Allan Ostermann

I saw this film about 20 years ago, and I think I cherish it now more than ever. I just watched a YouTube Top 10 list of Kubrick's best films. As I expected, there's no mention of this early gem. In its place? Eyes Wide Shut. I love Kubrick, so 'No comment.' After all, I'd rather see one of his less brilliant efforts than most anything else by anyone else. He always found a new way and a new look for each consecutive film. But he wasn't trying to be artistic for art's sake, to feed his ego. He had a vision, and he wanted us to experience that vision. Even if we debated what it was about, it was a passionate debate. He wanted to do everything in his power to create something engaging, allowing us be more than just spectators; to see it and truly feel it, a task traditionally assigned to the actors alone. Now the camera and the lighting conveyed emotion, accentuating the story line. I never saw anything he brought to life as weak, just not superior. He put everything he had into all he did. The bar was raised pretty high for him (Orson, too). I doubt he was overwhelmed by pressure from the outside. I think he had to please himself, and he set the bar sky high, willing to work endlessly to reach that level of achievement. I've read that one great filmmaker strongly influenced by this film was Quentin Tarantino. In both Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, the story evolves in a non chronologic order. In fact all three films begin at the end. No need to yell, Spoiler Alert! The real mystery is not, how will it end, but instead, how the hell did things ended up so wrong? This is a small film. It's not Spartacus or Paths of Glory. It's noir. It's dirty and unseemly, like its environment; the horse track. Other than the pair in the winning circle, it's a crowd of degenerate losers, much like the men on this particular mission, clinging to the unshakable belief that, in an instant, it will all be made great, and all the suffering will have led somewhere, and their meager lives will have had purpose. And their sins against humanity were simply a means to an end, and could be seen in such a light. All would be forgiven. And the answer was money. Money would make it all worthwhile. But we, the audience, know that isn't true. We've already seen the end. From the start, this film is dark. And that's why it's called noir.