If you're a Kubrick fan then you must see this film, but even if you're not a fan of Kubrick's work then it is still a rewarding experience...

| Oct 11, 2024

Perhaps best of all, the documentary, while probing its subject and offering a unique glimpse into a behind-the-scenes figure, celebrates such "below the line" crewmembers.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 11, 2022

Though some reviews have described Filmworker as a tragedy, it's clear that the 72-year-old Vitali has few regrets, and there's no doubt that Kubrick's indelible work wouldn't have been quite the same without his dedicated assistance.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 25, 2021

Filmworker serves as a reminder that it's imperative to thank - or at least remember - all the little people.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 19, 2021

Tony Zierra's fascinating documentary is ultimately more than a posthumous appreciation of a genius and his surviving right-hand-man.

| Oct 26, 2020

Filmworker is much more than a hodge-podge of Kubrick trivia.

| Jul 25, 2020

Zierra paints Vitali as his own David and his own Goliath, and it's this self-reflexive storytelling that gives Filmworker its spirit, as wavering as it might be.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 24, 2020

More broadly, Filmworker is a testament to the thousands of faceless people in the movie-making business who thanklessly go above and beyond mere job titles.

| Jun 15, 2020

There's plenty of production detail for Kubrick nuts, though the two competing narratives (Kubrick the genius, Kubrick the tyrant) won't surprise anyone.

| Mar 5, 2020

Zierra does manage to achieve something tangible: a well-articulated and wholly compelling argument that no matter how one feels about the auteur, moviemaking is a collaborative art.

| Aug 8, 2019

Filmworker works best when poking holes in the altar of genius men whose attention to detail is almost always inexplicably tethered to being an outright bastard.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jul 17, 2019

Twenty feet from stardom, a million miles from sanity

| Jun 18, 2019

After a while, the anecdotes amount to Kubrick stanning.

| Jun 4, 2019

There is something genuinely touching about Kubrick's blind faith in Vitali.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 25, 2019

Candid and unsentimental, Filmworker is bound to leave an impression on the minds of any cinephile.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 12, 2019

Few voices are missing from this incredibly thorough piece of work. Zierra has rounded up dozens of cast and crew members with stories to tell, and though the film is densely packed with information, nothing feels extraneous.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Dec 20, 2018

Vitali's story, wrapped in fascinating details about what it was like backstage in Kubrick productions, is a must-see for fans of the great director and anyone else enchanted with the inner workings of the film industry.

| Original Score: 9/10 | Dec 12, 2018

Tony Zierra's documentary is a fascinating insight into the work which goes on behind the scenes.

| Nov 8, 2018

Tony Zierra's Filmworker is a masterwork. The documentary looks at the relationship between Stanley Kubrick and Leon Vitali, the actor who became Kubrick's right-hand man after they met on the set of the 1975 film Barry Lyndon.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Oct 15, 2018

Filmworker delivers an invaluable look into his process while introducing this new character whose fingerprints can be seen alongside Stanley's on every frame.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Aug 28, 2018