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Wow. I knew he hated to travel, I just always assumed that because so many of his films were shot there and were UK releases that he was like a Hitchcock who didn't take to LA. I guess maybe I'm less impressed at his ability to nail American culture.
Registered: Sep 2000
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Depends what you mean by "nailling" American culture. A complete list of his films reads thus:-
Day of the Fight (1951) Flying Padre (1951) The Seafarers (1953) Fear and Desire (1953) Killer's Kiss (1955) The Killing (1956) Paths of Glory (1957) Spartacus (1960) Lolita (1962) Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) A Clockwork Orange (1971) Barry Lyndon (1975) The Shining (1980) Full Metal Jacket (1987) Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
. . . The first three being short documentary films, the first two of which I've seen and are superb snapshots of little bits of '50's Americana.
Beyond that, how many of his feature-films are about (or even set in) America? Fear and Desire I've not seen so can't say; Killer's Kiss and The Killing I have, and are; Lolita and Dr. Strangelove are, but do suffer because of the international casting and (obviously) English location-shooting; then you have nothing until the Shining, FMJ and EWS. So are you saying his films aren't American enough?
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Oh no, to the contrary. It's just that though Lolita and Strangelove feature British characters and actors in decidedly USA contexts, they seem to realistically convey an intimate familiarity and comfort with (perhaps even a healthy disdain for) American culture, but not from an outsiders perspective. The speech patterns, themes and setting of FMJ might be a more contemporary example. Is what I meant by 'nailing' American culture. And when I thought he was British, this was all the more surprising and impressive. His nationality in no way diminishes his brilliance, I just didn't know. I've not seen much of his early work, certainly no documentaries. I'd be curious to, certainly.
As an aside, this discussion of Kubrik enables me to post this image of Gnarls Barkley which makes me extremely happy:
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The two doco's I've watched are interesting, yes, but really their main appeal lies in the fact that they are Kubrick's early work. Killer's Kiss I've seen but din't like much, it seemed a rather nasty story - just not my thing I guess.
The Killing remains one of the best heist movies ever, the only problem I have with it is that when the leader of the gang is arrested at the end, it feels tacked on, because at the time it was required that criminals not be seen to profit from their activities - quite literally, in Hollywood films crime must not be seen to pay! On the other hand, it may be that Sterling Hayden's getting caught ties in with the overall motif of a good plan brought down by tragic circumstances, but it doesn't matter, because you know he's going to get caught because that's what always happened in films of that era!
quote:Originally posted by B.J.: Forbidden Planet = sci-fi version of Shakespeare's "The Tempest"
Exactly...though many would call it a "update" "remake" or even "tribute", but so few fans of the film realise what they're watching that any discription works.
Lots of cool Shakespere movies are around- see John Turturro in Men of Respect for a fantastic (mobster) MacBeth flick.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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I'm partial to Daffy as Rotwang. Porky Pig as Freder's dad.
While I do get the The Tempest/Forbidden Planet connection, I guess maybe I'm not seeing how they've been directly ripped off by/for Star Trek.
Registered: Sep 2000
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Hmmm...I could squint and sorta see a Prospero/Caliban/Arial comparison with Soong/Lore/Data but that's about it.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
No. Forbidden Planet borrows its plot, loosely, from The Tempest. What Trek took from Forbidden Planet was the concept, the idea of ordinary, altogether-human humans going around exploring the galaxy. The quasi-military look, the notion of an all-American heroic captain backed-up and advised by his senior staff. What needs to be emphasised is that just because FP = Tempest, and Trek = FP, does NOT mean that therefore Trek = Tempest.
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