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Noah Forrest

By Noah Forrest Forrest@moviecitynews.com

Posted Sunday, March 6th, 2011 - 6 Comments »

Stanley Kubrick Passed Away 12 Years Ago Today

One of the greatest scenes in movie history in one of the greatest films in movie history.

I remember waking up on March 7th, 1999 and seeing the news that Kubrick had died on AICN.  I couldn’t believe my eyes, thought it was some kind of joke.  The man was my hero, the man who made me interested in movies as an art form.  When I realized that it was true, I nearly burst into tears.  Eyes Wide Shut was still four months from being released and word had gotten out that he had screened it a few days before his death.  I was excited to see my first new Kubrick film in theaters – even if it wasn’t finished – but depressed because it would be the last.  The man was a visionary and I will always believe that he was the greatest filmmaker that ever lived.

To quote the ending of the film: “It was in the reign of King George III that the aforesaid personages lived and quarreled; good or bad, handsome or ugly, rich or poor, they are all equal now.”

6 Comments »

6 Responses to “Stanley Kubrick Passed Away 12 Years Ago Today”

  1. Ed McMurchy says:
    March 6, 2011 at 11:49 pm

    Just finished watching “A Life in Pictures” without realizing the significance of the date. Such a spooky but wonderful coincidence. Spot-on post Noah.
    I was going to watch Lyndon again in honour but I think I’ll wait until the bluray comes out (is there a more anticipated release this year? Not bloody likely!).
    No matter how shitty the world seems to be these days we’ve always got Kubrick’s movies with us. The films themselves will never leave you feeling better about the world or humankind in general. But if you are a person who subscribes to the religion of the cinema, his films will always make you feel better about living in a world where watching these films is possible. And that is a valuable thing.

  2. Popcorn slayer says:
    March 7, 2011 at 8:11 am

    “The films themselves will never leave you feeling better about the world or humankind in general. But if you are a person who subscribes to the religion of the cinema, his films will always make you feel better about living in a world where watching these films is possible. And that is a valuable thing.”

    Very well said.

  3. RP says:
    March 8, 2011 at 7:16 am

    Everyone in the world knows that Damon and Affleck didn’t fully write “Good Will Hunting”. The article in ‘Premiere’ by William Goldman was a joke, but a true joke. They wrote parts of it, and they got help. How many scripts in Hollywood actually remain intact when they are hitting the screen?

    Damon is obviously the better actor, but was that ever a shock or a surprise to anyone?

    Why do people care so much about what directors that actors work with as well? Mark Wahlberg was still Marky-Mark until he made “Boogie Nights”. But Paul Thomas Anderson was a nobody until he made that movie. There are a ton of directors and actors out there that make great movies, and they never see the time of day, because people in the movie industry sit around and complain about the careers of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Let me tell you-they don’t give a shit-so you probably shouldn’t either.

  4. berg says:
    March 8, 2011 at 10:32 pm

    huh

  5. berg says:
    March 8, 2011 at 10:35 pm

    every year another Kubrick film becomes my “the best Kubrick film” … for a few it was Paths of Glory, then Dr. Strangelove … then Clockwork Orange … then 2001 … then parts of Eyes Wide Shut .. then Dr. Strangelove, Then The Killing on a double bill with Killer’s Kiss, then … Dr. Strangelove ….

  6. berg says:
    March 8, 2011 at 11:18 pm

    to go off on a Damon Affleck riiff during a Kubrick rant is like ordering a burger with stilton cheese well done with no mustard at a three star gourmet restaurant

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“I have to imagine from Mr. Spielberg’s point of view, the paradigm shift in the 1970s was just the new “normal,” a “halcyon era” from which we are straying in the 21st century–because theatrical exhibition is tenuous (as it has been since the 1940s), the home video market has dried up and people are watching pirated movies on their phone. Spielberg’s coming-of-age era was for him the halcyon period that the 21st century “implosion” will cause to go “crashing into the ground.” But he is wrong. The market for movies is actually diverse and highly segmented–although from the top-down movie industry vantage point and media punditry you would not think this to be true.  Would we really mourn for Mr. Spielberg or ourselves if Lincoln would have been made for cable or had played on public television?  Is it bad for humanity that cable television is creating wonderful, resonant stories in long-form series that people want to watch at home on TV (or streamed onto their computer)? I don’t think so, but it is a paradigm shift and it might affect people’s theatrical moviegoing habits. Televisions in people’s homes have had that effect for seven decades–it is not a new phenomenon. As Art House cinema impresarios we need to focus on what WE can do at our theaters and in our communities. It is not productive for us to fret over what pundits say or about what well-meaning filmmakers like the Stevens–Spielberg and Soderbergh–say. We should fret about what we can do in our communities. What we can do to support filmmakers.”
~ From A Response By Russ Collins, CEO, Michigan Theater – Ann Arbor And Director, Art House Convergence, To Mr. Spielberg

 

“Do not kick me under the table. I hate that. I don’t need you as my ­conscience, my Jewish Jiminy Cricket. Especially do not kick my boots. You know they protect my ankles. Richard Burton had great talent. He’s ruined his great gifts. He’s become a joke with a celebrity wife. Now he just works for money, does the worst shit. And I wasn’t rude. To quote Carl Laemmle, “I gave him an evasive answer. I told him, ‘Go fuck yourself.’ ” In his time, Sam Goldwyn was considered a classy producer because he never deliberately did anything that wasn’t his idea of the best quality goods. I respected him for that. He was an honest merchant. He may have made a bad ­picture, but he didn’t know it was a bad picture. And he was funny. He actually once said to me, in that high voice of his, “Orson, for you I’d write a blanket check.” He said, “With Warner Brothers, a verbal commitment isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.” Gregg Toland, who shot so many ­Goldwyn pictures, told me that in Russia, if you didn’t see every actor’s face brilliantly, they had to go back and reshoot it. Sam was the same way. Whenever there wasn’t a bright light on a star’s face for 30 ­seconds, he went nuts: “I’m paying for that face! I want to see the actor!” Long shots, all right, but no shadows.”
~ Maverick Hollywood Reniassance Man Henry Jaglom Garners Alleged Table Talk From Orson Welles With His Trusty Recorder