Stanley Kubrick: The Life Of A Genius Filmmaker

The name Stanley Kubrick makes us think of cinema, perfection, symmetry and depth. Kubrick is recognized as one of the great influential filmmakers of the 20th century. Although no one questions his talent, Kubrick was also known to cause stress, exhaustion and anxiety during filming.

Countless stories and legends have helped create myths about Stanley Kubrick. Some people are still trying to pick his films apart to try to find clues that could lead to the truth. Some even wonder if his controversial latest film, Eyes Wide Shut (1999), had much to do with his death.

The image of Kubrick as a cursed and tormented genius has grown over the years. In this article, we will take a closer look at his life and his incredible work.

Stanley Kubrick and his first steps in film

Stanley Kubrick was born on July 26, 1928 in the Bronx, New York. Despite growing up in a wealthy Jewish family, Kubrick was an atheist. From childhood he showed a sense of belonging to chess, jazz and photography. These three interests significantly affected his professional future. For Kubrick, chess was more than a simple form of entertainment. It gave him a special ability to think before implementing an idea.

Kubrick saw certain similarities between directing films and chess. Chess allowed him to observe and analyze before making any moves. There is always a better move, and you can not leave everything to chance.

He was such a chess fan that he included many direct and indirect chess references in his films. An example is in 2001: A Space Odyssey when Frank plays chess against his computer, HAL 9000.

Stanley Kubrick and his early work

Stanley Kubrick was not a good student. In fact, he often skipped classes and got bad grades. Yet we know that he was an extremely intelligent young person. His interest in photography led him to work for Look magazine at the age of 16.

His first film career was in the 1950s with a documentary entitled Day of the Flight (1951). He later decided to leave his job as a photographer and work full time with his first feature film, Fear and Desire (1953). The film was not successful, and Kubrick himself decided that it was a poor quality film and got rid of all the copies.

About the same time, Kubrick met a German woman whom he ended up marrying. Her name was Christiane Kubrick, and she was Kubrick’s third wife.

After several film noir films, Kubrick gained recognition with the film Paths of Glory (1957). This was an anti-war film starring Kirk Douglas that was praised by critics.

From the very beginning, Kubrick was known for his perfectionism and absolute control over his films. He needed to control all aspects of the process: production, directing, distribution, etc. Some say that this style had to do with his love of chess. He was quickly notorious for being obsessed, authoritarian and perfectionist.

Stanley Kubrick himself made sure to remind the press that he simply wanted his films to be the way he imagined them to be. He said he just wanted everything to be fine, and that there was nothing negative about it.

Recognition and his best known films

After Paths of Glory  , Kubrick continued to make acclaimed films for the next 60 years. Spartacus (1960) was his first major budget film. Lolita (1962) was a controversial adaptation of the Nabokov novel of the same name. He made Dr. Strangelove in 1964, an exceptional film starring Peter Sellers, and the immortal 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

Despite his growing fame, it was not easy to get interviews with Kubrick, and he rarely showed up where there were a lot of people. He left the United States to settle in the English countryside and gained a bad reputation as a cold, misanthropic and authoritarian man.

Striving for perfection

Kubrick’s perfectionism led him to cut out aliens in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Since he could not find a way to make them seem real, they never appear explicitly on the screen. Instead, Kubrick left it to the viewers’ imagination.

Journalist Michael Herr published a biography of Kubrick in the year 2000. He demystifies much of the mythology and legend surrounding the famous filmmaker. Yet he is portrayed as a rather peculiar man.

Kubrick knew exactly what he wanted when he made his films. Consequently, he encountered censorship in some of his films, such as A Clockwork Orange (1971). He also broke the mold by filming one of his films, Barry Lyndon (1975), with natural light.

Kubrick believed that if you want to portray the lives of men from the 18th century, you have to immerse yourself in that period. Therefore, he decided to film Barry Lyndon with candles and decorations from that period in history. His thoroughness led him to explore new techniques and new ways of making films.

In 1980, the film genius made everyone terrified with The Shining , a film inspired by the Stephen King book of the same name. It was not easy to film. The conflict with the main character, Shelley Duvall, kept the image alive as a cold and persistent director. It was also difficult for Malcolm McDowell, the main character in A Clockwork Orange, to film . He broke a number of ribs and suffered corneal damage during the filming.

Kubrick began to slow down in the 80’s after the debut of The Shining . He spent seven years making his next film, Full Metal Jacket , which recreated some of the themes from Paths of Glory .

From moon landing to Eyes Wide Shut

Kubrick’s films are full of symbolism. This symbolism often conveys relevant information to the viewer. When 2001: A Space Odyssey came out, special effects and movies in general underwent a drastic change. How many films from that decade are remembered for realistic and incredible special effects? Remember that everything happened before man went to the moon.

Thus began the myth that Kubrick actually filmed the first lunar landing and that it was all a bluff. Many believe that he left many hidden messages about this in his subsequent films that confirm this theory. An example is a scene in The Shining when Dany is wearing a t-shirt with a space rocket that says “Apollo 11, USA”.

The rumor gained momentum when a fake documentary about the theory came out called Operation Avalanche . Some people thought the documentary was true, so the rumor continued to spread.

In 2016, Kubrick’s daughter Vivian took it upon herself to dispel the rumors on Twitter. She also reminded everyone that her father had had problems with the US government during his controversial films. Why should Kubrick help the same people who tried to censor his art?

Despite Vivian’s efforts, the conspiracies continued. There are countless theories on the Internet about how Kubrick belonged to a secret cult. Some people think that his latest film, Eyes Wide Shut , was his way of uncovering the secret cults that dominate the world. They think this movie was like a death sentence for the director. While Kubrick was politically controversial and skeptical of democracy, there is no way to know if these theories are true.

Stanley Kubrick’s death

What we know for sure is that Kubrick died of a heart attack at the age of 70 on March 7, 1999, before the premiere of Eyes Wide Shut . He was buried in a private burial in his garden under the favorite tree without any kind of religious ceremony.

Whether the fantastic rumors about Kubrick are true or not, there is no doubt that he was a very talented filmmaker. He was a prolific filmmaker, and his legacy has lasted for years. There were some movies that Kubrick never got a chance to complete, such as Napoleon and even a pornographic movie titled Blue Movie .

Although he never won an Oscar for best director, he won an Oscar for best special effects for 2001: A Space Odyssey. Controversial, unsurpassed, neurotic and ingenious… Stanley Kubrick’s gift to the world are some of the most interesting films of all time.