Movie Review - Stanley Kubrick
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Stanley Kubrick (1929-1999): Challenging the Darker Side of Your Mind (Part 1)

Guest commentary by Dan Berman

Stanley Kubrick, from his earliest film production called A Day at the Fight (1951) to his 1964 film, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, has set a standard few filmmakers have ever been able to match. The man must be mentioned with another legendary filmmaker, Alfred Hitchcock (Birds, Psycho) who literally invented the horror/suspense genre.

Kubrick can be described by the following words: “secretive”; “reclusive”; “strange”; “mysterious”; and “cold”. This was how people who knew him well explained him. He always had a generally pessimistic outlook on humanity and always presented a disenchanted, sardonic view in his films.

It's extraordinary and most of all brilliant that a man like filmmaker Stanley Kubrick has redefined motion pictures. He penetrates our minds with a dark yet intriguing look into worlds that only he can understand or explain. Stanley has brought us in and out of these worlds with films like The Shining (1980), A Clockwork Orange (1971), into an outer space fantasy with 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), and one of the most compelling and fascinating military films ever, Full Metal Jacket (1987). Only Kubrick can conjure up such an array of characters caught in spellbinding tales of mystery, suspense, and horror.

In my mind, he will always be the genius behind films like Spartacus (1960), Killer's Kiss (1955), The Killing (1956), and Paths of Glory (1957).

Stanley died on March 7, 1999 with forty years in the filmmaking business but only thirteen films to his name and I will certainly remember the man and his work.

Following are two of my favorite Stanley Kubrick films that have not only caught my attention but also my utmost respect for a true filmmaking mogul.

Movie Review

Full Metal JacketFull Metal Jacket (1987)
Starring: Matthew Modine (Joker), Adam Baldwin (Animal Mother), Vincent D'
Onofrio (Gomer Pyle/Leonard Lawrence), Lee Ermey (Gunnery Sergeant Hartman) and
Kevyn Major-Howard (Rafter man)

Matthew Modine plays the part of the wisecracking soldier (Joker) and they could not have picked a better person for the job. The young and talented actor pulled off one of the most incredible performances of the film.

I thought Martin Sheen (Catch me if you Can, Monument Ave., American President) did an exquisite performance in his brutal war drama Apocalypse Now (1979). I must admit that Full Metal Jacket has to be considered one of the greatest cinematic war films of all-time and right up there with Apocalypse Now with its stunning look into military combat.

Vincent D'Onofrio in the role of the innocent but not so bright Gomer Pyle/Leonard Lawrence, comes through brilliantly as a man who is taken to emotional and physical extremes.

If you ever have a chance to examine one of the greatest war films of all-time please do so. I highly recommended it.

A Clockwork OrangeA Clockwork Orange (1971)
Starring: Malcolm McDowell (Alexander DeLarge/Alex Burgess), Patrick Magee (Frank Alexander), Michael Bates (Chief Guard)

If you are looking for a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type film, A Clockwork Orange is certainly a great example. Malcolm McDowell, who actually plays one individual, is torn between Jekyll/Hyde dilemmas. After some ruthless experimentation, a man whose goals were once rape, and ultra-violence becomes civilized A Clockwork Orange's wonderfully eerie musical score and disturbing visuals take it into a dark realm all of its own.

Dan Berman

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