I absolutely have to agree that most of his movies are underrated, especially those that came after A Clockwork Orange. He is my favorite Artist in any medium and the best film of his continues to be his most underappreciated: Eyes Wide Shut. And I believe Stanley meant what he said, not long before he passed, as he was putting on the finishing touches of EWS, that it was his greatest work. I know he had that novella stirring within him for a few decades and he put his entire life’s experience and knowledge of lighting, composition, color, movement, sound, character development, etc…etc…to this intimate, intoxicating little story. Oh, Beauty…And then to have it met with such derision and lack of understanding, especially in re: to many of the “sophisticated” critics…Oh Well, several writers have already spoken eloquently on this subject (Michael Herr, Lee Siegel)…And we all know what happens to the reputation of his movies as the post-release hype dies down and the critical re-appraisals begin.
Barry Lyndon would definitely be my close second since the question is most underappreciated, and I would also mention The Shining. I believe it was another poster who made the point that even many of those who really love The Shining are unaware of some of its wonderful intricacies and ambiguities. In fact those might be my top three of his right there
I have to say that as a life long student, lover and teacher of cinema and its history, when trying to teach others how to ‘read’ a film, to discover subtext and meaning, and the delicate art of mise-en-scene, Kubrick is the absolute greatest to go to and Eyes Wide Shut specifically. I have broadened and changed people’s ways of viewing film just through pointing out some of the sublties of this movie.
And as a last thought, I was curious if any other fans of Stanley’s are also, like me, really into Federico Fellini and Orson Welles. The three greatest filmmakers of the twentieth century! Im sure I could find you on their message boards. Man, I cant believe Criterion did all this for the website! I already owe Criterion/Janus a huge debt of gratitude for always keeping arthouse cinema strong. Thank you all.
Absolutely thrilled to see the respect Tom Waits is getting on this topic. He was my obvious first choice, glad to see others here are not only aware of him but are fans of his filmwork. The Greatest and Most Underrated musician of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries ; )
Also nice to see John Lurie mentioned for their tandem in Down By Law. Both have also made wonderful contributions to film music. Im glad someone else put Johnny Depp, his first love was music and I know it informs his work.
See Criterion’s edition of Down By Law if you haven’t already!
Eyes Wide Shut
The Thin Red Line
8 1/2
La Strada
There Will Be Blood
Ugetsu
La Dolce Vita
Amarcord
Barry Lyndon
The Shining
Juliet of the Spirits
A Clockwork Orange/Dr. Strangelove/2001: A Space Odyssey/Lolita/Paths of Glory/The Killing/Full Metal Jacket
Nights of Cabiria/I Vitelloni/…And the Ship Sails On
Vertigo/Rear Window/North By Northwest
Citizen Kane/Touch of Evil/F For Fake/The Third Man/Chimes At Midnight/The Magnificent Ambersons/Lady From Shanghai
Wild Strawberries/The Virgin Spring/Through A Glass Darkly-Winter Light-The Silence/The Seventh Seal
Magnolia/Boogie Nights
Oh hell…this is where I get into trouble and spiral out of control : ) I agree that no
top ten list can ever be objective. My problem is that each of my favorite directors Kubrick, Fellini, Welles, Bergman have ATLEAST four or five films that must be
considered when putting together a list like this.
I would love to have enough room for a picture like the Coen Bros.’ Miller’s Crossing
or Barton Fink, which haven’t been mentioned yet and represent their best work.
The Godfather I & II or Chinatown or Goodfellas; or Down By Law (I absolutely love what Jarmusch does) but if i’m really honest with myself I have to say that I have never seen anything to equal the power of those films I listed above. That Terence Malick, Paul Thomas Anderson and Kenji Mizoguchi made it among that company is a sign of my deepest respect. In my eyes, Malick and P.T. Anderson, along with Wes Anderson, are the hope of our future in American film. They have the talent and vision to create entire bodies of (endlessly re-watchable) work that we can fall in love with and ponder over
for years. Sorry for rambling… : )
Nights of Cabiria
And The Ship Sails on
Fanny & Alexander
Cries & Whispers
I also bought myself presents for Christmas. What a great holiday! On top of these films I bought the huge ‘Stanley Kubrick Archives’ book, which is absolutely wonderful, as well as a book on theatre director Robert Wilson called ‘Absolute Wilson’, which I recommend to anybody interested in the avant-garde. Wilson creates the most incredible visual images on the stage. The best holiday I’ve ever had-
a Kubrick-Fellini-Bergman-Wilson Christmas! BTW Street Dude, I got Vampyr awhile ago when it first came out having never seen it. I was NOT disappointed. A Great slice of Cinema! And beautiful artwork too.
This theme has been expounded on quite well in many places. I would suggest Kubrick: Inside A Filmmakers Maze (Thomas Allen Nelson), Stanley Kubrick: A Narrative and Stylistic Analysis (Falsetto) and the recent Stanley Kubrick’s Archives just released in a very reasonably priced edition for starters. Also wonderful articles are availabe online at http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/
Happy hunting : ) I can read analysis of Kubrick’s films all day!
Leah, I have cherised Stanley Kubrick for a long time now. Not only is Eyes Wide Shut my favorite film of his, it’s my favorite film period! The Thin Red Line is the only other movie I rank so highly Im 26 right now, I saw it at age 17. In fact I was just speaking to my 10 year old nephew tonight about the fact that my parents allowed me to watch adult movies and that is how I learned about the world at such a young age. When I say ‘adult’ I am not speaking of dirty films but “Malcolm X” and “JFK”. My mom likes to brag that my favorite films at the age of 2 were “Amadeus” and “Ghandi”. I became aware of social justice, politics, current events, language and cinematography, etc. These movies set the course of my life ~ as Eugene O’Neill said, “I want to be an Artist or nothing”. Because of my parents’ lack of condecention I was given the inspiration to spend my life dedicated to the Cinema as a filmmaker and teacher.
I can tell you are a mature young woman. As was stated in another post, Eyes Wide Shut is not just about sex but sociology, death, fidelity, illusion and so on. That is the beauty of Stanley Kubrick, his films are about Everything, you just have to pay attention. Nothing on the screen is accidental. Keep your eyes and mind wide open! Ten or twenty years from now, when all those who trash the film come around and proclaim it a classic, you can laugh at the fact that you were so far ahead of people like said video clerk. I hope you see it soon! I have absolutely changed the way people view movies, right in my living room, by showing them EWS once, all the way through, and then immediately starting it over and pointing out all the significant details. Once you watch it you may be inclined to read some wonderful essays online. Just one example is a piece called “Introducing Sociology”, a reference to a text book placed perfectly in the bedroom of a prostitute who seduces Bill (Cruise). This essay approaches the film from a Sociological perspective and that is just the tip of the ice berg!
As for mentioning David Thomson, who Orpheus described as “a promimnent critic with excellent taste”, his film criticism and his biographies like Rosebud :The Story of Orson Welles are pretty ridiculous most often. The only one I like in any way is The Whole Equation, but even in this book his need to psychoanalyze a director or stars sex life as a way of understanding the films is in very poor taste. And people like him and the dreaded Pauline Kael, as Jonathon Rosenbaum eloquently points out, always give the benefit of the doubt to the Hollywood studio system over any Artist, as if the studio system is never faulty in its judgement. And his opinions on Stanley Kubrick especially reveal his middle-brow, inane drivel for what it is.
Even his biography on Nicole Kidman makes him out to be more of a stalker than critic.
I would like to point out that the BFI Classics series on Eyes Wide Shut was not written by Michael Ciment but Michel Chion. I have read a number of posts now that mistakenly quote Ciment as the source. Not that the book doesn’t have its own merits but I wouldn’t want the “unborn baby boy” reading of the movie to be associated with Ciment, whose writings on Stanley have been pretty much unimpeachable at this point. I didn’t pre-judge Chion’s reading of the film, but his theory on the film’s subjective source/POV/audience was never backed up, all that was stated was the film was being dreamt by the Harford’s unborn baby boy, and nothing was offered from within the film as back-up for this reading. However I do think its healthy for people to follow through with their own interpretations of cinema.
I will take this space to recommend Michael Ciments’ Kubrick: The Definitive Edition
as well as the previously mentioned Kubrick: Inside A Film Artists Maze by Thomas Allen Nelson.
Now I just need to start saving up for Taschen’s nearly 3000 page collection of Stanley Kubrick’s Napoleon archival material, which promises to be mind-blowing. AND BETTER BE since it’s priced between $500-$600!
What is Kubrick's Most Under-Appreciated Film? over 3 years ago
I absolutely have to agree that most of his movies are underrated, especially those that came after A Clockwork Orange. He is my favorite Artist in any medium and the best film of his continues to be his most underappreciated: Eyes Wide Shut. And I believe Stanley meant what he said, not long before he passed, as he was putting on the finishing touches of EWS, that it was his greatest work. I know he had that novella stirring within him for a few decades and he put his entire life’s experience and knowledge of lighting, composition, color, movement, sound, character development, etc…etc…to this intimate, intoxicating little story. Oh, Beauty…And then to have it met with such derision and lack of understanding, especially in re: to many of the “sophisticated” critics…Oh Well, several writers have already spoken eloquently on this subject (Michael Herr, Lee Siegel)…And we all know what happens to the reputation of his movies as the post-release hype dies down and the critical re-appraisals begin.
Barry Lyndon would definitely be my close second since the question is most underappreciated, and I would also mention The Shining. I believe it was another poster who made the point that even many of those who really love The Shining are unaware of some of its wonderful intricacies and ambiguities. In fact those might be my top three of his right there
I have to say that as a life long student, lover and teacher of cinema and its history, when trying to teach others how to ‘read’ a film, to discover subtext and meaning, and the delicate art of mise-en-scene, Kubrick is the absolute greatest to go to and Eyes Wide Shut specifically. I have broadened and changed people’s ways of viewing film just through pointing out some of the sublties of this movie.
And as a last thought, I was curious if any other fans of Stanley’s are also, like me, really into Federico Fellini and Orson Welles. The three greatest filmmakers of the twentieth century! Im sure I could find you on their message boards. Man, I cant believe Criterion did all this for the website! I already owe Criterion/Janus a huge debt of gratitude for always keeping arthouse cinema strong. Thank you all.
Go to Comment
Best Musicians Turned "Actors" over 3 years ago
Absolutely thrilled to see the respect Tom Waits is getting on this topic. He was my obvious first choice, glad to see others here are not only aware of him but are fans of his filmwork. The Greatest and Most Underrated musician of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries ; )
Also nice to see John Lurie mentioned for their tandem in Down By Law. Both have also made wonderful contributions to film music. Im glad someone else put Johnny Depp, his first love was music and I know it informs his work.
See Criterion’s edition of Down By Law if you haven’t already!
Go to Comment
Here it is... Top 10 films of all time? over 3 years ago
Eyes Wide Shut
The Thin Red Line
8 1/2
La Strada
There Will Be Blood
Ugetsu
La Dolce Vita
Amarcord
Barry Lyndon
The Shining
Juliet of the Spirits
A Clockwork Orange/Dr. Strangelove/2001: A Space Odyssey/Lolita/Paths of Glory/The Killing/Full Metal Jacket
Nights of Cabiria/I Vitelloni/…And the Ship Sails On
Vertigo/Rear Window/North By Northwest
Citizen Kane/Touch of Evil/F For Fake/The Third Man/Chimes At Midnight/The Magnificent Ambersons/Lady From Shanghai
Wild Strawberries/The Virgin Spring/Through A Glass Darkly-Winter Light-The Silence/The Seventh Seal
Magnolia/Boogie Nights
Oh hell…this is where I get into trouble and spiral out of control : ) I agree that no
top ten list can ever be objective. My problem is that each of my favorite directors
Kubrick, Fellini, Welles, Bergmanhave ATLEAST four or five films that must beconsidered when putting together a list like this.
I would love to have enough room for a picture like the Coen Bros.’ Miller’s Crossing
or Barton Fink, which haven’t been mentioned yet and represent their best work.
The Godfather I & II or Chinatown or Goodfellas; or Down By Law (I absolutely love what Jarmusch does) but if i’m really honest with myself I have to say that I have never seen anything to equal the power of those films I listed above. That Terence Malick, Paul Thomas Anderson and Kenji Mizoguchi made it among that company is a sign of my deepest respect. In my eyes, Malick and P.T. Anderson, along with Wes Anderson, are the hope of our future in American film. They have the talent and vision to create entire bodies of (endlessly re-watchable) work that we can fall in love with and ponder over
for years. Sorry for rambling… : )
Go to Comment
Criterion Christmas over 3 years ago
Nights of Cabiria
And The Ship Sails on
Fanny & Alexander
Cries & Whispers
I also bought myself presents for Christmas. What a great holiday! On top of these films I bought the huge ‘Stanley Kubrick Archives’ book, which is absolutely wonderful, as well as a book on theatre director Robert Wilson called ‘Absolute Wilson’, which I recommend to anybody interested in the avant-garde. Wilson creates the most incredible visual images on the stage. The best holiday I’ve ever had-
a Kubrick-Fellini-Bergman-Wilson Christmas! BTW Street Dude, I got Vampyr awhile ago when it first came out having never seen it. I was NOT disappointed. A Great slice of Cinema! And beautiful artwork too.
Go to Comment
Dr. Strangelove: All's Fair in What Now? over 3 years ago
This theme has been expounded on quite well in many places. I would suggest Kubrick: Inside A Filmmakers Maze (Thomas Allen Nelson), Stanley Kubrick: A Narrative and Stylistic Analysis (Falsetto) and the recent Stanley Kubrick’s Archives
just released in a very reasonably priced editionfor starters. Also wonderful articles are availabe online at http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/Happy hunting : ) I can read analysis of Kubrick’s films all day!
Go to Comment
Eyes Wide Shut over 3 years ago
Leah, I have cherised Stanley Kubrick for a long time now. Not only is Eyes Wide Shut my favorite film of his, it’s my favorite film period! The Thin Red Line is the only other movie I rank so highly Im 26 right now, I saw it at age 17. In fact I was just speaking to my 10 year old nephew tonight about the fact that my parents allowed me to watch adult movies and that is how I learned about the world at such a young age. When I say ‘adult’ I am not speaking of dirty films but “Malcolm X” and “JFK”. My mom likes to brag that my favorite films at the age of 2 were “Amadeus” and “Ghandi”. I became aware of social justice, politics, current events, language and cinematography, etc. These movies set the course of my life ~ as Eugene O’Neill said, “I want to be an Artist or nothing”. Because of my parents’ lack of condecention I was given the inspiration to spend my life dedicated to the Cinema as a filmmaker and teacher.
I can tell you are a mature young woman. As was stated in another post, Eyes Wide Shut is not just about sex but sociology, death, fidelity, illusion and so on. That is the beauty of Stanley Kubrick, his films are about Everything, you just have to pay attention. Nothing on the screen is accidental. Keep your eyes and mind wide open! Ten or twenty years from now, when all those who trash the film come around and proclaim it a classic, you can laugh at the fact that you were so far ahead of people like said video clerk. I hope you see it soon! I have absolutely changed the way people view movies, right in my living room, by showing them EWS once, all the way through, and then immediately starting it over and pointing out all the significant details. Once you watch it you may be inclined to read some wonderful essays online. Just one example is a piece called “Introducing Sociology”, a reference to a text book placed perfectly in the bedroom of a prostitute who seduces Bill (Cruise). This essay approaches the film from a Sociological perspective and that is just the tip of the ice berg!
Go to Comment
Dr. Strangelove: All's Fair in What Now? over 3 years ago
I forgot one more SK book that is a Must Read. Its just called Kubrick and its written by Michael Ciment. Wonderful! Simply Wonderful!
Go to Comment
Who do you think the most overrated director is? over 3 years ago
Brian DePalma without a doubt!
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Who do you think the most overrated director is? over 3 years ago
As for mentioning David Thomson, who Orpheus described as “a promimnent critic with excellent taste”, his film criticism and his biographies like Rosebud :The Story of Orson Welles are pretty ridiculous most often. The only one I like in any way is The Whole Equation, but even in this book his need to psychoanalyze a director or stars sex life as a way of understanding the films is in very poor taste. And people like him and the dreaded Pauline Kael, as Jonathon Rosenbaum eloquently points out, always give the benefit of the doubt to the Hollywood studio system over any Artist, as if the studio system is never faulty in its judgement. And his opinions on Stanley Kubrick especially reveal his middle-brow, inane drivel for what it is.
Even his biography on Nicole Kidman makes him out to be more of a stalker than critic.
Go to Comment
Eyes Wide Shut about 3 years ago
I would like to point out that the BFI Classics series on Eyes Wide Shut was not written by Michael Ciment but Michel Chion. I have read a number of posts now that mistakenly quote Ciment as the source. Not that the book doesn’t have its own merits but I wouldn’t want the “unborn baby boy” reading of the movie to be associated with Ciment, whose writings on Stanley have been pretty much unimpeachable at this point. I didn’t pre-judge Chion’s reading of the film, but his theory on the film’s subjective source/POV/audience was never backed up, all that was stated was the film was being dreamt by the Harford’s unborn baby boy, and nothing was offered from within the film as back-up for this reading. However I do think its healthy for people to follow through with their own interpretations of cinema.
I will take this space to recommend Michael Ciments’ Kubrick: The Definitive Edition
as well as the previously mentioned Kubrick: Inside A Film Artists Maze by Thomas Allen Nelson.
Now I just need to start saving up for Taschen’s nearly 3000 page collection of Stanley Kubrick’s Napoleon archival material, which promises to be mind-blowing. AND BETTER BE since it’s priced between $500-$600!
Go to Comment