Great Movie Ride and the apparent lack of Kubrick

WED99

WED99

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The "why isn't this movie on the great movie ride" thread is all too common, but unfortunately I'm about to add one more to the list (but with what I believe is good reason).

Stanley Kubrick is arguably the greatest filmmaker of all time, which is why I find it so startling that not one of his films has a dedicated scene on The Great Movie ride. The main reason for this I assume is controversy. I don't think Ultra Violence belongs in Disney World (for now :devilish:), and the darkest of all the dark comedies might just be a little too dark for the Magic Kingdom, and as much as I'd love to watch a Drill Sergeant scream at guests as they ride past I don't think it'll happen anytime soon. Still, that leaves in my mind 2 movies that would be right at home on The Great Movie Ride...


The Shining
King of the psychological thrillers, just the thought of travelling slowly through the Overlook Hotel gives me goosebumps. I recall reading/watching an imagineer talk about how they could incorporate horror into the ride. Alien works great, but horror has become such a huge part of cinema that surely it deserves some more recognition. Then again, the film is about as equally hated as it is loved due to it's ambiguous plot so I can see the guys at WDI wanting to steer away from this one.


2001: A Space Odyssey
Quite possibly the biggest and most important film in cinema history, the greatest of all great films, yet for some unknown reason this isn't on The Great Movie Ride! I cannot think of one reason why this doesn't deserve it's own scene. The beloved king of Sci-Fi (sorry Star Wars fans, but even George Lucas admitted there'd be no Star Wars if there wasn't a 2001). Surely this film would have been thrown around during the blue sky brainstorming, why wasn't it used? The only explanation I can come up with is licensing issues.

Well that's my rant. It just kind of frustrates me that Tarzan has it's own scene but 2001 does not.

What about you guys. Do you think Kubrick needs more recognition on the ride? How do you think he could be implemented?​
 
Graham9

Graham9

Well-Known Member
Stanley Kubrick is just one director out of thousands who has made their mark in cinema and all of them could be argued as deserving a place in there. Do you really think Full Metal Jacket is totally appropriate for Disney where kids are about? 2001 was received mix reviews on its release, being too abstract with banal dialogue, despite groundbreaking effects. To be honest, its one of them films which is difficult to understand without reading the book first. It did not make the cinematic impact as other films as Star Wars, Star Trek, Avatar...most younger people these days may not of even heard of 2001, much less of being capable of understanding what's it about. Hence they may not relate to it in the same way as more commonplace films such as Alien....and this is before we go down the path of Rights and Ownership which would allow it to be shown anyway.

If you are going to make a ride with film scenes and with limited space to put them in, make them films everyone knows or heard about. 2001 is far too obscure to even be considered.
 
WED99

WED99

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Graham9 said:
Stanley Kubrick is just one director out of thousands who has made their mark in cinema and all of them could be argued as deserving a place in there. Do you really think Full Metal Jacket is totally appropriate for Disney where kids are about? 2001 was received mix reviews on its release, being too abstract with banal dialogue, despite groundbreaking effects. To be honest, its one of them films which is difficult to understand without reading the book first. It did not make the cinematic impact as other films as Star Wars, Star Trek, Avatar...most younger people these days may not of even heard of 2001, much less of being capable of understanding what's it about. Hence they may not relate to it in the same way as more commonplace films such as Alien....and this is before we go down the path of Rights and Ownership which would allow it to be shown anyway.

If you are going to make a ride with film scenes and with limited space to put them in, make them films everyone knows or heard about. 2001 is far too obscure to even be considered.
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2001 really is one of those films where you love it or you hate it, but I think it's importance is undeniable.

It had such an impact on so many people who would grow up to be the biggest filmmakers in Hollywood today (Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are great examples).

I hated it on my first viewing, but I found the second time around when I looked at it from a more poetic perspective I fell in love. This was a few weeks ago at a screening in my city and the cinema was absolutely packed! I think it's name is still alive.

I do agree with you on including films that are at the height of pop culture. But then again, we still don't have Star Wars :(
 
Cmdr_Crimson

Cmdr_Crimson

Well-Known Member
WED99 said:

2001: A Space Odyssey
Quite possibly the biggest and most important film in cinema history, the greatest of all great films, yet for some unknown reason this isn't on The Great Movie Ride! I cannot think of one reason why this doesn't deserve it's own scene. The beloved king of Sci-Fi (sorry Star Wars fans, but even George Lucas admitted there'd be no Star Wars if there wasn't a 2001). Surely this film would have been thrown around during the blue sky brainstorming, why wasn't it used? The only explanation I can come up with is licensing issues.

Well that's my rant. It just kind of frustrates me that Tarzan has it's own scene but 2001 does not.

What about you guys. Do you think Kubrick needs more recognition on the ride? How do you think he could be implemented?​
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2001 is acknowledged in the Montage at the end......for a brief second...
 
MrDee

MrDee

Active Member
Great topic. Speaking of Mission: Space, isn't the large, circular diorama within the queue inspired from the movie 2001? Whenever I see it, that's what I think of anyway.
 
wdisney9000

wdisney9000

Truindenashendubapreser
Premium Member
Matt_Black said:
Oh, Kubrick was quite the sadistic fellow.
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Perhaps, but theres always that fine line between insanity and genius. Theres a great documentary by the name of "Room 237". The Shining was far more than a ghost story. It goes over the perceived meanings and hidden messages in "The Shining". Ranging from sexual suggestions to Kubricks involvement in the alleged fake moon landing videos. Sounds crazy, and its easy dismiss but nonetheless, he was a genius, imo.

many believe his involvement in the moon landings was to help create an accurate looking video so NASA could show it instead of the real landing video in the event anything went wrong, some say it was all faked, who knows, there is a lot of evidence to support either claim and it makes sense that NASA and the govt wouldnt want to show anything bad happen if there was a problem so why not have a back up plan. Interesting stuff though.

Personally, I wish they would add a scene from "Troop Beverly Hills" to TGMR
 
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Bairstow

Bairstow

Well-Known Member
Le Petomane said:
The Shining in a way kinda has it's own presence via the music & creepy pathway leading to ToT's lobby. Every time I hear that music I think of Kubrick's The Shining rather than the Twilight Zone. The boiler room/loading area for the elevators has a very similar feel to the climactic boiler room in the 1997 TV mini-series of The Shining which, despite all it's flaws, holds truer to the Stephen King story than Kubrick's version (imo). All in all there is a vast array of similarities of ambience for fans of The Shining to see & hear in ToT, and who knows, if the day ever comes when Disney no longer possesses the rights to Twilight Zone content (*big* if), the King story could be an appropriate & feasible overlay.

Though the ride seats may need to be better equipped with more absorbent material, because if the elevator doors open & I see those two creepy twin girls down the hallway, there will indeed be a mess to clean up.
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The more I think about it, the more I wonder if the the Tower of Terror wasn't originally conceived as an attraction based on The Shining, and the "Twilight Zone" theme isn't actually an overlay swapped in fairly late in the pre-production/design phase. It would explain a lot of the design choices.

What I'm even more certain of is that the movie was much more influential in the design of the attraction than any episode of the TV show.
Take for instance the masterful eerie swing music loop they play in the lobby and patio of the Tower of Terror. Disney went to obvious pains to match the musical style and reverb effect heard in the movie.




WED99 said:
What about you guys. Do you think Kubrick needs more recognition on the ride? How do you think he could be implemented?​
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Replace the Wizard of Oz finale with Eyes Wide Shut.
 
Tom Morrow

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
Well, even besides Kubrick, there's hundreds of movies that would be better choices than Footlight Parade, Tarzan, Fantasia, heck, even Mary Poppins.
 
Victor Kelly

Victor Kelly

Well-Known Member
Dark movies? Disney has plenty of dark movies. I don't even have to name them. Disney's stories are dark, some remain so, but others have been made mild.
 
WED99

WED99

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Matt_Black said:
Kubrick was incredibly overrated. Also, he treated actors and other personnel poorly.
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I guess that's just a matter of opinion. I don't think he's overrated at all. His films are all impeccably crafted and he had this unique style that has become my definition of "cinematic".

Yes he treated actors poorly. It's said that he only did this to mould them into the right mindset. Either way it's not his job to be friends with everyone on set, he just needs to focus on bringing his vision to life (which he most certainly did).
 

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