The story and acting isn’t the best. But that’s not what you watch this movie for. You watch it for Stanley Kubrick.
It’s clear that he’s still a photographer at this point and not a cinematographer. Especially in scenes where the camera itself has to pan and move. It’s, not great. Very amateurish.
But the shots. The compositions of them. Every single one is very well composed. For a photographer anyway. The amount he chooses to close in, when he chooses to get close ups and not, they’re all very photographically minded, and makes each shot a delight to consume in its own right. You can pause it and still see the full story.
His choices in when to follow the people, or have those talking off-camera and just filming seemingly mundane irrelevant actions going on are unique, and brilliant. Two people talking and he stays focused on the dog. Or two people talking and it’s a closeup of a third person pouring and consuming a drink. The decisions in keeping the stars off camera taught many directors a new skill that added to cinema.
This movie showcases well what Kubrick brought to cinema. His unique eye, and the strengths that make him so revered.
It is like a 5/10. I wouldn't call it a bad movie. There are some good lines and scenes, but overall it was just meh.
Most of the acting and dialogue is pretty bad.
It is an interesting watch as Stanley Kubrick's first movie, but if it was longer than the 1 hour runtime I probably would have turned it off.
Huh. Well this is the only Kubrick film that I hadn't seen before, assuming you don't count all his documentaries. Well, it was a different experience. Honestly, it kind of feels like a college film of an upcoming student. I think it really is that kind of thing, and it makes me judge it a little differently.
There truly is a lot of weird stuff going on, but at the end of the day I do enjoy watching it. I think this would be great if they cut the time down a bit. Sections do feel really long for no strong reason. I'd only probably recommend this to those who are into Kubrick and want to see his progress.
At first I was wondering if there was anything to be saved here... by the middle of it (or earlier) I couldn't stop thinking that if there was one thing, it'd be just the few lines in the beginning: the narrator sends us a statement, an interesting one, that unfortunately the movie couldn't keep up.
It has a few nice shots and some (fewer) lines, even, ones that could've been interesting in a different movie. The lines are poorly delivered and the shots become lost in the same mess that the movie all in all gets stuck.
If you think I'm being too harsh, you should search for the words of Kubrick himself.
Watch this only out of curiosity.
I doubt that this movie, which made me think about quitting whilst in the middle of it (a thing that doesn't happen pretty often with me), can be of any other use.
Shout by Neal MahoneyVIP 8BlockedParent2018-04-25T01:56:48Z
You can definitely tell it is an amateur making this film. The editing is weird and so is the choice of so many close ups. The story starts interesting with an undisclosed war in an undisclosed land but just drags too much, even for a movie that is only an hour. The acting isn't good and the lines are borderline terrible. Only watch this if you want to see where Stanley Kubrick started from.