When Matthew Modine was cast as Pvt. Joker, the lead Marine in 1987’s “Full Metal Jacket,” he worried about building a relationship with Stanley Kubrick, the famously intense director more than twice his age. To help, a friend gave Modine a 35mm Rolleiflex camera, a boxy, German-made medium-format model beloved by collectors and movie buffs.

“He thought it could be a cool way of my breaking the ice with Kubrick,” Modine told Variety. “So I taught myself to use it.”

Kubrick was not impressed. As Modine tried to show it off, the film legend called the camera a “piece of shit” and ticked off a specific modern model, specific lenses, and even a camera bag that Modine should buy.

“If you’re going to take pictures on my set, this is the camera you need to get,” Kubrick said.

Those instructio

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