MovieChat Forums > A Clockwork Orange (1972) Discussion > Why are Kubrick's dialogue so dull?

Why are Kubrick's dialogue so dull?

posted 9 years ago by HZ-FcB-97
19 replies | jump to latest

I don't understand this man. Some of his films, e.g. Paths Of Glory, Full Metal Jacket, Dr. Strangelove, are all brilliant and truly great cinema. But then he makes movies like e.g. A Clockwork Orange and 2001, where the concept and story are interesting and the message is great with some masterful scenes, but many of the other scenes are so dull with boring character displays that eventually you loose interest in the film. I'm not interested in seeing a doctor signing papers, astronauts eating breakfast or a woman doing yoga in her living room. I don't understand why he makes these certain long and dull scenes, sometimes it's a like I'm watching a whole different director. What's the point really? If any of you Kubrick fans know then please tell me, and please spare the patronizing "you're stupid"-comments some Kubrick fans tend to throw at people. Thanks.

[–] elmakat7 8 years ago

Every "dull" scene in A Clockwork Orange is actually funny, plus from very few moves or face expressions he builds a character and this is magic.

(You think my English is bad? Yep!You're right..)

[–] jnatch 8 years ago

its cinema not theatre silly, see I didnt call you stupid

[–] eweland 8 years ago

Kubrick understood the power of an image. Photography.

Most films today don't even seem real because they are edited TOO fast.

So blame the culture in which you grew up.
You were groomed to have everything instantaneously.
Sometime in your life you WILL slow down.

Sometimes after reading the incredibly stupid comments on IMDb, I think Kubrick's films shouldn't even be allowed to be shown to anyone under the age of 30. It's like taking your infant on an expensive foreign trip. A waste of time and money.

Your culture is so spoiled it doesn't even know where to begin.
_

Kubrick's film - will always be the definitive version of The Shining.

[–] Ringworm7 8 years ago

The "dull" dialogue scenes leave room for the core messages of the stories, satirical or serious, while at the same time giving the audience time to take a few breaths before the next big scene. And sometimes the quietest scenes are the biggest.

__________
7even days

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] lubin-freddy 8 years ago

Dialog, like production design, camera work, acting style, etc., is, or should be, a function of the artistic need of the material. Barry Lyndon had great dialog. So did Dr. Strangelove. 2001: A Space Odyssey had little, only functional dialog, which was exactly right. I don't think that the dialog in A Clockwork Orange is dull.

EDIT: I watched the film today, with my 12th graders, and paid more attention to the dialog. It's wonderful, especially the voice-overs by "Alex". Many of the characters speak in a wonderful futuristic poetic form of English. To say nothing about the use of "nadsat". Anything but "dull".

What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.