Level 33 Entertainment
Coming to Digital on March 21, 2023
To watch a documentary by Gregory Monro about Kubrick by Kubrick is very revealing. In a work that’s composed of archival footage, photographs and audio interviews, we venture into his world that’s not necessarily oblique. It was slated to be released in 2020, but due to the pandemic and getting this work to distribution, more years would pass before it can become accessible to the masses to view.
It’s rare to understand any individual unless you’ve spent a lot of time with him, but since he passed away in 1999, it’ll be tough to ask him what prompted him to develop those movies me made that way. Stanley Kubrick is a visionary and this work is based on the interviews conducted by French film critic / magazine editor Michel Ciment. Through some newly found recordings, he explains why he’s created works like A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket. As a result, we learn they represent a side of him which wants to explore society and the ills that come with it.
On the other end of the spectrum is his adaptation of Steven King’s The Shining, which represents his oeuvre on redefining what being haunted means. However, the list doesn’t stop there. I particularly enjoyed what he had to say about adapting Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. He wanted to make it a transformative experience, and anyone who’s still puzzled at the ending because they haven’t read the book doesn’t have to feel alone.
Thankfully, we have other talents who explain what it’s like working with him. To name a few, we get to hear from Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Vincent D’Onofrio, Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise. They say he’s tough, and it’s emoted out with a sense of admiration than the opposite. Because Kubrick is such a perfectionist, to work with him is no doubt stressful.
And regarding what’s revealed about Eyes Wide Shut helped me understand that film more. It’s hailed as his “greatest contribution to the art of cinema,” but to know why requires meditating on everything that’s said. As a result, I consider Kubrick by Kubrick essential viewing.
5 Stars out of 5
Kubrick by Kubrick Documentary Trailer
