Kubrick's Closed Loops

The Killing's horse track heist, The Shining's mazes, 2001's eternal return of the same and Dr. Strangelove's underground bunker all revolve around closed loops. Whether physically or through dialogue characters follow tracks like chess pieces in a game.
Kubrick, himself a chess enthusiast, knew that each piece must follow a track of movement relative to its rank. Both Paths of Glory and The Shining gives a knight's L move to their respective heroes in key tracking shots that end with a sharp turn before confronting their goals.
Pawns move straight ahead, one square at a time.

Full Metal Jacket
As the game of chess winds down and most of the pieces are removed from the board the king must avoid attack from other pieces by retreating. Here Cruise's character is in black. His pursuer wears white.
Eyes Wide Shut.
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