7. Devil's Stare

G!

The now iconic opening
Sequence of Christopher
Nolan's The Dark Knight
Depicts a bank robbery
Perpetrated by gunmen
Wearing clown masks; I
Think one reason why the
Scene was so thrilling was
Because of said clown masks
And the originality of their use.
Little did I know that Nolan
Was in fact paying homage -
Whether he knew it or not -
To an old heist flick by
The name of The Killing, in
Which Sterling Hayden robs
A racetrack vault wearing a
Clown mask. And the director
Of that movie: Stanley Kubrick.
Kubrick's is a name that needs
No introduction, because I
Imagine more film books
Have been written of him
Than the number of films
He's made in his diverse,
Illustrious and enigmatic
Career, none of which I
Have cared to read. Kubrick
Is a director who never made
Two movies that are alike yet
Never directed two dissimilar
Films. His early works, the
Aforementioned The Killing,
The scorching, anti-military
Paths of Glory, and the
Hollywood epic Spartacus
Are among the best and
- in the case of the first two
titles - most original films to
Come out of their time. Like
Japanese master Akira
Kurosawa, traces of his
Pictures have been lend to
Numerous movies that came
After, The Dark Knight was
Only one that I've managed
To pick out. Kubrick's late
Black-and-white adaptation
Of Lolita I have yet to see, and
Dr. Strangelove, possibly the
Cleverest war satire ever
Made, I enjoyed very much.
Of his full color pictures I
Have viewed all except the
Lavish period epic Barry
Lyndon, and of those the
One I loved most was -
Oddly - Full Metal Jacket,
Which is worth seeing just
For Lee Ermey's performance
As the merciless Sergeant
Hartman on its own. As
Every Kubrick film is a
Film famous for its distinct
Reason, no introduction
Needs to be given of A
Clockwork Orange, Eyes
Wide Shut, The Shining (a
Horror film that also isn't,
According to conspiracy
Theorists), and 2001: A
Space Odyssey (which I
Saw after reading the book
And was gladly more prepared
For it than the average
Unassuming viewer. Alas
This lackluster tribute to
One of cinema's true originals,
A model to be copied but
Never replicated, must end
Soon, so I can only say that
Stanley Kubrick has created
A body of work so
Vast in artistic depth and
So strong in creative force
They are pictures to not just
Be enjoyed but interpreted
For all times. Interestingly,
Most of his films are
Adaptations, yet these
Films do not adapt by
Their source material;
The source material
Adapts to Kubrick's
Vision, and in that
Vision, you can
See Alex Delarge,
Jack Torrance,
Private Pyle
And other
Iconic
Characters
Holding a
Devil's stare
As if to say:
'Who else
Can do
This?'
None
Other
Than
Kubrick.