Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick was an american film director, screen writer, producer, cinematographer and editor. He is famous for the 16 films he directed during his career, including; 'The Shinning', 'Full Metal Jacket' and 'A Clockwork Orange'.

What makes Kubrick an auteur is that all his films have the same style of directing and storytelling. He knew how to get the most out of actors and was a perfectionist with minor details. Because of his experience as a photographer, Kubrick produced shots in the best way he could using symmetry, 'one point perspective' and the 'rule of thirds'. Due to his attention to the composition of his shots a fast moving camera is a rare sight in his films-slow tracking shots are how he would tend to move the camera.
His movies generally have the same themes; usually about someone with an inner struggle but his films tend not to show his personal opinion or attitude to the situation at hand. His film are famously open to our own personal interpretation just as he wanted them.

Themes

• Characters with an inner struggle
• Stories open to interpretation
• Man vs Technology
• Entrapment (the protagonist never seem to escape)

Styles

• Slow tracking shots
• Well composed scenes
• Extreme wide angle lenses

Personally I am a big fan of Stanley Kubrick. Some people may argue that his films are slow moving, uneventful or even boring, but that is because his films aren't about great stories, instead they focus on cinema as an art form; not a type of story telling. Because of my strong interest in cinematography i love Kubrick but others may disagree.

The Orphanage review

Recently I watched the spanish horror film 'The Orphanage' and have been asked to write a review. First of all I was shocked by how good the film actually was. I have always seen the horror genre as cheap and predictable but this was completely different to what I expected. The movie is set in what was once a humble spanish orphanage, but has become a creepy, creaky and, as we can expect, haunted mansion. The story is based around a woman who was once a resident at the orphanage as a small child but has since decided she wishes to go back and set up her own school for special needs children with her adopted son and husband. As you can guess the horrors of a violant past come back to interrupt her plans.

The film is shot brilliantly with long tracking shots and experiments at unusual angles such as right over the head of the actors. the beauty of the film is most certainly the work of its producer Guillermo del Toro, who is also the director of the famous 'Pan's Labyrinth'. Toro makes full use of the typical horror setting. In some respects the film is very simular the the shinning: A large building in a remote area full of the ghosts of the past. But unlike the shinning this is not fully a horror, the first half hour is just like a family drama. They move in, settle down and then it starts to get creepy. The film does contain the typical horror scares (creeking doors, dark lighting) but also highlights issues we wouldnt noramlly find in the horror genre (adoption, HIV). The film isbt the scariest horror ive seen but it did make me jump at least 4 times and there are parts where the protagonist (laura) is in the orphange all by herself... that is certain to creep anyone out.

All together the film is great, it has a strong narrative helped by the brilliant horror setting and beutifull camera movments. The sound effects were also crutial to why the full is so good (as with every horror). also the ending was a brilliant conclution but may be disliked by uniterlectual audiences. In conclutionb 'The Orphanage' is a brilliant horror but may not be appealing to so horror fans who are just lokking for a fright.