Synopsis
An obsession with creativity and Kubrick
The story of Leon Vitali, who surrendered his promising acting career to become Stanley Kubrick's devoted right-hand man.
Filmworker
2017 Directed by Tony Zierra
Cast
Leon Vitali Stanley Kubrick Ryan O'Neal Danny Lloyd Matthew Modine R. Lee Ermey Stellan Skarsgård Marie Richardson Tim Colceri Julian Senior Pernilla August Lisa Leone Vera Vitali Max Vitali Masha Vitali Chris Vitali Tim Vitali Maria Hayward Treva Etienne Brian Capron Beverly Wood Jacob Rosenberg Philip Rosenthal Colin Mossman Steve Southgate Warren Lieberfarb Mike Alfreds Nick Redman Brian Jamieson
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Popular reviews
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Another documentary that would be impossible not to find intriguing by any film lover. What struck me the most, besides of course Vitali being an unsung hero, is the devotion to preservation and control over the presentation of the films by Kubrick and his team. This is a big part of being a filmmaker.
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I’m guessing Stanley Kubrick didn’t get a ton of “World’s Greatest Boss” mugs on his birthday.
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Vitali should've won an Oscar for playing the orgy master in Eyes Wide Shut but whatever
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Very interesting story of a dude who dedicated his entire life to realizing Stanley Kubrick’s artistic vision, even if it meant getting barely any credit, and throwing away his own life in the process. Asks some hard questions I’ve wrestled with for a while, like “is art more important than relationships or life?” and “would you want to be a part of something bigger even if you never got credit for it?” The documentary itself isn’t brilliantly edited/shot or anything, but the subject matter is really cool. Anyone who calls themselves a Kubrick fan should watch.
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“Eyes Wide Open” is the only way I can describe myself at the moment. This is the highest recommendation from me right now. If you “know” Stanley Kubrick but don’t know Leon Vitali, watch this movie now.
Leon Vitali is one of the most important people in cinema and his story is powerfully moving.
I got an awesome screening where I got to meet and chat with the director one on one for a little bit. Nice guy and really saved Vitali by shining a light on him.
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A heartbreaking portrait of an incredibly talented individual that dedicated his life to serving someone else’s vision.
After many years of watching/ reading everything I could get my hands on about Kubrick, there were still amazing nuggets of information here about the master.
I came for Kubrick, but left moved by this story about an incredible man whose hand has shaped the films of Kubrick from the shadows... both during his life, and after.
The scene discussing the LACMA exhibition, Leon’s reaction, it made my heart sink.
What a passionate, egoless and beautiful soul.
Also, what’s the deal with Stellan Skarsgård? That tirade about being creative came out of nowhere! -
A terrible proclivity that we as humans have is idolizing and elevating the individual genius. There are really only a handful of "great" people who's names everyone know, and we do this thing where we make it seem like they had something that nobody else had. The reality is, that all of the "great" people had great people around them to help them, to inspire them, etc. I don't subscribe at all to the idea of the genius, but I do subscribe to the idea of a collective genius, where a group of people, at a certain time, were able to do something lasting and profound. Filmworker highlights someone who was part of Stanley Kubrick's collective genius, Leon Vitali. Vitali…
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You know, this actually kind of bummed me out a little. I was simultaneously in awe of Leon Vitali's dedication and also mildly appalled by it. The amount that man gave and is still giving to this day to Kubrick is conceptually completely overwhelming.
It is a relationship that harkens back to a bygone era of true apprenticeship, where there was an intense responsibility and love involved; it wasn't just a job for these people, it was a lifestyle and compulsion, their identities completely wrapped inside of the work and needs of a master artist.
As a film, this was pretty solid. I appreciated how candid Leon was about his decisions and his relationship with Kubrick. There didn't seem to…
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A classic case of fascinating material with some really fantastic tidbits being bogged down by absolutely awful filmmaking. Should have been such a technically simple film, but it’s edited so, so poorly.
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The Letterboxd Era Project 5: The Last One
My recent reviews have mostly been short because 2020 keeps finding new ways to be extremely shit.
So I'd like to spend more time on this fascinating little documentary which offers a much-needed alternative perspective on Stanley Kubrick, mostly through Leon Vitali. It deserves it, after all.
I will offer just a couple of cursory observations though. I'm glad that Vitali has pushed through a lot of the privacy that Kubrick (and his estate) put around his work and working practices to encourage studies and education of film to centre around Kubrick's work, rather than being entirely protective of it.
Additionally, I really wish there were more documentaries about great artists like this, told from the point of view of a largely unseen but important collaborator. They can be so key to understanding an artist and their work with added clarity and insight.