Wednesday, August 24, 2022

LEON VITALI, FILM-WORKER, SK'S RIGHT HAND MAN, DEAD AT 74



For those of us who are obsessed with the life and work of Stanley Kubrick, there's always been one person in the world who held the job we all, at some point, wished that WE had... Leon Vitali, right-hand man to the Maestro, himself. 

But that's not all he was. In his seven-plus decades on this planet, Leon managed to squeeze in a lot of living. He was a teen heart-throb on British TV (and in those colorful magazines aimed at teen girls). He then managed to parlay that into a career as a serious actor, including in two films by the greatest director in film history, a man who so fascinated Leon that he set out to become that man's most indispensable assistant... and succeeded! 

He was also a dad (twice over), and as a measure of how vital he was to the Kubrickean oeuvre, he continued to do good work for the man years after Kubrick passed away, helping put together retrospectives, documentaries, and an incredible international traveling roadshow, for which he put in countless hours of work and quality control, allegedly all without any reimbursement. Loyalty on this level is a rare thing, indeed, and the fact that it wasn't reciprocated by those who raked in significant profits thanks to his work should be forever shamed by their sickening avarice.

In any case, I have personally been buoyed to find that Leon's passing has been given significant coverage by the mainstream media. And so, after getting some of the lesser known bits out, above, I feel as though there's really no reason for me to write yet another piece with all the same information as you can find pretty much anywhere online now. So go read one of those (like this one from People.com) and spare a thought for Leon Vitali, the man who helped Stanley Kubrick make the kind of movies he most wanted to make.

Thursday, May 19, 2022

WATCH THE RAREST KUBRICK VIDEO ON THE INTERNET!

This Japanese show that investigates "true" paranormal events comes to London to visit the set of The Shining, which they apparently considered to be a "cursed production" because the set burned to the ground just a week or two before the end of filming. They didn't prove anything supernatural happened, but they sure got a lot of good behind the scenes Kubrick family trivia and footage!


Thursday, August 13, 2020

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Monday, February 10, 2020

GET YOUR OWN 2001: A SPACE CHAIR AT AUCTION, THIS WEEK!


Check it out: Chiswick Auctions is excited to present two iconic chairs, the design of which was chosen by Stanley Kubrick for his classic 1969 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, in the Design sale at Chiswick Auctions this Tuesday, February 11th, 2020. The Djinn chairs were designed by Olivier Mourgue in 1965, while he was working for the French manufacturer Airborne International, and epitomise ’60s ‘futuristic’ design. The design has gone on to take a place in interior design history. The chairs were not designed specifically for the film, but were chosen by Kubrick and his team to create a futuristic scene in the movie, when Dr Floyd walks through the Hilton lobby of Space Station Five on his way to the moon.

Friday, February 7, 2020

R.I.P. SPARTACUS ~ KIRK DOUGLAS DIES AT 103


And, of course, Douglas also starred in (and helped to get made) the magnificent Paths of Glory, the film that arguably put Stanley Kubrick on the path towards achieving a level of directorial superstardom reached by only a tiny handful of others, before or since.


Sunday, November 3, 2019

WE CAN'T ALWAYS BE SUPER-SERIOUS AROUND HERE!

The folks behind the Honest Trailers channel on Youtube created a real doozy of a humdinger when they tackled Kubrick's version of The Shining. Go... check it out!


Friday, July 12, 2019

"THE MIRROR"

Here's "The Mirror", yet another wonderful video essay from our friend Anton Halldin, creator of the vast and intriguing Space: 5001 project. Be sure to subscribe to his Youtube channel, and check out his Twitter account.


”I tried to create a visual experience, one that bypasses verbalized pigeonholing and directly penetrates the subconscious with an emotional and philosophic content.”
- Stanley Kubrick

Saturday, June 29, 2019

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY IS A HALL OF MIRRORS ~ A video essay by Anton Halldin

Our good friend Anton Halldin, from Gothenburg, Sweden, the man behind the epic work of obsessive Kubrickean analysis known as Space5001Odyssey.com, has been kind enough to send along his latest creative work. 

2001: A Space Odyssey is a Hall of Mirrors is a hypnotic video essay in which he posits that Stanley's well-known penchant for symmetry and matching shots is far more than a mere stylistic conceit, and that a more accurate cataloging of all the instances in which he uses his mirroring techniques could possibly lead to a better understanding of the myriad mysteries contained within his films... 2001 in particular, of course. Enjoy!