Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

ironhorse_iv Ever got that sinking feeling? I felt it with this documentary about the Seafarers International Union's benefits. It seem like the captain abandoned this ship, here. Stanley Kubrick didn't do a good job with this documentary. First off, this documentary is more like a promotional film than a documentary. Second off, it's really boring as times. The music is little bit off-key music. The background and text when put together on the screen is hard to read. Then, there is the overused of the word 'Seafarers'. I hope, they do know that, there are other words, they can use like Mariners, Sailors, or Seamen. It really gets annoying as hell to hear the same things all the time. While, Stanley Kubrick is a great director who typically works really hard in adapting novels or short stories to the big screen. It's seem like he doesn't have the same passion for documentary films. It's like he got tired of it, after 1950's Day of the Fight & 1951's Flying Padre. He really put some work into those. In Day of the Fight he use a reverse tracking shot to film a scene in which the brothers walk towards the camera, a device later to become one of Kubrick's characteristic camera trademark. In Flying Padre, several of the views from and of the plane are later echoed in his later films like 1968's 2001: A Space Odyssey. In my opinion, I think, he kinda half- ass, the Seafarers. Besides the glaring nudity boobs shots, & the long, sideways-shooting dolly shot to establish the life of the seafarer's community. It rarely looks like his work. He half-ass this one. Day of the Fight, Flying Padre and The Seafarers constitute Kubrick's only surviving documentary works, although some historians believe he made others. This movie was long thought lost, due to mishandling of the Seafarers International Union, but the film was rediscovered in 1973 by film scholar and filmmaker Frank P. Tomasulo, who arranged for a 16mm print of the documentary to be deposited in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress' Motion Picture Division. Seafarers is noted to be the first film of Stanley Kubrick, to be in color. Too bad, the film is so desaturated due to aged, that scenes like the cafeteria serving food to the sailors; looks like they're serving some ugly crappy food, than something delightful. Narrated by CBS reporter Don Hollenbeck, the film details the different activities a member can do while visiting the Union Halls that are spread around the country's coasts, as well as the many services they offer. From barbershops, museum, bars to restaurants, the film talks about the establishments that offer good discounts to those who join the Union. It also explores other important benefits, such as scholarships, health care, and vacation paid for seafarers. Finally, it also explains some of the rights and obligations of every member, as well as how is the Union organized and how their democratic processes work. While, this half hour documentary made for the Seafarers International Union is interesting. It's no way seem like a normal modern day documentary. We rarely see the day by day labor of this sailors on their large ship. We don't see their struggles or the history of the Union. They don't even mention, why their union is better than their rivals union, National Maritime Union (NMU). There is little to no Cinéma vérité in these shots. It's just urging sailors to join the union & extolling the benefits, etc etc. Where is the dramatic? Where is the action? It felt like voice-over brochure. Written by Union member, Will Chasen, the movie is just one big informative commercial. Still, in the end of this, I wanted to sign a Union Card and join The Seafarers International Union. Don Hollenbeck's narration makes it seem like a good place to work, despite that the movie not mentioning how dangerous the work is, how the Union has mob ties like Hal C. Banks, and how the Union also has age discrimination. These were all issues, that 1951 sailors had to dealt with; and there was no mention of that. I guess, Stanley Kubrick was in such dire need of money from shooting other things he needed to be shot. He basically took this uncreative job and followed orders just to make ends meet. He had no personal interest or creative thought about this little documentary, and really didn't care if the Sailors got the right information. Too bad, the modern Union doesn't do much of this anymore. The only time, they come to the ship is when they want to collect dues. The Seafarers was released on DVD in 2008 with audio commentary from directors Roger Avary and Keith Gordon, as well as an interview with one of Kubrick's daughters, if anybody cares. The short is also available as an extra on the 2012 release of Kubrick's first full-length film Fear and Desire. The movie is so dated, you can probably find it on Youtube for free. Overall: I don't recommend viewing this, if you're a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick. If you do find it, you'll find yourself, really disappointed. There is a reason why Kubrick never wanted his fans to see this, and I see why. This movie sunk a new low.

cgyford Struggling filmmaker Stanley Kubrick ("Fear and Desire" & "Flying Padre") follows the failure of his feature debut with this promotional film for the Seafarers International Union in order to recoup some of the losses and raise funds for his sophomore feature.The film, supervised by the staff of union magazine "The Seafarers Log", the promotes the work of the Seafarers International Union Atlantic and Gulf District with shots of the hiring hall, the canteen, the bar, the print shop and a union meeting at their New York head quarters.Secretary-Treasurer of the SIU Atlantic and Gulf District Paul Hall emerges from the ranks with a powerful speech extolling the virtues of the union which are all meticulously illustrated to the dulcet tones of news reader Don Hollenbeck who also bookends the membership-drive.The future filmmaking legend may be only in it for the money but he nonetheless allows a few flourishes in his colour debut, such as the extended, sideways-dolly shot of the canteen, and the film provides a curious insight into a union in its heyday."Call it a dream fulfilled."

José Luis Rivera Mendoza (jluis1984) While nowadays Stanley Kubrick is considered as one of the most influential and acclaimed filmmakers of all time, the career of this legendary director had its humble beginning in the documentary genre, specifically in the making of two newsreels for RKO Radio Pictures in 1951 when he was only 23 years old. At that age, Kubrick was already a full-time staff photographer for the "Look" magazine, but after making those two short films he quit his job and decided to become a full-time filmmaker. However, those two short films wouldn't be the only documentaries the master would direct in his lifetime, as in 1953 he had to return to the documentary genre after the commercial failure of his feature length debut, "Fear and Desire" in 1953. His third and last documentary would also be his first time working in color, and all in an infomercial for Seafarers International Union.Simply tittled, "The Seafarers", this short documentary is essentially an infomercial about the benefits that joining the Seafarers International Union can bring to mariners, fishermen and boatmen of the U.S. if they join it. Narrated by CBS reporter Don Hollenbeck, the film details the different activities a member can do while visiting the Union Halls that are spread around the country's coasts, as well as the many services they offer. From barbershops to restaurants, the film talks about the establishments that offer good discounts to those who join the Union. It also explores other important benefits, such as health care, insurance, and scholarships for the children of the seafarers. Finally, it also explains some of the rights and obligations of every member, as well as how is the Union organized and how their democratic processes work.Written by Will Chasen (quite possibly a member of the Union himself), the movie is a very complete and informative commercial about the Seafarers International Union, as in its barely 30 minutes of duration it manages to cover a wide arrange of topics of major interest for the film's intended audience. Clearly devised to convince sailors to join the Union, Chasen's script is written in a very persuasive way, highlighting the Union hall's commodities and the leisure activities that the members can do in order to give the organization the image of a fun place to be. While a bit typical of the era, Don Hollenbeck's effective narration adds power to the persuasive script, as he truly makes the Union sound like a club every worker should join thanks to his friendly, yet strong presence.In this his fourth movie as a director, Kubrick shows an enormous progression in his skills with the camera. An acknowledged follower of Max Ophüls' work (his movies inspired him to be a filmmaker), Kubrick once again shows in "The Seafarers" the enormous influence the German director had during the early years of his career, as the movie showcases scenes with very fluid and dynamic cinematography, pretty much in Ophüls' style. Also, considering it was his first movie in color, "The Seafarers" looks very, and Kubrick's creative experimentation with color can be seen in several scenes. As with the rest of his documentaries, the strength of the film is in the visual compositions the young photographer created, as Kubrick crafts a movie that supports Chasen's script efficiently and delivers the core message of the institution.Even when there is no doubt that this is a very interesting movie to watch for fans of Stanley Kubrick, other than its excellent craftsmanship there is not really anything truly remarkable about the movie. And as written above, this is not because the movie is bad, but mainly because while competently made, it's still nothing more than an infomercial that Kubrick made as a hired gun. Of course, there's a number of sparks of the brilliant talent the young filmmaker would show in his following films, but besides that this is still a very typical commercial film in the classic 50s style. Anyways, while the film certainly suffers from being made for a specific audience, it manages to transmit successfully Seafarers International's intended message of looking like an organization made by sailors and intended for sailors.It would be difficult to recommend "The Seafarers" to those uninterested in Stanley Kubrick's career, as due to the kind of film it its, it's probably of interest only for Kubrick aficionados (although maybe those interested in 50s infomercials will find it useful). It's kind of fun to watch the young filmmaker mastering his skills, as one can truly see how he developed the techniques that would make him a legend. While "The Seafarers" is not really one of the highlights of his career, one has to be thankful for it as this movie helped to pay his 1955 movie, "Killer's Kiss", film that would open Kubrick the door to bigger projects like his masterpieces "The Killing" and "Paths of Glory". Even when personally I think that "Day of the Fight" is the best of the three documentaries by Kubrick, "The Seafarers" is a good film by its own merits. 6/10

ThomasPynchon Stanley Kubrick directed this documentary when he was in his early 20's. Its nicely shot and the colors look tremendous; like its Technicolor. The video I saw was remastered. It looked great. Well worth getting. The direction is great and really shows Kubrick's vast potential. Fascinating! Kubrick is awesome.