Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by halfnote (A) on March 11, 2008 at 21:20:00

In Reply to: RE: Well that was written as ...fullnote. posted by patrickU on March 11, 2008 at 07:01:54

Hmmm, not sure exactly what you are asking me to respond to.

But I concur that there is something people might term "unclean" in his films, which others have characterized as detachment, cold and unfeeling objectivity, even cynicism. Isn't is funny how often people seem small and venal in his films? Where are his heroes? The Captain in Paths of Glory? Dave in 2001? Joker in Jacket? There is a certain misanthropic strain in his films, I would agree. And, often, the hero is make a mockery, as is Lady Lyndon's son, or Commander Kong.

As you may have guessed, I am a big Kubrick fan. And there are many people who do not hold his films in the highest esteem. But i find them all to be deeply engrossing, intellectually challenging, and exaquisitely made.

I can remember being unimpressed with a few of them upon first viewing: Jacket and Lyndon in particular. But today, I revere them.

I am still "stewing" Eyes Wide Shut, and though there are scenes that seem flawed, and the plot seems contrived at times, my appreciation for it, too, is growing. I still can't get over Kubrick's decision to replace Harvey Keitel with Sidney Pollack. I am nagged constantly by how unconvincing Pollack is in so many of his scenes, and much better Keitel would have been.