Stanley Kubrick is a genius, period.
The name Stanley Kubrick brings to mind cinema, perfection, symmetry, and depth.A director so good that conspiracy theorists believed that he directed fake moon landing.
Kubrick was a cinematic connoisseur. To prove it he created a classic entry in almost every genre, whether it be a clever comedy satire (Dr Strangelove), a masterful psychological horror (The Shining), innovative sci-fi’s (2001: A Space Odyssey & A Clockwork Orange), a beautiful period drama (Barry Lyndon), controversial anti-war movies (Paths of Glory & Full Metal Jacket) an heroic sword and scandal epic (Spartacus).
Here are a few premises of the film that he was making , which if we think deeply will make some us believe that this is an incredibly wide filmography. For example,
The Shining : A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future.
Barry Lyndon : An Irish rogue wins the heart of a rich widow and assumes her dead husband’s aristocratic position in 18th-century England.
Spartacus : The slave Spartacus leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic.
2001: A Space Odyssey : Humanity finds a mysterious, obviously artificial object buried beneath the Lunar surface and, with the intelligent computer H.A.L. 9000, sets off on a quest.
Eyes Wide Shut : A New York City doctor, who is married to an art curator, pushes himself on a harrowing and dangerous night-long odyssey of sexual and moral discovery after his wife admits that she once almost cheated on him.
The image of Kubrick as a cursed and tormented genius has grown over the years.His first foray into film was in the 50s with a documentary short titled Day of the Fight (1951). Like Hitchcock there is just too much to choose from. Experts and cinema lovers could (and have) put together supercuts highlighting his use obsessively composed mise-en-scene, consistent themes in his films, use of music, etc. He may be the greatest technician in the history of cinema and is perhaps cinema’s greatest overall perfectionist. And how about “event cinema”? Every Kubrick movie from 1968 to 1999 was an event. Broken out there’s Steadicam/tracking work (Paths of Glory, 2001, The Shining, opening of Full Metal Jacket). Steadicam/tracking. Barry Lyndon may be the pinnacle of cinematic natural lighting, costume decor. Rigor — both formal and visual along with symmetry in set design. From a narrative and thematic standpoint there’s a profound emptiness or coldness in Kubrick’s world- whether it be in war, marriage, space, family, or the future.
Kubrick’s films are full of symbolism. These symbols often communicate relevant information to the viewer.Kubrick is probably more worthy of the term ‘auteur’ than any other filmmaker. He placed his indelible stamp on not just every film he made, but every shot he filmed, every scene he lit, every performance he nurtured and every musical accompaniment he chose. His films are possibly the closest a filmmaker has gotten to an aesthetic worthy of pure art. Case in point: the beautiful dynamic artistry of 2001’s revolving space stations, the oil painting perfection of Barry Lyndon, the perfect symmetry of shots in virtually all his movies.It takes guts and determination to make it in the film industry. Kubrick possessed these traits but he was also a seemingly fearless filmmaker who calculated every intricate move like a game of chess (of which he was a master). If he did possess fears he refused to show them.
I personally recommend this movies , not necessarily in this order but one little request that watching The Shining is must.
1. The Shining
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey
3. A Clockwork Orange
4. Barry Lyndon
5. Dr. Strangelove
Although he never won an Oscar for Best Director, he did win the Oscar for Best Special Effects for 2001: A Space Odyssey. Controversial, unequaled, neurotic, and genius… Stanley Kubrick’s gift to the world were some of the most interesting films of all time.
“If it can be written, or thought, it can be filmed.”
-Stanley Kubrick-
