Oops. I forgot that Eyes Wide Shut was automatically assumed to be
Kubrick's worst film.
So, Barry Lyndon was NOT voted Kubrick's worst film. I feel better now.
I personally think that Full Metal Jacket was his worst clunker.
-rk
On Mar 15, 2009, at 8:33 PM, Bruce Hershenson wrote:
First off, for those of you not in my club, the question was "what
film directed by Stanley Kubrick (other than "Eyes Wide Shut"!) do
you feel is the WORST he ever made".
I eliminated EWS because I assumed it would win in a landslide! I
also eliminated the pre-Killer's Kiss movies because nobody (except
Kirby and Phil, maybe) has ever seen them.
So that only left the following (I have put the number of votes
each received):
Barry Lyndon (1975) 43
A Clockwork Orange (1971) 25
Full Metal Jacket (1987) 20
The Shining (1980) 16
Killer's Kiss (1955) 13
Spartacus (1960) 12
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 9
Lolita (1962) 6
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the
Bomb (1964) 4
Paths of Glory (1957) 3
The Killing 0
Now I personally didn't agree with Barry Lyndon "winning" but what
SHOULD have won instead?
Here were my comments:
I was personally not surprised that Barry Lyndon "won " this poll,
even though I personally thought it was quite an interesting movie.
It clearly is NOT for many people, and the pacing of the movie
alternates between "on the slow side" and "glacial"! But I was able
to put that aside and get into the sheer visual beauty of the
cinematography, although I must admit I have not seen it since it
first came out, and don't really have a strong desire to see it again.
I also was not surprised by the large number of votes placed
for A Clockwork Orange, given the repellant nature of the entire
movie, and the ultra-disturbing rape scene (and of course the
repellant subject matter of Lolita likely gave that otherwise fine
movie the votes it received). I thought that The Shining was very
disappointing (I had read the book first and liked it) and I liked
the first half of Eyes Wide Shut, but did not care for the rest. I
had similar feelings about 2001, although I liked a greater
percentage of it. And of course, Spartacus was an epic, and kind of
"bloated", but I am surprised it received 12 votes.
I really don't see how people voted for Dr. Strangelove or
Paths of Glory. To me, both are masterpieces! I was glad that no
one voted for The Killing. That is really a wonderful movie (I
can't say it is better than The Asphalt Jungle, but it is its
equal) and if you like film noir, or suspenseful "perfect crime"
movies, and you somehow haven't seen either or both of these, do
yourself a big favor and add them to your "must-see" list!
Of course I realize that many of you would have avoided those
movies of Kubrick's which you heard are not very good, so therefore
you were voting for the "worst" of the ones you HAVE seen, which
may be entirely different from his actual worst movies (and may
account for some fine movies getting some votes)!
I found it very interesting to read the comments left this
week, and I want everyone to go now to http://www.emovieposter.com/
club/club_comments.php to see what everyone had to say on this
subject (there were 78 comments left, and I urge you all to read
them). Remember that the goal in these polls is to stimulate
conversation and to help expose club members to great movies they
have not seen before (or in the case of this poll, to help them
avoid ones they probably don't want to see!), and I feel this
week's poll certainly achieved both those goals!
Bruce
On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 8:11 PM, Phil Edwards <[email protected]>
wrote:
Kubrick loved to sign. I have a few stills that his PA at Hawk
Films got for me in the mid-70s as the bookshop I was working for
(The Cinema Bookshop in Great Russell Street, London) was where he
got his film books.
She explained that few people asked him to sign because of his
reputation for NOT signing, but he was always extmely flattered
when asked... but NEVER on the set,
In fact, Kubrick, while a strong director and perfectionist, was
well-known as a warm and caring family man.
The PA also told me that he insisted on packing all his own
parcels, including mine.... because he didn't trust anyone else to
do it. An impeccable job, too which I have since slavishly
followed. So when people ask me who taught me to pack, I can say
"well, it was Stanely Kubrick, actually."
Much misunderstood as a person and film maker, he left a
relatively small body of work, but everyone a meticulously crafted
and multi-faceted gem.
Phil
----- Original Message ----- From: "McDaniel Kirby"
<[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2009 11:22 AM
Subject: Re: [MOPO] Speaking of Kubrick
That opinion is RIDICULOUS. In the sense of deserving and
inspiring ridicule.
BARRY LYNDON is a wonderful film. Deliberate doesn't always mean
slow. Gorgeous
it is, and there is no better self-evident example of the moralism
that Kubrick represented.
I first saw it on Christmas night, 1975 at the Wilshire Theater in
Dallas, Texas. The folks
from Warners had been there to tune their system to perfection for
the Dallas market.
Thanks to a generous friend of a member of this list, who worked
with Kubrick, I was
able to have him sign a one sheet for the film for me.
Kirby
www.movieart.net
On Mar 15, 2009, at 6:30 PM, Roger Kim wrote:
I was just reading Bruce's latest club email, and I was appalled to
learn that Barry Lyndon was voted Kubrick's worst film. That is a
great movie!!! What is the world coming to??!!!
-rk
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