Film Formalism Stanley Kubrick as a Formalist Filmmaker

Table of Contents 1) Stanley Kubrick 2) 2001: A Space Odyssey 3) Barry Lyndon

Stanley Kubrick • Kubrick as Auteur (who stamps unmistakable personality and vision on his/her films) • Kubrick as formalist

Stanley Kubrick • At the age of 16 his photos were published in the Look magazine. Employed as a photographer and contributed 600 photos to the magazine. • His formative years • Nurturing and demonstrating keen visual sense

Stanley Kubrick • Kubrick’s first film • Self-financed short documentary, Day of the Fight (1951) • Documentary on prizefighters • Look magazine photojournalism = documentary film • Capturing mood and atmosphere - the primary aim of his documentary films

Stanley Kubrick • Three documentary films (1951 -2) • 13 feature films (1953 -1999) • Fear and Desire (1953) the first feature - about four soldiers trapped behind the enemy line and their escape is sidetracked by a woman and an enemy general.

Stanley Kubrick • Killer’s Kiss (1955) - a prizefighter intervenes when a girl is assaulted by her employer/lover. This incident brings the two together and the fighter is threatened to be killed. • The Killer (1956) getting out of prison, a man masterminds a race track heist but the plan is made complicated by various people.

Stanley Kubrick • Paths of Glory (1957) the bureaucracy of the French army execute three of its soldiers on charges of cowardice. • Though the narrative and theme are simple, Kubrick manages to create powerful images by frequently using telephoto lenses. • Spartacus (1960)

Stanley Kubrick • Kubrick’s self-exile to England • Lolita (1962) - the first work of an auteur. Controversial motif and his camera captures the danger and allure of lust. Kubrick discovered in this film Peter Sellers.

Stanley Kubrick • • • Highly aesthetic composition Eloquent photography Powerful acting Creative and masterful editing Thought-provoking themes • The deciding factor

Stanley Kubrick • Dr. Strangelove: or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb (1964) – a US Air Force general goes insane and orders a nuclear attack on Soviet Union.

Stanley Kubrick • US President and his advisors try to recall bombers to stop a nuclear war. • Expressionistic set – 130 ft (w) x 100 ft (l) x 35 ft (h) in Shepperton Studios – with gigantic map, shiny black floor, and a circle of lights.

Stanley Kubrick • Eely, satiric ending – montage of shots of mushroom clouds taken from US nuclear tests and bombing of Nagasaki • Mixed with a hit song, Vera Lynn’s We Will Meet Again

Stanley Kubrick • 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - SF film

Stanley Kubrick • Clockwork Orange (1971) - Adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ novel; extremely violent juvenile delinquent is captured and put on a trial rehabilitation programme via psychological conditioning.

Stanley Kubrick • Use of 9. 8 mm wide-angle lenses to emphasize the film’s dream quality • Futuristic set and costume design mixed with contemporary 1970 s styles.

Stanley Kubrick • Bedroom sex scenes are shown slow and fast motion. • Display of unemotional, mechanical and inhumane nature of the activities.

Stanley Kubrick • Barry Lyndon (1974) - a history film / costume drama

Stanley Kubrick • Shining (1980) - Horror film based on Steven King’s novel. A caretaker writer of an offseason hotel is influenced by a supernatural being and goes insane trying to murder his wife and son.

Stanley Kubrick • Full Metal Jacket (1987) - the training of Vietnam recruits and the corruption of the narrator in the war. • Eyes Wide Shut (1999) -

2001: A Space Odyssey • Made in 1968, a year after Bonnie and Clyde • Took two and a half year and cost $10. 5 million.

2001: A Space Odyssey • Mythic vision of the relationship between man and machine • Philosophical contemplation

2001: A Space Odyssey • Audacious visual design and use of colours • Bold use of music, Richard Strauss’ Also Sprach Zaratustra

2001: A Space Odyssey • Very bold Associative cut (graphic match) • Ellipsis of several million years from the prehistoric age to 2001

2001: A Space Odyssey • Simplified and geometrical set design and composition • (Mismatching) Juxtaposition of Johan Strauss’ Blue Danube and the floating space station

2001: A Space Odyssey • In Section II a monolith similar to the one which appeared in Section I is found. Inexplicable experiences on Saturn. • In Section III a battle between astronauts and the super computer, HAL. • State of art composition and editing

2001: A Space Odyssey • Section IV: • The surviving astronaut’s hallucinatory trip through space and time

2001: A Space Odyssey • The astronaut arrives as an old man in a white bedroom furnished in Louis XVI style. • The final frame - his rebirth as embryonic Star. Child.

2001: A Space Odyssey • Being enigmatic, mystical and sensuous, what is 2001: A Space Odyssey about? • It resists interpretation. • The film is ‘… essentially a nonverbal experience … It attempts to communicate more to the subconscious and the feelings than it does to the intellect. ’ Stanley Kubrick

Barry Lyndon • The film almost equal to 2001: Space Odyssey in historical importance • Historical drama made in 1975 and based on William Thackeray’s novel in the 19 th century

Barry Lyndon • Exterior scenes were mainly shot in Ireland. • Designs were made after landscape paintings of Antoine Watteau

Barry Lyndon • Costume and hair design made after Thomas Gainsborogh’s portrait paintings.

Barry Lyndon • Interior scenes were given 18 th century feel • Behaviours • Emulated from William Hogarth paintings

Barry Lyndon • Expressively lit and photographed • Most sensuous photography • Photographed by John Alcott, (Clockwork Orange and Shining) over 300 days between 1973 and 74 • Shot only with candle lights without electric lights