"It boggles the mind" Topic

Just read somewhere that Stanley Kubrick planned, but never carried out, a screenplay on the life of Napoleon.

Can you imagine what that would have been like? With the techniques he used in "Barry Lyndon," and the drama and pacing of "Paths of Glory?

Might be a candidate for best movie never made.

PDF link

Script, for those who are curious….

There have been rumours that Stephen Spielberg is going to make a version of the film for TV. That could be magnificent. However, like the stories about Steve Carrel remaking the Brigadier Gerard stories, all seems to have faded away.

yeah, but imagine if it had panned out like Apocalypse Now – a turgidly paced period piece if ever I have seen one. It has its moments, but most of it is 70's acid fueled tosh IM(not so)HO

Kinda old news … They even put out a commemorative book on the TGMNM: link

The script does suggest it would have been very hard going and long winded.

Apocalypse Now actually more sense with the cut scenes reintroduced…but it drags even more!

Seems it was a tossup which he would do first--that, or his long-held desire to do the story that became "Eyes Wide Shut". As it turned out,all we got was the latter snooze-fest.

I would have preferred Napoleon,needless to say, even with longueurs.

Kubrick's tendency for ponderousness was his greatest weakness. After we went to see Barry Lyndon, a friend said he thought the theme of the movie was "boredom".

Barry Lyndon I saw for the first time a few weeks ago. I had always heard there was a superb battle scene. It started well and was over in a minute or so.

The rest was mind numbing

Oh, I dunno. Marisa Berenson in the bath….
….I'll get me cloak

Kubrick, great director, I am a comitted fan, Paths of Glory, priceless scene when Colonel Dax walks through the trenches before the attack, the faces of his soldiers, just art.

In case of Napoleon, it would have been a great movie.

The rest was mind numbing

I am still sometimes admonished by Lady Hill for making her watch Barry Lyndon over 15 years ago.

I did not know he did Paths of Glory………

Take it all back. Incredible film and brilliant acting by Kirk Douglas…totally out of character for him. Like "The Train" and Burt Lancaster…again an American Actor…again totally miscast as a Frenchman….and both rise to the occasion, as outstanding.

Remember, a script- particularly an unproduced script- is just a starting point. They rewrite, add, subtract, etcetera as they go. And a lot of the areas where there isn't dialogue- the battle scenes in particular- could come out with quite a bit in the way of memorable scenes and action – that's where directors do their magical bit.

To my mind, the research effort expended in identifying key historical personages who would be pretty obscure to nonspecialists is the best indicator that they might have wound up with a pretty amazing product.

And can you imagine if they had engaged the late lamented George MacDonald Fraser as a script doctor?!?

of course what really killed Kubrick's Napoleon project was the horrible box office performance of Bondarchuk's very expensive Waterloo (not to mention the self-righteous Charge of the Light Brigade, which almost killed its studio)

After all the red ink after Waterloo (which was terribly edited in terms of continuity once the battle starts – unless you're a wargamer) no studio would support Stanley.

noteworthy – at the end of the script pdf you can find Kubrick's notes on how he planned to film his battle scenes economically using central European extras and paper uniforms for some shots – interesting stuff

Yes – but he would realy demand high quality control how all this would come over at the screen, Marisa Berenson wasn't allowed to go into the sun – 6 months before they started to film the movie – just to keep a pale en vogue taint, the lightning in the castles – only by candles etc, just fascinating

Yes, the degree of preparation for "Barry Lyndon" was staggering. IIRC, they had to build special cameras to film in the realistic lighting conditions he wanted.

Reading the script, I found myself met ally adding scenes – the famous interview with Metternich in 1813, for example- but the reality is that Napoleon's life and career are such a rich source of anecdote and adventure that it's hard to stop doing that once you start. Quel Roman est am vie; it's hard to think of a living director who could do it justice.