Filmworker

Dir: Tony Zierra

2017

****

Stanley Kubrick was one of the greatest directors of all time. He didn’t make hundreds of films but the few he did make are all meticulous masterpieces. However, Michelangelo didn't paint the Sistine Chapel all by himself and Kubrick, as detailed as he was, couldn’t attended to each and every facet of the film making process single-handedly. His epic films were noted as having relatively low production costs, this was because Leon Vitali, who became Kubrick’s right hand man, did the job of hundreds of film workers and devoted his life to the great director’s work. Vitali wasn't just an assistant, he literally became Kubrick's third arm, third ear and third eye for much of the last quarter century of his life. Kubrick was so choosy with his projects that he completed only three films from the time that Vitali became his assistant to his death but it still became a life-time’s worth of work for Vitali. Tony Zierra's effective, and engaging portrait of Vitali is straightforward and compelling from the beginning. Vitali explains that after seeing 2001: A Space Odyssey with a friend, he turned to said friend and said “I want to work for that man”. By the time that A Clockwork Orange came out, Vitali had begun a career as an actor, and was receiving great success on British television. His dream came true when a part in Kubrick’s film Barry Lyndon came about. Luckily for Vitali, Kubrick took a liking to his performance as Lord Bullingdon and even re-wrote the script in order to increase the part. This gave Vitali an opportunity to not only observe the Director at work, but, to put a bug in his ear that he might like to work for him on his future films. Kubrick suggested that he act on his wish to work behind the scenes on a film and to then let him know when he had. Vitali then accepted an acting job in the lead role of Calvin Floyd’s Terror of Frankenstein, purely to ask Floyd if he could stay on after filming and watch the editing process and help out unpaid. After doing this he told Kubrick who then asked him to fly out to the US and help audition young boys for the role of Danny in his new film The Shining. He also helped out scouting for locations and, as he explains, a lot of the finished film as we all know and love are down to decisions he made that Kubrick approved of. He would do the same in Kubrick’s last two films: Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut. It is fascinating portrait of Kubrick as a combination of friendly artist and brutal maestro. Vitali is protective but honest, telling us that the director was a kind man but a demanding one. He could cajole Vitali and the cast and crew of a picture on one hand, and, then demand effort above and beyond on the other. Not just Vitali, but others describe how exhausting Kubrick's demands were, many being fired without warning and at least one person is mentioned as having a form of a nervous breakdown. Zierra packs a hell of a lot into a 94 minute and it is a good collection of clips that illustrate both Kubrick's films, but, also Vitali's early career as an actor, as well as his clear influence. The ‘talking heads’ element of the documentary is kept interesting and while Vitali is the main interviewee, we also get other Kubrick collaborators from both in front of, and behind the camera. The first is Ryan O'Neil who speaks about his time on Barry Lyndon. He is just as honest, expressing just how tough the director could be. He re-lives the scene whereby he had to punch Vitali’s character again and again and admits he wouldn’t have done it for any other director. He is clearly upset remembering how he must have hurt him, just as the pair meet again for the first time in many years. Danny Lloyd, who was only six years old when he filmed The Shining, recalls just how kind Vitali was and how he took him under his wing during the rough shoot. He pretty much says his performance is all thanks to Vitali. Matthew Modine makes up for the somewhat negative comments he made about Vitali in his autobiography, now that he understands exactly what his role was in Kubrick’s films and how much he sacrificed for him and R. Lee Ermey, who sadly died soon after filming his interview, pretty much cites Vitali as being the one person he owes his acting career to, after Vitali persuaded Kubrick to hire him for his iconic role in Full Metal Jacket, when Kubrick only hired him as an adviser. This praise is then followed by Tim Colceri’s emotional interview, where he tells us, with tears in his eyes, how betrayed he felt after being fired from the role Ermey took, after working on the role for eight months. It would have been a role that would have made his career and after working tirelessly for months on end he was let go via a letter. He still made it into the film and his part is more memorable than most, but it was a huge blow and show just how cold Kubrick could be, as well as showing the dirty work Vitali had to do for him. Vitali lost his life essentially; his family left him, he had no time to himself and he became deeply ill while carrying on working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for Kubrick. When not working on film he was tidying Kubrick’s house. Now, years after Kubrick’s death, Vitali is overseeing the restoration of all of Kubrick’s work, making sure everything is correct to the smallest detail. Finishing Eyes Wide Shut for Kubrick after his death (before the film was finished) is the film making equivalent of climbing Mount Everest. Vitali is, in many respects, the most accomplished and knowledgeable filmworker the world of cinema has ever seen, and yet, no one knows him. This is a must watch for film fans and budding film makers.