KUBRICK

Though Stanley Kubrick and his body of work have been well documented, this book adds considerably to our knowledge of both the man and his masterpieces.

Kolker and Abrams, noted film scholars who previously collaborated on Eyes Wide Shut: Stanley Kubrick and the Making of His Final Film, examine all 13 of Kubrick's completed features, as well as many unfilmed projects, filling in the broad outlines of his life (1928-1999) based on interviews with family members and professional colleagues. The authors exhaustively catalog each film's planning, financing, production, editing, and critical and commercial reception. They highlight Kubrick's reimagining of such tried-and-true film genres as film noir (Killer's Kiss), heist films (The Killing), war movies (Paths of Glory and Full Metal Jacket), epics (Spartacus), love stories (Lolita), science fiction (2001: A Space Odyssey), costume dramas (Barry Lyndon), and horror (The Shining). Notably, the authors place these films in the context of their times: 2001 as the emblematic film of the Space Age, Dr. Strangelove as the ultimate Cold War paranoid fantasia, and A Clockwork Orange as symptomatic of the 1970s age of anxiety. Kolker and Abrams register salient themes and motifs throughout Kubrick's oeuvre, pointing out trademark visual cues such as symmetrical composition and geometric patterning. The authors are especially good at showing how Kubrick's "confluent interests—sound and image—laid the foundation for a career that married both into films of exceptional power.” For example, they describe how "The Blue Danube" waltz, "Also Sprach Zarathustra," and Ligeti's otherworldly compositions helped make 2001 “a concerto for film images and orchestra," as one critic noted. The authors’ consideration of Kubrick's personal life is less detailed, as perhaps befits this "famously private family man.” But Kubrick left the world his remarkable, enduring films, and this volume pays homage to his considerable legacy.

A welcome new biography of a cinematic genius.