“YOU EITHER CARE OR YOU DON’T CARE”

By Raymond Benson

[Much of this review is culled from a Cinema Retro 2018 review by the author of the Kino Lorber DVD release.]

Tony Zierra’s fascinating documentary that premiered at Cannes in 2017 (and was released theatrically in 2018) is about an unsung hero in the lore of legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick—Leon Vitali, who describes himself not as an “assistant,” but as a “filmworker.”

Vitali, now in his seventies, began his career as an actor in the 1960s, appearing in various British films and television programs. After being impressed with Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange, Vitali told a friend, “I want to work for that guy.” He managed to get an audition for Kubrick’s next picture, Barry Lyndon, and landed the key role of Lord Bullingdon, the main antagonist of the film. Vitali received much praise for his performance, but instead of continuing an acting career, he made an extraordinary left turn. He asked Kubrick if he could work behind the camera from then on.

Kubrick grilled Vitali on his sincerity, and then he hired the actor as an additional casting director for The Shining. Vitali’s task was to go to America and find a little boy to play Danny in the classic horror movie. The young actor turned out to be Danny Lloyd, who, as an adult, appears in Filmworker as a talking head. This is a treat for fans of the The Shining, for Lloyd, a private person today, rarely emerges from his reclusiveness.

Throughout the making of The Shining, Vitali served as little Danny’s handler and guardian, and ultimately began to perform more tasks for the demanding filmmaker. For the next twenty-plus years, Vitali learned every aspect of the filmmaking business, especially the color correction processes for film that led to his overseeing the restoration of Kubrick’s pictures, and many other jobs. In short, he became an indispensable ally and assistant. As one interviewee put it, Vitali became Kubrick’s “right-hand man, along with the other hand, the legs, the shoulders, body…” (He also played the mysterious, masked “Red Cloak” leader of the orgy sequence in Eyes Wide Shut.)

Filmworker takes the viewer through Vitali’s years with Kubrick, commented upon by the likes of Ryan O’Neal, Matthew Modine, Danny Lloyd, Lee Ermey, Marie Richardson, Stellan Skarsgård, and others, plus film executives Julian Senior, Brian Jamieson, Steve Southgate, and Vitali’s family. We learn a lot about Kubrick’s process, as well as what kind of person he was. While it’s well-known that the filmmaker was a perfectionist, few realize that he was a genuinely warm, soft-spoken, animal-loving man.

Viewers may wonder why Vitali committed so much of his life to Kubrick. As Vitali demonstrates, the “maestro” could be intensely demanding and did not suffer excuses. “You either care, or you don’t care,” was a mantra of Kubrick’s, and Vitali adopted it for himself as well. In the end, we get a portrait of not only what working for Kubrick was like, but of a man who went above and beyond what most people would consider healthy devotion. That said, considering the mentor was Kubrick, this was also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from and serve an exceptional artist.

Kino Lorber’s new pristine Blu-ray is a port-over from the previous DVD release, and it is indeed an improvement. It comes with 5.1 Surround sound and 2.0 lossless stereo , the theatrical trailer, and a short supplement Q&A with Vitali and director Zierra on stage after a screening of the film.

Filmworker is a must for the Stanley Kubrick fan, and, in general, for students and devotees of filmmaking.

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