DIRECTOR · BORN 1928 · DIED 1999
Stanley Kubrick
- Born
- 26 July 1928, New York City, New York, USA
- Died
- 7 March 1999
- Known for
- Lolita (1962), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Full Metal Jacket (1987), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
369 archived facts 8 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Stanley Kubrick (26 July 1928 – 7 March 1999) was a director and screenwriter best known for Lolita, A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket.
369 Interesting Facts About Stanley Kubrick
Interesting Facts (77)
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His favorite cartoon character was Woody Woodpecker. Kubrick reportedly loved Woody Woodpecker so much that he wanted to feature him in every film he ever made, similar to what George Pal did, but Walter Lantz, the creator of Woody Woodpecker, refused. In the final interview Lantz gave, he stated that he didn't regret his decision when he saw films like The Shining (1980) or A Clockwork Orange (1971), but he did regret it when he saw films like 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) or Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964).
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In 1963 he was asked by the US publication Cinema to compile a list of his favorite films. They were: I Vitelloni (1953) (Federico Fellini, 1953), Wild Strawberries (1957) ("Wild Strawberries" USA title, Ingmar Bergman, 1958), Citizen Kane (1941) (Orson Welles, 1941), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) (John Huston, 1948), City Lights (1931) (Charles Chaplin, 1931), Henry V (1944) ("Henry V" USA title, Laurence Olivier, 1945), La Notte (1961) (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1961), The Bank Dick (1940) (W.C. Fields, 1940), Roxie Hart (1942) (William Wellman, 1942), Hell's Angels (1930) (Howard Hughes, 1930).
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He was known for being a perfectionist, although he denied this. He'd kept doing takes because he felt that his actors, even though they got the right idea, he thought they weren't happy. When the Shining came out, there was a scene in the ending with Wendy and Danny in the hospital but Kubrick hated it and asked it to be removed just after a week after its release. Dorian Harewood, who played Eightball From Full Metal Jacket, said in an interview that Kubrick was a perfectionist. Kubrick called Harewood a few days later denying that he was a perfectionist.
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He once called Ken Russell in the early 1970s but ended the conversation abruptly because, according to Russell, he had been frightened by a bee. He then called several days later to ask Russell where he had found the lovely English locations for his period films. Russell told him and Kubrick used the locations in his next film, Barry Lyndon (1975). Russell said, "I felt quite chuffed.".
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In interviews upon with the release of his highly controversial A Clockwork Orange (1971), Kubrick cited The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) as the kind of movie he did NOT want to make when defending the use of an "evil" protagonist (Alex). Kubrick reasoned that The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) was bad art, as it took the stand that lynching was evil because innocent people might be lynched, not the stand that lynching (i.e, extra-judicial murder) was itself evil. He wanted Alex explicitly evil (thus, the jettisoning of the last chapter of the original novel, in which Alex is reformed; this chapter was not in the American edition that Terry Southern had given to Kubrick). Kubrick felt that an explicitly evil Alex underscores the point that the state's invasion of the prisoner's soul (turning him into a mechanical man, a "clockwork orange") was evil whatever the guilt or innocent, and the level thereof, of the prisoner.
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Daniel Waters wrote the original 180 page screenplay for Heathers (1989) intending for Kubrick to direct it, as he believed Kubrick was the only director who could get away with making a three-hour high school film. Kubrick wasn't interested, and when the film was made the screenplay was cut nearly in half, resulting in a 102-minute film.
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A celebrated conspiracy theory claims that NASA, impressed by 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), hired Kubrick to fake the moon landings for them, and that he then dropped hints to this in The Shining (1980). Imagine Dragons: On Top of the World (2013) pokes fun at this by having a bearded, intense film director make the band stage multiple takes of the moon landings while Richard Nixon and the secret service watch.
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In addition to The Seafarers (1953) (shot for the Seafarers International Union), he may have directed another commissioned project in the early fifties, "World Assembly of Youth," for the United Nations, documenting a UN-sponsored gathering in New York City of young people from throughout the world. No copy of the film has been found and it has never been conclusively proven that it even existed in the first place (as with "The Seafarers," Kubrick never publicly acknowledged it).
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Shares his birthday with 'Peter Hyams', who directed 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), sequel of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), which is directed by Kubrick. Also shares his birthday with Blake Edwards both of whom have directed Peter Sellers in multiple films. Further shares his birthday with Leon Vitali who was his personal assistant for almost 25 years as well as appearing in two of his films.
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In his 1974 memoir "Bud: The Brando I Knew," Carlo Fiore Carlo Fiore writing of his experience developing and working on the movie One-Eyed Jacks (1961) with his friend Marlon Brando - said that Kubrick had wanted to hire Spencer Tracy to play the character of Dad Longworth in the film. The part had already been cast with Karl Malden, and Brando countered that Malden was a fine actor. Kubrick agreed, but said that Malden played "losers" and the part needed a heavyweight to balance Brando's character of Rio. Brando immediately vetoed the idea of Tracy and forbade any more discussion on the topic.
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Kubrick's project after his last film, Eyes Wide Shut (1999), was the science fiction film A.I. (2001), but following Kubrick's death Steven Spielberg took over the project. The film was dedicated to Kubrick's memory and stands as a tribute to his contributions to cinema. Spielberg completed the film while remaining faithful to Kubrick's vision, and this collaboration also revealed the admiration and friendship between the two great directors.
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While directing his films, Kubrick refused to discuss them on set, and once they were completed he never watched them. This behavior shows his detached approach to his films and his desire to withdraw after bringing his art to audiences. Kubrick believed his films should speak for themselves; he therefore avoided commenting and preferred his works to make their own impact on the viewer.
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The legendary director Billy Wilder was a great admirer of Kubrick and claimed that he "never made a bad film." In an interview with Cameron Crowe, Wilder described the first half of Full Metal Jacket (1987) as "the best film I've ever seen." This praise lays bare Kubrick's reputation in the film world and his influence on his colleagues.
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According to his close friend Michael Herr, Kubrick watched The Godfather (1972) more than ten times and said it was "the greatest film ever made." This view reflects Kubrick's understanding of cinema and his admiration for great works. Kubrick's being influenced by this film may have inspired him to portray strong characters and deep themes in his own films.
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According to biographer Michael Herr, Kubrick was meticulous about staying faithful to every word of dialogue and did not allow actors to add their own lines. There were two exceptions to this rule, however: Peter Sellers and R. Lee Ermey. Sellers had earned Kubrick's trust with his improvisational ability in Lolita (1962) and Dr. Strangelove (1964), while Ermey gave an unforgettable performance as the drill instructor in Full Metal Jacket (1987), drawing on his own experience.
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One of Stanley Kubrick's greatest passions was chess, and he was said to be a master of the game. Crew members and actors were frequently defeated in matches against him, which highlights Kubrick's strategic intelligence and competitive spirit. Chess may also have nourished his ability to plan and anticipate in filmmaking.
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Stanley Kubrick formed a close friendship with Steven Spielberg; the two directors held each other's work in great respect. After Kubrick's death, Spielberg completed the film A.I. (2001), carrying on his legacy. This friendship is remembered as an example of the mutual admiration and collaboration between two giants of the film world.
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The release of A Clockwork Orange (1971) in the United Kingdom caused a great controversy in society; Kubrick received angry letters and protesters appeared in front of his house demanding that the film never be shown again. Although he did not have the right to control a film after production, Kubrick applied to the studio and asked for the film to be withdrawn from release. Out of respect for Kubrick, the studio granted the request, and the film was not shown in England for many years; this episode shows Kubrick's desire for control over his works and the importance he attached to public reactions.
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Stanley Kubrick was a great fan of the American sitcoms Seinfeld (1989), Roseanne (1988) and The Simpsons (1989). He also liked American football and would ask his friends in America to record the games and send them to him. His interest in television advertising stemmed from his admiration for the ability to tell an effective story in 30 seconds; this shows his curiosity about narrative techniques and his willingness to learn from different media.
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Stanley Kubrick loved animals; at the time of his death he owned a Highland Terrier, seven Golden Retrievers, a Scotch Terrier, eight cats and four Fern Donkeys. These animals roamed freely on his estate in rural England. Kubrick's fondness for animals shows that he built a calm life close to nature; it is also thought that he relieved the stress of his intense work pace by spending time with animals.
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A few days before his sudden death, Stanley Kubrick stated that among his own films the one he liked least was Fear and Desire (1952) and the one he liked most was Eyes Wide Shut (1999). This statement shows his critical view of his early work and his attachment to his last film. Kubrick's preference reflects his artistic development and the value he placed on the works of his mature period.
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Thanks to his interest in psychology, Stanley Kubrick directed his actors masterfully; the best-known example of this is what happened with Shelley Duvall on The Shining (1980). Duvall's performance in the film is filled with a realistic sense of fear and helplessness that Kubrick obtained by pushing her psychologically.
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Although Stanley Kubrick was known as a perfectionist, he denied it; yet even when he thought his actors had given the right performance, he would repeat takes because he felt they were unhappy. Just one week after The Shining (1980) was released, he had the hospital scene with Wendy and Danny at the end of the film removed because he did not like it. Dorian Harewood, who played Eightball in Full Metal Jacket (1987), said in an interview that Kubrick was a perfectionist; when Kubrick heard this, he called Harewood to deny the claim.
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While working on the film One-Eyed Jacks (1961), at Marlon Brando's house, Brando asked visitors to take off their shoes so as not to scratch the wooden floor. Kubrick not only followed this rule and took off his shoes, he often also took off his trousers and preferred to work in just a shirt and underwear.
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Stanley Kubrick's reclusive life led the press to write fabricated stories about him; one of them was that he shot a fan who entered his property and shot him again because the grass was bleeding. Such exaggerated reports further reinforced Kubrick's mysterious image and led to legends forming about him. The fact that Kubrick never responded to these stories shows that he maintained his policy of staying away from the media.
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In the fifth edition of Steven Jay Schneider's edited book '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die', nine of Kubrick's films were listed. Since Kubrick made only 13 feature films, this gave him the highest proportion of any director on the list. The listed films include Paths of Glory (1957), Spartacus (1960), Lolita (1962), Dr. Strangelove (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Barry Lyndon (1975), The Shining (1980) and Full Metal Jacket (1987).
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Kubrick never recorded audio commentaries for the home releases of his films, because he did not want to explain the mystery and depth of his films and preferred that viewers form their own interpretations. He believed his films should speak for themselves. This stance shows his respect for his art and his trust in the audience.
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In the early 1970s, Kubrick telephoned the director Ken Russell, but according to Russell he abruptly ended the call because he was afraid of a bee. A few days later he called again and asked Russell about the beautiful English locations he had used for period films. Russell shared these locations, and Kubrick used them in his next film, Barry Lyndon (1975). Russell expressed great satisfaction with this; the incident is remembered as an example of Kubrick's curious and sudden behavior.
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During the controversies sparked by A Clockwork Orange (1971), Kubrick cited The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) while defending the use of a 'bad' protagonist. Kubrick said that this film was bad art, because it argued the view that lynching is bad because innocent people can be lynched, but did not argue the view that lynching itself is bad. Kubrick wanted Alex to be clearly evil, and in this way aimed to trigger the audience's moral questioning. This statement lays bare Kubrick's understanding of art and the way he handled moral dilemmas.
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After the success of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Kubrick planned to make a large-scale biographical film about Napoleon Bonaparte. He conducted extensive research for this project, read books about the French emperor and wrote a preliminary screenplay that was published online. With the help of his assistants, he created a meticulous card catalog containing the locations and actions of Napoleon's inner circle throughout his active years. Kubrick planned to shoot large portions of the film in France and scouted locations; however, the project was never realized due to cost and logistical difficulties.
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Kubrick began pre-production on Full Metal Jacket (1987) in 1980, a full seven years before its release. During this time, the success of similarly themed films such as Oliver Stone's Platoon (1986) and John Irvin's Hamburger Hill (1987) frustrated Kubrick; he felt as if he had been beaten at his own game. This feeling was also influential in his decision in the early 1990s to shelve Aryan Papers, an adaptation of Louis Begley's novel Wartime Lies. Kubrick had completed the screenplay, but the fact that films on similar subjects had already been made caused him to give it up.
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Between Eyes Wide Shut (1999) and A.I. (2001), Kubrick was interested in making a film for children and young adults based on the Viking saga novel Eric Brighteyes. This project shows his desire to turn to different genres and target audiences; however, this film was never realized. Kubrick's projects during this period reveal how productive his creative mind was and that he was constantly in pursuit of new ideas.
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Kubrick was reported to have at one point considered leaving England to move to Vancouver in Canada or Sydney in Australia. The idea may reflect dissatisfaction with his life in England or a search for a new environment; however, these plans never materialized and Kubrick stayed in England until the end of his life.
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Kubrick was one of the founders of the Directors Guild of Great Britain. The organization was established to protect the rights of directors in Britain and to raise professional standards. Kubrick's role in this initiative shows the importance he placed on the development of the film industry and the welfare of his colleagues.
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Kubrick did not want Anthony Burgess to write the screenplay for A Clockwork Orange (1971); he planned to write it himself. The things Kubrick added to Burgess's novel were limited: he cut the second murder Alex commits in prison and replaced Billy Boy with Georgie as the partner of the police officer Dim. The novel's final chapter was removed entirely; however, that chapter was not in the American edition Kubrick first read. By Burgess's logic, Americans had not read the novel's original ending, and so the film's ending differed from that of the British edition of the book.
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Daniel Waters wrote the 180-page original screenplay for Heathers (1989) with the aim of having Kubrick direct it, because he believed Kubrick was the only director who could get away with making a three-hour high school film. Kubrick was not interested, and when the film was made the screenplay was cut to nearly half, resulting in a 102-minute film.
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A famous conspiracy theory claims that NASA, influenced by 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), hired Kubrick to fake the moon landings, and that Kubrick hinted at this in The Shining (1980). The video for Imagine Dragons' On Top of the World (2013) mocks this theory, showing a bearded, intense film director making the band shoot multiple takes of a moon landing while Richard Nixon and the Secret Service watch.
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Kubrick shares his birthday with Peter Hyams, who directed 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), the sequel to Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). He also shares his birthday with Blake Edwards, who likewise directed Peter Sellers in multiple films. He also shares his birthday with Leon Vitali, who was his personal assistant for nearly 25 years and appeared in two of his films.
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Despite being known for his meticulous shooting methods, Kubrick was quite prolific in his early years. The average gap between his films, from Fear and Desire (1952) to Barry Lyndon (1975), was two years. His last three films took much longer. Completing and releasing The Shining (1980) took five years, Full Metal Jacket (1987) seven years, and Eyes Wide Shut (1999) a full twelve years.
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Kubrick planned to direct a film titled "I Stole 16 Million Dollars," based on the famous 1930s bank robber Willie Sutton. The film was to be made by Kirk Douglas's Bryna production company, but Douglas thought the script was poorly written. Kubrick tried to interest Cary Grant, which must have failed, since the film was never made.
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Carlo Fiore, who appears as an assistant producer on One-Eyed Jacks (1961) and helped develop the film, wrote that Kubrick's dismissal by Marlon Brando (who went on to direct the film) was perhaps inevitable, because there was room for only one "genius" on the film. Brando had initially planned to direct the film himself, but Paramount Pictures pressured him to hire a director. At the time, both Kubrick and Brando were represented by the Music Corp. of America (MCA).
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In his 1974 memoir "Bud: The Brando I Knew," Carlo Fiore, writing about his experience developing and working on One-Eyed Jacks (1961) with his friend Marlon Brando, said that Kubrick wanted to hire Spencer Tracy to play the character Dad Longworth in the film. The role had already been filled by Karl Malden, and Brando said Malden was a good actor. Kubrick agreed, but said Malden played "losers" and that the role required a heavyweight to balance Brando's character Rio. Brando...
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Production Story (45)
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A number of screenplays that were written by Kubrick, who was either hired on a commission basis or was writing for his own projects, remain unreleased. One such screenplay is The German Lieutenant (co-written with Richard Adams), in which a group of German soldiers embark upon a mission during the final days of World War II. Other examples of unreleased Kubrick screenplays are I Stole 16 Million Dollars, a fictional account of early 20th century Baptist minister turned safecracker Herbert Emmerson Wilson (the film was to be produced by Kirk Douglas's company Bryna, despite Douglas's belief that the script was poorly written, and Cary Grant was approached for the lead role); and a first draft of a script about the Mosby Rangers, a Confederate guerrilla force that was active during the American Civil War. Kubrick was also interested in adapting to the screen Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews, but it was cancelled due to the explicit incestuous relationship between the two main characters.
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Carlo Fiore, who was credited as an assistant to the producer on One-Eyed Jacks (1961) and helped develop the picture, wrote that the firing of Kubrick by Marlon Brando (who went on to direct the film) was perhaps inevitable, as there was only room for one "genius" on the picture. Brando had originally intended to direct the film himself, but Paramount Pictures pressured him to hire a director. Both Kubrick and Brando, at the time, were represented by Music Corp. of America (MCA).
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He once called Ken Russell in the early 1970s but ended the conversation abruptly because, according to Russell, he had been frightened by a bee. He then called several days later to ask Russell where he had found the lovely English locations for his period films. Russell told him and Kubrick used the locations in his next film, Barry Lyndon (1975). Russell said, "I felt quite chuffed."
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In a March 2013 article in The Atlantic, Tony Frewin, Kubrick's assistant for many years, wrote: "He [Kubrick] was limitlessly interested in anything to do with Nazis and desperately wanted to make a film on the subject." The article included information on another Kubrick World War II film that was never realized, based on the life story of Dietrich Schulz-Koehn, a Nazi officer who used the pen name "Dr. Jazz" to write reviews of German music scenes during the Nazi era. Kubrick had been given a copy of the Mike Zwerin book Swing Under the Nazis (the front cover of which featured a photograph of Schulz-Koehn) after he had finished production on Full Metal Jacket (1987). However, a screenplay was never completed and Kubrick's film adaptation plan was never initiated (the unfinished Aryan Papers was a factor in the abandonment of the project).
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He was considered to be a well-read man with an extreme attention to detail. For his aborted film project on Napoléon Bonaparte, he had one of his assistants go to various bookstores to acquire every book he could find on the French emperor, and he returned with well in excess of 100. Kubrick read them all and astonished his associates with his level of retention. When working on a battlefield scene, he even examined a historical painting of the battle so he could note exactly what the weather was in the painting and make sure to film the battle on a day with similar weather patterns.
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After the success of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Kubrick planned a large-scale biographical film about Napoleon Bonaparte. He conducted research, read books about the French emperor, and wrote a preliminary screenplay which has since become available on the internet. With the help of assistants, he meticulously created a card catalog of the places and deeds of Napoleon's inner circle during its operative years. Kubrick scouted locations, planning to film large portions of the film on location in France, in addition to the use of United Kingdom studios. The director was also going to film the battle scenes in Romania and had enlisted the support of the Romanian army; senior army officers had committed 40,000 soldiers and 10,000 cavalrymen to Kubrick's film for the paper costume battle scenes. In a conversation with the British Film Institute, Kubrick's brother-in-law Jan Harlan stated that, at the time, the film was ready to enter the production stage and David Hemmings was Kubrick's favored choice to play the character of Napoleon, although Jack Nicholson was eventually cast in the role. Audrey Hepburn was his preference for the role of Josephine, but she wrote back to Kubrick kindly declining the role. In notes that Kubrick wrote to his financial backers, preserved in the book The Kubrick Archives, Kubrick expresses uncertainty in regard to the progress of the Napoleon film and the final product; however, he also states that he expected to create "the best movie ever made." Napoleon was eventually cancelled due to the prohibitive cost of location filming, the Western release of War and Peace (1965), and the commercial failure of Waterloo (1970). A significant portion of Kubrick's historical research would influence Barry Lyndon (1975), the storyline of which ends in 1789, approximately fifteen years prior to the commencement of the Napoleonic Wars. In March 2013, Steven Spielberg announced his intention to create, in conjunction with Kubrick's family, a television miniseries based on Kubrick's screenplay.
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Following J.R.R. Tolkien's sale of the film rights for The Lord of the Rings to United Artists in 1969, The Beatles considered a corresponding film project and approached Kubrick as a potential director; however, Kubrick turned down the offer, explaining to John Lennon that he thought the novel could not be adapted into a film due to its immensity. The eventual director of the film adaptation Peter Jackson further explained that a major hindrance to the project's progression was Tolkien's opposition to the involvement of the Beatles.
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He wanted to make a film based on Umberto Eco's novel Foucault's Pendulum, which appeared in 1988. Unfortunately, Eco refused, as he was dissatisfied with the filming of his earlier novel The Name of the Rose (1986) and also because Kubrick wasn't willing to let him write the screenplay himself.
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In the early 1960s, Kubrick, a keen listener of BBC Radio, heard the radio serial drama Shadow on the Sun; written by Gavin Blakeney, Shadow on the Sun is a work of science fiction in which a virus is introduced to earth through a meteorite landing. At a time when Kubrick was looking for a new project, the director became reacquainted with Shadow on the Sun. Kubrick purchased screen rights from Blakeney in 1988 for £1,500. Thereon, Kubrick read and annotated a script before moving onto A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001). The tone of the unrealized project, as described by Anthony Frewin in The Kubrick Archives, is a cross between War of the Worlds and Mars Attacks! (1996).
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In his 1974 memoir "Bud: The Brando I Knew," Carlo Fiore, writing of his experience developing and working on the movie One-Eyed Jacks (1961) with his friend Marlon Brando, said that Kubrick had wanted to hire Spencer Tracy to play the character of Dad Longworth in the film. The part had already been cast with Karl Malden, and Brando countered that Malden was a fine actor. Kubrick agreed, but said that Malden played "losers" and the part needed a heavyweight to balance Brando's character of Rio. Brando immediately vetoed the idea of Tracy and forbade any more discussion on the topic.
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Kubrick had started pre-production on Full Metal Jacket (1987) in 1980, a full seven years before it was theatrically released. The success of similar films during that time (particularly Oliver Stone's Platoon (1986) and John Irvin's Hamburger Hill (1987)) left him a bit jaded, feeling like he had been beaten at his own game. This sentiment stayed with him in the early 1990s when he decided to shelve Aryan Papers, his adaptation of the Louis Begley novel Wartime Lies. Kubrick had completed the script and had done a large amount of pre-production work on Aryan Papers; Johanna ter Steege and Joseph Mazzello had been cast in the lead roles and locations had been scouted in Denmark, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Warners officially announced the project as Kubrick's next film in April 1993 and it was scheduled for a December 1994 release. Around the same time Steven Spielberg was shooting Schindler's List (1993), and Kubrick thought the Holocaust-based subject matter of the two projects was too similar. The shelving of this project helps to explain the 12-year gap between Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999).
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According to Kirk Douglas, Kubrick allegedly wanted to take credit for the Spartacus (1960) screenplay that was primarily written by Dalton Trumbo. Trumbo, who was blacklisted at the time, originally was going to use the alias Sam Jackson. During the production of the film, Otto Preminger announced he had hired Trumbo to write the screenplay for Exodus (1960). Douglas, in turn, announced that he had been the first to hire Trumbo, who would be credited on his film. Preminger's film was released six months earlier than Spartacus, which was released in October 1960. Douglas later said he decided to give Trumbo credit because he was appalled at Kubrick's attempt to hog the credit. This "recollection" likely was colored by the fact that Kubrick went on to become a great director, and the film was seen as a Kubrick film rather than as the product of Kirk Douglas, who produced it. Douglas viewed the film as a fulfillment of his personal vision. It is highly unlikely that Kubrick would try to take the credit, as Trumbo served as one of the members of the film's executive committee - screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, executive producer Kirk Douglas and producer Edward Lewis," according to Duncan L. Cooper's 1996 article "Who Killed 'Spartacus'?" Trumbo was a friend of Edward Muhl, the boss of Universal Pictures, which was financing the film. According to Cooper, Howard Fast, a former Communist Party member who wrote the novel the film is based on, worked on the screenplay but received no credit. Walter Winchell had already revealed that Trumbo was working on the film, and it was widely known that Trumbo had won an Oscar using the pseudonym Robert Rich on The Brave One (1956), and that his "front", Ian McLellan Hunter, had won an Oscar for the story of Roman Holiday (1953) that Trumbo had, in fact, written. In other words, the blacklist was a sham. There were rumors that the House Un-American Activities Committee was going to investigate the movie industry again, and right-wingers began attacking the film. Douglas gave into studio boss Muhl's idea that the class conflict at the heart of Spartacus (1960) be muted, thus betraying both Trumbo's screenplay and Fast's novel. A major battle scene showing the triumph of Spartacus' slave army over the Romans was deleted lest it seem too provocative, and medium and closeup shots of Laurence Olivier that showed his character - Roman dictator Crassus - experiencing fear over the slave rebellion were replaced with wide shots. Scenes where the slave army was crushed, of course, remain, though their length was cut back to minimize the carnage of the original 197-minute cut. Part of what remains - Olivier's Crassus looking for Spartacus' body among the living and the dead slaves - is shot indifferently on a sound stage and seems mismatched with the rest of the scene. Trumbo himself realized the necessity of muting his own passions in order to make the screenplay moderate so the film would be a success at the box office. He told an interviewer, "If the film had failed, neither I nor any other blacklisted writer would ever have been able to work again." The actions of Preminger and Douglas to give Trumbo credit effectively ended the blacklist, though many blacklisted screenwriters continued to write under pseudonyms until the early 1970s.
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Kubrick was fascinated by the career of Nazi filmmaker Veit Harlan, his wife's uncle, and contemplated creating a film of the social circle that surrounded Joseph Goebbels. Although Kubrick worked on this project for several years, the director was unable to progress beyond a rough story outline.
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The controversy around A Clockwork Orange (1971)'s UK release was so strong that Kubrick was flooded with angry letters and protesters were showing up at his home, demanding that the film never be shown in England again. He personally petitioned the studio to pull it from theaters, despite his legal inability to control a film after production. The studio, out of respect for Kubrick, eventually decided to pull the film out of theaters prematurely.
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In 1976, Kubrick sought out a film idea that concerned the Holocaust and tried to persuade Isaac Bashevis Singer to contribute an original screenplay. Kubrick requested a "dramatic structure that compressed the complex and vast information into the story of an individual who represented the essence of this man-made hell." However, Singer declined, explaining to Kubrick, "I don't know the first thing about the Holocaust." In the early 1990s, Kubrick nearly entered the production stage of a film adaptation of Louis Begley's Wartime Lies, the story of a boy and his aunt as they are in hiding from the Nazi regime during the Holocaust; the first-draft screenplay, entitled Aryan Papers, was penned by Kubrick himself. Full Metal Jacket (1987) co-screenwriter Michael Herr reports that Kubrick had considered casting Julia Roberts or Uma Thurman as the aunt; eventually, Johanna ter Steege was cast as the aunt and Joseph Mazzello as the young boy. Kubrick traveled to the Czech city of Brno, as it was envisaged as a possible filming location for the scenes of Warsaw during wartime, and cinematographer Elemér Ragályi was selected by Kubrick to be the director of photography. Kubrick's work on Aryan Papers eventually ceased in 1995, as the director was influenced by Schindler's List (1993). According to Kubrick's wife Christiane, an additional factor in Kubrick's decision was the increasingly depressing nature of the subject as experienced by the director. Kubrick eventually concluded that an accurate Holocaust film was beyond the capacity of cinema and returned his attention to A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001).
- #102
He had no intention of having Anthony Burgess write the screenplay for A Clockwork Orange (1971), intending to do it himself. In fact, there is little that Kubrick added to Burgess' work except for editorial decisions such as eliminating the second murder Alex commits in prison and replacing Billy Boy with Georgie as police constable Dim's partner (the entire last chapter of the novel was jettisoned, but it had been in the American edition of the novel that Kubrick had first read; Americans, as Burgess reasoned, did not like to see their criminals reformed). The dialog was considered by many critics and cineastes as being lifted almost straight from the book (though there are enough differences to dismiss that as a valid criticism of Kubrick the screenwriter). This is the first of the two movies in which Kubrick has sole credit as screenwriter (Barry Lyndon (1975), which immediately followed A Clockwork Orange (1971), is the other). Kubrick was one of the first director-writers to actually take credit on a film. Going back to the beginnings of the film industry, directors had often participated in the writing of their films, but most did not take credit. It might have been the fact that Kubrick used less of Vladimir Nabokov's credited screenplay and more of his own writing (and the improvisations of Peter Sellers) for Lolita (1962) that influenced him to become a credited screenwriter. Lolita (1962) was shot at the time that the "auteur" theory (which held the director was the main author of a film) was gaining prominence, and from Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) onward Kubrick took credit as a screenwriter. Earlier, he had worked uncredited on the screenplays of Paths of Glory (1957) and One-Eyed Jacks (1961), which he had originally been hired by Marlon Brando to direct. As he was one of the greatest masters the cinema has ever had and truly was the author of his films, Kubrick likely was encouraged to go it alone on A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Barry Lyndon (1975) (which allegedly he shot in an improvisatory manner after reading sections of the novel, which he carried with him during shooting).
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- #104
Daniel Waters wrote the original 180-page screenplay for Heathers (1989) intending for Kubrick to direct it, as he believed Kubrick was the only director who could get away with making a three-hour high school film. Kubrick wasn't interested, and when the film was made the screenplay was cut nearly in half, resulting in a 102-minute film.
- #105
He planned to direct a film called "I Stole 16 Million Dollars" based on the notorious 1930s bank robber Willie Sutton. It was to be made by Kirk Douglas' Bryna production company, but Douglas thought the script was poorly written. Kubrick tried to get Cary Grant interested, which must have proved to be a failure as well, since the film was never made.
- #106
Kubrick and his partner James B. Harris, during the development of Lolita (1962), hired Marlon Brando's friend Carlo Fiore -- whom Kubrick had worked with on the development of One-Eyed Jacks (1961) -- to write a screenplay of Vladimir Nabokov's novel "Kamera obskura," which Fiore had optioned himself. Written in Russian in 1932, "Kamera obskura" was first translated into English around 1938 as "Camera Obscura" and again circa 1960 as "Laughter in the Dark." The book had elements in common with "Lolita," and Kubrick -- who was worried he was being hustled when Fiore approached him with the rights to the novel -- tied up the production of a potential rival film by hiring Fiore. Nothing came of Fiore's foray into film development, although Tony Richardson later made a movie of the novel with Nicol Williamson starring.
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- #108
Following a 2010 announcement about the development of the Lunatic at Large project, plans for the prospective production of two other unrealized Kubrick projects were also announced. As of August 2012, Downslope and God Fearing Man were in development by Philip Hobbs and producer Steve Lanning, in partnership with independent company Entertainment One (eOne). A press release described Downslope as an "epic Civil War drama", while God Fearing Man is the "true story of Canadian minister Herbert Emerson Wilson."
- #109
On November 1, 2006, Kubrick's son-in-law Philip Hobbs announced that he would be shepherding a film treatment of Lunatic at Large. Kubrick had commissioned the project for treatment from noir pulp novelist Jim Thompson in the 1950s, but it had been lost until Hobbs uncovered a manuscript following Kubrick's death. As of August 2011, this project is in development for future release, with the involvement of Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell, and U.K. screenwriter Stephen Clarke.
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- #111
In 1956, after MGM turned down a request from Kubrick and his producer partner James B. Harris to film Paths of Glory (1957), MGM invited Kubrick to review the studio's other properties. Harris and Kubrick discovered Stefan Zweig's novel The Burning Secret, in which a young baron attempts to seduce a young Jewish woman by first befriending her twelve-year-old son, who eventually realizes the baron's actual motives. Kubrick was enthusiastic about the novel and hired novelist Calder Willingham to write a screenplay; however, Production Code restrictions hindered the realization of the project. Kubrick had previously expressed interest in adapting a Willingham novel, Natural Child, but was also prevented by the Production Code on that occasion.
- #112
In 2016, Kubrick's longtime assistant Emilio D'Alessandro said that before his death, Kubrick was considering making a movie of Pinocchio. D'Alessandro said that Kubrick sent him to buy Italian books about the subject. "He wanted to make it in his own because so many Pinocchios have been made. He wanted to do something really big... He said, 'It would be very nice if I could make children laugh and feel happy making this Pinocchio.'" (Kubrick eventually used the project based on Brian Aldiss's short story as his "Pinocchio film.") D'Alessandro also stated that Kubrick's lifelong fascination with World War II led to an interest in the Battle of Monte Cassino. D'Alessandro said, "Stanley said that would be an interesting film to make. He asked me to get hold of things... like newspaper cuttings and find out the distance from the airport, train stations. He had a friend who actually bombarded Monte Cassino during the war... It is horrible to remember those days. Everything was completely destroyed."
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In addition to The Seafarers (1953) (shot for the Seafarers International Union), he may have directed another commissioned project in the early fifties, "World Assembly of Youth," for the United Nations, documenting a UN-sponsored gathering in New York City of young people from throughout the world. No copy of the film has been found and it has never been conclusively proven that it even existed in the first place (as with The Seafarers, Kubrick never publicly acknowledged it).
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He wanted to make a film based on Umberto Eco's novel "Foucault's Pendulum" which appeared in 1988. Unfortunately, Eco refused, as he was dissatisfied with the filming of his earlier novel The Name of the Rose (1986) and also because Kubrick wasn't willing to let him write the screenplay himself.
- #117
In 1956, after MGM turned down a request from Kubrick and his producer partner James B. Harris to film Paths of Glory (1957), MGM then invited Kubrick to review the studio's other properties. Harris and Kubrick discovered Stefan Zweig's novel The Burning Secret, in which a young baron attempts to seduce a young Jewish woman by first befriending her twelve-year-old son, who eventually realizes the actual motives of the baron. Kubrick was enthusiastic about the novel and hired novelist Calder Willingham to write a screenplay; however, Production Code restrictions hindered the realization of the project. Kubrick had previously expressed interest in adapting a Willingham novel Natural Child, but was also prevented by the Production Code on that occasion.
- #118
In a March 2013, Tony Frewin, Kubrick's assistant for many years, wrote in an article in The Atlantic: "He [Kubrick] was limitlessly interested in anything to do with Nazis and desperately wanted to make a film on the subject." The article included information on another Kubrick World War II film that was never realized, based on the life story of Dietrich Schulz-Koehn, a Nazi officer who used the pen name "Dr. Jazz" to write reviews of German music scenes during the Nazi era. Kubrick had been given a copy of the Mike Zwerin book Swing Under the Nazis (the front cover of which featured a photograph of Schulz-Koehn) after he had finished production on Full Metal Jacket (1987). However, a screenplay was never completed and Kubrick's film adaptation plan was never initiated (the unfinished Aryan Papers was a factor in the abandonment of the project).
- #119
- #120
Planned to direct a film called "I Stole 16 Million Dollars" based on notorious 1930s bank robber Willie Sutton. It was to be made by Kirk Douglas' Bryna production company, but Douglas thought the script was poorly written. Kubrick tried to get Cary Grant interested, which must have proved to be a failure as well, since the film was never made.
- #121
After J.R.R. Tolkien sold the film rights to The Lord of the Rings to United Artists in 1969, The Beatles considered adapting the novel for the screen and offered Stanley Kubrick the directing job. Kubrick turned down the offer, telling John Lennon that he thought the novel could not be adapted into a film because of its size. Years later, the adaptation directed by Peter Jackson achieved great success; Kubrick's decision shows how meticulous he was in assessing the limits of a project.
- #122
In 1976, Kubrick sought an idea for a film about the Holocaust and tried to persuade Isaac Bashevis Singer to write an original screenplay. Kubrick said he wanted 'a dramatic structure that compresses complex and vast information into the story of an individual who represents the essence of this man-made hell.' Singer, however, turned down the offer, saying, 'I know nothing about the Holocaust.' In the early 1990s, Kubrick considered adapting Louis Begley's novel Wartime Lies, but that project was also shelved.
Behind the Scenes (112)
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He was known for being a perfectionist, although he denied this. He kept doing takes because he felt that his actors, even though they got the right idea, were not happy. When The Shining came out, there was a scene at the end with Wendy and Danny in the hospital, but Kubrick hated it and asked for it to be removed just a week after its release. Dorian Harewood, who played Eightball in Full Metal Jacket, said in an interview that Kubrick was a perfectionist. Kubrick called Harewood a few days later, denying that he was a perfectionist.
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According to biographer Michael Herr, Kubrick was often noted for wanting to stick to each word of dialogue without changing it or an actor adding lines of his own. The two exceptions were Peter Sellers (with whom he worked on Lolita (1962) and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)) and R. Lee Ermey (from Full Metal Jacket (1987)).
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- #134
He had no intention of having Anthony Burgess' write the screenplay for A Clockwork Orange (1971), intending to do it himself. In fact, there is little that Kubrick added to Burgess' work except for editorial decisions such as eliminating the second murder Alex commits in prison and replacing Billy Boy with Georgie as police constable Dim's partner (the entire last chapter of the novel was jettisoned, but it had been in the American edition of the novel that Kubrick had first read. Americans, as Burgess reasoned, did not like to see their criminals reformed). The dialog was considered by many critics and cineastes as being lifted almost straight from the book (though there are enough differences to dismiss that as a valid criticism of Kubrick the screenwriter). This is the first of the two movies in which Kubrick has sole credit as screenwriter (Barry Lyndon (1975), which immediately followed A Clockwork Orange (1971) is the other). Kubrick was one of the first director-writers to actually take credit on a film. Going back to the beginnings of the film industry, directors had often participated in the writing of their films, but most did not take credit. It might have been the fact that Kubrick used less of Vladimir Nabokov's credited screenplay and more of his own writing (and the improvisations of Peter Sellers) for Lolita (1962) that influenced him to become a credited screenwriter. Lolita (1962) was shot at the time that the "auteur" theory (which held the director was the main author of a film) was gaining prominence, and from Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) onward Kubrick took credit as a screenwriter. Earlier, he had worked uncredited on the screenplays of Paths of Glory (1957) and One-Eyed Jacks (1961), which he had originally been hired by Marlon Brando to direct. As he was one of the greatest masters the cinema has ever had and truly was the author of his films, Kubrick likely was encouraged to go it alone on A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Barry Lyndon (1975) (which allegedly he shot in an improvisatory manner after reading sections of the novel, which he carried with him during shooting).
- #135
The friendship Stanley Kubrick formed with Malcolm McDowell during the shooting of A Clockwork Orange (1971) is regarded as one of the most productive director-actor collaborations in cinema history. Kubrick was so pleased with McDowell's performance that he showed him great warmth on set, and a strong bond developed between them. After filming ended, however, Kubrick never contacted McDowell again; this abrupt break has been read as a sign of the director's absolute commitment to his work and his tendency to keep personal relationships separate from it. In interviews years later, McDowell said he was surprised by the situation, but that his admiration for Kubrick's genius never diminished.
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Kubrick shared with Peter Sellers a love of photography and home cinema; the two often photographed each other on set. This shared interest strengthened the friendship between them and laid the groundwork for their creative collaborations. Sellers's improvisational talent and Kubrick's meticulous direction created unforgettable moments in films such as Lolita (1962) and Dr. Strangelove (1964).
- #138
The friendship he formed with Malcolm McDowell during the shooting of A Clockwork Orange (1971) is regarded as one of the most productive director-actor collaborations in cinema history. Kubrick was so pleased with McDowell's performance that he showed him great warmth on set, and a strong bond developed between them. Yet after filming ended, Kubrick never contacted McDowell again; this abrupt break was interpreted as a sign of the director's absolute devotion to his work and his tendency to keep personal relationships separate from it. In interviews years later, McDowell said he was bewildered by the situation, but that his admiration for Kubrick's genius never diminished.
- #139
In May 1990, he came together with some of the most influential directors in cinema history to found The Film Foundation. This step, taken alongside Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Robert Redford, Sydney Pollack and George Lucas, became a turning point for the preservation and restoration of film heritage. The foundation carried out work aimed especially at ensuring that classic films could be passed on to future generations without deteriorating, and Kubrick's role in this initiative showed that he saw cinema not only as an art form but also as a cultural heritage.
- #140
Kubrick's reclusive lifestyle led fans and curious visitors to come to his door; but because very few people recognized his face, Kubrick, opening the door to these visitors, would turn them away by saying, 'Stanley Kubrick isn't home.' This behavior shows the importance he placed on his private life and his desire to avoid the attention that fame brought. At the same time, such anecdotes became part of the legend that formed around Kubrick and further reinforced his mysterious persona.
- #141
Kubrick was known for his obsession with detail and his vast store of knowledge; these traits made him one of the most meticulous directors in cinema history. For his unrealized film project about Napoléon Bonaparte, he assigned one of his assistants to collect every book he could find about the French emperor, and the assistant returned with more than 100 books. Kubrick read all of these books and astonished those around him with his ability to retain the information in his memory. His effort, while working on a battle scene, to reflect the atmosphere of the moment exactly by studying a historical painting lays bare the importance he gave to visual realism.
- #142
Kubrick's photography career began when, at just 16 years old, on the day after President Franklin D. Roosevelt's death, he took a photograph of a newspaper vendor in New York. He sold this photograph to Look magazine, and the magazine published it; this success led to his being hired as an apprentice photographer at the magazine while he was still in high school. This experience helped Kubrick develop his visual storytelling ability and laid the foundation for his interest in cinema.
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Kubrick's high school report card was quite poor; his grade average was only 67%, and for this reason he was not accepted by any university. Yet this did not discourage him; he sat in on classes at Columbia University without enrolling. This experience showed his hunger for learning and that he could improve himself outside the traditional education system as well. The knowledge Kubrick acquired during this period formed the basis of his later intellectual accumulation.
- #145
The beard that became Kubrick's trademark was first grown during the production of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). After this film he never shaved his beard again and also let his hair grow long; this appearance became identified with his mysterious and authoritarian persona. The beard also became part of his artistic identity, and the director maintained this image in his later films as well.
- #146
Kubrick's project after his last film, Eyes Wide Shut (1999), was the science fiction film A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001); however, following Kubrick's death, Steven Spielberg took over the project. The film was dedicated to Kubrick's memory and stood as a tribute to his contributions to cinema. Spielberg completed the film while remaining faithful to Kubrick's vision, and this collaboration also laid bare the relationship of admiration and friendship between the two great directors.
- #147
While directing his films, Kubrick refused to talk about them on set, and once they were completed he never watched them. This behavior shows his detached approach to his films and his desire to withdraw after bringing his art to the audience. Kubrick believed that his films should speak for themselves; for this reason he avoided commenting and preferred his works to leave their own effect on the viewer.
- #148
By the age of thirteen, Kubrick was passionately devoted to photography, chess and jazz drumming. These three fields deeply influenced his later career: photography developed his visual storytelling, chess his strategic thinking, and jazz his sense of rhythm and timing. These early interests laid the foundation for his becoming a versatile artist.
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One of Kubrick's eccentric behaviors was calling people several times a day, even at midnight, whenever an idea came to him. He was a night owl himself and rarely slept more than a few hours, so his late-night calls were part of his creative process. Though exhausting for those around him, this behavior was a sign of Kubrick's passion and dedication to his work.
- #151
In his youth, Kubrick often skipped school because of his devotion to cinema and would watch double features all day. These escapes fed his passion for film and allowed him to learn the language of visual storytelling by watching films of different genres. These experiences built a rich visual memory that he would later draw on when creating his own films.
- #152
The legendary director Billy Wilder was a great admirer of Kubrick and claimed he 'never made a bad film.' In an interview with Cameron Crowe, Wilder described the first half of Full Metal Jacket (1987) as 'the best film I have ever seen.' This praise lays bare Kubrick's reputation in the world of cinema and his influence on his colleagues.
- #153
One of Kubrick's favorite films was Eraserhead (1977), directed by David Lynch. The film is known for Lynch's dark and surreal storytelling; Kubrick's admiration for it shows his interest in unconventional and experimental cinema. This choice reveals how broad and bold his artistic taste was.
- #154
According to his close friend Michael Herr, Kubrick watched The Godfather (1972) more than ten times and said it was 'the greatest film ever made.' This view reflects Kubrick's understanding of cinema and his admiration for great works. Kubrick's being influenced by this film may have inspired him to explore strong characters and deep themes in his own films.
- #155
Kubrick's daughter Vivian Kubrick explained that the family surname is pronounced 'Que-brick,' not 'koo-brick.' This difference in pronunciation offers an interesting detail about the family's origins and the etymology of the name. The correct pronunciation of Kubrick's name is considered important information for those interested in his legacy.
- #156
According to biographer Michael Herr, Kubrick was meticulous about staying faithful to every word of dialogue and would not allow actors to add their own lines. But there were two exceptions to this rule: Peter Sellers and R. Lee Ermey. Sellers had earned Kubrick's trust with his improvisational talent in Lolita (1962) and Dr. Strangelove (1964); Ermey, in the role of the drill instructor in Full Metal Jacket (1987), gave an unforgettable performance by drawing on his own experiences.
- #157
Until the 1970s, Kubrick wore a suit and tie every day while directing; this was part of his professional and serious image. After that date, however, he switched to casual work clothes. His wife Christiane said that Kubrick did not enjoy choosing what to wear and that his wardrobe was full of identical shirts and trousers.
- #158
Kubrick's dissatisfaction with his first film, Fear and Desire (1952), is one of the best-known examples of director self-criticism in cinema history. He tried to buy up all copies of the film, which he regarded as a product of his youth, to keep others from seeing it. This behavior lays bare his perfectionist nature and the importance he placed on his artistic reputation; it is also an indication of how ruthless an artist can be toward his own early work.
- #159
One of Kubrick's greatest passions was chess, and he was said to be a master of the game. Crew members and actors were often defeated in matches against him; this reveals Kubrick's strategic intelligence and competitive spirit. Chess may also have nourished his ability to plan and anticipate in filmmaking.
- #160
Kubrick formed a close friendship with Steven Spielberg; the two directors held each other's work in great respect. After Kubrick's death, Spielberg completed the film A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), carrying on his legacy. This friendship is remembered as an example of the mutual admiration and collaboration between two giants of the film world.
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Kubrick's fear of flying never went away, even though he often had to fly early in his career; he was even known to have hysterical reactions on planes. For this reason, he tried to keep the number of flights to a minimum. According to Malcolm McDowell, Kubrick would listen to the air traffic controllers at Heathrow Airport for long stretches and advised McDowell never to fly. This fear played a part in his settling in England and in his avoidance of travel in the later years of his career.
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Kubrick's wife Christiane said that he watched every film he could get his hands on and that one of his favorites was The Salamander (1979). Kubrick initially conceived Eyes Wide Shut (1999) as a dark sex comedy starring Steve Martin, and met with Martin to discuss the project. The project later evolved in a different direction, showing how fluid and open to development Kubrick's ideas were.
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The release of A Clockwork Orange (1971) in the United Kingdom sparked great public debate; Kubrick received angry letters and protesters appeared in front of his house demanding that the film never be shown again. Although he did not have the right to control a film after production, Kubrick applied to the studio and asked for the film to be withdrawn from distribution. Out of respect for Kubrick, the studio granted this request, and the film was not shown in Britain for many years; this incident shows Kubrick's desire for control over his works and the importance he attached to public reactions.
- #166
Kubrick was a great fan of the American sitcoms Seinfeld (1989), Roseanne (1988) and The Simpsons (1989). He also loved American football and would ask his friends in America to record the games and send them to him. His interest in television advertising stemmed from his admiration for the ability to tell an effective story in 30 seconds; this shows his curiosity about narrative techniques and his willingness to learn from different media.
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When Kubrick bought Simon Cowell's childhood home, he converted the entire ground floor of the house into a private cinema. The presence of a private screening room in Kubrick's home is an indication of his commitment to cinema and the importance he placed on a comfortable viewing experience.
- #169
Kubrick opposed conceptual analysis of his films and did not want to have to explain what his works meant. He argued that each film should be evaluated on its own terms and disliked having them assessed within the whole of his career. He said his method was to find stories that interested him and not repeat himself; this approach shows the importance he placed on his artistic freedom and innovation.
- #170
After J.R.R. Tolkien sold the film rights to The Lord of the Rings to United Artists in 1969, The Beatles considered adapting the novel for the screen and offered Kubrick the directing job. However, Kubrick turned down the offer, telling John Lennon that he thought the novel was unfilmable because of its scale. Years later, Peter Jackson's adaptation was a great success; this decision of Kubrick's shows how meticulous he was in assessing the limits of a project.
- #171
Kubrick rarely gave interviews; however, he appeared in a documentary shot by his daughter Vivian Kubrick during the making of The Shining (1980). According to Vivian, Kubrick planned to give several official TV interviews after Eyes Wide Shut (1999) was released, but he died before he could carry out these plans. This once again reveals Kubrick's tendency to stay away from the media and the importance he placed on his private life.
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In 1963, the magazine Cinema, published in the USA, asked Kubrick to compile a list of his favorite films. Kubrick's list included the following films: I Vitelloni (1953), Wild Strawberries (1957), Citizen Kane (1941), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), City Lights (1931), Henry V (1944), La Notte (1961) and The Bank Dick (1940).
- #174
Thanks to his interest in psychology, Kubrick directed his actors masterfully; the best-known example of this is what happened with Shelley Duvall on The Shining (1980). Duvall's performance in the film is filled with a realistic sense of fear and desperation that Kubrick obtained by pushing her psychologically.
- #175
Although Kubrick was known as a perfectionist, he denied it; yet even when he thought his actors had delivered the right performance, he would repeat takes because he felt they were unhappy. Just one week after The Shining (1980) was released, he had the scene at the end of the film in which Wendy and Danny are in the hospital removed because he did not like it. Dorian Harewood, who played Eightball in Full Metal Jacket (1987), said in an interview that Kubrick was a perfectionist; when Kubrick heard this, he called Harewood and denied the claim.
- #176
While working on One-Eyed Jacks (1961), at Marlon Brando's house, Brando asked visitors to take off their shoes so as not to scratch the wooden floor. Kubrick not only followed this rule and took off his shoes, he often also took off his trousers and preferred to work in just a shirt and underwear.
- #177
Kubrick's reclusive life led the press to write fabricated stories about him; one of them was that he shot a fan who entered his property and shot him again because the grass was bleeding. Such exaggerated reports further reinforced Kubrick's mysterious image and led to legends forming about him. The fact that Kubrick never responded to these stories shows that he maintained his policy of staying away from the media.
- #178
In the 5th edition of the book '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die', edited by Steven Jay Schneider, nine of Kubrick's films were listed. Since Kubrick made only 13 feature films, he became the director with the highest proportion on this list. The listed films include Paths of Glory (1957), Spartacus (1960), Lolita (1962), Dr. Strangelove (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Barry Lyndon (1975), The Shining (1980) and Full Metal Jacket (1987).
- #179
During his school years, Kubrick was an indifferent student and his grades were near the bottom of his class. This situation shows his lack of interest in the traditional education system and his desire to turn toward his own interests. Kubrick's passion for cinema motivated him more than academic success, and thanks to this he became a self-taught artist.
- #180
Kubrick never recorded audio commentaries for the home releases of his films; because he did not want to explain the mystery and depth of his films, he preferred that viewers make their own interpretations. He believed that his films should speak for themselves. This attitude shows his respect for his art and the trust he placed in the audience.
- #181
During the shooting of Full Metal Jacket (1987), Kubrick instructed Vincent D'Onofrio by saying 'I want you to be big - Lon Chaney big'. Lon Chaney was an actor of the silent cinema era famous for his makeup and character transformations; this reference by Kubrick shows that he expected a physically and emotionally impressive performance from D'Onofrio. Following this instruction, D'Onofrio played Sergeant Hartman, one of the unforgettable characters in cinema history.
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Throughout his career, Kubrick directed two actors in Oscar-nominated roles: Peter Sellers, for his performance in Dr. Strangelove (1964), and Peter Ustinov, for his role in Spartacus (1960). Ustinov managed to win the Oscar for this role. This achievement shows Kubrick's mastery in directing actors and his ability to bring out their best performances.
- #183
Kubrick claimed that his IQ was below average; however, contrary to this statement, a rumor spread that his IQ was around 200. This contradiction was interpreted as Kubrick's modesty and his tendency to hide his intelligence. The depth and complexity in Kubrick's films are regarded as an indication of his superior intelligence.
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In the early 1970s, Kubrick called director Ken Russell by telephone, but according to Russell he suddenly ended the conversation because he was afraid of a bee. A few days later he called again and asked Russell about the beautiful English locations he had used for period films. Russell shared these locations, and Kubrick used them in his next film, Barry Lyndon (1975). Russell expressed that he was greatly pleased by this; this incident is remembered as an example of Kubrick's interesting and sudden behavior.
- #185
Kubrick shared with Peter Sellers a love of photography and home cinema; the pair often took photographs of each other on set. This shared interest strengthened the friendship between them and paved the way for creative collaborations. Sellers's improvisational talent and Kubrick's meticulous direction created unforgettable moments in films such as Lolita (1962) and Dr. Strangelove (1964).
- #186
During the controversies created by A Clockwork Orange (1971), Kubrick cited The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) while defending the use of a 'bad' protagonist. Kubrick said that this film was bad art, because it defended the view that lynching is bad because innocent people can be lynched, but did not defend the view that lynching itself is bad. Kubrick wanted Alex to be clearly evil, and in this way aimed to trigger the audience's moral questioning. This statement lays bare Kubrick's understanding of art and the way he handled moral dilemmas.
- #187
After the success of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Kubrick planned to make a large-scale biographical film about Napoleon Bonaparte. He conducted extensive research for the project, read books about the French emperor and wrote a preliminary screenplay that was published online. With the help of his assistants, he created a meticulous card catalogue containing the locations and actions of Napoleon's inner circle throughout his active years. Kubrick planned to shoot large portions of the film in France and scouted locations, but the project was never realised due to cost and logistical difficulties.
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Kubrick's family was descended from Jewish immigrants of Austrian and Romanian origin. His father was born in New York to Elias Kubrick, an Austrian Jewish father, and Rosa Spiegelblatt, a Romanian Jewish mother. His mother was also born in New York, to Samuel Perveler, an Austrian Jewish father, and Celia Siegel, a Russian Jewish mother. These origins were influential in shaping Kubrick's identity and worldview.
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Kubrick began pre-production on Full Metal Jacket (1987) in 1980, a full seven years before its release. During this period, the success of similarly themed films such as Oliver Stone's Platoon (1986) and John Irvin's Hamburger Hill (1987) frustrated Kubrick; he felt as though he had been beaten at his own game. This feeling also played a part in his decision in the early 1990s to shelve Aryan Papers, an adaptation of Louis Begley's novel Wartime Lies. Kubrick had completed the screenplay, but the fact that films on similar subjects had already been made caused him to abandon it.
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Between Eyes Wide Shut (1999) and A.I. (2001), Kubrick was interested in making a film for children and young adults based on the Viking saga novel Eric Brighteyes. This project shows his desire to turn to different genres and target audiences, but the film was never realised. Kubrick's projects during this period reveal how productive his creative mind was and how he constantly pursued new ideas.
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From Lolita (1962) onwards, Kubrick produced all his films independently, from his adopted home in England in the United Kingdom. This decision gave him full control over the production processes and created a free working environment far from Hollywood's studio pressure. Kubrick's choice of England is also associated with his fear of flying and his attachment to his private life.
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Kubrick's favourite cartoon character was Woody Woodpecker; he liked him so much that, as George Pal had done, he wanted to include him in every one of his films. However, Woody's creator Walter Lantz turned down the offer. In his final interview, Lantz stated that when he saw films such as The Shining (1980) or A Clockwork Orange (1971) he did not regret his decision, but that when he saw films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) or Dr. Strangelove he did regret it. This anecdote shows Kubrick's sense of humour and his interest in popular culture.
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According to a biography, Kubrick's wife Christiane persuaded him to go on a long-delayed holiday. During the holiday, Christiane noticed that Kubrick was constantly taking notes, and when she asked what he was writing, she learned that Kubrick was scribbling down ideas for a film project. This incident shows Kubrick's passion for his work and that his creative mind never stopped, even on holiday.
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According to the 29 June 1999 edition of The London Standard, in his 24-page will dated 22 July 1974, Kubrick left his wife Christiane Kubrick £66,000 in cash and Childwickbury Manor in Hertfordshire. He also bequeathed her personal effects worth £21,000. Before his death, Kubrick established at least two private trusts in which his fortune was pooled, Stanley Kubrick Trust Number One and Children's Trust; the income from these trusts was to be distributed among his children.
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Kubrick directed six films selected by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry as being 'culturally, historically or aesthetically' significant: Paths of Glory (1957), Spartacus (1960), Dr. Strangelove (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971) and The Shining (1980).
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In 1950, Kubrick prepared and published a photographic essay on boxing for Look magazine; with the income from the sale of this work, he made his first film, Day of the Fight (1951), a 16-minute documentary on the same subject. This film marked the beginning of Kubrick's cinema career and is regarded as an important step in his transition from photography to cinema.
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Among Kubrick's favorite films were The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), An American Werewolf in London (1981), Metropolis (1927), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), White Men Can't Jump (1992), Citizen Kane (1941), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). This list shows Kubrick's interest in different genres and that he had broad tastes nourished by a variety of cinematic genres such as horror, thriller and drama.
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Kubrick wanted to adapt Umberto Eco's 1988 novel 'Foucault's Pendulum' for the screen, but Eco turned down the offer. Eco had been unhappy with the film adaptation of his earlier novel The Name of the Rose (1986), and Kubrick's reluctance to let him write the screenplay himself also played a part in this decision. This episode shows the difficulties Kubrick encountered in adaptation projects and the disagreements he had with authors.
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Kubrick was fascinated by the career of the Nazi filmmaker Veit Harlan, his wife's uncle, and considered making a film about the social circle surrounding Joseph Goebbels. Although he worked on this project for several years, the director could not get beyond a rough story outline. This interest shows Kubrick's curiosity about the dark sides of history and the dynamics of power.
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In 1976 Kubrick looked for an idea for a film about the Holocaust and tried to persuade Isaac Bashevis Singer to write an original screenplay. Kubrick stated that he wanted 'a dramatic structure that compresses complex and vast information into the story of an individual who represents the essence of this man-made hell.' But Singer turned down the offer, saying 'I know nothing about the Holocaust.' In the early 1990s Kubrick considered adapting Louis Begley's novel Wartime Lies, but this project too was shelved.
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Kubrick was one of the founders of the Directors Guild of Great Britain. The organization was established to protect the rights of directors in Britain and to raise professional standards. Kubrick's role in this initiative shows the importance he attached to the development of the film industry and the welfare of his colleagues.
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Kubrick did not want Anthony Burgess to write the screenplay for A Clockwork Orange (1971); he planned to write it himself. The things Kubrick added to Burgess's novel were limited: he cut the second murder Alex commits in prison and replaced Billy Boy with Georgie as the police officer Dim's partner. The novel's final chapter was removed entirely; however, this chapter did not appear in the American edition that Kubrick first read. By Burgess's logic, Americans had not read the novel's original ending, and so the film's ending differed from the British edition of the book.
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In the early 1960s Kubrick, an avid BBC Radio listener, heard the radio serial Shadow on the Sun, written by Gavin Blakeney; Shadow on the Sun is a science fiction work in which a virus enters the Earth when a meteorite lands. While looking for a new project, Kubrick became interested in Shadow on the Sun again. In 1988 Kubrick bought the screenplay rights from Blakeney for £1,500. Kubrick then read a screenplay and took notes before moving on to A.I. Artificial Intelligence...
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Daniel Waters wrote the 180-page original screenplay for Heathers (1989) with the aim of having Kubrick direct it, because he believed Kubrick was the only director who could get away with making a three-hour high school film. Kubrick was not interested, and when the film was made the screenplay was cut by nearly half, resulting in a 102-minute film.
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In 1956, after MGM rejected Kubrick and his producing partner James B. Harris's request to make Paths of Glory (1957), MGM invited Kubrick to look through the studio's other projects. Harris and Kubrick discovered Stefan Zweig's novel The Burning Secret, in which a young baron first befriends a twelve-year-old boy in order to seduce a young Jewish woman, and the boy eventually realizes the baron's true intentions. Kubrick was enthusiastic about the novel and hired novelist Calder Willingham to write a screenplay...
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In March 2013, Tony Frewin, Kubrick's assistant for many years, wrote in an article in The Atlantic: "He [Kubrick] had an unbounded interest in anything to do with the Nazis and very much wanted to make a film about it." The article also covered another unrealized Kubrick Second World War film, based on the life story of Nazi officer Dietrich Schulz-Koehn, who used the pseudonym "Dr. Jazz" to write reviews about German music scenes during the Nazi era. Kubrick had been given a copy...
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A famous conspiracy theory claims that NASA, influenced by 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), hired Kubrick to fake the moon landings, and that Kubrick hinted at this in The Shining (1980). The video for Imagine Dragons: On Top of the World (2013) mocks this theory, with a bearded, intense film director having the band shoot multiple takes of a moon landing while Richard Nixon and the secret service look on.
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In addition to The Seafarers (1953) (made for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters), in the early fifties he may also have directed another commissioned project for the United Nations, titled "World Assembly of Youth," documenting a UN meeting held in New York with the participation of young people from around the world. No copy of the film has been found, and it could not even be definitively proven that it existed in the first place (like "The Seafarers," Kubrick never disclosed it publicly).
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He shares his birthday with Peter Hyams, who directed 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), the sequel to Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). He also shares his birthday with Blake Edwards, who likewise directed Peter Sellers in more than one film. He also shares his birthday with Leon Vitali, who was his personal assistant for nearly 25 years and appeared in two of his films.
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Although he was known for his meticulous shooting methods, he was quite prolific in his early years. The average gap between his films, from Fear and Desire (1952) through Barry Lyndon (1975), was two years. His last three films took much longer. Completing and releasing The Shining (1980) took five years, Full Metal Jacket (1987) seven years, and Eyes Wide Shut (1999) a full twelve years.
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He planned to direct a film titled "I Stole 16 Million Dollars," based on the famous 1930s bank robber Willie Sutton. The film was to be made by Kirk Douglas's Bryna production company, but Douglas thought the screenplay was poorly written. Kubrick tried to interest Cary Grant, which must have failed, because the film was never made.
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On November 1, 2006, Kubrick's son-in-law Philip Hobbs announced that he would direct a treatment for the film Lunatic at Large. Kubrick had commissioned the project from crime novelist Jim Thompson in the 1950s, but it was lost after Kubrick's death until Hobbs found a manuscript. As of August 2011, the project is in development for a future release, with Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell attached and British screenwriter Stephen Clarke involved.
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Carlo Fiore, who appears as an assistant producer on One-Eyed Jacks (1961) and helped develop the film, wrote that Kubrick's dismissal by Marlon Brando (who went on to direct the film) was perhaps inevitable, because there was room for only one "genius" on the film. Brando had initially planned to direct the film himself, but Paramount Pictures pressured him to hire a director. At the time, both Kubrick and Brando were represented by Music Corp. of America (MCA).
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Characters & Cast (18)
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His favorite cartoon character was Woody Woodpecker. Kubrick reportedly loved Woody Woodpecker so much that he wanted to feature him in every film he ever made (similar to what George Pal did) but Walter Lantz creator of Woody Woodpecker refused. In the final interview Lantz did he stated that he didn't regret his decision when he saw films like The Shining (1980) or A Clockwork Orange (1971), but he did regret the decision when he saw films like 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) or Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964).
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Kubrick's wife Christiane said that he watched every film he could get hold of and that one of his favorites was The Salamander (1979). Kubrick initially conceived Eyes Wide Shut (1999) as a dark sex comedy starring Steve Martin and met with Martin to discuss the project. The project later evolved in a different direction, which shows how changeable and open to development Kubrick's ideas were.
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Kubrick's favorite cartoon character was Woody Woodpecker; he liked him so much that, as George Pal had done, he wanted to include him in every one of his films. However, Woody's creator Walter Lantz rejected this offer. In his final interview, Lantz stated that when he saw films such as The Shining (1980) or A Clockwork Orange (1971) he did not regret his decision, but that when he saw films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) or Dr. Strangelove he did regret it. This anecdote shows Kubrick's sense of humor and his interest in popular culture.
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Kubrick wanted to adapt Umberto Eco's 1988 novel Foucault's Pendulum for the screen, but Eco refused the offer. Eco had been unhappy with the film adaptation of his earlier novel The Name of the Rose (1986), and his reluctance to let Kubrick write the screenplay himself also played a part in the decision. The episode illustrates the difficulties Kubrick faced with adaptation projects and the disagreements he had with authors.
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A One-Film Friendship with McDowell: During the shooting of A Clockwork Orange (1971), he formed an extremely intellectual, deep and rich friendship with its lead actor, Malcolm McDowell. Yet from the moment his work on the film was finished, he never contacted McDowell again for the rest of his life.
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A Mission to Preserve Cinema's Heritage: In May 1990, he spearheaded the Film Foundation project, founded to protect the world's cinematic heritage and to restore and archive old reels. For this vision he came together with giant directors such as Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Robert Redford, Sydney Pollack and George Lucas.
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"Kubrick Isn't Home": He fled fame and the media so thoroughly that people outside did not know what his face looked like. When fans knocked on the door of his mansion in England and asked for him in person, he would open the door himself, look them in the eye, say, "Stanley Kubrick isn't home right now," and close the door.
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A Madness for Historical Detail and a Powerful Memory: He had an immense passion for reading and an unbelievable meticulousness. For his enormous, cancelled Napoleon Bonaparte project, he sent his assistant to bookshops to collect every book ever written about the French Emperor. When the assistant returned with more than 100 books, Kubrick read them all and shocked his team by reciting even the smallest footnotes in the books from memory. While planning a battle scene, he examined a historical painting depicting that battle under a magnifying glass; in order to capture the cloud formation and weather in the painting exactly, he waited months for the shooting day to match that weather.
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Absolute Fidelity to the Text and the Exceptions: He never allowed a single word of the dialogue in the script to be changed, or an actor to add his own interpretation to a line. Over his career he relaxed this strict rule for only two geniuses: Peter Sellers, whose improvisational genius he trusted in Lolita (1962) and Dr. Strangelove (1964); and R. Lee Ermey, who had also been a soldier in real life and worked like a military-jargon generator, in Full Metal Jacket (1987).
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The Perfectionism Objection: Although the film world declared him an "obsessive perfectionist," he fiercely rejected that label. He defended his series of takes lasting for hours with these words: "Even if the actors catch the idea I want, I feel they are not yet fully satisfied with their own performance, so I take the repeats for them." Indeed, only a week after The Shining was released, he had the final scene, in which Wendy and Danny are in the hospital, pulled from cinemas and cut because it "didn't sit right with him." When Full Metal Jacket actor Dorian Harewood called him a perfectionist in an interview, Kubrick personally called the actor a few days later and defended himself, saying, "I am not a perfectionist."
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A Visual Effects Genius: Despite being one of the best directors in cinema history, he never won an Oscar in the Best Director or Best Screenplay categories throughout his career. The only Academy Award of his life came for his coordination of the visual effects design in 2001: A Space Odyssey (in a technical category).
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"Alex" as a Cinematographic Manifesto: When A Clockwork Orange (1971) was released, he cited the famous film The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) against the critics and said, "I would never make a film like that." To Kubrick, that film was "bad art" because it criticized lynch culture with the argument that "an innocent person can be lynched." Kubrick, by contrast, argued that the act of lynching itself, that is, extrajudicial execution, is a direct evil. That is why he wanted the main character, Alex, to remain a pure villain (and he cut the section at the end of the novel in which Alex is reformed entirely from the screenplay). Through an Alex who is explicitly evil, Kubrick wanted to emphasize that the state's invasion of a prisoner's soul and its transformation of him into a mechanical robot (that is, an automatic orange) is the greatest state terror and evil, regardless of the prisoner's crime.
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Resistance to Analysis and Conceptual Refusal: He opposed his films being drowned in symbols and analyzed by intellectual circles. "I don't want to be forced to explain what I do; every film should be judged on its own story alone, not as part of a corpus," he would say. The only secret of his cinematic method, he said, was "finding good stories that interest me and never repeating myself."
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Owning His Own Equipment: Unlike most directors in the industry, he personally owned a large portion of the enormous 35mm cinema cameras and lenses he used. This both lowered film costs by sparing the studio a lens-rental budget and allowed him to drill into the camera bodies and freely make whatever special optical modifications he wanted.
Easter Eggs & References (3)
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A celebrated conspiracy theory claims that NASA, impressed by 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), hired Kubrick to fake the moon landings for them, and that he then dropped hints to this in The Shining (1980). Imagine Dragons' music video for On Top of the World (2013) pokes fun at this by having a bearded, intense film director make the band stage multiple takes of the moon landings while Richard Nixon and the Secret Service watch.
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Deeper Meaning (5)
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In interviews around the release of his highly controversial A Clockwork Orange (1971), Kubrick cited The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) as the kind of movie he did not want to make when defending the use of an "evil" protagonist (Alex). Kubrick reasoned that The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) was bad art, as it took the stand that lynching was evil because innocent people might be lynched, not the stand that lynching (i.e., extra-judicial murder) was itself evil. He wanted Alex explicitly evil (thus, the jettisoning of the last chapter of the original novel, in which Alex is reformed; this chapter was not in the American edition that Terry Southern had given to Kubrick). Kubrick felt that an explicitly evil Alex underscores the point that the state's invasion of the prisoner's soul (turning him into a mechanical man, a "clockwork orange") was evil whatever the guilt or innocence, and the level thereof, of the prisoner.
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He resisted conceptual analysis of his films, stating that he didn't want to have to explain what his films meant, and that he wanted each film to be judged on its own and not in his body of work. He further claimed that his method consisted simply of finding stories that interested him and trying to not repeat himself.
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Kubrick first grew the beard that became his trademark during the production of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). After this film he never shaved it off and also let his hair grow long; this look became identified with his mysterious and authoritarian persona. The beard also became part of his artistic identity, and the director kept this image in his later films.
Career & Awards (33)
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He directed six films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Paths of Glory (1957), Spartacus (1960), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971) and The Shining (1980).
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In the 5th edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (edited by Steven Jay Schneider), 9 of Kubrick's films are listed. He is the director with the greatest percentage of films listed, since Kubrick made only 13 feature films. His listed films are Paths of Glory (1957), Spartacus (1960), Lolita (1962), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Barry Lyndon (1975), The Shining (1980) and Full Metal Jacket (1987).
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Despite being known for his meticulous methods of filming, he was quite prolific in his earlier years. Beginning with Fear and Desire (1952) and ending with Barry Lyndon (1975), the average time between his films was two years. His last three films took much longer to complete. It took him five years to complete and release The Shining (1980), seven years to complete Full Metal Jacket (1987), and a whopping 12 years to complete Eyes Wide Shut (1999).
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Resisted conceptual analysis of his films, stating that he didn't want to have to explain what his films meant, and that he wanted each film to be judged on its own and not in his body of work. He further claimed that his method consisted simply of finding stories that interested him and trying to not repeat himself.
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He has directed six films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Paths of Glory (1957), Spartacus (1960), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971) and The Shining (1980).
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In May 1990, Stanley Kubrick joined some of the most influential directors in cinema history to found The Film Foundation. The step, taken together with Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Robert Redford, Sydney Pollack and George Lucas, became a turning point for the preservation and restoration of film heritage. The foundation worked in particular to ensure that classic films could be passed on to future generations without deterioration, and Kubrick's role in the initiative showed that he saw cinema not only as an art form but also as a cultural heritage.
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By the age of thirteen, Kubrick was passionately devoted to photography, chess and jazz drumming. These three fields deeply influenced his later career: photography developed his visual storytelling, chess his strategic thinking, and jazz his sense of rhythm and timing. These early interests laid the foundation for him to become a versatile artist.
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Stanley Kubrick's fear of flying never went away, even though he often had to fly early in his career; he was even known to react hysterically on planes. For this reason he tried to keep the number of flights to a minimum. According to Malcolm McDowell, Kubrick would listen to the air traffic controllers at Heathrow Airport for long stretches and would advise McDowell never to fly. This fear played a part in his settling in England and in his avoidance of travel in the later years of his career.
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Stanley Kubrick opposed conceptual analysis of his films and did not want to have to explain what his works meant. He argued that each film should be evaluated on its own and disliked having them assessed within the whole of his career. He said his method was to find stories that interested him and not to repeat himself; this approach shows the importance he placed on his artistic freedom and innovation.
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Over the course of his career, Kubrick directed two actors in Oscar-nominated roles: Peter Sellers for his performance in Dr. Strangelove (1964) and Peter Ustinov for his role in Spartacus (1960). Ustinov went on to win the Oscar for this role. This achievement shows Kubrick's mastery of directing actors and his ability to bring out their best performances.
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Kubrick directed six films selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being 'culturally, historically or aesthetically' significant: Paths of Glory (1957), Spartacus (1960), Dr. Strangelove (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971) and The Shining (1980).
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In 1950, Kubrick prepared and published a photo essay on boxing for Look magazine; with the income from its sale, he made his first film, the 16-minute documentary Day of the Fight (1951), on the same subject. The film marked the beginning of Kubrick's cinema career and is regarded as an important step in his transition from photography to filmmaking.
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Life & Family (76)
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According to The London Standard (29 June 1999 edition), Kubrick left £66,000 in cash and his house, Childwickbury Manor in Hertfordshire, England, to his wife Christiane Kubrick in a 24-page will drawn up on 22 July 1974. He also left her £21,000 in personal property. Before his death, Kubrick established a minimum of two private trusts, the Stanley Kubrick Trust Number One and the Children's Trust, in which his wealth was collected. Proceeds from the trusts will be distributed among his two children and one stepchild.
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According to a biography, Kubrick's wife finally convinced him once to take what she considered a long-overdue vacation. While on vacation, she noticed he was taking copious notes about something. When she asked what he was writing, she discovered he was jotting down ideas for a film project.
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He had a well-known fear of flying, but he had to fly quite often early in his career. Because of his hysteria on planes, he simply tried to lessen the amount of times he flew. According to Malcolm McDowell, Kubrick listened to air traffic controllers at Heathrow Airport for long stretches of time, and he advised McDowell never to fly.
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He was a big fan of American sitcoms Seinfeld (1989), Roseanne (1988) and The Simpsons (1989). He was also a fan of American football and would have his friends in America tape games and send them to him. In addition to being a sports fan, he was fascinated by the craft of television commercials. He was particularly impressed by how they could effectively tell a story in 30 seconds.
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He shares his birthday with Peter Hyams, who directed 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), the sequel to Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). He also shares his birthday with Blake Edwards, both of whom directed Peter Sellers in multiple films. He further shares his birthday with Leon Vitali, who was his personal assistant for almost 25 years and also appeared in two of his films.
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Abigail Rosen, who co-starred with Viva in Andy Warhol's Tub Girls (1967), was the first door lady at Max's Kansas City, a nightclub in New York City. She claims she had the honor of throwing Kubrick out of the club. "At first Mickey [Ruskin] hired me as the coat-check girl, but it was on the second floor and we were schlepping coats from downstairs to upstairs, and taking them back down where the people wanted to leave. It was not a good plan, besides which people would go up and steal coats. So we abandoned the whole idea and I became the door lady with Bob Russell. The embarrassing times were when Mickey asked us to kick somebody out. The philosophy behind it was that no one would beat on or abuse a woman. I was asked one night to kick Stanley Kubrick out. He was drunk and obnoxious and neither Mickey or I knew who he was. I said, 'Sir, I think it's time for you to leave now, you're not going to be happy here.' And he left. Then Mickey found out the next day who we had kicked out, and he yelled at me for not recognizing him. 'That's why I have you here,' he said, 'you're supposed to know who these people are.'"
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He was considered to be a well-read man with an extreme attention to detail. For his aborted film project on Napoléon Bonaparte, he had one of his assistants go to various bookstores to acquire every book he could find on the French emperor, and he returned with well in excess of 100. Kubrick read them all and astonished his associates with his level of retention. When working on a battlefield scene, he even examined an historical painting of the battle so he could note exactly what the weather was in the painting and make sure to film the battle on a day with similar weather patterns.
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According to a biography, Kubrick's wife finally convinced him once to take what she considered a long-overdue vacation. While vacationing, she noticed he was taking copious notes about something. When asked what he was writing, she discovered he was jotting some ideas down about a film project!
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According to "The London Standard" (29 June 1999 edition), Kubrick left £66,000 in cash and his house, Childwickbury Manor in Hertfordshire, England, to his wife Christiane Kubrick in a 24-page will drawn up on 22 July 1974. He also left her £21,000 in personal property. Before his death, Kubrick established a minimum of two private trusts, the Stanley Kubrick Trust Number One and the Children's Trust, in which his wealth was collected. Proceeds from the trusts will be distributed among his two children and one stepchild.
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Kubrick's reclusive lifestyle drew fans and curious visitors to his door, but since few people recognized his face, Kubrick himself would open the door to these visitors and turn them away by saying, "Stanley Kubrick isn't home." This behavior shows the importance he placed on his private life and his desire to avoid the attention that fame brought. Such anecdotes also became part of the legend surrounding Kubrick and further reinforced his mysterious persona.
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Kubrick was known for his obsession with detail and his vast store of knowledge, traits that made him one of the most meticulous directors in cinema history. For his unrealized film project about Napoléon Bonaparte, he assigned one of his assistants to collect every book he could find about the French emperor, and the assistant returned with more than 100 books. Kubrick read all of them and astonished those around him with his ability to retain the information in his memory. While working on a battle scene, his effort to reflect the atmosphere of the moment exactly by studying a historical painting lays bare the importance he gave to visual realism.
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Kubrick's photography career began when, at just 16, he photographed a newspaper seller in New York the day after President Franklin D. Roosevelt's death. He sold the photograph to Look magazine, which published it; this success led to his being hired as an apprentice photographer at the magazine while still in high school. The experience helped Kubrick develop his visual storytelling ability and laid the foundation for his interest in cinema.
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Kubrick's high school report card was quite poor; his grade average was only 67%, and as a result he was not accepted by any university. This did not discourage him, however; he sat in on classes at Columbia University without enrolling. The experience showed his hunger for learning and that he could improve himself outside the traditional education system. The knowledge Kubrick acquired during this period formed the basis of his later intellectual depth.
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One of Kubrick's eccentric behaviors was to call people several times a day when an idea came to him, even at midnight. He was himself a night owl and rarely slept more than a few hours, so his late-night calls were part of his creative process. Although this behavior was exhausting for those around him, it was a sign of Kubrick's passion and dedication to his work.
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In his youth, Kubrick often skipped school because of his devotion to cinema and would watch double features at the cinema all day. These escapes fed his passion for cinema and allowed him to learn the language of visual storytelling by watching films of different genres. These experiences built a rich visual memory that he would later use when creating his own films.
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Kubrick's daughter Vivian Kubrick explained that the family surname is pronounced "Que-brick," not "koo-brick." This difference in pronunciation offers an interesting detail about the family's origins and the etymology of the name. The correct pronunciation of Kubrick's name is regarded as important information for those interested in his legacy.
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Until the 1970s, Kubrick wore a suit and tie every day while directing; this was part of his professional and serious image. After that date, however, he switched to casual work clothes. His wife Christiane said that Kubrick disliked choosing what to wear and that his wardrobe was full of identical shirts and trousers.
- #353
When Stanley Kubrick bought Simon Cowell's childhood home, he converted the entire ground floor of the house into a private cinema. The presence of a private screening room in Kubrick's home is an indication of his commitment to cinema and the importance he placed on a comfortable viewing experience.
- #354
Stanley Kubrick rarely gave interviews, but he appeared in the documentary his daughter Vivian Kubrick shot during the making of The Shining (1980). According to Vivian, Kubrick planned to give a few official TV interviews after Eyes Wide Shut (1999) was released, but he died before he could carry out these plans.
- #355
In 1963, the magazine Cinema, published in the USA, asked Stanley Kubrick to compile a list of his favorite films. Kubrick's list included the following films: I Vitelloni (1953), Wild Strawberries (1957), Citizen Kane (1941), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), City Lights (1931), Henry V (1944), La Notte (1961) and The Bank Dick (1940).
- #356
- #357
Kubrick claimed his IQ was below average; however, contrary to this statement, a rumor spread that his IQ was around 200. This contradiction was interpreted as Kubrick's modesty and his tendency to conceal his intelligence. The depth and complexity of Kubrick's films are regarded as an indication of his superior intelligence.
- #358
Kubrick's family descended from Jewish immigrants of Austrian and Romanian origin. His father was born in New York, the child of Elias Kubrick, an Austrian Jewish father, and Rosa Spiegelblatt, a Romanian Jewish mother. His mother was also born in New York, the child of Samuel Perveler, an Austrian Jewish father, and Celia Siegel, a Russian Jewish mother. These origins were influential in shaping Kubrick's identity and worldview.
- #359
From Lolita (1962) onward, Kubrick produced all his films independently from his adopted home in England, from the United Kingdom. This decision gave him full control over the production processes and created a free working environment far from Hollywood's studio pressure. Kubrick's choice of England is also associated with his fear of flying and his attachment to his private life.
- #360
- #361
According to a biography, Kubrick's wife Christiane persuaded him to go on a long-postponed vacation. During the vacation, Christiane noticed that Kubrick was constantly taking notes, and when she asked what he was writing, she learned that Kubrick was scribbling ideas about a film project.
- #362
According to the June 29, 1999 edition of The London Standard, in his 24-page will dated July 22, 1974, Kubrick left his wife Christiane Kubrick £66,000 in cash and the Childwickbury Estate in Hertfordshire. He also bequeathed her personal effects worth £21,000. Before his death, Kubrick established at least two private trusts in which his fortune was pooled, named Stanley Kubrick Trust Number One and Children's Trust; the income from these trusts was to be distributed among his children.
- #363
Among Kubrick's favorite films were The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), An American Werewolf in London (1981), Metropolis (1927), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), White Men Can't Jump (1992), Citizen Kane (1941), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). This list shows Kubrick's interest in different genres and his broad taste, nourished by a variety of cinematic genres such as horror, thriller and drama.
- #364
Kubrick was fascinated by the career of the Nazi filmmaker Veit Harlan, his wife's uncle, and considered making a film about the social circle surrounding Joseph Goebbels. Although he worked on this project for several years, the director never got beyond a rough story outline. This interest shows Kubrick's curiosity about the dark sides of history and the dynamics of power.
- #365
In the early 1960s, Kubrick, an avid BBC Radio listener, heard the radio serial Shadow on the Sun, written by Gavin Blakeney; Shadow on the Sun is a science fiction work in which a virus enters the Earth when a meteorite lands. While looking for a new project, Kubrick became interested in Shadow on the Sun again. In 1988, Kubrick bought the screenplay rights from Blakeney for £1,500. Kubrick then read a screenplay and took notes before moving on to A.I. Artificial Intelligence...
- #366
In 1956, after MGM rejected Kubrick and his producing partner James B. Harris's request to make Paths of Glory (1957), MGM invited Kubrick to look over the studio's other projects. Harris and Kubrick discovered Stefan Zweig's novel The Burning Secret, in which a young baron first befriends a twelve-year-old boy in order to seduce a young Jewish woman, and the son eventually realizes the baron's true intentions. Kubrick was enthusiastic about the novel and hired the novelist Calder Willingham to write a screenplay...
- #367
In March 2013, Tony Frewin, Kubrick's assistant for many years, wrote in an article in The Atlantic: "He [Kubrick] had an unlimited interest in anything to do with the Nazis and very much wanted to make a film about it." The article also covered another unrealized Kubrick Second World War film, based on the life story of the Nazi officer Dietrich Schulz-Koehn, who used the pseudonym "Dr. Jazz" to write reviews about German music scenes during the Nazi era. Kubrick had been given a copy...
- #368
- #369
On November 1, 2006, Kubrick's son-in-law Philip Hobbs announced that he would direct a treatment for the film Lunatic at Large. Kubrick had commissioned the project from crime novelist Jim Thompson in the 1950s, but it was lost after Kubrick's death until Hobbs found a manuscript. As of August 2011, the project was in development for a future release, with Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell attached and British screenwriter Stephen Clarke involved.
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