He’s one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, so if there’s ever a chance to hear more from Stanley Kubrick about the art of filmmaking then it would be crazy not to listen. An 11-minute interview with Kubrick has surfaced from a conversation he had with French film critic Michel Ciment, in which he specifically discusses “Barry Lyndon,” “The Shining” and “Full Metal Jacket.”
You can listen to the interview on the YouTube video below, and it is truly fascinating to hear one of the greats talking about getting the smaller details right in his movies; from costume and lighting (how do you discuss “Barry Lyndon” and not discuss the lighting?), to making a supernatural movie that doesn’t have the artifice associated with the genre. The interview is then brilliantly signed off by Kubrick declaring himself merely an “aesthetic opportunist.”
So definitely give this a listen if you get a chance, and it’s particularly nice that this has turned up so soon after we heard of Steven Spielberg’s plans to resurrect Kubrick’s lost dream project, “Napoleon” (and you can read our recap of all Kubrick’s lost projects right here). Spielberg is apparently working with Kubrick’s estate to develop the director’s 1961 movie script into a miniseries, and we really can’t state how much we’d love Spielberg to pull this off. Now please excuse us while we go rewatch “Barry Lyndon”… [Cinephilia & Beyond]