I was thinking of the Kubrick films I've seen — 2001, Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Eyes Wide Shut, AI, Full Metal Jacket, Lolita — and I was having a hard time thinking of the "Kubrickian" threads in them. I would not guess, if I didn't know already, that the same director made all these films (although I would guess that Spielberg had a hand in AI just from the way it looked and the subject matter). It's interesting to me how some directors have a very bold signature — like you can spot a Woody Allen film from a mile away (urban, angst-ridden, intellectual, silly, self-gazing), and others are harder to identify. Do you see a particular aesthetic in Kubrick's films or a commonality of theme/subject matter? (Now that I think about it more, they all do seem to involve people in extreme situations ... futuristic societies, isolated hotel, war, bizarre sexual situations ... and maybe notions of how society tends to be at odds with human nature and how society seems prone to moving in absurd directions).
4 comments:
I couldn't say, since I've only seen two of his films. Or maybe three.
Hard to say, since "Strangelove" seems so different from the rest of his work. In some of the other films you've mentioned though, I think there's a theme of isolation, both from physical circumstances and/or in character relationships. There's more of an emotional connection in "Lolita," but of course that also ends in isolation.
Very interesting question. I don't think I'm the one to answer it, though, because I don't think I've seen enough of his films. They're all sort of weird movies, though, aren't they?
Kubrick is certainly one of those filmmakers where you can play the what’s-his-best-movie game or the what’s-your-favorite variation. Cl, couldn’t you make an argument that each of his films is “so different from the rest of his work”? And Erin, you couldn’t really say more than that they are mostly weird since a couple are not.
If you are looking for common themes in his work, I think you are stuck with very broad abstract themes. Hypocrisy, and as Kc and Cl noted, destructive social pressures, and isolation, make for a wide canvas. I suppose you can add something like a lament at the inevitability of violence.
There is perhaps an easier to identify visual aesthetic to his work. He took care with detail and composition to create a consistent internal feel for each movie even though the films are so different from each other. And he was interested in the technical developments of the craft of filmmaking. For “Barry Lyndon”, he got hold of a superfast lens from NASA so that he could shoot scenes illuminated only by candlelight. That’s one of the reasons why “Barry Lyndon” is such a beautifully shot film. Rich color is another.
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