Tuesday 2 June 2009

Busy busy busy

Sorry, been busy writing by day and having my own nightly Stanley Kubrick retrospective. Already made it through Dr Strangelove and Barry Lyndon, moving on to Eyes Wide Shut today, a film which I have to admit I didn't like on initial release and have been resistant to revisit ever since. That said, I'm prepared to give it another go and hopefully admit I was wrong.

I've always been a huge fan, but was spurred into rewatching his films again by a comment from Sam Mendes in answer to a question in the 20th anniversary issue of Empire in which he said he often watches a Kubrick before shooting, to remind himself how few shots you need to make a great movie. Too true.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

i have yet to see Barry Lyndon. it frustrates me to no end. as for eyes wide shut? ugh. i don't know. i've watched it twice (with the same intent you had. re: maybe i just didn't GET it the first time) but it just doesn't FEEL like a Kubrick movie. maybe it's the sex. i've always felt that Kubrick films were about the tiny details and beautiful framing (and acting) - with eyes... i just don't SEE that. the "superstar" cast is OKAY. the shots, as you mentioned, change too quickly. the story barrels along and just boobs boobs boobs i'm a doctor here's half a hundred haunting piano what's the SECOND password. at no time was i WRAPPED up in it.

in the end, i just didn't care what happened to the characters and that, to me, is NOT a Kubrick movie.

in my humble opinion, of course.

Unknown said...

ps: welcome back, as temporary as it may be.

Mark Salisbury said...

Barry Lyndon is extraordinary. EWS was better than I'd remembered but not by much. All the issues I had with it initially were still present and correct — Kidman's embarrassing attempt at playing drunk and stoned; the amount of boobs which felt a tad gratuitous to me, particularly the scene in the doctor's office — but I have to admit found the film cast more of spell over me this time around, there are a few remarkable shots, the party scene at Pollack's house reminded me of parts of The Shining and... that's about it.