What are some characteristics of Kubricks direction of actors?
After “Killer’s Kiss,” which suffered from spotty performances, he spent a great deal of time running old films and analyzing those effects that came from a director’s manipulation of his actors. He also boned up on acting theory. During his brief tenure at MGM, after being put on salary by Dore Schary, he went through the studio’s film vaults and made such heavy use of the executive screening room–watching star performances of the past–that he was subjected to an executive reprimand. He also learned how to cope with the actor’s ego, and part of his technique is to mask his own. At the same time, his air of knowledge can, according to Kirk Douglas, infuriate an actor at first. “Then,” Douglas adds, “you settle down and admire him.” One critical test of Kubrick’s control came during the making of “Paths of Glory.” He made the veteran actor Adolphe Menjou do the same scene 17 times. “That was my best reading.” Menjou announced. “I think we can break for lunch now.” It was well past the
