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A book Stanley Kubrick didn’t want anyone to read is being published

theguardian.com

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Re: A book Stanley Kubrick didn’t want anyone to read is being published

#91

Post by garyrob »

ghusto wrote: post #44
amanzi wrote: post #38

I love Kubrick movies, but my one bit of criticism I'd give (from me - a random guy on the internet, who's never made a movie), is that both 2001 and The Shining both require the viewer to have read the respective books to fully appreciate them. I know it's a cliché to harp on about the ending of 2001, but it really does make a lot more sense after having read the book, which in turn makes the movie a lot more enjoya…

Agreed, and I’d be comfortable calling this incompetence. Triggers cinemaphiles to hear a director that’s supposed to be ome of the finest being called incompetent, but I can’t see how it’s defendable. He failed at the _one thing_ a film is supposed to do.

> but I can’t see how it’s defendable

Perhaps the key here is what YOU don't see, not the merit of the film.

2001 was ranked the 6th greatest movie of all time in the Sight and Sound poll, which is probably the world's most respected poll of industry professionals.

And it was ranked #1 by their poll of directors: https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/directors-100-greates...

Could it possibly be that these directors know something you don't?

For my own part, it's been my favorite movie since I first saw it in 1968 and I've probably seen it 20 times since then.

Re: A book Stanley Kubrick didn’t want anyone to read is being published

#93

Post by psychoslave »

onemoresoop wrote: post #89
psychoslave wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As surprising as it might be, narcissistic personality disorder won’t go away simply as people age, especially if they live in a social bubble where they are sent overall continuous positive feedback that society is very pleased at the global result of their behavior.

Do you suppose Kubrick may have suffered from narcissistic personality disorder?

Actually, no.

Apart that he was a film maker, I don’t know anything about him. If anything, this thread thrown more claims on the person than I have ever read before, as I couldn’t care less about topics that can perfectly fit gossip magazines.

Plus not being a doctor, I’m not even qualified to make a compelling diagnosis.

All that said, clichés don’t come from anywhere, and tyrannic personalities who destroy everybody around them as sure as they get social glorification for practicing some art is a well established one, so I wouldn’t be surprised that it would be the case. However I would rather have Picasso coming to my mind.

Re: A book Stanley Kubrick didn’t want anyone to read is being published

#94

Post by CamperBob2 »

Hikikomori wrote: post #61
fidotron wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Normal bosses don’t get Kubrick like results.

Weinstein also got a lot of good movies made, probably more than Kubrick. Sexual abuse and rape is fine and forgiven I guess.

That's impressive. The ratio of offensiveness to word count is off the charts. Hats off, I guess.

Re: A book Stanley Kubrick didn’t want anyone to read is being published

#95

Post by psychoslave »

latexr wrote: post #68
xchip wrote: post #30

Nice sales trick

Not publishing a book at the height of the subject’s popularity, but instead launching it half a century later when the money and recognition won’t matter is a nice sales trick?

Sure, maybe this would have provided more attention then, but also more troubles to the author and publisher. So the "look that stuff that a famous person absolutely didn’t want this to be read by anyone" is still a good click bait.

Re: A book Stanley Kubrick didn’t want anyone to read is being published

#97

Post by gspencley »

sevagh wrote: post #86
gspencley wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think there's a lot of people that wanted to work for Kubrick. But I also have an easy time accepting that there are many people out there that will make great sacrifices for something that they love and believe in. MMA fighters, for example, put themselves at tremendous risk because they're chasing their own personal ideas of "greatness." And there are many examples of "struggling artists" throughout history…

>MMA fighters, for example, put themselves at tremendous risk because they're chasing their own personal ideas of "greatness." And there are many examples of "struggling artists" throughout history that gave up on relationships and money because they were chasing something that they believed in. MMA fighters generally chase their own glory, to get their own hand raised in the ring. Not become a personal servant to an…

Agreed but you're missing the point, which is that the individual might have so believed in Kubrik's art that he wanted to make personal sacrifices in pursuit of that. For all we know (and others undoubtedly know more about the story than I do), this man might have actually been in love Kubrik and wanted nothing more than to be close to what he perceived as "greatness."

I'm not even saying whether I think it's morally right or wrong. Only that it's not hard to imagine the scenario.

Re: A book Stanley Kubrick didn’t want anyone to read is being published

#98

Post by crazydoggers »

voltaireodactyl wrote: post #24
lqet wrote: post #22

I highly recommend the documentary Filmworker to anyone interested in Stanley Kubrick's character. It's about Leon Vitali, the actor who played Lord Bullingdon (the neurotic brother of Lady Lyndon) in Barry Lyndon . After filming Barry Lyndon, he quit acting and became Kubricks personal assistant / factotum for over 20 years. Although some would say he was Kubrick's personal slave. It is utterly shocking to see how b…

There are many people who believe that something outside themselves is more important than their own personal happiness or even basic sustenance/stability. Whether that’s something to be admired, damned, or merely observed — it would seem Vitali made choices for reasons worth it to him, personally.

Lots of people make bad choices for themselves and others due to psychological control, manipulation, and/or abuse, such as people who willingly join cults.

I’m not saying that is what happened to Vitali, but I think it’s the open question being alluded to.

It is important to be aware and concerned about cultures or industries that foster cult like personality leaders.

Re: A book Stanley Kubrick didn’t want anyone to read is being published

#99

Post by sangnoir »

moosemess wrote: post #77
lqet wrote: post #22

I highly recommend the documentary Filmworker to anyone interested in Stanley Kubrick's character. It's about Leon Vitali, the actor who played Lord Bullingdon (the neurotic brother of Lady Lyndon) in Barry Lyndon . After filming Barry Lyndon, he quit acting and became Kubricks personal assistant / factotum for over 20 years. Although some would say he was Kubrick's personal slave. It is utterly shocking to see how b…

How is this any different than say working at Tesla today?

Shades of that Twitter executive who shared a picture of herself in a sleeping bag at the office, presumably doing "hardcore engineering". She later got fired regardless.

Re: A book Stanley Kubrick didn’t want anyone to read is being published

#100

Post by pinewurst »

amanzi wrote: post #38

I love Kubrick movies, but my one bit of criticism I'd give (from me - a random guy on the internet, who's never made a movie), is that both 2001 and The Shining both require the viewer to have read the respective books to fully appreciate them. I know it's a cliché to harp on about the ending of 2001, but it really does make a lot more sense after having read the book, which in turn makes the movie a lot more enjoya…

I’m pretty sure Clarke’s 2001 book was post-screenplay and possibly post-movie.
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