Published By: Sayan Paul

Stanley Kubrick: 12 quotes that will change your approach towards cinema

Learn more about cinema through these enriching words by the genius filmmaker Stanley Kubrick.

Stanley Kubrick was a legendary American filmmaker who revolutionized the form of cinema in the 20th century. His brilliant cinematic treatments, keen detailing in storytelling and unique approach towards dealing with complex topics on screen still influence thousands of aspiring filmmakers around the world. Aside from being a skilled film director, he also excelled in several other fields such as writing, photography and editing. Among all the masterpieces he made, the most notable ones are '2001: A Space Odyssey', 'Lolita', 'Paths of Glory', 'A Clockwork Orange' etc.

Here are some quotes by him:

"If it can be written, or thought, it can be filmed."

"A film is - or should be - more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later."

"The screen is a magic medium. It has such power that it can retain interest as it conveys emotions and moods that no other art form can hope to tackle."

"Perhaps it sounds ridiculous, but the best thing that young filmmakers should do is to get hold of a camera and some film and make a movie of any kind at all."

"I do not always know what I want, but I do know what I don't want."

"I have always enjoyed dealing with a slightly surrealistic situation and presenting it in a realistic manner. I've always liked fairy tales and myths, magical stories. I think they are somehow closer to the sense of reality one feels today than the equally stylized 'realistic' story in which a great deal of selectivity and omission has to occur in order to preserve its "realist" style."

"If you really want to communicate something, even if it's just an emotion or an attitude, let alone an idea, the least effective and least enjoyable way is directly."

"Observancy is a dying art. The essence of dramatic form is to let an idea come over people without it being plainly stated."

"A filmmaker has almost the same freedom as a novelist has when he buys himself some paper."

"The lasting and ultimately most important reputation of a film is not based on reviews, but on what, if anything, people say about it over the years, and on how much affection for it they have."

"One man writes a novel. One man writes a symphony. It is essential that one man makes a film."

"Everything has already been done. Every story has been told; every scene has been shot. It's our job is to do it one better."