Stanley Kubrick’s favourite part of filmmaking: “It shares no connection with any other art form”
Stanley Kubrick was a rare talent who brought a certain quality to the art form that was incredibly ahead of his time.
There’s a sense of aesthetic cleanliness—everything is meticulously thought out and perfectly placed—lending his movies a timelessness that has allowed them to transcend their place in cinema to become cultural landmarks.
2001: A Space Odyssey didn’t just receive widespread acclaim; it generated conspiracy theories that Kubrick was responsible for the moon landing. And The Shining forever changed the way we looked at twins, patterned carpets, and bathroom doors.
From the beginning of his career, the director preferred a very hands-on approach to making films, with his debut feature, Fear and Desire, seeing him take on most of the major production roles himself. The director became known for his perfectionism and obsessiveness—something that notoriously affected his treatment of Shelley Duvall during the filming of The Shining—and this stemmed from his desire for control.
Thus, it’s unsurprising that Kubrick’s favourite part of filmmaking was a post-production job that allowed him to work closely with his material without the stress of managing a big crew or having elements of his film slip out of his control. Talking to Sight and Sound in 1972, shortly after the release of his controversial tale of ultraviolence, A Clockwork Orange, Kubrick revealed his love of the editing process.
The filmmaker had worked closely with his editor, Bill Butler, on the movie, ensuring that every scene was perfect, something he liked to do for all of his films. While he was the editor of all of his earlier films, he allowed a main editor to take the lead once he became a more prominent figure, although this didn’t stop him from attentively observing every edit made to his movies.
Kubrick explained, “I think I enjoy editing the most. It’s the nearest thing to something reasonable in which to do creative work. Writing, of course, is very satisfying, but, of course, you’re not working with film.”
The director found the “actual shooting of a film” to be “probably the worst circumstances you could try to imagine for creating a work of art”. Marred by practical obstacles and issues, Kubrick believed it to be more stressful than creatively fulfilling, which is why he loved editing so much.
“There is, first of all, the problem of getting up very early every morning and going to bed very late every night,” he heartily complained. “Then there is the chaos, confusion, and frequently physical discomfort. It would be, I suppose, like a writer trying to write a book while working at a factory lathe in temperatures that range from 95 to -10 degrees Fahrenheit”.
On the other hand, he praised the editing process, noting, “In addition to this, of course, editing is the only aspect of the cinematic art that is unique. It shares no connection with any other art form: writing, acting, photography, things that are major aspects of the cinema, are still not unique to it, but editing is.”
Kubrick would happily step into the role of editor for the freedom it affords with the material, adding, “I’m never troubled losing material. I cut everything to the bone… When you’re editing, you want to get rid of everything that isn’t essential.”
