Remembering the visionary Stanley Kubrick on his 96th birth anniversary

Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) was and will remain the greatest American — maybe the greatest in general — filmmaker. He was a true visionary. ...

Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) was and will remain the greatest American — maybe the greatest in general — filmmaker. He was a true visionary. His vision and his perfection was, is and will remain unparalleled.

All of Kubrick’s films were great in their own ways — with the exception being his first film Fear and Desire — but most of all, they were all perfect. No matter how many times you watch his films, you won’t be able to find a single visible flaw. Everything was perfect: from the camerawork to the performances, to the music selection, and of course, the direction. He had a certain vision that he achieved at any cost, and yeah, his ways of staying true to his vision may seem a bit icky today, but it made him the master that he was — somewhat like Hitchcock. 

Kubrick wasn’t scared of controversies. All his films were, in some way or the other, controversial, whether is was Kubrick’s adaptation of Nabokov’s masterpiece Lolita or Kubrick’s adaptation of Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange.

Kubrick’s films always dealt with man’s psyche and his inner demons. The Shining is the best example of that. The Shining, for me, is the greatest horror film ever made. It’s at once horrifying and emotionally devastating. It brings forth Jack’s psyche unlike King’s novel and portrays it excellently. The Shining is easily Kubrick’s most mainstream film. All his films were equal parts mainstream and arthouse. He was the only filmmaker who mastered the art of making an arthouse film and a mainstream film at once.

Kubrick’s greatest achievement, which he also called his greatest contribution to cinema, was Eyes Wide Shut: a film so perfect that it’s baffling. I’ve watched the film over ten times in the past four-five years and I still fail to find a single flaw in the film. Everything is perfect. It differs a lot from Schnitzler’s novel but paves its own way. It's Kubrick’s most psychological film. He examines Tom Cruise’s character’s psyche perfectly. It’s also his most disturbing and ominous film — The Shining and A Clockwork Orange are strong contenders.

Kubrick would’ve turned ninety-six today if he were alive and it’ll always remain a mystery as to what he could’ve done with today’s technology if he were alive.

By Ravit Mishra