Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001) 142m
It was a shame that we had to wait for one of the cinema's greatest directors to die before we got this overview of his career, especially since this documentary reveals that Kubrick had intended to give some interviews to 'set the record straight' after completion of his last film, EYES WIDE SHUT. Nevertheless, there should be enough in its two and a half hours to satisfy most movie buffs. As it's directed by Kubrick's brother-in-law Jan Harlan, and features interviews with his sister, daughters and widow Christiane, it's reasonable to expect a personal account of Kubrick 'the man'. Instead, the film sticks to its title and presents a chronology of his movies, revealing incidental information about Kubrick along the way. It adds up to a great homage - as well as a generous selection of clips (including his debut documentary DAY OF THE FIGHT), we are treated to rare home movies, behind-the-scenes footage and a huge cast list of famous faces talking about their association with the director. The expected film-makers make appearances - Spielberg, Mazursky (who starred in FEAR AND DESIRE), and Scorsese (reiterating views about BARRY LYNDON from his presentation A PERSONAL JOURNEY THROUGH AMERICAN MOVIES) - alongside a few odd choices like Woody Allen and Alex Cox. There's also a surprising contribution from composer Gyorgy Ligeti. Sadly, many of the star players of Kubrick's earlier films are no longer with us, leaving Peter Ustinov (SPARTACUS) as the sole representative of the old guard. It's hard not to be satisfied with the lineup that A LIFE IN PICTURES presents but it would have been interesting to have heard the impressions of Sue Lyon and Danny Lloyd, the only two actors to work with Kubrick as youngsters.
As the chronology progresses the amount of screen time spent on the films increases - in effect because Kubrick's work is becoming more ambitious and there are more interview subjects at hand. There is even time spent on films that Kubrick didn't get to make: NAPOLEON was pulled from production after the poor box-office showings of a rival film on the same subject, ARYAN PAPERS was pre-empted and defused a little by SCHINDLER'S LIST, and A.I. was eventually handed over to Spielberg after years of development. It's as near-complete a filmography (and non-filmography) as you could hope for, although Kubrick's ill-fated association with Marlon Brando's western ONE-EYED JACKS is noticeably absent. It's interesting to see not only the processes and rationale involved in making each film, but also the public and critical reaction afterwards. As the documentary points out, Kubrick became his own worst enemy by having to follow up each successive film with something even better. By the time of BARRY LYNDON and THE SHINING, expectations were crushing the productions well before their premieres. It was impossible for Kubrick to be innovative for every new film (which may explain the increasing gaps between each new project) but A LIFE IN PICTURES also reminds us that his work nevertheless remained unique, copying from no other cinema product before it; even a practise as basic as the use of established music can be traced back to his incorporation of Vera Lynn in DR STRANGELOVE and Strauss in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.
A LIFE IN PICTURES opens with a barrage of newspaper clippings that label Kubrick as obsessive and reclusive. By the film's end there would seem little evidence that would suggest otherwise, although Harlan manages to create a connection to the warmer side of Kubrick's personality by keeping the documentary's tone engaging (the film clips also provide much of its humor). Many anecdotes from Kubrick's family and friends are funny because of the popular image of the director as a perfectionist or control freak (e.g. one of his daughters produces a set of instructions about the family pets that is meticulous to say the least). The home movies of Kubrick goofing around for the camera as a child (in 1940!)are priceless - it comes full circle when we see him filming his own children. Fittingly, it's Christiane, who he fell in love with while directing her in PATHS OF GLORY, that gets the film's great final line. A LIFE IN PICTURES is more than a homage; it's also a gift.
sburridge@hotmail.com
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