Stanley Kubrick (New York, 1928-Harpenden, England, 1999) received the DW Griffith Award from the Directors Guild in March 1977. In the speech he sent from his English home, he praised Griffith as an innovator, but recalled that the director of
The Birth of a Nation
spent his last 17 years in poverty, rejected by Hollywood. And he compared it with Icarus, to underline that in his ascent to the sun it would have been better to "forget the wax and the feathers and work on the wings." In other words, like Kubrick himself, one of the most meticulous and passionate artists, to the despair of his collaborators, that the 20th century has given. The
Stanley Kubrick
exhibition
. The Exhibition,
which can be seen in Madrid's Círculo de Bellas Artes until May 8, illustrates profusely, with more than 600 pieces, that creative process, that sick immersion in each project by the director of titles such as
2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, The Clockwork Orange
or
Spartacus.
More information
The day 'A Clockwork Orange' challenged conservative Spain
The exhibition was born from the collaboration of the German Institute of Cinema, the University of the Arts in London (where his archive is deposited) and his widow, Christiane Kubrick.
It has been on tour since 2004 around the world with more than 1.5 million tickets sold.
In Spain it could be seen in 2018 at the CCCB in Barcelona, although for its exhibition in Madrid the theme has been reorganized and prioritized over the chronology in the exhibition route.
It's decidedly overwhelming, thanks to the fact that Kubrick was.
Mirror set to recreate Kubrick's infinite library of books on Napoleon Viktor Kolev
As Isabel Sánchez, curator of the exhibition in Madrid, tells:
“This is a journey inside your mind and your universe to discover a special look. His cinema will always be current, modern, because it touches on universal themes and its protagonists are imperfect human beings ”. Sánchez insists on the filmmaker's humanity, on which he superimposed a deep pessimism. "For this reason, along with those eternal reflections, such as who we are and where we come from in
2001 ...,
a constant 'for himself who can' is added in his filmography." His irony, quite sinister, goes to the extreme of asking himself in which hands the world is, as his analysis of power attests, from the most obvious cases,
Paths of glory
or
Red Telephone, we flew towards Moscow,
to others more veiled, such as
Eyes Wide Shut
o
Perfect robbery.
Of course, there was only one boss in his cinema: Kubrick himself, whose unhealthy control led him to even analyze the screens of the rooms where his films were premiered all over the world (on some occasion, he even had one painted so that it could be seen better the projection of
A Clockwork Orange).
Stanley Kubrick, on the set of 'Espartaco' in Madrid in the summer of 1959.
On the ground floor of the Círculo de Bellas Artes, the visitor enters the mind of Kubrick. Hence, the pieces are grouped by themes such as desire (and its constant reflection of the man incapable of deciphering the feminine enigma, so he reacts with violence or fear before women), war, power or humor. The audiovisual pieces come from the CCCB, and on this tour appear Crassus' tunic suit (played by Laurence Olivier) from
Espartaco,
or the scale model (at 1:20 scale) of the war room designed by Ken Adam for
Red Telephone. ...,
a majestic setting that Ronald Reagan tried unsuccessfully to find in the White House when he became president of the United States. It is time to illustrate the precision of Kubrick, who comes to recreate a robbery to the minute
(Perfect robbery)
- "Kubrick was obsessed with time, either to trace it, or to make it explode, as in
El resplandor,"
says Sánchez— or
to break
down the script of one of his truncated projects,
Napoleón, in such a way
that he calculates that the film, divided into 32 sequences, would last 236 minutes and 41 seconds.
For this project he brought together the most complete collection of books on the French emperor, an infinite library that is honored with a piece of mirrors and volumes.
Model of the war room from 'Red Telephone, We Fly to Moscow' Viktor Kolev
The director's passion for geometry is reproduced on this floor with a central showcase that runs through it and causes a perfect division of the rooms.
In it you can see dozens of drawings, books (11 of its 13 films are based on novels) or the
story board
of
AI Artificial Intelligence, a
production that it abandoned because cinematographic technology had not advanced enough to reproduce the world of the story of Brian Aldiss (years later a Kubrick fan, Steven Spielberg, would do it).
Stanley Kubrick, filming in Colmenar Viejo, in the summer of 1959, 'Espartaco'.
On one side are photographs of Kubrick's stay in Madrid to complete the filming of
Espartaco.
Since he settled in England, the filmmaker traveled the essential. However, he had to come to Spain to film outdoors the sequences of the march of the slaves, the training sessions (an audiovisual piece by the CCCB certifies the parallelism between this moment and the military practices in
The Metal Jacket),
the crucifixion and the battle. final. Kubrick can be seen relaxed, with his camera — his career began as a magazine photographer, a job to which the show also dedicates a space — hanging or by hand, in the middle of a pasture in Colmenar Viejo. On an adjacent wall are photographs of possible locations in Slovakia for
The Aryan Papers,
his project on the Holocaust in World War II, and his comparison with portraits made in the Warsaw Jewish ghetto.
The Aryan roles
did not end up in theaters either.
Adler typewriter used by Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) in 'The Shining' Viktor Kolev
To enter the universe of Kubrick, the visitor has to go up to the first floor of the Círculo de Bellas Artes. There the journey is articulated through
2001, a space odyssey, The Metallic Jacket, Barry Lyndon, The Shining, A Clockwork Orange
and
Eyes Wide Shut.
Of all of them there are numerous pieces. To highlight some, the cutlery and the astronauts' helmets, the ape suits, the instructions for the ship's bathroom and the interior of HAL 9,000 from
2001, a space odyssey;
Jester's helmet from
The Metal Jacket;
Barry Lyndon's
Lady Lyndon suits
;
Alex DeLarge's wardrobe and Korova Milk Bar table from
A Clockwork Orange;
a mock-up of the Overlook Hotel maze, the twins' dresses and Jack Torrance's typewriter from
The Shining,
and a half dozen masks and Dr. Bill Harford's cape from
Eyes Wide Shut.
Along with them, scripts, photographs, clapperboards and any element that Kubrick deems necessary for each film.
Room dedicated to 'A Clockwork Orange' Viktor Kole
At the exit, in addition to the posters of his films in several languages, as an epilogue an audiovisual piece created by Manuel Huerga is projected, which in 37 minutes reviews the life of the filmmaker with a single narrator: Kubrick himself, who gives his voice thanks to the interviews he gave throughout his career.
As the sample collects, he thought that “if it can be written or thought, it can be filmed” and that “the most important parts of a film are the mysterious ones, those that are beyond the reach of reason and language”.
One of the rooms dedicated to 'Eyes Wide Shut' in the Círculo de Bellas Artes.viktor kolev
Stanley Kubrik.
The Exhibition
Circle of Fine Arts.
Calle de Alcalá, 42. Madrid
Until May 8, 2022.
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 21:00.
Monday closed, except holidays.
Price: general admission, 14 euros;
children from 4 to 12 years old, 6 euros.
www.kubrickexhibition.com
