Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career. Kubrick was noted for the scrupulous care with which he chose his subjects, his slow method of working, the variety of genres he worked in, his technical perfectionism, and his reclusiveness about his films and personal life. He maintained almost complete artistic control, making movies according to his own whims and time constraints, but with the rare advantage of big-studio financial support for all his endeavors. Kubrick's films are characterized by a formal visual style and meticulous attention to detail—his later films often have elements of surrealism and expressionism that eschews structured linear narrative. His films are repeatedly described as slow and methodical, and are often perceived as a reflection of his obsessive and perfectionist nature. A recurring theme in his films is man's inhumanity to man. While often viewed as expressing an ironic pessimism, a few critics feel his films contain a cautious optimism when viewed more carefully. The film that first brought him attention to many critics was Paths of Glory (1957), the first of three films of his about the dehumanizing effects of war. Many of his films at first got a lukewarm reception, only to be years later acclaimed as masterpieces that had a seminal influence on many later generations of film-makers. Considered especially groundbreaking was 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) noted for being both one of the most scientifically realistic and visually innovative science-fiction films ever made while maintaining an enigmatic non-linear storyline. He voluntarily withdrew his film A Clockwork Orange (1971) from England, after it was accused of inspiring copycat crimes which in turn resulted in threats against Kubrick's family. His films were largely successful at the box-office, although Barry Lyndon (1975) performed poorly in the United States. Living authors Anthony Burgess and Stephen King were both unhappy with Kubrick's adaptations of their novels A Clockwork Orange and The Shining (1980) respectively, and both authors were engaged with subsequent adaptations. All of Kubrick's films from the mid-1950s to his death except for The Shining were nominated for Oscars, Golden Globes, or BAFTAs. Although he was nominated for an Academy Award as a screenwriter and director on several occasions, his only personal win was for the special effects in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Even though all of his films, apart from the first two, were adapted from novels or short stories, his works have been described by Jason Ankeny and others as "original and visionary". Although some critics, notably Andrew Sarris and Pauline Kael, frequently disparaged Kubrick's work, Ankeny describes Kubrick as one of the most "universally acclaimed and influential directors of the postwar era" with a "standing unique among the filmmakers of his day."
Known for | Directing |
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Born | 26 Jul 1928 |
Died | 7 Mar 1999 |
Place of birth | New York City, New York |
Favorite films
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Anthony Frewin: “Stanley thought Kurosawa was one of the great film directors and followed him closely. In fact I cannot think of any other director he spoke so consistently and admiringly about.”
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Anthony Frewin: “Stanley thought Kurosawa was one of the great film directors and followed him closely. In fact I cannot think of any other director he spoke so consistently and admiringly about.”
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The perfect crime film.
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“He watched The Godfather again… and was reluctantly suggesting for the 10th time that it was possibly the greatest movie ever made and certainly the best cast.” — Michael Herr, Vanity Fair, 1999
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Jan Harlan: “La Ronde, yes—he was a real Arthur Schnitzler fan. Madame de… with Danielle Darrieux—Stanley loved it.”
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I know only La Strada [of Fellini’s films] but that is amply sufficient to see in him the most interesting poetic personality of the Italian cinema.
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Frederic Raphael: “He admired it very much. He said, ‘It’s pretty good, okay?’” Frewin: “He thought it was slick.”
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Paul Thomas Anderson: “[Kubrick] had seen Boogie Nights and he liked it very much. He liked the fact that I was a writer director and commented that more filmmakers should write and direct.”
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If I made as much money as George Lucas, I would not decide to become a studio mogul. I cannot understand why he doesn’t want to direct films anymore, because American Graffiti and even Star Wars were very good.
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Jan Harlan: “He was very impressed and depressed by Cries and Whispers—he could barely finish it. I was with him.”
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The filmmaker I admire the most after Max Ophuls is without a doubt Ingmar Bergman, whose every film I’ve seen. I like enormously Smiles of a Summer Night.
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Anthony Frewin: “Stanley thought Kurosawa was one of the great film directors and followed him closely. In fact I cannot think of any other director he spoke so consistently and admiringly about.”
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Anthony Frewin: “We spoke about this whilst working on 2001: A Space Odyssey. Stanley thought it was ‘silly’ and even ‘childish’ and couldn’t quite understand why it was held in such high regard.” [Nevertheless, it appeared on Katharina Kubrick-Hobbs’ list of films her father liked.]
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Jan Harlan: “Cabaret led to Marisa Berenson getting the part in Barry Lyndon.”
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Harlan: “I believe the only foreword to a book he ever wrote was for the scripts of Kieslowski’s Dekalog—and he did this with pleasure. A great masterpiece.”
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I think that Coppola was stuck by the fact that he didn’t have anything that resembled a story. So he had to make each scene more spectacular than the one before, to the point of absurdity. The ending is so unreal, and purely spectacular, that it’s like a version, much improved, of King Kong [laughs]. And Brando is supposed to give an intellectual weight to the whole thing… I think it just didn’t work. But it’s terrifically done. And there are some very strong scenes.
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I think one of the most interesting Hollywood films, well not Hollywood—American films—that I’ve seen in a long time is Claudia Weill’s Girlfriends. That film, I thought, was one of the very rare American films that I would compare with the serious, intelligent, sensitive writing and filmmaking that you find in the best directors in Europe. It wasn’t a success, I don’t know why; it should have been. Certainly I thought it was a wonderful film. It seemed to make no compromise to the inner truth of the story, you know, the theme and everything else.
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Harlan: “I believe the only foreword to a book he ever wrote was for the scripts of Kieslowski’s Dekalog—and he did this with pleasure. A great masterpiece.”
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It’s terrific.
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Harlan: “I believe the only foreword to a book he ever wrote was for the scripts of Kieslowski’s Dekalog—and he did this with pleasure. A great masterpiece.”
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Harlan: “I believe the only foreword to a book he ever wrote was for the scripts of Kieslowski’s Dekalog—and he did this with pleasure. A great masterpiece.”
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Harlan: “I believe the only foreword to a book he ever wrote was for the scripts of Kieslowski’s Dekalog—and he did this with pleasure. A great masterpiece.”
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Harlan: “I believe the only foreword to a book he ever wrote was for the scripts of Kieslowski’s Dekalog—and he did this with pleasure. A great masterpiece.”
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Harlan: “He greatly admired the guts[iness] of Michael Moore – substantial content and a major US figure.”
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Kubrick watched it three times and told Sluizer that it was “the most horrifying film I’ve ever seen”. Sluizer asked: “even moreso than The Shining?”. Kubrick replied that he thought it was. Harlan: “The Vanishing was real—The Shining was a ghost film—a huge difference.”
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Jan Harlan: “Stanley loved it, not so much because it is a great film, but because this was his childhood too.”
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Harlan: “I believe the only foreword to a book he ever wrote was for the scripts of Kieslowski’s Dekalog—and he did this with pleasure. A great masterpiece.”
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Harlan: “I believe the only foreword to a book he ever wrote was for the scripts of Kieslowski’s Dekalog—and he did this with pleasure. A great masterpiece.”
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Harlan: “I believe the only foreword to a book he ever wrote was for the scripts of Kieslowski’s Dekalog—and he did this with pleasure. A great masterpiece.”
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Harlan: “I believe the only foreword to a book he ever wrote was for the scripts of Kieslowski’s Dekalog—and he did this with pleasure. A great masterpiece.”
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I liked it. I thought it was very good. We weren’t too happy about our M16 rifle sound effects [on Full Metal Jacket], and when I heard M16s in Platoon, I thought they sounded about the same as ours. The strength of Platoon, is that it’s the first of what I call a “military procedural” that is really well done, where you really believe what’s going on. I thought the acting was very good and that it was dramatically very well written. That’s the key to its success: it’s a good film. It certainly wasn’t a success because it was about Vietnam. Only the ending of Platoon seemed a bit soft to me in the optimism of its narration.
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Anthony Frewin: “Stanley thought Danton was very nearly beyond criticism and ‘perhaps the finest historical film ever made’. He loved everything about it and said he would never tire of watching the scenes with Gérard Depardieu and Wojciech Pszoniak (‘I’d love to use that Polish actor in something’).”
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Jan Harlan: “Stanley liked Branagh’s version much better than the old and old-fashioned Olivier version which he had on his 1963 list. He thought it was far superior.”
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Jan Harlan: “I realise it’s on this 1963 list, but strangely, he never mentioned Hell’s Angels to me when we played the forever changing Desert Island Discs game with films.”
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I first encountered Saura’s work by chance and in a rather strange way one day when I got home quite late and turned on the television; a film in Spanish with subtitles, that I knew absolutely nothing about, and besides, I’d missed the first half hour. It was hard for me to follow and understand but, at the same time, I was convinced it was the film of a great director. I watched the rest of the film glued to the TV set and when it was over I picked up a newspaper and saw that it was Peppermint Frappé by Carlos Saura. Later I found a copy of the film, which of course I watched from the beginning and with great enthusiasm, and since then all of Saura’s films that I’ve seen have confirmed the high quality of his work. He is an extremely brilliant director, and what strikes me in particular is the marvellous use he makes of his actors.
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Jan Harlan: “He loved Harold and Maude but I don’t know whether he ever spoke to Hal Ashby or not.”
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Any actor who sees Get Carter will want to work with Hodges.
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Jan Harlan: “He adored The Emigrants. He was so enthused by the look of it that he hired the costume lady Ulla-Britt Söderlund for Barry Lyndon, who then worked with Milena Canonero. I remember Stanley wanting to talk to Jan Troell to congratulate him and ask him a few questions, and what happened so often to him when making these calls, after finally getting the person he wanted: ‘Is this Jan Troell?’, ‘Yes, who is this?’, ‘This is Stanley Kubrick’, ‘I bet you are’, and click, hung up. Then Stanley had to try again with: ‘Don’t hang up!’ etc.”
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How clever that the Japanese speak Japanese—what a difference it makes.
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Sir Christopher Frayling’s Leone biography—Something to do with Death—states on page 299: “Kubrick admired the film as well. So much so, according to Leone, that he selected the music for Barry Lyndon before shooting the film in order to attempt a similar fusion of music and image.”
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All films are, in a sense, false documentaries. One tries to approach reality as much as possible, only it’s not reality. There are people who do very clever things, which have completely fascinated and fooled me. For example, The Battle of Algiers. It’s very impressive.
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I saw Mary Poppins three times, because of my children, and I like Julie Andrews so much that I enjoyed seeing it three times. I thought it was a charming film. I wouldn’t want to make it, but…
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I very much like Jacques Becker. His reputation for lightness has not stopped him from making an excellent dramatic film in Casque d’Or, which I saw many times.
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They say Becker makes minor films, but Édouard et Caroline is nevertheless a ravishing thing.
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I have a very vivid memory of Miss Julie, which was directed in an extremely remarkable fashion.
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Jan Harlan: “La Ronde, yes—he was a real Arthur Schnitzler fan. Madame de… with Danielle Darrieux—Stanley loved it.”
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Jan Harlan: “La Ronde, yes—he was a real Arthur Schnitzler fan. Madame de… with Danielle Darrieux—Stanley loved it.”
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Kubrick mentioned enjoying seeing it at MoMA and referred to it as “a very nice film” in an interview with Renaud Walter in Positif, issues 100 and 101, December 1968 and January 1969.