Finding Rosebud in Kubrick Estate

STANLEY KUBRICK'S BOXES (2008)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

The genius of a film director like Stanley Kubrick can't be easily explained away. Most film directors give much insight into their work habits, stories that interest them, their driving impulses, and their themes in interviews. Kubrick revealed precious little, only what stirred his interest in making films but not necessarily revealing the source of ambiguity. Director and author Jon Ronson wants to uncover the mystery of the man himself, the rosebud that will help explain his genius. He may come close but most viewers will still be perplexed by the obsessive nature of this legendary director.

"Stanley Kubrick's Boxes" shows us the mini-warehouse at the Kubrick Estate (since moved to the University of the Arts in London) where Kubrick's boxes are legion. There are various photographs and stills from pre-production of "Eyes Wide Shut" and "A Clockwork Orange." There are also newspaper ads of his first-run theatrical releases where the measurements of the ads were in fact smaller than what the advertisers promised. Tony Frewin (assistant to Kubrick for more than thirty years) reveals how the box manufacturer was called to help make boxes that had lids that fit just right. There are also fascinating snippets involving boxes that held letters from fans, and crank letters of people who might assassinate Kubrick or people he at least considered somewhat dangerous! One so-called crank letter came from a writer named Vincent Tilsley who wrote to Kubrick after being disappointed with "2001" and with having his six-hour tv-movie "The Death of Adolph Hitler" truncated to less than 2 hours - Tilsley wanted to be in the Kubrick rank of great filmmakers (the writer later quit and became a psychotherapist).

Aside from fan letters, one fan actually made a video called "Shining Clockwork" which parodied Kubrick by having an actor play Kubrick who is paralyzed by some diehard fans who were disappointed with "The Shining." The videographer managed to contact Kubrick by phone and simply asked if the director received the videotape. Stanley said he did, and that was the end of that conversation.  

Most troubling are the stills shown from a Kubrick film that never was, "Aryan Papers," a Nazi Holocaust film adapted from a book entitled "Wartime Lies." According to Kubrick's widow, Christiane Kubrick, Stanley gave it up because the story depressed him (in the enlightening documentary, "A Life in Pictures," Christiane further stated that Stanley felt he couldn't pretend such a horrid tale of one of the worst human catastrophes of the 20th century). However, according Mr. Frewin, preproduction of the film lasted two years so when did Stanley have a change-of-heart, or is it because of Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" that was released around the same time? The mind boggles.

"Boxes" is indelibly fascinating and absorbing as it pores over Kubrick's boxes and the treasures Ronson uncovers. There is everything from memos dictating the similarities between TV's "Space: 1999" and "2001," to found film footage showing Kubrick behind-the-scenes of "Full Metal Jacket" deciding how many tea breaks there can be in one day. Though Ronson might think he has found his Roseud, Kubrick is still a man of mystery with more quirks and eccentricities than even Bob Dylan. That may be the way Stanley wants to leave it.