Full Metal Jacket

So in starting my Stanley Kubrick movie escapade, I decided to start with Full Metal Jacket. The film is one of a kind, and surprisingly contains many famous movie quotes that left me saying "that's where that came from!". One of my personal favorites was "me so horny, me love you long time!". Classic. As far as storytelling goes, Kubrick is a god, as Full Metal Jacket is not only a compelling war story with intense action, but a linear story line unlike most Kubrick films. Each shot was incredibly beautiful and could be a painting in my opinion. I'm excited to see the multitude of other Kubrick films.

Shine On, Kubrick.

This past Friday I saw The Shining for the first time. This past Saturday I saw The Shining for the second time. Throughout my first viewing I was gripped by every shot, I was captivated by every aspect of every shot because I knew that everything in the frame was there for a reason. There were no accidents in the final product. Every single detail means something. Throughout my first viewing I was also struck by how much tension and fear was created solely by the score. Scenes that would have been absolutely normal otherwise took on a sinister tone with music. You can feel yourself being drawn into the warped insane character that is Jack. The film isn't scary in the sense that it makes you jump, it is terrifying because of the implications of the actions of the characters. This film is truly terrifying, you are filled with a distinct unease and fear throughout. My second viewing was entirely different, I had read up on some of the symbolism in the movie after my first viewing and set out to see the film from a new perspective the second time around. One of the major "conspiracies" surrounding the film is the assertion that it is Kubrick's confession to faking the moon landing. I knew that there was some conspiracy regarding the moon landing but on my first viewing I didn't pick up anything. On my second viewing it became clear to me that the Overlook Hotel is supposed to symbolize America in that it is this vast space that is literally built upon a Native American burial ground, it looks beautiful from the outside but is deteriorating on the inside. Stuart Ullman is JFK, enlisting Jack to take care of this very important task for them and roping him into an extended commitment. Jack and Danny are a split version of Kubrick dealing with the pressures of faking the moon landing. Jack is the logical side of Kubrick while Danny is the young artist who is confused and horrified by the process. Wendy is supposed to be Kubrick's wife who is just mentally exhausted and abused by the task her husband has taken on. There are so many intricacies to this film that it would be near impossible to explain them without actually watching the film. This movie is made to be thought about, there is no clear thing that everyone takes away from it. You watch it and you feel something, your perception of what happened is entirely up to you. The audience is free to give meaning to the film in their own way. I could not recommend this film more, I will be watching it again for the third time within the next few days.

The War Room

Dr. Strangelove or how i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb.

This movie holds a strange place in my heart it is one weird movie ( it is directed by Stanley Kubrick). I first saw Dr. Strangelove in 7th grade and liked it but at the age of 13 missed out on some of the more adult imagery and many of Kubrick's stabs at the world. but it is not the strange character names and great quotable lines like the one at the end of this video that draw me to this movie. It is the amazing things that happened behind the scenes.

         There is a story about the set for the cockpit of the bomber where most of the film takes place. The story goes that the pentagon didn't allow any members of the set design team to look at the interior of the bomber that was being recreated for the film all that they had was one photo. after touring the set and looking at the replica that had been created pentagon officials commented that every detail on the prop bomber was nearly perfect down to the classified radio code transmitter. This brought about the fear that some of the folks working to build the set had not stuck to the rules and Kubrick began to fear an FBI investigation. no investigation was ever formalized and the movie went on to finish production.

It is the small things like this in films and the strange quirks that come from talking to film makers that makes film and television so interesting to me. I live for directors tracks on films and even more so the other personnel. hearing the stories about how a shot was done or something that went wrong shrinks the sometimes huge silver screen down to a much more manageable size.

Kubrick

I am a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick films, the photography in his movies is absolutely amazing. I know he got his start in still photography and it influenced many of his film projects. In my opinion it's a good idea for people interested in filmmaking to study photography (even just casually) the practice can help you set up effective storytelling shots. One good example of Kubrick photography is his 1957 film Paths of Glory.