Stanley Kubrick: A Master Filmmaker

1928-1999

"If it can be written, or thought, it can be filmed"

                                                                                                -- Stanley Kubrick

       Stanley Kubrick was born on July 26, 1928 in New York City. While growing up in grammar school he was considered intelligent despite poor grades. His father Jack—a physician—sent him to Pasadena, California in 1940, hoping that the change of scenery would alter his performance at school. There, he would stay with his Uncle Marvin Perveler. In 1941, Kubrick returned home to finish his last year of grammar school; however, there was little change in his academic performance. Hoping to find something to interest his son, Jack introduced Stanley to chess. Kubrick took to the game passionately, and quickly became a skilled player. Chess would become an important device for Kubrick in later years, often as a tool for dealing with headstrong actors, but also as an artistic motif in his films.

Jack Kubrick's decision to give his son a camera for his thirteenth birthday would be an even wiser move. Kubrick became a passionate photographer, and would often make trips around New York taking photographs that he would develop in a friend's darkroom. He made his first break in photography when he sold a photo to Look magazine. After he sold his photograph to the magazine, he began to associate himself with the staff, and by the age of 17 he was offered a job. He worked there for several years, traveling all over America (AMG).

While working for Look, he started to have an interest in film, and became a voracious moviegoer. Together with friend Alexander Singer, Kubrick planned a move into film. In 1951 at 23 years of age, Kubrick used his savings to finance his first film, a documentary about boxer Walter Cartier, who he used several times in photo shoots for Look. However, the man who he rented the equipment from provided the only knowledge he had about filmmaking at the time. During the creation of the film, he acted as director, cinematographer, editor, and soundman. He sold the Day of the Fight (the documentary) to RKO for its series This is America. Kubrick made little profit. During the film, he was married to Toba Metz. But, unfortunately, the marriage ended before the film was released.

Despite mixed reviews for the film itself, Kubrick received good notices for his obvious directorial talents. Kubrick's next two films Killer's Kiss (1955) and Killing, brought him to the attention of Hollywood, and in 1957 he directed Kirk Douglas in Paths of Glory. In 1959, Douglas called upon Kubrick to take over the production of Spartacus. Nonetheless, Douglas was hoping that Kubrick would be daunted by the scale of the project and would thus turn down the offer. This was not the case. Kubrick took charge of the project, imposing his ideas and standards on the film. Many crewmembers were upset by his style. Cinematographer Russell Metty complained to producers that Kubrick was taking over his job. Kubrick's response was to tell him to sit there and do nothing. Metty complied, and ironically was awarded the Academy Award for his cinematography.

Kubrick's next project was to direct Marlon Brando in One-Eyed Jacks (1961), but negotiations broke down and Brando himself ended up directing the film himself. Disappointed with Hollywood and after another failed marriage, Kubrick moved permanently to England, from where he would make all of his future films. Despite having obtained a pilot's license, Kubrick is rumored to be afraid of flying.

Kubrick's first UK film was in 1962, when he directed Lolita. The film was carefully constructed and guided to not interfere with the censorship boards which at the time had the power to severely damage the commercial success of a film. Dr. Strangelove (1964) was a big risk for Kubrick. The film’s alternate title was How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. The word “nuclear” at the time was not subject to comedy. The film's critical and commercial success allowed Kubrick the financial and artistic freedom to work on any project he desired.
           

The next film he completed, in 1968, was in collaboration with sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke. Together they created 2001: A Space Odyssey. The film is hailed by many as the best ever made. It was an instant cult favorite, and it has set the standard and tone for many science fiction films that followed. Kubrick was not done. In 1971, he directed the critically acclaimed A Clockwork Orange. The film was originally a book written by Anthony Burgess. Kubrick persuaded Warner Bros. to buy the rights of the book for $200,000 (filmmakers.com). His next film proved to be a turning point in both his private and professional lives. In 1975, he directed Barry Lyndon. His unrelenting demands of commitment and perfection of cast and crew had by now become legendary. Actors would be required to perform dozens of takes with no breaks. In addition, he was considered a target of the IRA after filming a movie using Irish Military. Production was promptly moved out of the country.

Having turned down directing a sequel to The Exorcist, in 1980, Kubrick made his own horror film: The Shining. The film was a financial success but critics were generally not as receptive and there were no Oscar nominations at all. Kubrick's following work has been well spaced. Kubrick’s next film, Full Metal Jacket, was released seven years after his last film (1987). By this time, Kubrick was married with children and had extensively remodeled his house. Full Metal Jacket continued Kubrick's legacy of solid critical acclaim, and profited at the box office.

In the 1990s, Kubrick began a film that would cause much distress on Kubrick. He was on the move to make a science fiction film called Artificial Intelligence (AI). But the film created many problems. The progress of the film was very slow, and the technological effects were not up to Kubrick’s standards. While pre-production work on AI crawled along, Kubrick combined Rhapsody and Blue Moon and officially announced his next project as Eyes Wide Shut (1999), starring the then-married Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. After two years of production under strict security and privacy, the film was released. Kubrick claimed it was his best film to date (Prodigy).

Special effects technology had matured rapidly in the meantime, and Kubrick immediately began active work on AI, but he tragically suffered a fatal heart attack in his sleep on March 7th, 1999. After Kubrick's death, Spielberg revealed that the two of them were friends that frequently communicated discretely about the art of filmmaking; both had a large degree of mutual respect for each other's work. AI was frequently discussed amongst the two. Kubrick even suggested that Spielberg should direct it as it was more his type of project. Based on this relationship, Spielberg took over as the film's director and completed the last Kubrick project in 2001.

He will be missed….

"I would not think of quarreling with your interpretation nor offering any other, as I have found it always the best policy to allow the film to speak for itself."

-- Stanley Kubrick

Click here for Kubrick’s filmography