Filmworker
Kino Lorber | Release Date: May 11, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Rolling StoneDavid FearMay 10, 2018
What makes this documentary more than just a feature-length DVD supplement is how these peeks behind the curtain are offset by a connect-the-dots case study of obsession and devotion taken to extremes. Read full review
83
The PlaylistJessica KiangApr 30, 2018
While Vitali is frank about the nature of his demanding and subservient relationship to the man, his warmhearted, dazzled, Everest-high respect for Kubrick’s talent remains undimmed even now. It is truly inspiring and touching just how little bitterness Vitali has in him, and it stems from his having no regrets over a life dedicated to something he believes in with utterly selfless purity. Read full review
80
Time OutDave CalhounMay 24, 2018
Kubrick himself rarely spoke about his work – which means this is a valuable insight into Kubrick's character and filmmaking process, as well as a frank look at what it means to give up your life to work at the side of a difficult creative genius. Read full review
80
EmpireIan FreerMay 21, 2018
Filmworker is an absorbing, important portrait of both a genius at work and the man behind the scenes who made the magic possible, whatever the cost to himself. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesGlenn WhippMay 17, 2018
As a portrait of a man who surrendered his career and much of his life to the service of a master, Filmworker proves compelling, particularly for those with a passing interest in Kubrick. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberApr 30, 2018
The film honors the hard-working, often unacknowledged craftsmen in the film industry and stirs provocative questions about the fine line between legitimate devotion to an artist and dangerous hero worship. Read full review
80
VarietyOwen GleibermanMay 25, 2017
Filmworker is a brisk, compelling movie that’s pure candy for Kubrick buffs, yet there are oddities about it. Read full review
80
The GuardianGwilym MumfordMay 25, 2017
What shines through most here is the pure sense of pride felt by Vitali, in the trust Kubrick placed in him, and in his part in creating some of the last century’s most monumental pieces of cinema. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayMay 29, 2018
Filmworker is a tribute to the unsung artisans, assistants, best boys and girl Fridays whose indelible contributions make movies not just possible, but magical. Read full review
75
ConsequenceDominick Suzanne-MayerMay 23, 2018
Filmworker makes a compelling argument that the Kubrick who lives in cinematic legend may not have become the man he’s remembered for being without Vitali around. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comGodfrey CheshireMay 11, 2018
For “Full Metal Jacket” there are revealing, entertaining recollections by Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey and others, but there’s no Jack Nicholson for “The Shining” or Tom Cruise or Nicole Kidman for “Eyes Wide Shut.” Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyMay 10, 2018
Matthew Modine — who wrote about Vitali repeatedly in his published diaries of the hellish production of "Full Metal Jacket" and is also interviewed in Filmworker — echoes what seems to be a common sentiment about Vitali: that the guy is a friendly mystery, either a glutton for punishment or a saint. Read full review
70
Village VoiceBilge EbiriMay 10, 2018
Perhaps if Kubrick himself wasn’t obsessed, if his films weren’t so thoroughly overwhelming in real life, then they wouldn’t have exploded in our minds the way they did. Filmworker is both a cautionary tale and a tribute to this kind of compulsion. Read full review
70
The New York TimesGlenn KennyMay 10, 2018
The material about Kubrick’s process is finally more interesting than the discussions about his temperament. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerJul 11, 2018
What Zierra is really exploring is the fine line between maverick genius and manipulative bully. The cult of Kubrick is such that no one still dare broach the idea that what he did to his actors, to his crew, and especially to Vitali, was cruel. Read full review
67
IndieWireMichael NordineMay 25, 2017
[A] suitably workmanlike documentary. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChuck BowenMay 9, 2018
Tony Zierra interviews Leon Vitali at length, and he’s a commanding camera object with an obvious wellspring of longing and pain. Read full review
60
The New YorkerRichard BrodyMay 10, 2018
Filmworker amounts to yet another rite of devotion in the ongoing cult of Kubrick—a cult that worked its power not just on Vitali but on all of modern cinema. Read full review
60
Screen DailyTim GriersonMay 25, 2017
An inability to crack the movie’s central mystery — why abandon your dreams to help facilitate someone else’s? — leaves the project feeling a bit like a missed opportunity. Read full review
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