A Clockwork Orange has to be seen in a Cinema to appreciate just how stunning it is, (To be fair that's true of most of his later films) and for anyone who does not rate Full Metal Jacket there's nothing to be said.
All overrated pish. "The Shining" fur **** sake. ****e. To be fair, it was made from one of Stephen King's worst books. Only "Cujo" was worse. Barry Lyndon? "A Clockwork Orange" pish of the highest order. Only beaten by "Naked Lunch" as even greater pish. In fact, it might be a draw. Paths Of Glory? "Full Metal Jacket" is an annoying wee **** of a film. It promotes itself as the be all and end all of Vietnam war movies but turns out to be a ****. Stock full of cringeworthy ****e. "Dr Strangelove" - funny in parts, largely boring. Overrated.
I thought 2001 was very good. The film's theme, the birthing of one intelligence by another, is developed in two parallel intersecting stories on two very different times scales. One depicts transitions between various stages of man, from ape to "star child", as man is reborn into a new existence, each step shepherded by an enigmatic alien intelligence seen only in its artifacts: a series of seemingly indestructible eons-old black monoliths. It also depicts human interaction with our own more directly created and controlled offspring intelligence (computers). When interviewed Kubrick said that he "tried to create a visual experience, one that bypasses verbalised pigeon-holing and directly penetrates the subconscious with an emotional and philosophic content ... just as music does ... You're free to speculate as you wish about the philosophical and allegorical meaning". Today, many film critics and moviemakers regard it as the most significant Hollywood film of its generation, with Spielberg calling it his generation's "big bang". Gary Lockwood considers 2001 a "life-changer" in terms of technology and the possibilities of film, realizing it would be even during the filming: "When you've got the best moviemaker of all time, Stanley Kubrick, with one of the best sci-fi writers of all time, Arthur C. Clarke, combining, well, I kinda knew."[ But hell, what would Steven Spielberg know about movie making? Nigella describes it as "Pish" so that's that for Stanley Kubrick then. Meanwhile an alien monolith hovers above the planet, scanning the earth below for a social grouping that shows signs of latent intellect that only needs the right kind of nudge to begin its development to an intelligent species. It scans Scotland.......and moves on.
FMJ's brilliant up until they actually get to vietnam, then its just ****e. Best bit was when I was tripping on LSD and the squaddie quarters appeared to be infinite, bunk beds and ****ing pillars everywhere man.
btw Folks, even if you don't like Kubrick you should watch Paths Of Glory, it's a superb Anti War movie, perhaps the best ever? http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/paths_of_glory/ 94%
