TOP FIVE: HORROR MOVIES

1. THE SHINING (1980)

A classic, and for a good reason. This wins in terms of style, suspense and horror. Every shot looks like a beautifully macabre photograph.

2. TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972)

I love a horror anthology, the British do it best, in my opinion. This one has some classic stories. The thing I love most about these stories are the fact that the bad guys always get their comeuppance. Other great horror anthologies include (because I couldn’t include them all… The Vault of Horror (1973), Asylum (1972), From Beyond the Grave(1974), and of course the more modern Creepshow (1982) and Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)

3. THE BAD SEED (1956)

There’s nothing scarier than a ‘cute’ psychopathic little girl.

4. THE POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES (2007)

A whole set of video tapes are found in an abandoned house showing what appears to be the life’s work of a truly horrific serial killer. The mockumentary style just makes the whole thing scarier because you can image what you’re seeing is real.

5. SLEEPAWAY CAMP (1983)

This almost falls into the so bad it’s good category, The twist makes it even better.

FILM 1178: BARRY LYNDON

TRIVIA: Contrary to legend, this film did use artificial lighting in some scenes (for example, when Brian learns he's getting a horse). However, it is true that no electronic lighting was used for the candle-lit scenes. A lens built by the Carl Zeiss company for N.A.S.A., a fifty millimetre Zeiss lens modified with the Kollmorgen adaptor used in still cameras, was used to shoot scenes lit only by candle. This lens had the largest aperture of any ever built for movie use (f/0.7).

Many of the shots were composed and filmed in order to evoke certain eighteenth century paintings, especially those by Thomas Gainsborough.

Production was moved from Ireland to England after Stanley Kubrick received word that his name was on an IRA hit list for directing a film featuring English soldiers in Ireland.

Stanley Kubrick used to play the soundtrack's classical music during takes to get the actors in a better mood. He was reportedly influenced by Sergio Leone's method in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968).

Stanley Kubrick instructed Marisa Berenson to keep out of the sun in the months before production in order to achieve the period-specific pallor he required.

A myth grew that the Academy Award-winning costumes used in the film were genuine antique clothes, but this is only partly correct. Some of the costumes were genuine antiques bought at auction by costume designer Milena Canonero, while others were custom-made specifically for the film and were based on clothing of the period and costumes seen in period paintings.

When Barry inquires about a painting, he is told it was painted by a man named "Ludovico Corde". This is a misspelling in the DVD subtitles, probably due to the pronunciation; the artist's name was Ludovico Cardi AKA "il Cigoli" and he actually was a disciple of Alessandro Allori, as it said in the movie. Interestingly, Kubrick's previous film, A Clockwork Orange (1971), prominently features a Ludovico process.

According to Stanley Kubrick's biographer, Robert Redford was the original choice for the role of Barry Lyndon but turned it down.

Brian Blessed was cut out of the final print.

BOOK 103: KUBRICK: MICHAEL HERR

'An intimate portrait of the genius who transformed the art of filmmaking' Stanley Kubrick's career spanned Paths of Glory, Lolita. Dr Strangelove 2001. A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange. Barry Lyncon. The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut. In this book, Michael Herr, best known for his brilliant and seminal books Dispatches and Walter Winchell, who worked with Kubrick on Full Metal Jacket and co-wrote the screenplay, pays due homage and tribute to his long-time friend, remembering the humour, the cleanly burning intelligence and the outrageous sanity of a twentieth century master.

Film 2017: Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures

Narrated by Tom Cruise, "Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures" goes through each one of his movies and talks to various participants about their memories of working with Kubrick. For those who know very little about Kubrick, the documentary is an excellent career overview. Kubrick film clips include "Fear and Desire," "Killer's Kiss," "The Killing," "Paths of Glory," "Spartacus," "Lolita," "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb," "2001: A Space Odyssey," "A Clockwork Orange," "Barry Lyndon," "The Shining," "Full Metal Jacket" and "Eyes Wide Shut." Those appearing include: Arthur C. Clarke, Keir Dullea, Shelley Duvall, James B. Harris, Richard Schickel, Michael Herr, Nicole Kidman, Anya Kubrick, Christiane Kubrick, Gert Kubrick, Katharina Kubrick, Paul Mazursky, Jack Nicholson, Malcolm McDowell, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Douglas Trumbull, Marie Windsor, Matthew Modine, Sydney Pollack and Peter Ustinov.