So I watched The Shining after many years this last month, and watching a few Kubrick documentaries afterwards. I realized that there are quite a few films in Kubrick’s oeuvre (Lolita, Paths of Glory, Eyes Wide Shut to name a few) that I haven’t seen in many, many a moon. So I decided the other day that I wanted to watch his entire oeuvre (filmography) chronologically from Fear and Desire (1953) to Eyes Wide Shut (1999). That’s thirteen films. And then I decided to just post here and see who else (if anyone) would be interested in joining me in the attempt. Nothing except Fear and Desire is free to stream, I plan to rent and spend dinero, so be forewarned.
Please answer the below poll and chime in below if you are interested in a Virtual Kubrick-fest and discussion.
How Many Kubricks can you take in a week safely?
One
Two
Three
Do I need to eat before I take a Kubrick or should it be on an empty stomach?
Neve been a Kubrick fan. Great cinematographer though. But his films never did anything for me except make me want to watch something else. I haven’t seen Dr Steangelove though. Maybe that is his good film.
I’ll let you guys in on a shameful little secret: I’m not much of a Kubrick fan. Now, I say that despite being a pretty big fan of The Shining and considering 2001 to be one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. But that’s pretty much it. I don’t hate the others, I just can’t really say I like them all that much. They don’t really resonate with me. Ah, that’s better. On with the poll!
I feel like wuth most Kubrick films I’ve seen, there’s one half of an incredible film in there. Full Metal Jacket is the most obvious example, but I think 2001 is similar. The Shining… I have a hard time looking at that one objectively due to my love of the novel. And I think Eyes Wide Shut might be my favorite?
Not sure I’m up for rewatching the ones I’ve seen many times, given my backlog, but I’d be up for seeing the handful I haven’t (everything before Paths of Glory, basically), and I’ll chime in on the others.
Ok, based on all the above, I guess there is enough interest to what would essentially slow down my Kubrick re-view as we’ll get some good discussion out of it.
The poll’s numerical answer is 1.5 Kubricks (well, 1.45 really), which tells me that one a week should be standard, but we could squeeze in 2 on a given week once or twice. Which means this re-view and discussion should get wrapped up by mid-November latest (which is good - everyone will dissipate and go do other things once we get near Thanksgiving).
Later today or tomorrow, I’ll post a thread for the first week’s viewing and Post a link here. Each week will get its own thread in the same way (with the next week’s viewing getting made as a new thread and a link posted in the old thread, keeping discussion to that film in a self-contained thread, but letting followers of a thread know that a new one is up).
Not available for streaming meaning not even on Prime or Netflix?
I’ve watched his films a number of times, written papers about them even. But I’m usually up for watching again.
My dirty little secret: in 1989, I watched every John Waters film over a 3-day period, to write a paper for a conference. I’ve not been the same since…
Not free for streaming. Meaning that they cost money. I’ll be posting links where they can be streamed in each film’s (or films’) thread when it comes up.
Wish I could get in on this but my viewing time is very limited these days. Maybe I’ll feel the urge to weigh in on the ones I know practically by heart (Paths, Strangelove, Clockwork, 2001).
Ok, I’m a little late, but I still had a Netflix membership going, which expires tomorrow. So before I join Prime video, I’ll try to join in and catch up on the Kubrick-fest. I absolutely love everything about his later films, so I’ve been very curious about his early films.