Stanley Kubrick Essay

Posted on January 22, 2019 by charlienichollsblog

Stanley Kubrick’s Essay

1964 Dr Strangelove, 1968 2001 A Space Odyssey, 1980 The Shining,1987 Full Metal Jacket.

Choose two Explain why the two films you have chosen are significant.

The two films I have chosen are 2001: A Space Odyssey and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, the reason why I have chosen these films is because these two films are his most popular films he made. The things that make these films so significant in the film industry is that these films are the type of films that changed film making forever and changed how films are made forever. The things that made the 2001: A Space Odyssey widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made In 1991, it was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” it was so different to every other film, it was a lot more like a film today rather than film before it when it is like a theatre and just a basic story line. the special effects were way ahead of it time and its quite a realistic film.

The things that made Dr. Strangelove a significant film is that the three main actors are all the same person, Peter Sellers was the actor for all of the main characters (President Merkin Muffley, Group Captain Lionel Mandrake and Dr. Strangelove) and this is a big thing because it was the first film to do that and the first film to use special make up effects of someone to make them seem like a different person.

2. Compare and contrast the two films

The differences between the two films are that 2001 has a lot less narrative, its just a lot of opening shots, and its more about the shots and how well they were done and all the special effects that were used in this film. DR. Strangelove is a more a modern film like today were it has a narrative and a story that is easy to follow.

Describe the context in which the films were created?

2001: A Space Odyssey

The context of “2001: A Space Odyssey” it “was written at the very beginning of the space age, before man first set foot on the moon in 1969. It was clearly inspired by much of the fascination with space, which gripped a nation exploring an uncharted terrain in the 1960s.”

Dr. Strangelove

The context of the film, “Dr. Strangelove” was a “film brought to theaters January 29, 1964. The fear of nuclear holocaust was still very present. Thermonuclear weapons had been tested by the U.S. in November of 1952 followed by Soviet testing in 1953. The results were more destructive and devastating than anticipated. In 1957, The Soviets launched Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit Earth. The fear of Soviet attack became even more real. This was reflected in the late 1950s and early 1960s as people in the U.S. built bomb shelters and had defense drills in schools”.

How did these films do at the box office?

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb got a 8.4 stars on IMDB

2001: A Space Odyssey got a 8.3 stars on IMDB

Which other films were released at the same time?

Mary Poppins (1964)
Bye Bye Birdie (1963)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Psycho (1960)
The Sound of Music (1965)
Bullitt (1968)

Sound: what is the role of music and sound in Kubrick’s film? Please make examples

The music in Stanley Kubricks film is there to make make you feel a certain way or to emphasise what is going on or to make a scene more dramatic or to almost explain what is happening in the scene in the context if it is good what is going on or if it is bad, he would do this by using the pace, the pitch, the feel of the music all goes in to what that music is used for in a certain part of his films, the way he uses music in the 60’s was very ahead of his time and director’s still use music in this way to this day.

How would you describe Kubrick’s cinematic signature?

The way that I would describe the cinematic in the films is that it is very photogenic, it is very clear from his films that he was a photographer before he become a film maker, a great example of this is 2001: A Space Odyssey, a lot of the shots through out of the film and especially at the beginning of the film are all very good opening shots and some of them are still shots so it they would make very good photo’s. all of his shots are aesthetically pleasing, a lot of them are also Symmetric.

Do you have a favourite film and what elements within the story lines or in the structure of his films do you relate to?

My favourite film of all time is Back To The Future films, I think what relates to me is that no one can write your future apart from you and you should always stand up for what you believe in and believe in yourself. I like the structure of the film because it has 3 different generations of people and they are played by the same actors, I don’t know for sure but this could of been inspired by Stanley Kubrick with his film Dr. Strange Love with Peter Sellers. The idea is very complicated but they made the films brilliant.

What have you learnt from Kubrick’s work that you’ll be using in your work?

I’ve learnt how to make a shot aesthetically pleasing by making it being symmetric and using one point perspective. I have also learnt that it is okay to be different and try different things because it might work and turn out really well.