Whether or not you self-identify as a cinephile, the chances you\u2019ve escaped references to Stanley Kubrick\u2019s contributions to cinema are slim to none. For those who aren\u2019t familiar and those who are familiar with Kubrick\u2019s beloved classics such as \u201cA Clockwork Orange\u201d and \u201cThe Shining,\u201d the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive offers a unique opportunity to piece together a greater idea of Kubrick\u2019s legacy as a filmmaker. Running until Aug. 30, the BAMPFA fills our sweltering summer days with the screening of the film series, \u201cA Complete Stanley Kubrick.\u201d The BAMPFA\u2019s associate film curator Jeff Griffith-Perham spoke with The Daily Californian on June 29 about the decision to bring the exhibition to Berkeley.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of what we\u2019re doing is presenting a history of that person\u2019s life. So much of Kubrick\u2019s narrative has taken on something of a mythic quality, and when people see long gaps between his movies and later works, they\u2019re always like, \u2018Well, what was he even doing?\u2019\u201d Griffith-Perham explained, highlighting the enriching quality of becoming familiar with Kubrick\u2019s work between films, as much as with the making of the blockbusters audiences know and love.<\/p>\n
The \u201ccomplete\u201d screenings include Kubrick\u2019s mini-documentaries such as \u201cFlying Padre\u201d and \u201cThe Seafarers,\u201d unfinished films and features Kubrick handed off to other directors after completing preproduction. The formats range from 35 mm archival print for war drama \u201cPaths of Glory\u201d to 4K restorations for films such as political comedy \u201cDr. Strangelove\u201d and science fiction epic \u201c2001: A Space Odyssey.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Griffith-Perham, the audience\u2019s ability to immersively experience a film such as those made by Kubrick is a higher priority than showing the original film itself. \u201cWhen I\u2019m thinking about such an exacting filmmaker who puts in so much effort into every detail of his image, the idea of having a scratched print or something like that didn\u2019t sit right with me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Griffith-Perham further discussed the work involving directors such as Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg to restore films such as \u201cOne-Eyed Jacks\u201d to 4K quality and resolution. \u201cOftentimes the studios themselves are very proud of the work that was done for the restorations,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Griffith-Perham acknowledges Kubrick\u2019s original intent to capture an audience and curates the formats according to what will engage the audience in the stories themselves. \u201cI think if you can\u2019t get into a movie theater, if you can\u2019t see movies at the Pacific Film Archive, see the movies wherever you can. And if a scratch print is all there is of something, you can go see that scratch print, but that doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re going to show it \u2014 as an archive with certain standards of presentation,\u201d he elaborated.<\/p>\n
In piecing together the exhibit, Griffith-Perham made deliberate choices to showcase Kubrick\u2019s original intent and vision in the filmmaking process. This includes a showing of the \u201cimported uncensored 35 mm archival print\u201d of Eyes Wide Shut, which has subtle changes, ranging from inserted establishing shots at the beginning of the film to non-blacked-out erotic scenes \u2014 \u201cWhat you\u2019re seeing doesn\u2019t dramatically change how you\u2019re experiencing the scene, but it\u2019s what Kubrick wanted you to see,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Griffith-Perham\u2019s reasoning for the films\u2019 formats and curation is simple: \u201cWhen we are presenting a film, we want to present the version that best represents the filmmakers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Kubrick\u2019s legacy as a filmmaker is certainly an ambitious one to represent, often characterized by his almost obsessive desire to control every element of his film\u2019s making and distribution.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a certain visual style that is, even from his very early black and white films, carried over, as well as just the general camera movements and the elegance of those. He brought that sort of exacting personality down to every phase of the process and the latter half of his career, where he had complete control,\u201d Griffith-Perham highlights.<\/p>\n
Though summer is a quieter season for the BAMPFA, the screenings have been filled with buzzing crowds \u2014 a likely outcome for the July 23 showing of \u201cThe Shining,\u201d with visiting guest \u201cToy Story 3\u201d director Lee Unkrich, who will hold a book signing for \u201cStanley Kubrick\u2019s \u2018The Shining.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe interviewed everyone you could possibly interview. There are a number of anecdotes and interesting tidbits\u2026all of this incredible behind-the-scenes photography and storytelling, and so much of it is also getting a sense of Kubrick as a human being.\u201d Griffith-Perham explained in regards to Unkrich\u2019s book.<\/p>\n
The book, published by Taschen, grounds Kubrick\u2019s sense of genius in his greater collaboration with his crews.<\/p>\n
While Kubrick will turn 100 in just two years, Griffith-Perham highlighted the importance of showcasing Kubrick\u2019s oeuvre for generations to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur first screening that we kicked off with was \u20182001,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cYou could hear a pin drop during a very very quiet movie; in the audience, there were younger kids there, kids in their early teens, folks who probably saw it when it came out in 70 mm. There\u2019s always a generation of people who have not seen these movies yet, so it\u2019s nice to be able to provide them with an opportunity to see them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whether or not you self-identify as a cinephile, the chances you\u2019ve escaped references to Stanley Kubrick\u2019s contributions to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393495,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[158319,158311,158309,49110,158318,158312,158314,158313,158317,56279,87680,143,145,144,57408,28398,158315,158310,158316],"class_list":["post-393494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-2001-a-space-odyssey","tag-a-clockwork-orange","tag-american-cinema","tag-bampfa","tag-dr-strangelove","tag-eyes-wide-shut","tag-flying-padre","tag-jeff-griffith-perham","tag-lee-unkrich","tag-martin-scorsese","tag-new-hollywood","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-stanley-kubrick","tag-steven-spielberg","tag-the-seafarers","tag-the-shining","tag-toy-story-3"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=393494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}