KUBRICK, BARRY LYNDON and MY NERVOUS BREAKDOWN

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  • čas přidán 27. 07. 2016
  • From Web of Stories. Here the great film production designer KEN ADAM talks about how he was persuaded - against his better judgment - to work on Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece 'Barry Lyndon', and how the job brought him to a nervous breakdown.... and an Oscar too! Ken Adam (1921-2016, aged 95) was one of the giants of cinema history, creating the war room for 'Dr Strangelove', and the huge sets for several Bond films including 'Dr No', 'Goldfinger and 'Diamonds are Forever'. He won two Oscars, for 'The Madness of King George' and 'Barry Lyndon'.
    Recorded in London in 2010/11 and photographed by Julian Sykes, this is an extract from Sir Ken's remarkable life story as told to Web of Stories. You can watch it all for free at www.webofstories.com/people/ke...

Komentáře • 91

  • @DerafsheKavian
    @DerafsheKavian Před 5 lety +71

    The film Barry Lyndon was/is a true work of art. Tribute to all those who worked to create it.

  • @Timrath
    @Timrath Před 3 lety +40

    Summary: "Exhausting, terrible, awful, what a nightmare! The best time of my life!"

  • @jeremyseymour7905
    @jeremyseymour7905 Před 3 lety +31

    BL is at the top of my top 10 films and rather dogmatically, and without hyperbole I declare it's the best movie in history.

    • @Known-unknowns
      @Known-unknowns Před 2 lety +1

      Really ? You’re easily pleased. Much of the acting was dreadful. Some of the continuity was nothing short of laughable. Some of it is excellent, some of it is amateurish. Movies are subjective of course. Most people haven’t seen it because it’s a bore. Costumes & settings I’d give 10/10 but that isn’t enough. Try watching The Shawshank Redemption, it knocks the socks off BL or Dances With Wolf’s or The Silence Of The Lambs or Out Of Africa any one of which will keep you awake until the end.

    • @steelyburt
      @steelyburt Před 2 lety +11

      The movie is not a bore for any gentleman with sensibilities or taste.

    • @steelyburt
      @steelyburt Před 2 lety +3

      One of the best movies ever.

    • @rphilipsgeekery4589
      @rphilipsgeekery4589 Před rokem +1

      @@steelyburt some folks are rather tiresom people ...that roam around the net all day ...contributing nothing , but pointing how they think others are wrong , he says the op is easy to please , then states two broad popular films as his favourites , some chaps struggle to relate to films with artistic vision , it's beyond them , sad to see

    • @g0679
      @g0679 Před rokem +1

      @@Known-unknowns
      Most people haven’t seen Eraserhead.

  • @JohnWesleyDowney
    @JohnWesleyDowney Před 7 lety +51

    One of the most talented production designers that ever lived. Brilliant, world-class artist. Listening to the hell Stanley put him through (nothing unusual, Stanley put a lot of people through hell), I thought to myself, "Ken survived World War II, but he barely survived Barry Lyndon and Stanley Kubrick"!

  • @JonnievonHeldreich
    @JonnievonHeldreich Před 3 lety +5

    Thank you so much for posting... Ken Adam‘s life story is worthy of a film an amazing career! Just been reading about his early life one of 3 German born RAF pilots in the Battle of Britain ... so fascinating

  • @tomhaskett5161
    @tomhaskett5161 Před 7 lety +67

    Ken Adam was an RAF fighter pilot in WW2, flying missions over enemy territory. He was still a German citizem at the time, and also of a Jewish family. If he had been captured, he would have been executed. A brave man and the best set designer ever.

    • @davedogge2280
      @davedogge2280 Před 6 lety

      I went to the Serpentine, London exhibition he had around 10+years ago ... it was a good little exhibition.

    • @JAMAICADOCK
      @JAMAICADOCK Před 6 lety +12

      He did all that, but Kubrick gave him a nervous breakdown. One tough guy to work for.

    • @PsilocybinCocktail
      @PsilocybinCocktail Před 5 lety +4

      Actually a ground-attack pilot, which is even more dangerous than being a fighter pilot, because if you are attacking people on the ground, they are firing back at you, with everything from pistols to 105mm guns. And, if you are using 60lb high explosive rockets, you have to avoid flying into your own explosions.

    • @ivorbiggun710
      @ivorbiggun710 Před 4 lety +3

      That will explain the model of a Hawker Typhoon in the background.

    • @lisasmith516
      @lisasmith516 Před 2 lety +1

      @@PsilocybinCocktail Thank you for that information! ( I got here late, lol!) Lisa Rae Rousseau 🤗💯

  • @stutzbearcat5624
    @stutzbearcat5624 Před rokem +2

    This guy is a riot!!
    Love getting back drop on my favorite film EV-VER (well besides Chimes of Midnight)!

  • @1dbanner
    @1dbanner Před 6 lety +1

    Sir Christopher Frayling's discussion on Mr Adam's work on the Criterion of Barry Lyndon is wonderful as well

  • @geoffhoutman1557
    @geoffhoutman1557 Před 11 měsíci

    GREAT interview

  • @a.k.7516
    @a.k.7516 Před rokem +3

    Its so nice to see and listen to that great Gentleman again. I was driving him and his wife for a very bad german TV show on the 4th and 5th of April in 2002. I bow to none in germany. This man and his wife were the only exception, sincerely. I thanked him for his service in the RAF. Bombing germany was a heroic act.

  • @DungeonStudio
    @DungeonStudio Před 7 lety +5

    Amazing for Ken to go from the studio confines of Dr. Strangelove, which essentially was Ripper's office, the war room, and the B52 interior,. To 10 years later doing Barry Lyndon out in the open with SUCH a different story. As Stan would say - it's one thing to fall for a woman, get everyone on board for the wedding, and be happy with it all. But 10yrs later to hear the idea of 'I met a girl from Borneo...' That's tough for anyone else to wrap their head around.

  • @GregLTravis
    @GregLTravis Před 7 lety +1

    Great stuff.

  • @squatch545
    @squatch545 Před 7 lety +5

    R.I.P. Ken.

  • @thefilmandmusic
    @thefilmandmusic Před 5 lety +2

    Ken, genius, style.....

  • @vittoriostoraro
    @vittoriostoraro Před 3 lety +6

    Anyone who complains about the difficulty of working with Kubrick was free to walk away at any time. Thankfully, Ken Adam didn't. Truly one of the greatest.

    • @RideAcrossTheRiver
      @RideAcrossTheRiver Před 2 lety

      Shelley Duvall said it was utter hell and one of the most intellectual and exciting times of her life to work with Kubrick.

    • @ppuh6tfrz646
      @ppuh6tfrz646 Před rokem

      Adam did walk away.
      He *HAD* to for the sake of his own health and sanity.

  • @dj_bullets7106
    @dj_bullets7106 Před 7 lety +6

    R.I.P

  • @a34rwl
    @a34rwl Před rokem

    What a brilliant man.

  • @Socrates...
    @Socrates... Před 3 lety +1

    ...and you won an Oscar for it...

  • @lucyboswell7584
    @lucyboswell7584 Před 6 lety

    wow ....

  • @ppuh6tfrz646
    @ppuh6tfrz646 Před 5 měsíci

    1:47 Working with Kubrick, I would have insisted upon a weekly fee rather than a fixed fee.

  • @dantyler6907
    @dantyler6907 Před 4 lety +6

    Kubrick, like a lot of movie folk, was an artist.
    Being critical of a movie maker is tantamount to despising the color yellow.
    Is yellow "bad"?
    No.
    But its application, in the artist's eyes, may be inappropriate.

  • @ingvarhallstrom2306
    @ingvarhallstrom2306 Před 3 lety +8

    Kubrick payed him back by helping him with the lighting in The Spy Who Loved Me, uncredited and unpaid. Imagine that call, calling Kubrick for an "You owe me."

    • @glizzytoucher2301
      @glizzytoucher2301 Před 3 lety

      yeah well the fucker sure knew how to light a scene

    • @RideAcrossTheRiver
      @RideAcrossTheRiver Před 2 lety

      @@glizzytoucher2301 Kubrick called Altman asking how he did his lighting--and got answers. Kubrick knew to pay it forward.

  • @TheHilavitkutin
    @TheHilavitkutin Před 6 lety +3

    I am the senate!

  • @felixcat4346
    @felixcat4346 Před 5 lety +2

    From the first, Adams seems real. The cheapist move, but A Clockwork Orange, was also cheap.

  • @tompo010101
    @tompo010101 Před 5 lety +2

    wow..pushing the limits, it does bring fruitful things

  • @MrPhotodoc
    @MrPhotodoc Před 4 lety +1

    But the model airplane behind him tho.

  • @Fugettaboutit
    @Fugettaboutit Před 2 lety +4

    Kubrick: master manipulator. Whatever it took.

  • @aallpprr8998
    @aallpprr8998 Před 4 lety +2

    I don’t understand 1/3 of the words

    • @ChristopherSykesDocumentaries
      @ChristopherSykesDocumentaries  Před 4 lety

      You can watch it - and the rest6 of Ken Adam's life story - with a full transcript at Web of Stories www.webofstories.com/people/ken.adam

    • @ingvarhallstrom2306
      @ingvarhallstrom2306 Před 3 lety +2

      I'm not even English and I understood all of it...

  • @TrondBie
    @TrondBie Před 7 lety +6

    The cinemas' Steve Jobs

    • @kianucollis3929
      @kianucollis3929 Před 7 lety +2

      Who...?

    • @kianucollis3929
      @kianucollis3929 Před 7 lety +3

      ***** Try and find " Kubricks Boxes " a fascinating documentary about Stanley's obsessive nature, his vast collection of boxes and boxes, warehouses full of his research for his films, etc etc. Made by the annoying, arrogant, yet dedicated and privileged to get access Jon Ronson....hard to find as Ronson keeps taking it off YT.

    • @mator2339
      @mator2339 Před 4 lety +5

      Bullshit. Jobs was a hack. Kubrick was a genius.

  • @ppuh6tfrz646
    @ppuh6tfrz646 Před rokem +1

    Kubrick was a great director but his obsessive behaviour caused Ken Adam to have a nervous breakdown.
    That's unforgivable.

  • @pinetree1616
    @pinetree1616 Před 4 lety +1

    You need subtitles for this guy. He sounds like a Hungarian Jew.

    • @ChristopherSykesDocumentaries
      @ChristopherSykesDocumentaries  Před 4 lety +2

      He was a German Jew. It would be great if you would be willing to do subtitles - I'd help check them if you like.

    • @ChristopherSykesDocumentaries
      @ChristopherSykesDocumentaries  Před 4 lety

      And I've just remembered that you can find a full transcript of Ken Adam's stories (as well the rest of his life story) at Web of Stories www.webofstories.com/play/ken.adam/1

    • @amaxamon
      @amaxamon Před 3 lety +6

      I find him very easy to understand.

    • @jesuish6109
      @jesuish6109 Před 3 lety +1

      If he asks about the peculiarity of your accent, tell him that you are a Hungarian....

    • @alhawaritalbi6371
      @alhawaritalbi6371 Před 2 lety +1

      Bullocks ! His accent(second or third language speaker) is clear & he is eloquent. We cannot teach ignorance. Do you know who is the man?

  • @callmeishmael7452
    @callmeishmael7452 Před 2 lety +1

    One of most visually beautiful films ever made. Unfortunately ruined by the choice of lead actor.

    • @jacksonlevine9236
      @jacksonlevine9236 Před 4 měsíci

      Huh?

    • @callmeishmael7452
      @callmeishmael7452 Před 4 měsíci

      @@jacksonlevine9236 Ryan O’Neil? All the dramatic range from A to B. Love story was his peak moment.

    • @callmeishmael7452
      @callmeishmael7452 Před 4 měsíci

      @@jacksonlevine9236 Ryan O’Neil? All the dramatic range from A to B. Love story was his peak moment.

    • @jacksonlevine9236
      @jacksonlevine9236 Před 4 měsíci

      @@callmeishmael7452 Your opinion is a dusty corner of a bookshelf in an infinite library

  • @renaissance6745
    @renaissance6745 Před 6 lety +1

    Stanley Kubrick grossly overrated could not direct people chose terrible bad actors and there is so much hype crap about his film techniques

    • @JJ-yk6bl
      @JJ-yk6bl Před 6 lety +32

      You have no idea what you're talking about

    • @renaissance6745
      @renaissance6745 Před 6 lety

      Thank you Babar for not being a slave to all the hype about Kubrick i could not have put it better myself

    • @dantyler6907
      @dantyler6907 Před 6 lety +10

      The Emperor Said an unknown nobody about a well regaurded genius filmaker

    • @TheDeJureTour
      @TheDeJureTour Před 6 lety +1

      The Emperor Well then... most people have bad taste then.

    • @johnlongenecker6560
      @johnlongenecker6560 Před 6 lety +4

      Please post some of your most well admired cinema moments
      that you have done a like a lot for all to see and enjoy