Your Mahler analogy is so apt.movieman1957 wrote:JohnM:
The only things of Lean's or Kubrick's I can watch are pretty much the early suff. I enjoy "Brief Encounter" and I really like "Bridge On The River Kwai" from Lean. I really like "Paths of Glory" and Spartacus" is fine. Beyond that they always reminded me of a Mahler symphony in that it needed to be bigger and longer than anything else. Not that there weren't fine qualities in parts but does it really take that long to tell it.
As I always tell my fellow concert-goers, with Mahler, you have to endure 50 minutes of kvetching to hear 10 minutes of gorgeous music. Same with the directors in question - some of their work can take your breath away, and a large portion of it is so ponderous you find yourself sinking down in your seat from the sheer, dull weight of it.