Stanley Kubrick's Ultra-Violent & Erotic Odysseys | Lolita | A Clockwork Orange | Eyes Wide Shut #131

Queen is Dead - A Film, TV and Culture Podcast

It's no longer Kubrick Month because we're late recording and uploading this and P4, but regardless, we're here to complete our Kubrickian Odysseys!

Dhruv, Amartya, and Hemant have spent the entirety of July (and will now spend the last week of August and the first week of September) revisiting and discussing 10 (of 13) Kubrick-directed films (the Horror and Noir films will be discussed in October and November, respectively!) plus one conceptualized and obsessed over by him but eventually directed by his dear friend, Steven Spielberg.

In Part 3 (of 4), we focus on three of Kubrick’s most overtly provocative films whose controversial nature and treatment continue to inspire heated discussions.

The least of it, perhaps, centers around “Lolita” (1962). Which is a shame, really, because Kubrick’s formal and tonal command – partly necessitated by the still-strong presence of Hollywood’s Production Code – remains masterful in it: he makes the triggering central conceit of hebephilia (strong sexual interest shown by adults in pubescent children who are early in their adolescence) consistently discomforting even when disguising it within the conventions of seemingly charming romantic comedy.

The opposite may be true in the case of “A Clockwork Orange” (1971) – undoubtedly the director’s most aggressively controversial and confrontational film both in terms of its content and treatment. Its anger towards the individual’s brand of ultraviolence and sexual deviance is outmatched by its contempt towards forced social conditioning that destroys the individual’s free will without ever actually reforming him. Kubrick – unsurprisingly – places us somewhere in between these two modes – at times, troublingly embodying the individual’s POV and other times distancing us from it, making “A Clockwork Orange” what it is – an irresolvable film of conflict that offers NO solutions.

Which is THE problem with “Eyes Wide Shut.” Well, for Amartya and, to an extent, Dhruv. They both find the film incredibly well made but tiresome in its provocative but incredibly prolonged dissection of a marriage, and especially a man’s supposedly certain perception of his wife’s “pure” role within it. Hemant tries to counter that – but much like Tom Cruise in the film itself – retreats, perhaps, because his wife (thank you, Aarti!) also concurs with us.

Listen to the full episode to hear talk in detail about all three of these films and end by debating the controversial ranking of our favorite Kubrick films!

TIME CODES

Intro: [00:00 - 17:02]

“Lolita” (1962): [17:02 - 57:25]

"A Clockwork Orange" (1971) : [57:25 - 01:36:39]

"Eyes Wide Shut" (1999) : [01:36:39 - 02:14:51]

Outro: [02:14:51 - 02:28:16]

AUDIO EXCERPTS

1. Clockwork Orange Please Stop - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhe9kRCySxM

2. Lolita (1962) - Teaser Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b94tzbyDV9U

3. Kailash Kher - Tauba Tauba - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebceE8_aNoA

4. Lolita (1962) - A New Home - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHqGIe8AZ1g

5. A Clockwork Orange 4kUHD - Rival Gang Fight - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHK5d5a5HJI&t=45s

6. First Reformed | Official Trailer HD | A24 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCF5Y8dQpR4

7. Eyes Wide Shut (Trailer) | Austin Film Society - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDXSmhOQkk4

8. Eyes Wide Shut - Opening [HD] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNaNk09usi4

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