Kubrick was a genius. Spielberg is a genius. But, they are different types of geniuses and they don't mix or match. No genius can do it the same way, which is why the person is a genius. They best you can do is get another genius that has a similar thematic view.
Kubrick's clever dark philosophical view simply does not match with Spielberg's common mass entertainment view. Spielberg was simply the wrong genius to complete the work. All of Kubrick's later works (even the one-off Spartacus) have a dark philosophical vision and satirical point to make. It's like trying to mix Socrates with Nietzsche or even Aristotle. They're all great, but very different. The decision to use Spielberg was too superficial ("who's recognized as the best film director right now, generally speaking?...").
It didn't work, not because of Spielberg's genius movie-making technical skills, it didn't work because of Spielberg's lack of the dark philosophical satirical vision. Spielberg is a genius at making a movie that wows an audience; Kubrick is a genius at making a movie, perhaps a satire, with a dark view of or exposition of ironic hypocrisy, in human beings and society.
Just look at the expressions of George C. Scott in "Dr. Strangelove" in the war room. A manly sophisticated general, with oodles of power, making childlike pouts and expressions. It's not meant to be funny, per se, it's meant to make a point. But you have to see it. And, that's all the difference in the world.
Kubrick's clever dark philosophical view simply does not match with Spielberg's common mass entertainment view. Spielberg was simply the wrong genius to complete the work. All of Kubrick's later works (even the one-off Spartacus) have a dark philosophical vision and satirical point to make. It's like trying to mix Socrates with Nietzsche or even Aristotle. They're all great, but very different. The decision to use Spielberg was too superficial ("who's recognized as the best film director right now, generally speaking?...").
It didn't work, not because of Spielberg's genius movie-making technical skills, it didn't work because of Spielberg's lack of the dark philosophical satirical vision. Spielberg is a genius at making a movie that wows an audience; Kubrick is a genius at making a movie, perhaps a satire, with a dark view of or exposition of ironic hypocrisy, in human beings and society.
Just look at the expressions of George C. Scott in "Dr. Strangelove" in the war room. A manly sophisticated general, with oodles of power, making childlike pouts and expressions. It's not meant to be funny, per se, it's meant to make a point. But you have to see it. And, that's all the difference in the world.