Stanley Kubrick: Picture Perfect Vision

geekologymag
Dec 4, 2014
3 min read

By Paolo Maquiraya

“Here’s Johnny!” Somewhere, somehow you’ve probably heard that line, or some parody of it, accompanied by a head popping in through a crack in a door. How about, “I’m sorry Dave, I can’t do that” as you stare into a red eye. These are two of the most iconic lines of dialogue and both come from the mind of acclaimed director Stanley Kubrick, the subject of the latest exhibition at TIFF Bell Lightbox that opened on Oct. 31st and runs through Jan. 25.

Kubrick had a storied career spanning nearly 50 years, from his first feature film Fear and Desire in 1953 up until Eyes Wide Shut in 1999, which was released posthumously following his sudden death in March of that year. Known as a perfectionist and gifted storyteller, many of his films have gone on to become iconic pieces of pop culture.

“The reason that Kubrick’s films endure is because they are so meticulously made,” said Steven Attanasie, associate editor for SK Intertainment. “They can be enjoyed by a variety of people with varying tastes. He appeals most obviously to cinephiles, but nerds love 2001, fans of black humour love Dr. Strangelove, military people love Full Metal Jacket, teens love A Clockwork Orange, horror fans love The Shining, historians love Barry Lyndon and pervs love Eyes Wide Shut.“

Those very same fans can now learn about their favourite Stanley Kubrick films at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. There, fans both old and new can reflect on what has made his films so impactful and unlike any other filmmaker.

“I think Kubrick made movies that forced me to think, which made me want to re-watch his work multiple times. His shot composition and storytelling were extremely visual,” said Harold Canlas, a behaviooral science student and exhibit attendee.

“His attention to detail was insane—the way he would change the placement of objects on a table in between shots to make the viewer uncomfortable and you can really appreciate those details.”

For instance, even though A Clockwork Orange was released in 1975, the iconic imagery of the film can still be this day. The animated series The Simpsons paid tribute to the Kubrick film with its own parody segment as part of its annual Tree House of Horrors special this past Halloween. “Referencing Kubrick makes one seem film literate,” Attanasie said. “I think The Simpsons is perhaps the greatest pop culture contribution to society as a whole, and often it’s because the writing staff are fans of Kubrick.”

Perhaps the reason why he is so referenced in pop culture is due to this reputation as a perfectionist, which started from humble beginnings as a photojournalist.

“He comes out of photography,” said Seth Feldman, a professor in the department of film at York University. “He slowly got interested in making films, but his interest was always in the look of a film because of his background in photography and became a perfectionist in how films look.”

Kubrick’s perfectionist ways covered all aspects of his films, especially with the accuracy of every element on screen, including sets. In his 1964 farce film, Dr. Strangelove it is made apparent in his recreation of an American bomber where a good chunk of the film takes place.

“He reconstructed the inside of the bomber so precisely that the American military got nervous because they thought he was stealing official secrets from them,” Feldman said. “It turns out he had just gone through a lot of airplane magazines that showed bits and pieces that he put together.”

His final film, Eyes Wide Shut, notoriously holds the record for longest filming shoot at 400 consecutive days with the movie spending another year in post-production before the finished copy was presented to Warner Bros. by Kubrick. His demand for perfection was shown through then-powerhouse couple Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, who signed open-ended contracts for Eyes Wide Shut not knowing when the enigmatic director would complete the project.

For Attanasie, if anything was evident from his body of work, his eye for detail and penchant for precision it is that Kubrickput his “very life, time and essence” into each and every one one of his creations. They are a standing testament to the creative genius that he has been recognized for his body of work.

“More than anything else, his work endures because he created it to endure,” Attanasie said. “So much entertainment is disposable and Kubrick always approached everything he did with an eye toward immortality.“