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That's not really specious if you understand the rest of Kubrick's reputation and work history. Kubrick was well known for pretty much running the editing room

That's not really specious if you understand the rest of Kubrick's reputation and work history. Kubrick was well known for pretty much running the editing room (a big deal, since editors are usually given at least a degree of independence on the first cut) and also wrote the screenplays for most of his films. A single person taking the role of director/editor/screenwriter is pretty much unheard of in the industry.

wahnfrieden 14y ago
Fassbinder, Gaspar Noe (sometimes), Mario Bava, Kurosawa, Coen brothers, Tsukamoto, etc. Kubrick had a DP but like many directors sometimes operated it (or one of the cameras) himself.
llambda 14y ago
> A single person taking the role of director/editor/screenwriter is pretty much unheard of in the industry. Wrong. Let's take a very recent example (and note well, this is not at all uncommon outside of Hollywood, for instance Teshigahara's famous collaborations with author Kobo Abe) Paul Thomas Anderson, directed, wrote, and produced/edited (both the 65mm and digital transfer, in tandem) The Master. It is not at all uncommon for a director to at least collaborate with a screenwriter if not write the screenplay themselves. And most directors would like (although this is sometimes prohibited by the studios, e.g. in the case of Orson Welles) to have creative power if not direct control over the production and editing process. However, even at this level of involvement we are a far cry from the claim that a single person is responsible for the film as a creative work. For instance, you're missing a critical piece of the equation: acting. You could easily make the argument the job of an actor is as important as any role a director might have and ultimately it is the centerpiece of so much film as well as the final artist presentation. Even the most controlling directors have limited ability to hold de facto control over this aspect of the film. Considering all the multitude of complexities of the process, the myth of this superhuman director here is a lot less interesting than the actual process of filmmaking, if you ask me.
- leephillips 14y ago
  And Jackie Chan did all this plus acting, choreography, and stuntwork. He famously had an editing setup in his hotel room and would edit the footage himself after each day's shooting.
- philwelch 14y ago
  The best directors also cast and manipulate their actors into the performances they want. Some Kubrick examples: George C. Scott's manic performance in Dr. Strangelove was pulled from the actor when Kubrick repeatedly asked for a deliberately over-the-top performance in one take, promising that he would have Scott dial it down in further takes to get the performance he wanted. In reality, Kubrick just used the over-the-top take. Another technique of manipulating George C. Scott was to bet the outcome of any disagreement on a game of chess, which Kubrick invariably won and which Scott was nonetheless too competitive to turn down. Shelley Duvall's neurotic performance in The Shining was partially the result of Kubrick unsettling her by telling her none of the cast liked working with her, least of all Jack Nicholson. This was a lie, but it worked.
  - wahnfrieden 14y ago
    "The best"? Some directors use those kinds of methods to manipulate their actor's psychology. I don't understand why you think that's a mark of a better director though, and not just one technique among many. Some consider Kiarostami for instance one of "the best" and he gives only the minimal information needed to his actors for the scene and lets them do their thing. He does cast for the performance he wants though - not sure what director doesn't?
    - derleth 14y ago
      > He does cast for the performance he wants though - not sure what director doesn't? A director will do what they can, but there's a reason Orson Welles directed Charlton Heston playing a Mexican.
      - wahnfrieden 14y ago
MartinCron 14y ago
A single person taking the role of director/editor/screenwriter is pretty much unheard of in the industry. Rare, but not unheard of. Soderbergh likes to do all of those things, though he uses pseudonyms for his "editor" self. Kevin Smith is such a big fan of doing his own editing that he compares hiring an editor to delegating having sex with your wife to someone else, but that's Kevin Smith, for you.
alexqgb 14y ago
Right, because nobody has heard of James Cameron.

wahnfrieden 14y ago

Fassbinder, Gaspar Noe (sometimes), Mario Bava, Kurosawa, Coen brothers, Tsukamoto, etc. Kubrick had a DP but like many directors sometimes operated it (or one of the cameras) himself.

llambda 14y ago

> A single person taking the role of director/editor/screenwriter is pretty much unheard of in the industry. Wrong. Let's take a very recent example (and note well, this is not at all uncommon outside of Hollywood, for instance Teshigahara's famous collaborations with author Kobo Abe) Paul Thomas Anderson, directed, wrote, and produced/edited (both the 65mm and digital transfer, in tandem) The Master. It is not at all uncommon for a director to at least collaborate with a screenwriter if not write the screenplay themselves. And most directors would like (although this is sometimes prohibited by the studios, e.g. in the case of Orson Welles) to have creative power if not direct control over the production and editing process. However, even at this level of involvement we are a far cry from the claim that a single person is responsible for the film as a creative work. For instance, you're missing a critical piece of the equation: acting. You could easily make the argument the job of an actor is as important as any role a director might have and ultimately it is the centerpiece of so much film as well as the final artist presentation. Even the most controlling directors have limited ability to hold de facto control over this aspect of the film. Considering all the multitude of complexities of the process, the myth of this superhuman director here is a lot less interesting than the actual process of filmmaking, if you ask me.

leephillips 14y ago
And Jackie Chan did all this plus acting, choreography, and stuntwork. He famously had an editing setup in his hotel room and would edit the footage himself after each day's shooting.
philwelch 14y ago
The best directors also cast and manipulate their actors into the performances they want. Some Kubrick examples: George C. Scott's manic performance in Dr. Strangelove was pulled from the actor when Kubrick repeatedly asked for a deliberately over-the-top performance in one take, promising that he would have Scott dial it down in further takes to get the performance he wanted. In reality, Kubrick just used the over-the-top take. Another technique of manipulating George C. Scott was to bet the outcome of any disagreement on a game of chess, which Kubrick invariably won and which Scott was nonetheless too competitive to turn down. Shelley Duvall's neurotic performance in The Shining was partially the result of Kubrick unsettling her by telling her none of the cast liked working with her, least of all Jack Nicholson. This was a lie, but it worked.
- wahnfrieden 14y ago
  "The best"? Some directors use those kinds of methods to manipulate their actor's psychology. I don't understand why you think that's a mark of a better director though, and not just one technique among many. Some consider Kiarostami for instance one of "the best" and he gives only the minimal information needed to his actors for the scene and lets them do their thing. He does cast for the performance he wants though - not sure what director doesn't?
  - derleth 14y ago
    > He does cast for the performance he wants though - not sure what director doesn't? A director will do what they can, but there's a reason Orson Welles directed Charlton Heston playing a Mexican.
    - wahnfrieden 14y ago

MartinCron 14y ago

A single person taking the role of director/editor/screenwriter is pretty much unheard of in the industry. Rare, but not unheard of. Soderbergh likes to do all of those things, though he uses pseudonyms for his "editor" self. Kevin Smith is such a big fan of doing his own editing that he compares hiring an editor to delegating having sex with your wife to someone else, but that's Kevin Smith, for you.

alexqgb 14y ago

Right, because nobody has heard of James Cameron.