One thing that I was looking forward to over my winter break was the Stanley Kubrick exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. I had heard terrific things about it and was eager to see everything for myself. Everyone who has an interest in film or even just a love of Kubrick movies really must get down to LACMA and see this exhibit! There are annotated scripts, production photography, lenses and cameras, set models, costumes, and props from many of his films.
Throughout the exhibit, every time I turned the corner I was reminded of the brilliance of Kubrick and the unique vision he brought to the art of filmmaking. Reading his notes, it’s as if you are being given the extraordinary chance to peek into the mind of a genius.
There are so many unbelievable things to see; these pictures represent only a few of my favorites.
When I first got up close to one of the ape suits from 2001: A Space Odyssey, I was impressed by the incredible amount of detail. Getting to see the animatronic fetus used at the end of the film was cool, but honestly, pretty creepy to look at for more than a few seconds. Probably the only thing more eerie than that was a giant image of the twins from The Shining on the wall next to a couple of hatchets used in the film. In the same room sat the actual typewriter from the film with a page filled with the haunting words “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” I was also instantly struck by the oddity that the twin girls’ dresses were two different sizes. I mean, they were twins after all, right? And, my memory of them was that they were the same size. Now I have to watch it again, just to see if I notice the difference.
Upon seeing a miniature of the war room set from Dr. Strangelove, I immediately quoted the film out loud saying, “You can’t fight in here. This is the war room!” I circled the entire exhibit several times, discovering new treasures each time and found it difficult to pull myself away from this filmmaking wonderland. As you look through these pictures, I’m sure you’ll understand why.
