"
How to make sense of Conspiracy Theories" [Part 1 of 9 from YouTube] Rob Ager is best known for his very thoughtful analyses of films such as
The Shining [see also this analysis of the
Overlook's geometry,
previously],
A Clockwork Orange [and
supplement],
Psycho,
Pulp Fiction,
Aliens,
Taxi Driver and
others. He has recently completed an analysis of the subject of
conspiracy theories. "All of us, from time to time, will believe that two or more people in a particular context have conspired to achieve a mutual aim – be it cheating in a card game or engineering an international war. It isn’t by definition a lapse in logic to believe that a conspiracy has or is going to occur in a given situation. Conspiracies do happen and it is a natural facet of healthy thinking and self-preservation to seek out awareness of conspiracies that may affect our lives." [
Text version, Ager's
Collative Learning site]
posted by McLir
on Jan 18, 2012 -
53 comments
Christiane Kubrick, widow of film director Stanley Kubrick,
talks with the Guardian about her marriage to the film director, his lost project about the Holocaust, and his love of the waltz [
via | Flash req'd].
posted by Blazecock Pileon
on Aug 11, 2010 -
4 comments
How accurate was Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" about the future? "Part of the reason that Dr Floyd has been sent to Clavius Base is to deliver a morale-boosting speech to a crew bemused by what they have unearthed on the moon. [...] Frankly, there is no way that this would have been done in the real 2001 without the judicious use of PowerPoint featuring Excel charts and inspiring pictures of puppies, and probably some free branded goodies to take away and cheer everybody up."
posted by feelinglistless
on Sep 28, 2009 -
62 comments
"Shown backwards it is a heroic film about human experience: A man trapped in the logic of ghosts, trapped in a grayscale 2-D flat world, a photograph inside history, frozen in spectral finity: is unfrozen, and is lured outside of a maze where both his wife and son proceed to ‘undouble’ him and assist him in his war with his self and is finally able to drive away from the Overlook, from the lunarscape of this unreal summit and into a perfect mirror, earthmade."
An excerpt of a large-scale guide to the inner workings of The Shining. [more inside]
posted by jchgf
on Apr 4, 2009 -
63 comments
The Hidden Stanley Kubrick. In the nine years following Stanley Kubrick's death on March 7, 1999, several of his collaborators have written and spoken about their experiences working with this notoriously reclusive filmmaker. Their reminiscences shed light on aspects of Kubrick’s family life, private thoughts and work habits, and make for fascinating reading and viewing. Those who've shared their reflections include
Michael Herr (co-screenwriter, "Full Metal Jacket");
Leon Vitali (actor, "Barry Lyndon" and Kubrick's personal assistant for nearly 25 years);
Ian Watson (credited with the "screen story" for "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence"); and
Brian Aldiss (who helped to develop the story for "A.I."). Peter Bogdanovich gathered together the impressions of
others who worked with Kubrick on various projects over the legendary director's career.
[more inside]
posted by New Frontier
on Mar 8, 2008 -
21 comments
Still looking for Rosebud. Nine Years after sending a copy of a radio programme he made to Stanley Kubrick, Jon Ronson, is invited to the late Kubrick's "secret lair".
You drive through rural Hertfordshire, passing ordinary-sized postwar houses and opticians and vets. Then you turn right at an electric gate with a "Do Not Trespass" sign. Drive through that, and through some woods, and past a long, white fence with the paint peeling off, and then another electric gate, and then another electric gate, and then another electric gate, and you're in the middle of an estate full of boxes. [...] Tony takes me into a large room painted blue and filled with books. "This used to be the cinema," he says. "Is it the library now?" I ask. "Look closer at the books," says Tony. I do. "Bloody hell," I say.
posted by Blue Stone
on Mar 27, 2004 -
35 comments
Problem. Proposed solution : nominate a few films, Gladiator, Erin Brokovich and so on. And let Stanley Kubrick's disowned Sparticus take the top 5-6 Oscars. Just shows that god's worst film is still better than tripe created today.
posted by tiaka
on Nov 22, 2000 -
37 comments