Film Formalism

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Film Formalism

• Stanley Kubrick
• as a Formalist Filmmaker

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Table of Contents

• 1) Stanley Kubrick
• 2) 2001 A Space Odyssey
• 3) Barry Lyndon

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Stanley Kubrick

• Kubrick as Auteur (who stamps unmistakable
  personality and vision on his/her films)
• Kubrick as formalist

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Stanley Kubrick

• At the age of 16 his photos were published in the
  Look magazine. Employed as a photographer and
  contributed 600 photos to the magazine.
• His formative years
• Nurturing and demonstrating keen visual sense

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Stanley Kubrick

• Kubricks first film
• Self-financed short documentary, Day of the Fight
  (1951)
• Documentary on prizefighters
• Look magazine photojournalism documentary film
• Capturing mood and atmosphere - the primary aim
  of his documentary films

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Stanley Kubrick

• Three documentary films (1951-2)
• 13 feature films (1953-1999)
• Fear and Desire (1953) the first feature - about
  four soldiers trapped behind the enemy line and
  their escape is sidetracked by a woman and an
  enemy general.

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Stanley Kubrick

• Killers Kiss (1955) - a prizefighter intervenes
  when a girl is assaulted by her employer/lover.
  This incident brings the two together and the
  fighter is threatened to be killed.
• The Killer (1956) getting out of prison, a man
  masterminds a race track heist but the plan is
  made complicated by various people.

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Stanley Kubrick

• Paths of Glory (1957) - the bureaucracy of the
  French army execute three of its soldiers on
  charges of cowardice.
• Though the narrative and the theme are simple,
  Kubrick manages to create powerful images by
  frequently using telephoto lenses.
• Spartacus (1960)

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Stanley Kubrick

• Kubricks self-exile to England
• Lolita (1962) - the first work of an auteur.
  Controversial motif and his camera captures the
  danger and allure of lust. Kubrick discovered in
  this film Peter Sellers.

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Stanley Kubrick

• Highly aesthetic composition
• Eloquent photography
• Powerful acting
• Creative and masterful editing
• Thought-provoking themes
• The deciding factor

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Stanley Kubrick

• Dr. Strangelove or how I learned to stop
  worrying and love the bomb (1964) a US Air
  Force general goes insane and orders a nuclear
  attack on Soviet Union.

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Stanley Kubrick

• US President and his advisors try to recall
  bombers to stop a nuclear war.
• Expressionistic set 130 ft (w) x 100 ft (l) x
  35 ft (h) in Shepperton Studios with gigantic
  map, shiny black floor, and a circle of lights.

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Stanley Kubrick

• Eely, satiric ending montage of shots of
  mushroom clouds taken from US nuclear tests and
  bombing of Nagasaki
• Mixed with a hit song, Vera Lynns We Will Meet
  Again

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Stanley Kubrick

• 2001 A Space Odyssey (1968) - SF film

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Stanley Kubrick

• Clockwork Orange (1971) - Adaptation of Anthony
  Burgess novel extremely violent juvenile
  delinquent is captured and put on a trial
  rehabilitation programme via psychological
  conditioning.

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Stanley Kubrick

• Use of 9.8 mm wide-angle lenses to emphasize the
  films dream quality
• Futuristic set and costume design mixed with
  contemporary 1970s styles.

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Stanley Kubrick

• Bedroom sex scenes are shown slow and fast
  motion.
• Display of unemotional, mechanical and inhumane
  nature of the activities.

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Stanley Kubrick

• Barry Lyndon (1974) - a history film / costume
  drama

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Stanley Kubrick

• Shining (1980) - Horror film based on Steven
  Kings novel. A caretaker writer of an
  off-season hotel is influenced by a supernatural
  being and goes insane trying to murder his wife
  and son.

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Stanley Kubrick

• Full Metal Jacket (1987) - the training of
  Vietnam recruits and the corruption of the
  narrator in the war.
• Eyes Wide Shut (1999) -

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2001 A Space Odyssey

• Made in 1968, a year after Bonnie and Clyde
• Took two and a half year and cost 10.5 million.

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2001 A Space Odyssey

• Mythic vision of the relationship between man and
  machine
• Philosophical contemplation

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2001 A Space Odyssey

• Audacious visual design and use of colours
• Bold use of music, Richard Strauss Also Sprach
  Zaratustra

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2001 A Space Odyssey

• Very bold Associative cut (graphic match)
• Ellipsis of several million years from the
  prehistoric age to 2001

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2001 A Space Odyssey

• Simplified and geometrical set design and
  composition
• (Mismatching) Juxtaposition of Johan Strauss
  Blue Danube and the floating space station

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2001 A Space Odyssey

• In Section II a monolith similar to the one which
  appeared in Section I is found. Inexplicable
  experiences on Saturn.
• In Section III a battle between astronauts and
  the super computer, HAL.
• State of art composition and editing

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2001 A Space Odyssey

• Section IV
• The surviving astronauts hallucinatory trip
  through space and time

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2001 A Space Odyssey

• The astronaut arrives as an old man in a white
  bedroom furnished in Louis XVI style.
• The final frame - his rebirth as embryonic
  Star-Child.

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2001 A Space Odyssey

• Being enigmatic, mystical and sensuous, what is
  2001 A Space Odyssey about?
• It resists interpretation.
• The film is essentially a nonverbal experience
  It attempts to communicate more to the
  subconscious and the feelings than it does to the
  intellect. Stanley Kubrick

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Barry Lyndon

• The film almost equal to 2001 Space Odyssey in
  historical importance
• Historical drama made in 1975 and based on
  William Thackerays novel in the 19th century

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Barry Lyndon

• Exterior scenes were mainly shot in Ireland.
• Designs were made after landscape paintings of
  Antoine Watteau

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Barry Lyndon

• Costume and hair design made after Thomas
  Gainsboroghs portrait paintings.

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Barry Lyndon

• Interior scenes were given 18 th century feel
• Behaviours
• Emulated from William Hogarth paintings

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Barry Lyndon

• Expressively lit and photographed
• Most sensuous photography
• Photographed by John Alcott, (Clockwork Orange
  and Shining) over 300 days between 1973 and 74
• Shot only with candle lights without electric
  lights