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Hadn't seen it in years. Wow has it aged well. It had always been one of my least favorite Kubrick films but I just revised that assessment. I do not remember the power of the music: Penderecki, Ligeti, and Wendy Carlos. Photography: John Alcott. Acting: I must say Shelley Duvall stole the show. What a performance. The use of steadycam was mesmerising. Every shot a masterpiece of staging, framing and lighting. On to the bluray of Barry Lyndon (my favorite Kubrick).
Follow Ups:
2001 is worse, of course... Kubrick made three-four great films, there is no need to extend that over his mediocre work.
sense of dread, the slow-motion madness of a character played by an actor previously known for his brave anti-heroism---- now become the worst imaginable monster. Kubrick was in fine form: perhaps our purest filmmaker since Griffith at the height of his form, expertly mixing music, image, editing, and framing to create a nerve-wracking vision of a man's singular descent into personal hell.
If the scenes with the bartender didn't creep you out, I'd hate to see what would.
Additionally, I found "Full Metal Jacket" an original war film: an almost impossible task considering the lengthy history of the genre. No, it didn't portray our soldiers as heroes, nor did it portray the enemy as monsters. But it did show the hideousness of war, its impact on the human psyche better than any other film I can recall. Yes, I'd have to say it's yet another Kubrick masterpiece.
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Edits: 02/27/18
...it was 2 movies, and the 2nd of the two was a misfire. I really liked the bootcamp story and performances. The whole thing comes apart in Viet Nam, and I don't think shooting at an appropriate location would have saved it. R. Lee Ermey was fantastic, though he was essentially playing himself. He gave Jack Webb, Adolfe Caesar and Burt Lancaster a run for their money as the best tough army sergeant in American film. And D'Onofrio was great too.
Exactly my thoughts. First part great. Second, wtf?
*
FMJ exteriors were so "European"--being the Docklands area of London--he lost the South east Asia "feel"--at least I thought so having lived in London and knowing the site well, pity the film had some great scenes.
It was no masterpiece like Paths of Glory though.
Des
plenty of characters in the film, Joker was merely one, though he was the central one. He certainly was as central as was Dave in 2001 (some argue Hal was the true central character of that segment).
Few films I've ever seen have conveyed the anguish, the horror, of war as did FMJ.
SPOILER:
The dilemma of rescuing a wounded comrade, and that meant certain death or injury for the rescuer, was one of the most indelible and moving scenes I've ever witnessed. Add to that the great skills of Kubrick that enhanced the power...
Back to the poor argument about central characters being key to Kubrick: what of "Dr. Strangelove?" And "Lolita?"
The fact is, Kubrick's greatness has nothing to do with his portrayal of characters; in fact, a well-worn criticism of Stanley is precisely THAT: his superficial treatment of them, subjugating them to directorial pyrotechnics.
Also, Kubrick's characters seldom, if ever, speak brilliantly. He didn't care about dialogue, pure and simple. He also didn't care for powerful performances: actors were stage pieces (Paths of Glory being an exception; note that Stanley picked a Hollywood hack to star in"Barry Lyndon"). Again, 2001 is ALL cliché. I can't think of a Kubrick film where there is witty, brilliant dialogue, with the possible exception of "Lolita;" that, however, was because of Nabokov!
The brilliance of FMJ precisely is its originality. It doesn't follow the typical rah-rah war film nor does it tread the anti-war path: it is an original take on the genre. It shows how war debilitates men from the inside, unlike Paths of Glory that showed how the command structure led to inhumanity. In FMJ, we see how the corrupting influence of life-and-death pressure leads "free" men to inhuman acts, voluntarily. It is a highly disturbing film with no positive "message." In this, it returns to one of the central questions raised in 2001: is there some deep flaw inherent in humans?
N/T
" Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination." -Michael McClure
fdsfds
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Edits: 02/27/18
Although the buildings were too tall and densely packed for a Vietnamese city it was close enough. There really was Euro-style building-to-building fighting there.
Kubrick, unfortunately, would never leave the UK and that led to some inaccuracies in backgrounds. Close enough, though.
... missing in FMJ for me.
I remember seeing "Full Metal Jacket" with great anticipation, then leaving the theater letdown with a "That was Kubrick?" disbelief.
This after having savored the lush "Barry Lyndon" as my favorite Kubrick work overall.
Perhaps it is time I revisit FMJ these decades later.
unbalanced. It also conveys a sense of disarray as if no one is in charge which is what most vets say.
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Vietnamese perspective. None. It was as if it was all about the American soldiers and their inner anguish. Awwwwww... Poor guys that went off to kill several million people in their own country and they had some confusion issues. Yeah, it was all about us. And as if we were fighting phantoms, non-humans. Watching this deeply morally flawed film, you'd think the US was the victim.
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It was not about the Vietnamese perspective as it was designed to speak to the enablers and modifiers of that war in the USA...from the President to te Joint Chiefs, to the Army at large and the citizen on the street.
BUT, the Vietnamese (their culture, their willingness to fight and ability to accept horrendous punishment to succeed) played large as a shadow charactor throughout the whole film.
J.B.
and Harrison Ford's "talk" with Sheen to send him up the river. God, that was good.
The miracle of AN is that is was released just over three years after the fall. That's a fast, brave turnaround.
,.
FMJ is the dud in the Kubrick oeuvre. Aside from the first half (bootcamp), which my sources tell me is dead on accurate, one leaves the film with a sense of vacuousness, missed opportunities, and embarassing cliches, as you note. The mickey mouse ending was atrocious.
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Edits: 02/27/18
I thought Ermey was the central character.
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Edits: 02/27/18
that's how it's done.
fds
I saw it at the theater when it came out, and thought it was good, but not great. My feeling was that it was the best movie based on a Steven King book, but the worst Kubrick film. Of course, Full Metal Jacket wasn't out yet, and since then it's become my least favorite...
However, on repeat viewings (perhaps 5 or more) I now like The Shining a lot more! Full Metal Jacket, after at least three viewings, seems almost worse each time.
Yes, Shelly Duvall was great! If you haven't seen it yet, check out her performance in Altman's 3 Women!
followed by Stand By Me.
"I'd like to own a squadron of tanks"
:-)
Martin Sheen very scary
Altho the screenplay explained the Dead Zone wrong, vis a vis the book's explanation, but given that, still a good film.
"I'd like to own a squadron of tanks"
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Edits: 02/27/18
Are you happy with the transfer?
Baba-Booey to you all!
Recently got a new Panasonic plasma and bluray player and I am in film heaven.
...is better than the snoozer I recall seeing at the theater when it first came out.
Trapped in a lodge with no cable and internet, who wouldn't go crazy?
nt
nt
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