Friday 20 August 2010

Stanley Kubrick Poster Gallery


Stanley Kubrick is one of the few (if not the only) filmmaker to make me feel stupid and intellectually inadequate. My first encounter with his films as a 16 year old weened on a steady diet of mindless Hollywood blockbusters and dumb franchise horror made me aware for the first time of the intellectual potential of cinema. The film was 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and never has a film made me feel so small and insignificant. The sense of space and the eternity of the stars was somehow deeply disturbing too me, and the philosophical propositions only something I could feebly grasp at. The questions the film raised, its formal audaciousness, its method of storytelling, were all things that would eventually lead to me studying film up to and including post-graduate level. I only have a phd left, and I have Kubrick's film to partly thank for this. I could also lay my student debt at the pod bay doors of The Discovery, but I dont think I'll get much financial assistance from HAL. For doing this once I admired Kubrick greatly, but he did it again many years later. In my late 20's I found myself buried deep within a dissertation for my Masters.  I was in Nottingham, it was grey and bleak and the rains were unending it seemed. I'd ran out of Malt Whiskey, my internet connection was on the blink and my motivation had vanished into a black hole. I then did something I'd been putting off for over ten years...I watched Barry Lyndon (1975). This was a major undertaking for me because the film runs for 180 minutes (my perfect film length is 100 minutes). I was once again captivated, but this time by the stillness and beauty of the images - each shot like a gorgeous painting. I once again felt small, but this time it was history and the fleeting passage of time that disturbed me. Suddenly my dissertation become an insignificant irrelevance, and I realied that more value lay within a single composition in Barry Lyndon than anything I could write about it. This poster gallery celebrates the films of Stanley Kubrick - a director who will forever be a part of the cinematic landscape I tread...Enjoy!

Fear and Desire (1953)
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Killer's Kiss (1955) #1

Killer's Kiss #2

Killer's Kiss #3 - French Poster
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The Killing (1956) #1

The Killing #2
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Paths of Glory (1957) #1

Paths of Glory #2

Paths of Glory #3 - Italian Poster

Paths of Glory #4 - French Poster
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Spartacus (1960) #1

Spartacus #2

Spartacus #3 Polish Poster
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Lolita (1962) #1

Lolita #2 German Poster
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Dr. Strangelove (1964) #1

Dr. Strangelove #2 French Poster

Dr. Strangelove #3 Spanish Poster
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2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) #1

2001: A Space Odyssey #2

2001: A Space Odyssey #3

2001: A Space Odyssey #4

2001: A Space Odyssey #5 Polish Poster
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A Clockwork Orange (1971) #1

A Clockwork Orange #2
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Barry Lyndon (1975) #1

Barry Lyndon #2
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The Shining (1980) #1

The Shining #2
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Full Metal Jacket (1987) #1

Full Metal Jacket #2
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Eyes Wide Shut (1999) #1

Eyes Wide Shut #2
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© Shaun Anderson - 2010

12 comments:

  1. Great post Shaun! Kubrick is one of those directors who I admire and appreciate his value, although I do need to see more of his work. That said, I really can not get on with 2001. Perhaps I need to watch it while the under the influence of some mind-altering substances...

    But still, some excellent artwork here! I particularly like Dr. Strangelove Spanish poster

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  2. Cheers Liam! - a lot of people find 2001 boring and slow, and I can see their point of view. There is something essentially very mysterious about films that draw us to them - its the same with music. You cant really hand pick your favourite bands or musicians, or films...they tend to pick you. I feel sorry for the people who are genuinely moved by the work of Bucks Fizz or the films of Michael Bay!

    I really like the Polish poster of 2001 - its just so different and weird, and the second poster image of EYES WIDE SHUT is rather charming - thanks for dropping by.

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  3. You make an excellent point there :) At times there are certain films that I feel like I'm EXPECTED to like, because they have such a following, and yet I just fail to connect with. Meanwhile, there's some films I genuinely love that others consider to be utter trash. That's what I like about film criticism and so many movie blogs though, no one opinion is any less valid than the other.

    The second Eyes Wide Shut poster is fantastic! Quite possibly my favourite from the selection.

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  4. I dont mind admitting to the fact that I truly dislike THE GODFATHER, STAR WARS (and all its pathetic sequels), RAGING BULL...any film by George Lucas, almost every film by Martin Scorcese (honourable exceptions are MEAN STREETS & TAXI DRIVER), THE EXORCIST, THE OMEN, LORD OF THE RINGS, anything with Robert Redford or Paul Newman in...and especially THE MATRIX - just to name a few :-)

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  5. "Her soft mouth was the road to sin-smeared violence" (Killer's Kiss poster). What a wonderfully descriptive line! I feel dirty just reading it. Great posters, all! I agree with you on how infinitesimal 2001:A Space Odyssey makes one feel, especially when the choir gets all murmury right before we enter the infinite.

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  6. Yes thats a brilliant byline Lazlo...its also a very good film. I found the earlier posters much more interesting, many of the images for the later ones are quite familiar. I especially like the quartet of posters for PATHS OF GLORY - thanks for stopping by!

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  7. That last poster for Eyes Wide Shut....awesome! I had never seen it.

    I like how on the poster for LOLITA they ask the question: How did they ever make a film about LOLITA? The movie is incredibly "light", and not graphic at all, things are always implied. Its kind of tame, and that surprised specially because the film came from Kubrick. But hey, that film was a prisoner of the ultra conservative times it was filmed in.

    The newer version by director Adryane Lyne goes a bit further with the sexuality.

    Great post!

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  8. 2001 blows me away each and every time I watch it. I've recently been watching the extras on the excellent 2001 bluray and its interesting that Kubrick wanted to take the film further but ran out of time and budget.

    Your remark about Kubrick's intelligence brought to mind one of the extras on the disc - its an audio interview with Kubrick while he was in the throes of filming 2001 - he comes across as a remarkably intelligent and considered guy - quite fascinating.

    Anyway, great selection of posters ... I've been hankering after owning one of those 'ultimate trip' posters for ever - but they're not cheap!

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  9. @ Film Connoisseur - I agree about the content of LOLITA, but the promotion was bound to hype it up and promise things that the film ultimately couldnt deliver in age you quite rightly point out as conservative. If Kubrick had waited just 5 or 6 years I'm sure he could have got away with a hell of a lot more.

    @ Twisted Flicks - I dont have the Blu Ray (still havent got around to upgrading), but the 2 disc standard DVD special edition has a number of great extras, including an hour long documentary I remember first seeing on Channel 4 years back. I'm glad you enjoyed the gallery buddy...I'm after that Polis 2001 poster now!

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  10. 2001: A space oddyssey is my all time favourite movie. It contain not a single second of boredom. But it has to be seen several times before you really enjoy it.... then you're stucj with it forever.

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  11. Shawn - Thank you for creating this wonderful blog, of which I have just discovered, for those of us who appreciate intellectual, psychological and philosophical films. My first introduction to Kubrick, as a teen in the early 80's, was A Clockwork Orange, which is still one of my all times favorites. I admit I have never seen 2001, although I plan too very soon. My husband and I are big Darren Aronofsky fans. Pi and Requiem for a Dream were both thought-provoking, wonderfully filmed works of art.
    Think I'll take a site tour now. Thanks again!

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  12. Thanks for stopping by Modern Orange and I really appreciate your kind words. I love A CLOCKWORK ORANGE as well, I think there is a review for it on here. I've done almost 160 reviews now, so I can't be sure. I found PI intriguing and perplexing in equal measure, and I haven't got around to REQUIEM FOR A DREAM. I saw THE FOUNTAIN at the cinema and hated it, but Aranofsky came back superbly I thought with THE WRESTLER. Hope to see more of you :-)

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