon, David Fincher, David Lynch, Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Tim Burton and Spielberg. Well, quite a legacy.

Napolean | Unrealised Dream | Under Lens

Whenever there is a talk about films which were never fade, Kubrick's Napolean is always a part of the discussion. With Spartacus, Kubrick experimented with an epic film. However, due to multiple reasons, Kubrick never had that control on the sets of Spartacus he would have desired. He stated once, 'Spartacus is the only film on which I did not have absolute control'.

After 2001, he was established in cinema as a visionary. Post 2001, he developed the idea of a film on French emperor Napoleon. He spent two years on developing a screenplay he wrote long back in 1961. MGM agreed and the film went to pre-production. From day one everyone knew that Napolean will be a big budget film. The projected cost was deemed to be too high and just when Kubrick was ready to shoot, film was cancelled. The dream thus shattered. Kubrick never made Napolean. He wanted but economics had its way. This year March, Spielberg expressed his desire to make the film as a miniseries.

A life like Napolean adapted on screen by Kubrick would have been a just tribute.

A Clockwork Orange Banned! | Hammers High

A young boy kills his classmate. In court, his lawyer tries to ease out by blaming a film for having such a inhuman effect on the young impressionable mind. The voice of dissent against the film is heard in media and few protestors become violent enough to release threats to the filmmaker and people associated with the film. Distraught and disgusted, director decides to pull off. For almost three decades the self-imposed ban continues. In different part of world, film garnered a notorious reputation for its extreme ratings and wide condemn. A Clockwork Orange opened the can of worms so carefully preserved in the name of moral and ethics.

 

Moral Police, across the globe and over the ages, have blamed liberal arts for crimes and threats to society. Certain studies might have proved a point or two in their favor, the reasoning is not good enough to curtail the rights of an artist. Moral policing, on many counts, led to oppressed social conditions and that has done much damage to society. As the lawyer pointed out the influence of the film on his under-age client, it was interesting to know how did he chance upon the film despite of censorship. Was the question on the filmmaker or on the system?

 

Despite of the violence, like many of Kubrick’s films ACO is considered to be one of the finest films ever made. Much of the cult following is due to the deeper meaning of all violence and the action taken to curb it. The anti-establishment undercurrent of the film where system freely alter privacy of an individual, though convict, highlights the side-effects of the action on personality of the person. To a great extent ACO is a strong statement against many contemporary policies by governments across the world.

 

The cultural impact of ACO is immense. While the debate is still on, co-existence of filmmaker’s moral responsibility and relevance of censorship are still pretty ambiguous topics.   

 

Dr. Strangelove | The Critique

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb – Whoa, quite a name for a film. It’s a weird name for a film but successfully push across the message – its satire of highest grade with a strong anti-war message. Dr. Strangelove is a satire on cold war and the purpose of having nuclear weapons in the arsenal of armies.

 

An American General has taken control of a base and put it on alert. He has directed aircrafts with nuclear weapons towards USSR. While the step is apocalyptic, US Govt can hardly do anything about it. At Pentagon, Senior Officers and Analysts are sitting with President to resolve the issue. Communication with USSR is at ebb during Cold War however they manage to reach out to them. The situation becomes critical. Amidst all this, chaos is taking over in a sadistic but comic manner.

 

What makes Dr. Strangelove unique? Peter Sellers plays multiple and contrasting roles. The way he achieves perfection in each of them is quite spectacular. Though much of the screenplay is improvised, basic outline is very interesting. Using satire to describe something as boring as nuclear armageddon is really impressive. Some of the dialogues must have kicked extremists below the belt pretty hard. On visuals, it is as delightful as any Kubrick film. Cinematography and art design is experimental. The war room set with world map is a classic image.

 

Today, Dr. Strangelove is considered as one of the finest films ever made. It not only celebrates the brilliance of actors like Peter Sellers and George Scott and maverick like Kubrick, it celebrates a defining moment when anti-nuclear movement took shape in American popular culture and people were ready to shed the paranoia. Even without all cinematic qualities, just for the message, this film has an everlasting standing.

 

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh  

 

 

Paths Of Glory | Pride Glorified Amidst War | The Critique

Paths Of Glory is very much similar to Stanley Kramer’s courtroom drama Judgment Of Nuremberg in terms of intensity and conclusion. Based on a  novel by same name and set during the gloomy hours of WW1, Paths Of Glory is an example for both an anti-war film and a courtroom drama. Stanley Kubrick’s probably most uncontroversial film stars Kirk Douglas in the leading role of Col. Dax who stands for the right against the establishment and thousand year old military tactics.

 

Ambitious superior Gen. Mireau order Col. Dax to conduct a suicide mission against a German stronghold – Anthill. Germans are in an advantageous position. Its mockery of common sense to conduct the mission but Dax is forced to follow the orders. The mission fails. First wave of troops are bulldozed. Second wave decides to let common sense prevail and refuse to move ahead. Mireau label the troops as cowards. Three officers are selected for execution on behalf of entire troops to set an example for all. Dax fights for them and loses the battle as their fate is sealed before their parade infront of Jury.

 

Film clearly highlights the anti-war message. Some of the statements stated must have generated heat during those days. This film boasts of strong performances especially by Kirk Douglas. His portrayal of Col. Dax is simple brilliant. On technical aspect the film is a milestone. The scene in trench, the courtroom and the execution of fallen officers will remain long in memories.

 

Kubrick made this film as a closure to writer’s longing dream to tell the story to masses so that madness of war can be curtailed. Kubrick presented the story so well that generations would know what war can do. There is no glory in war, it lies in doing the right thing. However, I am not sure if people who can control wars have this film in their libraries or not…

 

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Use Of Symphony In A Clockwork Orange | My Take | Under Lens

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony has a spirit of its own. It never ceases to bring peace to you. It’s something very kind very pure and very classic in nature... Like a running stream of fresh water. However, Stanley Kubrick used it in outrageously beautiful manner in A Clockwork Orange.

The phrase 'A Clockwork Orange' refers to mechanical conditioning of something natural like brain. The lead character Alex is a sort of devil. His ways are anti-social and is a perfect case of a misfit in a society. His violence and sexual-perverse can be a case study for many. He is conditioned to feel nausea whenever his violent nature comes to forth. However, in kind of collateral damage, along with violent nature of his, his affection for Beethoven's Ninth Symphony becomes a traumatic experience.

The use of Symphony in ACO is an exemplar one. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, the usage was far more simplistic. In ACO, the usage was not only metaphorical, it brought an intensity to scenes. Beyond a point, it tends to drain energy out of you and you can feel your nerves going numb. It brings in an interesting effect to the visuals on scene. A mix of paranoia and violence.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

McDowell's Alex and Heath Ledger's Joker | Under Lens

Every now and then I tend to do little R&D on Heath Ledger's Joker. It’s like my little obsession, please bear with me. After watching A Clockwork Orange by Kubrick, I felt that I saw a Joker in eyes of Alex.

Both characters, Joker and Alex, are extremes. He is an anti-hero who is devious and manipulative. Just like Joker, he is ultra violent and don't feel like backing violence with reason. He is not dangerous, in fact he is ultra dangerous. Just like Joker, Alex tends to glorify himself. The very usage of "Your Humble Narrator" stamps this. He seeks nirvana in acts world frowns upon. Just like Joker, Alex is highly manipulative. He volunteers for experimental Ludovico Technique as he sees it as an opportunity to come out of the prison.

Alex is a weak character, much unlike Joker. He has a weak will and Ludovico Technique makes him frail to the core. Joker, is a strong never-say-die villain of highest degree. He is dangerous as he is a psychopath on killing spree who doesn't give a damn to human life. Alex is a mental wreck but not a psychopath. He enjoys sadistic activities but for him, it’s an instant pleasure. He doesn't plan them. Joker does and does it brilliantly.

Heath Ledger studied Alex while preparing for Joker. No wonder, I felt like that.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh 

Stanley Kubrick | Statesmen

Hollywood Studio have been always been too powerful, so much so they would pressurize, directors to change script, change actors and sometimes make the whole film unrecognizably different from what it was initially meant to be.

Stanley Kubrick, is one of the very few directors (or may be the only one) who managed to keep Hollywood studios away from interfering in films scripts. So much so that shooting his last film in 1990 ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ studio people were not shown the movie until it was released. What would have this man done to command such power? Well his earlier works were so iconic that he could make films in his own terms.

Check out some of his works

Full Metal Jacket (Genre: War) – Considered as completely different from all war films made at that time.

Shining (Genre: Horror)- Considered one of the scariest Horror films made. Many of technique devised were

Clockwork Orange (Sci-Fi Crime Drama)- Remembered for its gross depiction of violence. What made it notorious was the fact that

2001: A Space Odyssey (Sci-Fi)- Considered to be THE BEST science fiction film ever made. Not your Michael Bay kind of science fiction. A movie that starts with the time human were apes, and ends with  next stage of human evolution (and in the first viewing hardly makes any sense).

Etc..

His films rarely repeated genres, and each of his film is considered a master piece in its genre. But he was a difficult man to deal with. He mostly had creative differences and thus had many fallouts with his collaborators.

Most of his films were adaptations from books. But his adaptations were according to his whims and sometimes were quite removed from original books. Thus rarely did the authors of originals endorsed the adapted film.

One more distinction his films had that almost all of his films were regarded classic much after their release. May be because he was ahead of his time. He has been inspiration for future generations of directors. His lesser known film ‘The Killing’ was remade as ‘Reservoir Dogs’ as debut film by noted director Quentin Tarantino.

Written by – Ali Naqvi

Under Lens: Genesis From Paper To Screen - 3

This edition of genesis features movies that are hugely successful, and even we didn’t know many of these were based on books.

Short Story-“The Sentinel” Movie-“2001-A Space Odyssey”: This is considered to be the greatest science fiction movie by rottentomatoes. Directed by legendary Stanley Kubrick, “2001…” was based on Arthur C. Clark’s “the Sentinel”. The author and the director collaborated on the script; author came out with the complete novel “2001: A Space Odyssey” around the same period.


Short Story-“The Minority report” Movie-“Minority Report”: This Tom Cruise starrer, was loosely based on a short story by Phillip K Dick. This Science fiction set in 2054 where criminals are caught by Pre-crime system. Minority Report is touted as one of the smartest movies of Steven Spielberg had a thrilling script.



Short Story-“Memento Mori” Movie-“Memento”: This Psychological thriller was based on Memento Mori written by Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan’s brother. In the story protagonist manages to kill his wife’s murderer, the movie though is ambiguous about this. The movie is about what the protagonist becomes after his head injury, how he gets used and not about the killer’s discovery.



Novel-“The Silence of the lambs” Movie-“The Silence of the lambs”: This Pscyhological Horror flick directed by Jonathan Demme, was based on the novel by Thomas Harris. The novel is one of four novel of “Hannibal” series. The movie stars Sir Anthony Hopkins in his academy winning role of Cannibal “Hannibal Lecter”. The movie is one of the most chilling that Hollywood has to offer


Novel-“First Blood” Movie-“First Blood”(better known as Rambo): Definetly it is surprising to find Rambo based on a novel. This Ted Kotcheff movie propelled Sylvester Stallone to world wide fame. Stallone plays unstoppable Vietnam war veteran pushed to the edge. The book focused the effect of long wars had on the soldiers, their perspective and how Vietnam war turns Rambo into an efficient killing machine.
We’ll return next time with more novel-to-movie adaptations.


For The Reel;Written By: Ali ‘Rosebud’ Naqvi