Iraq......Vietnam Bush.....Nixon
from the Full Metal Jacket script by Hasford, Herr & Kubrick:
high ranking military officer: "Marine! What is that on your body armour?"
Joker: "A peace button, Sir!"
high ranking military officer: "Is that supposed to be some kind of sick joke?"
Joker: "I think I was trying to suggest the duality of man, Sir."
high ranking military officer: "What?"
Joker: "The duality of man, sir- the Jungian thing, sir."
high ranking military officer: "Whose side are you on, son?"
Joker: "Our side, sir"
high ranking military officer: "Don't you love your country?"
Joker: "Yes sir".
high ranking military officer: "Well why don't you come on in for the big win? We are here in Vietnam to help the Vietnamese because inside every gook is an AMERICAN, trying to get out. We must keep our heads together until this peace shit blows over".
Joker: "Yes sir".
Use of music a hallmark of Kubrick's genius and precision
Kubrick's use of pre-existing music is a mark of his genius--think of Singing in the Rain and the Gazza Ladra overture in Clockwork Orange; the waltz and Thus Spake Zarathustra in 2001. I didn't realize that the choice of musical background could be so brilliant until Kubrick entered my awareness. I thought it was just schlocky soaring strings a la Douglas Sirk or Nicholas Ray, heavy-handed "heightening" a la Bernard Hermann, or the arty disassociation in French Nouvelle Vague flicks of baroque sewing maching music or a Brahms Sextet in "The Lovers" (wonderful, but not the power and irony of Kubrick's choices).
Yes sir Kubrick knows music
I love watching "The Making of the Shining". In it you see Kubrick drop the needle on "Midnight, The Stars, and You" (vinyl) when he's shooting the ballroom scene in the Overlook Hotel. How many other directors work like that?
None. At least Tarantino and Scorsese are still making films...
Chris Isaac is a guy who cranks out great music. When I first saw the trailer for Eyes Wide Shut I let out a yelp. "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing" was/is one of my favorite songs, and realizing Kubrick used it blew me away. I was actually disappointed that he didn't segue into something other than the "bedroom argument" scene. Tom & Nicole groping in the mirror could have led up to a brilliant scene. I can't say exactly what I was expecting, but it was other than the bedroom scene we were given.
Kubrick apparently has a record collection to die for. He collected all of the original Deutsch Gramophon albums (classical music), and he loved the Beatles- you can see their Magical Mystery Tour album in Clockwork Orange. (It's during the scene in the Chelsea Drugstore when Alex asks if the records he ordered have come in yet. Above the counter- look hard)
Does anybody know that Kubrick gave The Beatles the extra footage from Dr. Strangelove (the arial footage of Greenland used for the "Attack Plan R" scenes) to use in Magical Mystery Tour? It is used when Jolly Jimmy says "If you look to your left, ladies and gentlemen, the view is not very inspiring. AHHHH, but if you look to your right....." the instrumental track Flying begins, and we take a psychedelic trip via Strangelove...
Yeah, but not quite what I meant
Those are interesting anecdotes, Johann, but I don't think they particularly illustrate the genius of Kubrick's use of music in his films. The fact that he has a complete set of Deutsche Grammophon classical albums, or that he plugged the Beatles, or used a cool Chris Isaak song that you particularly liked, hardly illustrate the cinematic brilliance and orignality of his use of music in his movies. What I was talking about was a uniquely original coordination of sound and image; Kubrick's ability to find a perfect piece of music to back up (1) the dawn of tool-making, (2) the smooth flight of a space ship, (3) the antics of young hooligans in a way that is startling, but seems perfectly right once you see it; that makes the sequence unforgettable, not so much for the music itself, but for the juxtaposition of that music with those images. To some extent Tarantino has that ability too, though his penchant for 70's and 80's pop/soul nostalgia limits him in a way that Kubrick wasn't.
Of course I want unforgettable--didn't Kubrick, always?
You've got lots of good examples. I just mention the few that strike me the most; that struck me tremendously at the time. Probably "Ludwig von" in Clockwork Orange, too, though that was a choice dictated by Burgess' book.
The music is gorgeous in Barry Lyndon. As are the images. Let's not forget the development of special camera technology to shoot by candlelight, a great wedding of period and tech.
...he commissioned her to do a piece for Gangs of New York. (A deadly piece, btw)
Deadly in what sense?
THE SHINING TRAILOR OF THE ELEVATOR AND THE BLOOD: As you may know, PT Anderson watched a lot of trailors when preparing to design his for Magnolia (and any good director is a fool, I'd think, not to design his own--they're so bad nowadays, so offputting) and in interviews he especiallyl noted the Kubrick one for The Shining as an example of what a trailor should be--a teaser, and a powerful one. This thing of telling us the whole story, blowing all the important scenes, has just got to go.