Un pugile che sul piano agonistico sta imboccando il viale del tramonto salva una ballerina dal suo amante (e datore di lavoro) violento; i due si innamoreranno, ma dovranno vedersela con l'ex di lei.
Girato nel 55, precede di poco l'impressionante sfilza di capolavori che seguiranno; film molto canonico, ma con una trama solida e ben sviluppata. Pur non paragonabile ad un titolo come Rapina a Mano Armata (girato solo un anno dopo) presenta comunque alcuni ottimi momenti, come la narrazione della vita della ragazza, accompagnata dalla danza della ballerina classica. Gli attori, ahiloro, sono mediocri (lei è oggettivamente bella, ma in quanto a recitazione lascia molto a desiderare).
Voto: 6.5.
Tags: Stanley Kubrick, thriller, pugile, box, drammatico, crimine, noir, balletto, ballerina, violenza.
Fear and Desire (1953)
Paura e desiderio
Regista: Stanley Kubrick
Scrittore: Stanley Kubrick, Howard Sackler
Genere: War, Drama
Valutazione: 6.2/10 (345 voti)
Durata: 68 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English
Cast:
- Frank Silvera .... Sgt. Mac
- Kenneth Harp .... Lt. Corby/enemy general
- Paul Mazursky .... Pvt. Sidney
- Stephen Coit .... Pvt. Fletcher (aide-de-camp) (as Steve Coit)
- Virginia Leith .... Young Girl
- David Allen .... Narrator
Trama:
A ficticious war in an unidentified country provides the setting for this drama. Four soldiers survive the crash-landing of their plane to find themselves in a forest six miles behind enemy lines. The group, led by Lt. Corby, has a plan: They'll make their way to a nearby river, build a raft, and then, under cover of night, float back to friendly territory. Their plans for getting back safely are sidetracked by a young woman who stumbles across them as they hide in the woods, and by the nearby presence of an enemy general who one member of the group is determined to kill.
Trivia random: Stanley Kubrick insisted on setting up the lighting himself, as he liked to do, and did it without allowing a place for microphones. When his sound recordist Nathan Boxer objected, Kubrick fired him and recorded the sound himself.
Citazione random: Private Fletcher: I guess I'm not - built for this.::Lieutenant Corby: Nobody ever was. It's all a trick we perform when we'd rather not die - immediately.
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Killer's Kiss (1955)
Bacio dell'assassino, Il
Regista: Stanley Kubrick
Scrittore: Stanley Kubrick
Genere: Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller
Valutazione: 6.7/10 (2879 voti)
Durata: 67 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English
Cast:
- Frank Silvera .... Vincent Rapallo
- Jamie Smith .... Davy Gordon
- Irene Kane .... Gloria Price
- Jerry Jarret .... Albert (the fight manager)
- Mike Dana .... Gangster
- Felice Orlandi .... Gangster
- Shaun O'Brien
- Barbara Brand
- Skippy Adelman .... Mannequin factory owner (as Julius Adelman)
- David Vaughan .... Conventioneer
Trama:
Prize-fighter Davy Gordon intervenes when private dancer Gloria Price is being attacked by her employer and lover Vincent Raphello. This brings the two together and they get involved with each other, which displeases Raphello much. So much even that he sends men out to kill Davy, but by mistake not Davy, but his friend gets murdered. Trying to escape Raphello forever, Davy and Gloria decide to leave town.
Trivia random: Director Trademark: [Stanley Kubrick] often breaks the 180-degree stageline in this film. That is, characters are photographed from both sides of the stageline, making them appear to be (for instance) looking in the same direction, when they are supposed to be looking in opposite directions. Watch the Davey Gordon and Rapallo ax fight at the denouement for an example. This film and Fear and Desire (1953) are the only two Kubrick films not based upon novels or previously published works.
Citazione random: Davy Gordon: It's crazy how you can get yourself in a mess sometimes and not even be able to think about it with any sense-and yet not be able to think about anything else. You get so you're no good for anything or anybody. Maybe it begins by taking life too serious. Anyway, I think that's the way it began for me. Just before my fight with Rodriguez three days ago...
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Kubrick, Stanley
Data di nascita: 26 July 1928
Data di morte: 7 March 1999
Altezza: 5' 8½" (1.74 m)
Coniuge: Christiane Kubrick::(14 April 1958 - 7 March 1999) (his death) 3 children, Ruth Sobotka::(1954 - 1957) (divorced), Toba Kubrick::(28 May 1948 - 1951) (divorced)
Ultimi lavori:
- One Among Us (2005) .... (special thanks) [misc]
- Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001) .... (concept) (uncredited) (dedicatee) [misc]
- The Art of Stanley Kubrick: From Short Films to Strangelove (2000) (V) .... (subject) [misc]
- A Clockwork Maury (2000) .... (special thanks) [misc]
- Inside the Making of 'Dr. Strangelove' (2000) (V) .... (subject) [misc]
- Eyes Wide Shut (1999) .... (producer) [produttore]
- Soccer Dog: The Movie (1999) .... (special thanks) [misc]
- Stanley and Us (1999) .... (subject) [misc]
- As Long As He Lives (1998) .... (dedicatee) [misc]
- StarCraft (1998) (VG) .... (thanks) [misc]
Biografia:
Stanley Kubrick was born in New York, and was considered intelligent despite poor grades at school. Hoping that a change of scenery would produce better academic performance, Kubrick's father Jack (a physician) sent him in 1940 to Pasadena, California, to stay with his uncle Martin Perveler. Returning to the Bronx in 1941 for his last year of grammar school, there seemed to be little change in his attitude or his results. Hoping to find something to interest his son, Jack introduced Stanley to chess, with the desired result. Kubrick took to the game passionately, and quickly became a skilled player. Chess would become an important device for Kubrick in later years, often as tool for for dealing with recalcitrant actors, but also as an artistic motif in his films.Jack Kubrick's decision to give his son a camera for his thirteenth birthday would be an even wiser move: Kubrick became an avid photographer, and would often make trips around New York taking photographs which he would develop in a friend's darkroom. After selling an unsolicited photograph to Look Magazine, Kubrick began to associate with their staff photographers, and at the age of seventeen was offered a job as an apprentice photographer.In the next few years, Kubrick had regular assignments for "Look", and would become a voracious movie-goer. Together with friend Alexander Singer, Kubrick planned a move into film, and in 1950 sank his savings into making the documentary Day of the Fight (1951). This was followed by several short commissioned documentaries (Flying Padre (1951), and _Seafarers, The (1952)_ ), but by attracting investors and hustling chess games in Central Park, Kubrick was able to make Fear and Desire (1953) in California.Filming this movie was not a happy experience; Kubrick's marriage to high school sweetheart Toba Metz did not survive the shooting. Despite mixed reviews for the film itself, Kubrick received good notices for his obvious directorial talents. Kubrick's next two films Killer's Kiss (1955) and The Killing (1956) brought him to the attention of Hollywood, and in 1957 directed Kirk Douglas in Paths of Glory (1957). Douglas later called upon Kubrick to take over the production of Spartacus (1960), by some accounts hoping that Kubrick would be daunted by the scale of the project and would thus be accommodating. This was not the case, however: Kubrick took charge of the project, imposing his ideas and standards on the film. Many crewmembers were upset by his style: cinematographer Russell Metty complained to producers that Kubrick was taking over his job. Kubrick's response was to tell him to sit there and do nothing. Metty complied, and ironically was awarded the Academy Award for his cinematography.Kubrick's next project was to direct Marlon Brando in One-Eyed Jacks (1961), but negotiations broke down and Brando himself ended up directing the film himself. Disenchanted with Hollywood and after another failed marriage, Kubrick moved permanently to England, from where he would make all of his subsequent films. Despite having obtained a pilot's license, Kubrick is rumored to be afraid of flying.Kubrick's first UK film was Lolita (1962), which was carefully constructed and guided so as to not offend the censorship boards which at the time had the power to severely damage the commercial success of a film. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) was a big risk for Kubrick; before this, "nuclear" was not considered a subject for comedy. Originally written as a drama, Kubrick decided that too many of the ideas he had written were just too funny to be taken seriously. The film's critical and commercial success allowed Kubrick the financial and artistic freedom to work on any project he desired. Around this time, Kubrick's focus diversified and he would always have several projects in various stages of development: "Blue Moon" (a story about Hollywood's first pornographic feature film), "Napoleon" (an epic historical biography, abandoned after studio losses on similar projects), "Wartime Lies" (based on the novel by Louis Begley), and "Rhapsody" (a psycho-sexual thriller).The next film he completed was a collaboration with sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is hailed by many as the best ever made; an instant cult favorite, it has set the standard and tone for many science fiction films that followed. Kubrick followed this with A Clockwork Orange (1971), which rivaled Lolita (1962) for the controversy it generated - this time not for only for its portrayal of sex, but also of violence. Barry Lyndon (1975) would prove a turning point in both his professional and private lives. His unrelenting demands of commitment and perfection of cast and crew had by now become legendary. Actors would be required to perform dozens of takes with no breaks. Filming a story in Ireland involving military, Kubrick received reports that the IRA had declared him a possible target. Production was promptly moved out of the country, and Kubrick's desire for privacy and security have resulted in him being considered a recluse ever since.Having turned down directing a sequel to The Exorcist (1973), Kubrick made his own horror film: The Shining (1980). Again, rumors circulated of demands made upon actors and crew. Stephen King (whose novel the film was based upon) reportedly didn't like Kubrick's adaptation (indeed, he would later write his own screenplay which was filmed as "The Shining" (1997) (mini).)Kubrick's subsequent work has been well spaced: it was seven years before Full Metal Jacket (1987) was released. By this time, Kubrick was married with children and had extensively remodeled his house. Seen by one critic as the dark side to the humanist story of Platoon (1986), Full Metal Jacket (1987) continued Kubrick's legacy of solid critical acclaim, and profit at the box office.In the 1990s, Kubrick began an on-again/off-again collaboration with Brian Aldiss on a new science fiction film called "Artificial Intelligence (AI)", but progress was very slow, and was backgrounded until special effects technology was up to the standard the Kubrick wanted.Kubrick returned to his in-development projects, but encountered a number of problems: "Napoleon" was completely dead, and "Wartime Lies" (now called "The Aryan Papers") was abandoned when Steven Spielberg announced he would direct Schindler's List (1993), which covered much of the same material.While pre-production work on "AI" crawled along, Kubrick combined "Rhapsody" and "Blue Movie" and officially announced his next project as Eyes Wide Shut (1999), starring the then-married Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. After two years of production under unprecedented security and privacy, the film was released to a typically polarized critical and public reception; Kubrick claimed it was his best film to date.Special effects technology had matured rapidly in the meantime, and Kubrick immediately begain active work on Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001), but tragically suffered a fatal heart attack in his sleep on March 7th, 1999.After Kubrick's death, Spielberg revealed that the two of them were friends that frequently communicated discretely about the art of filmmaking; both had a large degree of mutual respect for each other's work. "AI" was frequently discussed; Kubrick even suggested that Spielberg should direct it as it was more his type of project. Based on this relationship, Spielberg took over as the film's director and completed the last Kubrick project.How much of Kubrick's vision remains in the finished project -- and what he would think of the film as eventually released -- will be the final great unanswerable mysteries in the life of this talented and private filmmaker.
Trivia random: According to Kirk Douglas, Kubrick allegedly wanted to take credit for the Spartacus (1960) screenplay that was primarily written by Dalton Trumbo. Trumbo, who was blacklisted at the time, originally was going to use the alias Sam Jackson. During the production of the film, Otto Preminger announced he had hired Trumbo to write the screenplay for "Exodus" (1960). Douglas, in turn, announced that he had been the first to hire Dalton Trumbo, who would be credited on his film. Preminger's film was released six months earlier than "Spartacus," which was released in October 1960. Douglas later said he decided to give Trumbo credit because he was appalled at Kubrick's attempt to hog the credit. This "recollection" likely was colored by the fact that Kubrick went on to become a great director, and the film was seen as a Kubrick film rather than as the product of Kirk Douglas, who produced the film. Douglas viewed the film as a fulfillment of his personal vision. It is highly unlikely that Kubrick would try to take the credit as Trumbo served as one of the members of the "film's executive committee -- screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, Executive Producer Kirk Douglas, and Producer Edward Lewis," according to Duncan L. Cooper's 1996 article "Who Killed 'Spartacus'?" Trumbo was a friend of Ed Muhl, the boss of Universal Studios. which was financing the film. According to Cooper, Howard Fast, a convicted Communist Party member who wrote the novel the film is based on, worked on the screenplay but received no credit. Walter Winchell had already revealed that Trumbo was working on the film, and it was widely known that Trumbo had won an Oscar using the pseudonym Robert Rich on "The Brave One" (1957), and that his front Ian McLellan Hunter had won an Oscar for the story of "Roman Holiday" (1953) that Trumbo had, in fact, written. In other words, the blacklist was a sham. There were rumors that the House Un-American Activities Committee was going to investigate the movie industry again, and right-wingers began attacking the film. Douglas gave into studio boss Muhl's idea that the class conflict at the heart of "Spartacus" be muted, thus betraying both Trumbo's screenplay and Fast's novel. A major battle scene showing the triumph of Spartacus' slave army over the Romans was deleted lest it seem too provocative, and medium and closeup shots of Laurence Olivier that showed his character, the Roman dictator Crassus, experiencing fear over the slave rebellion were replaced with wide-shots. Scenes where the slave army was crushed, of course, remain, though their length was cut back to minimize the carnage of the original 197-minute cut. Part of what remains -- Olivier's Crassus looking for Spartacus' body among the living and the dead slaves -- is shot indifferently on a sound-stage and seems mismatched with the rest of the scene. Trumbo himself realized the necessity of muting his own passions in order to make the screenplay moderate so the film would be a success at the box office. He told an interviewer, "If the film had failed, neither I nor any other blacklisted writer would ever have been able to work again." The actions of Presminger and Douglas to give Trumbo credit effectively ended the blacklist, though many blacklisted screenwriters continued to write under pseudonyms until the early 1970s.
Citazione random: "A film is - or should be - more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later."
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Killing, The (1956)
Rapina a mano armata
Regista: Stanley Kubrick
Scrittore: Lionel White, Stanley Kubrick
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller, Film-Noir
Valutazione: 8.2/10 (10355 voti) [#125 nella top250]
Durata: 85 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English
Cast:
- Sterling Hayden .... Johnny Clay
- Coleen Gray .... Fay
- Vince Edwards .... Val Cannon
- Jay C. Flippen .... Marvin Unger
- Elisha Cook Jr. .... George Peatty (as Elisha Cook)
- Marie Windsor .... Sherry Peatty
- Ted de Corsia .... Randy Kennan (as Ted DeCorsia)
- Joe Sawyer .... Mike O'Reilly
- James Edwards .... Track Parking Attendant
- Timothy Carey .... Nikki Arcane
Trama:
After getting out of prison, Johnny Clay masterminds a complex race-track heist, but his scheme is complicated by the intervention of the wife of a teller (George Peatty) in on the scheme, the boyfriend of the wife, airport regulations, and a small dog.
Trivia random: Frank Sinatra expressed interest in this project, but production rights were granted to Stanley Kubrick first.
Citazione random: Johnny Clay: You like money. You've got a great big dollar sign there where most women have a heart.
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
