"

The very meaninglessness of life forces a man to create his own meaning. Children, of course, begin life with an untarnished sense of wonder, a capacity to experience total joy at something as simple as the greenness of a leaf; but as they grow older, the awareness of death and decay begins to impinge on their consciousness and subtly erode their joie de vivre (a keen enjoyment of living), their idealism – and their assumption of immortality.

As a child matures, he sees death and pain everywhere about him, and begins to lose faith in the ultimate goodness of man. But if he’s reasonably strong – and lucky – he can emerge from this twilight of the soul into a rebirth of life’s élan (enthusiastic and assured vigor and liveliness).

Both because of and in spite of his awareness of the meaninglessness of life, he can forge a fresh sense of purpose and affirmation. He may not recapture the same pure sense of wonder he was born with, but he can shape something far more enduring and sustaining.

The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death – however mutable man may be able to make them – our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfilment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.

"

Stanley Kubrick Interview (1968) by Eric Nordern

Stanley Kubrick & Malcolm McDowell on the set of A Clockwork Orange, 1971

A Clockwork Orange (1971) dir. Stanley Kubrick

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) dir. Stanley Kubrick

2011 ended with.. a glorious 70mm screening at the lightfox

Top 5 Films of 2011:

1. Tree of Life - Terrence Malick 
2. Drive - Nicolas Winding Refn 
3. Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen 
4. The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius
5. Pina 3D - Wim Wenders

Top 5 2010 Films Screened in 2011:

1. Hubble 3D - Toni Myers
2. Meek’s Cutoff - Kelly Reichardt 
3. Beginners - Mike Mills 
4. The Illusionist - Sylvain Chomet
5. Blue Valentine - Derek Cianfrance

2011 Short List - Top 10: 

• Inni - Vincent Morisset
• Contagion - Steven Soderbergh
• Hugo 3D - Martin Scorsese
• Take Shelter - Jeff Nichols
• The Ides of March - George Clooney
• Melancholia - Lars von Trier
• The Loneliest Planet - Julia Loktev
• The Skin I Live In - Pedro Almodóvar
• Martha Marcy May Marlene - Sean Durkin
• Generation P - Victor Ginzburg

2011 Films To Watch - Top 10:

• Tyrannosaur - Paddy Considine 
• House of Pleasure - Bertrand Bonello 
• The Turin Horse - Bela Tarr
• Carnage - Roman Polanski 
• Carre Blanc -  Jean-Baptiste Léonetti
• Shame - Steve McQueen
• Into The Abyss - Werner Herzog
• A Separation - Asghar Farhadi
• The Kid With a Bike - Luc & Jean-Pierre Dardenne

Most Memorable Film Experiences From Jan - Dec 2011:

• Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives - on an airplane back home
• Enter The Void - w/ alek @ the lightfox
• Madchen in Uniform - w/ anthony & nadine @ St. Jerome’s screening room
• Black Swan - w/ D @ Princess Twin Cinema
• Y Tu Mama Tambien - w/ the crew @ sean’s basement
• Incendies - w/ D @ Original Princess Cinema
• The Illusionist - w/ sister @ Carlton Cinema
• Before Sunset & Sunrise - self
• Solyaris - 2nd viewing w/class
• The Tit and the Moon - w/ D @ Eastern European Retrospective
• Blue Valentine - 2nd viewing on birthday
• 2001: A Space Odyssey - twice this year, once blu-ray, once 70mm
• Double Life of Veronique - twice this year, once w/ class, once w/ marsh
• The White Ribbon - final screening w/ jan
• Unbreakable - early morning @ mkv
• I Saw The Devil - w/ group @ erin’s house sitting pad
• Mind Game - 2nd viewing w/ crew @ jenn’s basment
• Meek’s Cut Off - w/ sean, alek & marsh @ the lightfox
• Tree of Life - 4 times; lightfox, varsity, revue & zoom
• The Fountain - 2nd viewing w/ marsh after 10 days of meditation
• 12 Angry Men - early morning @ alek’s
• Horrible Bosses - w/ michael & bing @ yorkdale
• 8 1/2 - 2nd viewing w/ marsh & james @ the lightfox
• TIFF: On Poppy Hill, Loneliest Planet, Generation P & Melancholia
• Ratatouille - w/ kevo & jenn
• The Thin Red Line - self, multiple viewings
• Inni - w/ marsh, sean, galen, sarah & brownies
• Blair Witch Project - w/ jenn & marsh (minus kevo)
• Immortals 3D & Hugo 3D - double bill w/marsh @ fairview
• 4 film marathon: The Lookout, Valhalla Rising, Kicking and Screaming & Adaptation
• Everest & Hubble 3D - transcendence w/ the crew @ Ontario Place Imax Cinesphere
• The Artist - self on a snowy night @ Sheppard Grande
• Pina 3D - w/ michael & hooty @ the lightfox

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) dir. Stanley Kubrick

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) dir. Stanley Kubrick

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) dir. Stanley Kubrick

(via fuckyeahdirectors)

“I took this in 1969, during the filming of A Clockwork Orange. I think it was on location in Kingston, London, but I can’t remember exactly what was being shot that day. The structure you can see is a camera platform, and we were sheltering from the rain underneath it. I was chatting with Stanley Kubrick, and I thought to myself: there’s a picture here. I waited until Stanley paused, and put his hand up to stroke his hair back from his eyes – then I just took it. I didn’t have to set the focus as I had a wide-angle lens; I knew, so long as I had the right exposure, the depth of field was enough. The camera he’s holding is his Arriflex. It was for handheld work: lightweight, and stripped down to the camera body and lens.

The minute after I got the shot, there was a creaking and straining, and the platform collapsed. Stanley never normally rushed and was the calmest of men, but he was out of there like a bolting rabbit. I’d never seen anything so quick.

This was the third of Kubrick’s films I worked on: I’d also been on set for Dr Strangelove and 2001: A Space Odyssey. I was what they call a “special”, brought in for 30 or 40 days for a specific purpose. I was taking pictures of the crew because Stanley had an idea he would use them for the title sequence, but he didn’t in the end. He never gave me any particular instructions; he once told me that he asked me to work for him because I “stood in the right place”.

Before the days of digital, you had to rely on the feeling you had when you took a picture that it would be all right. I like this one very much. It’s unusual to have someone’s feet so prominent, but it doesn’t take away from his expression. He was the least lazy of men, but there’s something very relaxed about the pose.”

Dmitri Kasterine in The Guardian

fuckyeahdirectors:

Stanley Kubrick on set with Malcolm McDowell of A Clockwork Orange

submitted by dinnerinthedarkroom

oldhollywood:

 A Clockwork Orange (1971, dir. Stanley Kubrick)

Q. Alex loves rape and Beethoven: what do you think that implies?

Stanley Kubrick: I think this suggests the failure of culture to have any morally refining effect on society. Hitler loved good music and many top Nazis were cultured and sophisticated men but it didn’t do them, or anyone else, much good.

(via Kubrick: The Definitive Edition by Michel Ciment, Gilbert Adair, & Robert Bononno)