THE KUBRICK PARTS OF THE PETER SELLERS DOC

STANLEY KUBRICK ~ 21 YEARS GONE AS OF TODAY

GET YOUR OWN 2001: A SPACE CHAIR AT AUCTION, THIS WEEK!

Check it out: Chiswick Auctions is excited to present two iconic chairs, the design of which was chosen by Stanley Kubrick for his classic 1969 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, in the Design sale at Chiswick Auctions this Tuesday, February 11th, 2020. The Djinn chairs were designed by Olivier Mourgue in 1965, while he was working for the French manufacturer Airborne International, and epitomise ’60s ‘futuristic’ design. The design has gone on to take a place in interior design history. The chairs were not designed specifically for the film, but were chosen by Kubrick and his team to create a futuristic scene in the movie, when Dr Floyd walks through the Hilton lobby of Space Station Five on his way to the moon.

R.I.P. SPARTACUS ~ KIRK DOUGLAS DIES AT 103

And, of course, Douglas also starred in (and helped to get made) the magnificent Paths of Glory, the film that arguably put Stanley Kubrick on the path towards achieving a level of directorial superstardom reached by only a tiny handful of others, before or since.

THE WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS VIDEO WITH A MORE APPROPRIATE SOUNDTRACK

WE CAN'T ALWAYS BE SUPER-SERIOUS AROUND HERE!

The folks behind the Honest Trailers channel on Youtube created a real doozy of a humdinger when they tackled Kubrick's version of The Shining. Go... check it out!

"THE MIRROR"

Here's "The Mirror", yet another wonderful video essay from our friend Anton Halldin, creator of the vast and intriguing Space: 5001 project. Be sure to subscribe to his Youtube channel, and check out his Twitter account.

”I tried to create a visual experience, one that bypasses verbalized pigeonholing and directly penetrates the subconscious with an emotional and philosophic content.”

- Stanley Kubrick

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY IS A HALL OF MIRRORS ~ A video essay by Anton Halldin

Our good friend Anton Halldin, from Gothenburg, Sweden, the man behind the epic work of obsessive Kubrickean analysis known as Space5001Odyssey.com, has been kind enough to send along his latest creative work. 

2001: A Space Odyssey is a Hall of Mirrors is a hypnotic video essay in which he posits that Stanley's well-known penchant for symmetry and matching shots is far more than a mere stylistic conceit, and that a more accurate cataloging of all the instances in which he uses his mirroring techniques could possibly lead to a better understanding of the myriad mysteries contained within his films... 2001 in particular, of course. Enjoy!

MOON SHINING, A SHORT FILM BY FABRICE MATHIEU

« MOON SHINING » or: How Stanley Kubrick shot the Apollo 11 Mission? from Fabrice Mathieu on Vimeo.

KUBRICK CRAZY STARE COLLAGE

DOUGLAS RAIN, VOICE OF HAL-9000, DEAD AT 90

Canadian stage legend Douglas Rain, the actor and entrepreneur who co-created the world-famous Stratford Shakespeare Festival and was most famous for voicing the murderous computer HAL-9000 in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey -- as well as Peter Hyams' 2010: The Year We Make Contact and a number of remarkable SCTV parody sketches -- passed away at home of natural causes at the age of 90.

Most people aren't aware that Rain was only hired after principle photography was completed, with HAL being voiced by veteran actor Martin Balsam of falling-backwards-down-a-staircase infamy in Psycho. During post, however, Kubrick found the gruff Balsam's voice was “too colloquially American,” and cast the Canadian actor after hearing his narration in the 1960 documentary Universe (which itself was a huge influence on 2001, particularly in the special effects department). In a letter to a colleague, Kubrick remarked that Rain's voice, “is neither patronizing, nor is it intimidating, nor is it pompous, overly dramatic or actorish. Despite this, it is interesting.”

UNIVERSE (1960)

SCTV 2001 PARODY featuring Douglas Rain as HAL-9000

INCREDIBLE NEWLY UNEARTHED KUBRICK MATERIAL FROM 1980!

Kubrick fanatics, today we've hit gold. UNBELIEVABLE new material, never before seen, from a Japanese documentary that never got completed. All new interview (over the phone with Stanley, but it's definitely him) and tons of paranormal discussion. FASCINATING!

AMAZING UNEARTHED 1987 AUDIO INTERVIEW W/KUBRICK BY TIM CAHILL!

This is pretty much the Holy Grail of Kubrick interviews. Definitely the latest in-depth audio interview we have from Stanley. The interview was run in the print version of Rolling Stone Magazine in the run-up to the release of Full Metal Jacket. THANKS, to TheKubrickSeries.com!

MUSIC INSPIRED BY A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

Loudwire has put together a list of 12 killer tunes that were inspired by the Stanley Kubrick classic film of the Anthony Burgess novel A Clockwork Orange. So if you've got Spotify, you can use this playlist right here...

If you DON'T have that app, no worries. You can find all of the above songs at the link... with the added bonus that most of them have videos with visual elements that are also taken directly from the film! Some of the selections will be a surprise, while some will be obvious. But, as the website notes:

Be it the novel or the cine, countless musicians have been inspired by A Clockwork Orange. From lyrics to costumes to artwork, these artists have found a way to take a timeless masterpiece and turn it into their own work of art. Below, you can find ten rock songs that have been influenced by A Clockwork Orange, as well as tons of spoilers for those who have not yet viddied or read it, so proceed with caution!

Here's my favorite of the bunch (and it's a late addition, making the playlist but not the article):

KUBRICK NEWS IN BRIEF ~ MAY 11, 2018

Oh dear God, this work of art, in which a movie camera is shown in cutaway with the interior full of movie scenes (including multiple Kubrick films), is beautiful. And what makes it even better is the fact that the camera in question is an Arriflex 35 IIC, one of Kubrick's favorite cameras, and the one he used extensively, hand-held, for Clockwork Orange. If I had walls worthy of this masterpiece, I'd scarf it up in a heartbeat.

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Music and art act Tom and Hebron have put together a tribute song/video to celebrate the half century anniversary of the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey. It's gorgeous. Enjoy!

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Horror News Network reprinted excerpts from a discussion in which David Fincher talks about the notion of a cinematic auteur. One stand out bit:

Steven Spielberg once told an incredible anecdote about visiting Stanley Kubrick in post production. They way Spielberg told it, he once asked Kubrick why he was looking at the same shot on eight different monitors. Kubrick explained that they were actually eight very slightly different takes and proceeded to explain the minor differences between each take. As a viewer, Spielberg- a clear master of profession as well- simply wasn’t looking for the same thing out of the image as Kubrick, who was attempting to perfect his vision, so the subtleties were lost on Spielberg as a viewer because all of the shots were likely near-perfect.

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Click HERE if you'd like to know what Christopher Nolan would ask Stanley Kubrick if he had the chance to ask him only one question. Actually... never mind, I'll just tell you. Actually... never mind. I'll just let HIM tell you. Check out the video beneath to find out.

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Should I even bother mentioning that a director has been chosen for the "sequel" to The Shining, called Doctor Sleep? I mean, it's going to be a sequel to the novel (and, one assumes, the absolutely dire Stephen King TV miniseries), and NOT to Kubrick's masterpiece distillation/re-imagining of King's novel. So this will probably be the last time I mention it, unless director Mike Flanagan (who admittedly did a very good job with King's Gerald's Game for Netflix last year) says something stupid about Kubrick's film.

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People are calling this ad for a doubled-up Christmas sweater "Kubrick-esque". Aside from the Shining Twins (and Kubrick's obsession with doubling in general), and the slow zoom and the perfect symmetry of the shots and the willful breaking of the 180% rule... can't say's I see it!

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Noel Vera has cooked up one of the more intriguing critical appraisals of Kubrick (and Nabokov)'s Lolita that I've ever read. It's well worth your time. And then, when you're done reading that, why not move on to this Conversation article by Margaret Leclere, in which she argues that it's time for Nabokov's legendarily huge and "unfilmable" screenplay got its due. Personally, I'd love to see it come out in book version, at least, and have always said so. Filming it, I imagine, would be an incredibly difficult proposition. But it sure would be interesting!

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J.M. Tyree's appreciation of one of Kubrick's finest transition moments - maybe even his second best after the bone-into-satellite transition from 2001 - is a fun and insightful read that has enhanced my own appreciation for said moment. Can you guess which transition it might be? Click through for a pleasant surprise, and a damn fine piece of writing!

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Say hello to the newly-discovered Dendropsophus kubricki, aka Kubrick's Tree Frog! Why Kubrick, you ask? Well, it's probably got something to do with the distinct coloration of the markings on its body, and also with Anthony Burgess once explaining the title of his novel A Clockwork Orange by saying: "I've implied the junction of the organic, the lively, the sweet - in other words, life, the orange - and the mechanical, the cold, the disciplined." You can find out more, HERE.

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As a former member of my own alma mater's college paper, it's always a nice for me to run across some quality, punchy writing in a current student newspaper. And this delight is only compounded when that writing is about a subject so dear to my own heart as the works of Stanley Kubrick. So check out Ryan Suppe's funny love letter to his cinematic crush (weren't we all there at some point), titled Kubrick: Criticizing the Greedy, Rich and Powerful Through Art.

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The great Jordan Peele explains how he snuck a Kubrick reference into his excellent, Oscar-nominated film, Get Out.