#6 – Junho – Ciclo Stanley Kubrick

Sobre Kubrick:
Kubrick was noted for the scrupulous care with which he chose his subjects, his slow method of working, the variety of genres he worked in, his technical perfectionism and his reclusiveness about his films andpersonal life.(…) Kubrick is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative, influential and intriguing directors in the history of cinema. In fact, he directed a number of highly acclaimedand often controversial films that have often been perceived as a reflection of hisobsessive and perfectionist nature. His films are characterized by a formal visual style and meticulous attention to detail –often combining elements of surrealism andexpressionism with an ironic pessimism, while also being among the “most original,provocative, and visionary motion pictures ever made”.

1 – Paths of Glory (1957)
“it was the 1957 antiwar masterpiece Paths of Glory that catapulted Kubrick to international acclaim(…) one of the most powerful films about the wasteful insanity of warfare(…) In the wake of some of the most authentic and devastating battle sequences ever filmed, Kubrick brilliantly explores the political machinations and selfish personal ambitions that result in battlefield slaughter and senseless executions.“

2 – Clockwork Orange (1971)
“quartet of droogs, a vicious group of young hoodlums who spend their nights stealing cars, fighting rival gangs, breaking into people’s homes, and raping women. While other directors would simply exploit the violent elements of such a film without subtext, Kubrick maintains Burgess’s dark, satirical social commentary(…) Clockwork Orange works on many levels–visual, social, political, and sexual–and is one of the few films that hold up under repeated viewings. Kubrick not only presents colorfully arresting images, he also stylizes the film by utilizing classical music (and Wendy Carlos’s electronic classical work) to underscore the violent scenes, which even today are disturbing in their display of sheer nihilism.“

3 – Shining (1980)
“is an existential Road Runner cartoon (his steadicam scurrying through the hotel’s labyrinthine hallways), in which the cavernously empty spaces inside the Overlook mirror the emptiness in the soul of the blocked writer, who’s settled in for a long winter’s hibernation.(…)The Shining gets under your skin and chills your bones; it stays with you, inhabits you, haunts you. And there’s no place to hide…“

4 – 2001 – Space Odyssey (1968)
“In keeping with the director’s underlying theme of dehumanization by technology(…)2001 a film like no other, though dated now that its postmillennial space exploration has proven optimistic compared to reality. Still, the film is timelessly provocative in its pioneering exploration of inner- and outer-space consciousness. With spectacular, painstakingly authentic special effects that have stood the test of time, Kubrick’s film is nothing less than a cinematic milestone–puzzling, provocative, and perfect.“

Nuno Ferreira