Filmworker

A fascinating insight into one of Kubrick's faithful assistants. Essentially this film is aimed at Kubrick fans and film fanatics, but it goes much deeper than that and has the power to absorb anyone who views it. Leon is a dedicated, devoted worker bee who strived tirelessly to help Stanley archive his vision. Stanley Kubrick is obviously a genius, an enigma, and Leon was emersed in this magical world, he worked his fingers to the bone for a man he obviously admired and this devotion comes across, even though the demands Kubrick put on him took it's toll. I would give my right arm, left arm, heart, lungs , body and soul to have worked for Stanley Kubrick, Leon Vitali was lucky enough to to have been the man who did!

Filmworker provides invaluable insight into how sausages were made, into the workings of the greatest post-studio system director in the world, Stanley Kubrick. Leon Vitali was his right hand. Vitali's story, intimately told in the first person, is indirectly Kubrick's. We see the backbreaking details of what it took Kubrick to make 2 of his 5 perfect, genre-defining films: Barry Lyndon, the defining period costume drama, and The Shining, the defining Gothic horror film. (Vitali did not work on Dr. Strangelove, the defining Cold War film (and satire), 2001, the defining outer space film, or Clockwork Orange, the defining future dystopia film. He did, however, work on Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut, lesser films, IMO.)

The movie consists of real, factual, technical nitty-gritty, not the self-congratulatory generalizations which make up almost all documentaries about filmmakers and their films. This is the mountain both Kubrick and Vitali fought their entire lives to surmount. One comes to see how poor and shabby today's films are by comparison, especially with TV streaming and cable replacing real films.

Leon Vitali is a fascinating character study, a unique man, in and of himself. One wonders if Kubrick could have made his films without the blind devotion of Vitali. Those who question his devotion miss the point. Vitali was as uncompromisingly devoted to Kubrick as Kubrick was to his films. They both served the same demanding mistress, art.

If you love Kubrick, you have to see this.

I thought this film really shone a spotlight on the sad consequences of a career decision made by Leon Vitali and was one of the most severe indictments on Stanley Kubrick as a person.

A few years after appearing as Lord Bullingdon in Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, Vitali abandoned what we are led to believe was a promising acting career to work full-time (and then some) for Kubrick himself.

Whether Vitali did have a promising acting career ahead of him is not really the point, my own feeling is that if his performance in Barry Lyndon is anything to go by then an illustrious career in front of the camera was by no means guaranteed.

The real story here is the level of devotion that Vitali gave to his new career and the price he paid for it; neglecting his family and the detrimental effect the extreme workload had on his health. Vitali looks like a walking corpse and has done for many years.

This problem could have been easily solved if the very wealthy Kubrick had dug a little deeper into his pocket and employed another two or three assistants to share the workload but apparently this never happened. And the fact that Vitali has had to rely on financial support from his children clearly indicates that not only did Kubrick pay him a low salary he also left Vitali very little, if anything, in his will. Kubrick comes across as a modern-day Ebenezer Scrooge.

At least Dolores Claiborne was eventually rewarded for going above and beyond the call of duty, Vitali just seems to have been exploited and taken for granted by Kubrick for 20 years.

Kubrick must have had some special kind of charisma to treat Vitali this way and still have him coming back for more. Or maybe Vitali is just downright stupid.

Viewers will decide for themselves.

It's absolutely mind-boggling that most movie buffs don't know the story of Leon Vitali. I am grateful for this documentary and the context it provided me with. I now know that Leon should have been given much more credit than he received. If ever there was the perfect occasion for the lifetime achievement Academy Award, I'm hard-pressed if ANYBODY in Hollywood could find a better reason to hand it out than to the man who perfectly restored Kubrick's movie legacy for all to enjoy in its perfection.

Being a big fan of Kubrick, I have watched many documentaries about the virtuoso director, but it's only today, after seeing "Filmworker", that the mosaic is more complete. Therefore, while not a perfect piece of cinema, "Filmworker" still deserves all the praise because it told a story that absolutely needed to be told!

Filmworker is a wonderful tribute and reminder of the tireless effort that goes into the process of filmmaking. Focusing on Stanley Kubrick's assistant Leon Vitali who worked with him from Barry Lyndon onwards, it reminds you how dedicated to the craft you must be in order to make it in the industry.

Looking at Vitali, you get the sense of who he is. Tired and worn out but also undeniably enthusiastic and holding great affection to the maestro of Kubrick. He is filled with wonderful stories and it's both heart-breaking and reaffirming that he dedicated so much of his life to an extraordinary but also difficult individual. I would argue that Kubrick was not only the greatest director to who have ever lived but one of the greatest artists ever, equivalent to film what Shakespeare was to theatre. However, as with all great artists, Kubrick asked for an unbelievable amount from the people surrounding him and there is no clearer example that Vitali.

Interviewing Vitali as well as many of Kubrick's collaborators, the documentary really gives a peek into the strange world of Kubrick. Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures gives a more definitive biography of the man but Filmworker gives a great sense of what it was like to work for him or on any film set for that matter.

Whilst I would've liked to have seen more about Vitali's and Kubrick's personal lives, it's a great account for anyone interested in the making of Kubrick's last few films as well as the undeniably important legacy that he had.