Kubrick

haha Thanks for the link to that article, Ben.

Melancholia looks awesome. I'm really excited for it. I was going to post the trailer myself, but you beat me to it.

In response to your question on Kubrick:

I wouldn’t argue that Kubrick is anti-life. I’m just willing to concede that in an argument against him. I can accept Kubrick as anti-life and still think he’s one of (if not thee) greatest filmmakers of all time. I don’t read his films as anti-life, so maybe John would do a better job describing what he means by that. What I think he means is the argument you hear a lot against Kubrick. Kubrick’s films are notoriously cynical towards humanity. Some find them to be cold and detached in their portrayal of human life. Kubrick’s films rarely seem emotional or empathatic, just intellectual. I get this argument. As I said, I’m willing to accept it without detriment to Kubrick. Kubrick was an intellectual person. He loved photography and he loved ideas. He used his films to convey intellectual ideas that fascinated him. Even if his films don’t force you to empathize with humanity, they do force you to reflect on humanity. I, for one, love ideas too. I love the ideas in Kubrick’s films. I also love the way they are staged, shot, lit (and everything else about them). Kubrick was incredibly cinematic. I think he had the best eye of any filmmaker in history (this is easily debatable). I would argue that he is pro-cinema (a stupid word but whatever), in that his films are devoted to film as an art form and to advancing film as an art form. Cinema is a relatively young art form, but I think Kubrick is as crucial to the development of cinema as Dostoevsky was to the development of the novel. He took it to new heights. He was a masterful and genius director. I don’t mind his cynicism (I’m rather cynical too) because I’m too busy being in awe of his incredible eye for things.

Brandon said it perfectly, can you blame Kubrick for being so cynical towards humanity?
To me, cynicism is just another word for realism. But, that just reflects who I am. I can understand someone not taking that viewpoint.

I usually say that Bergman is my favorite director all time. Some days he is, and some days Kubrick is. My cinematic love is a perpetual pirouette between those two colossal figures.