Stanley Kubrick

June 15, 2020
The life and work of movie director Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) are briefly glossed in this compact, informative work from literature scholar Mikics (Bellow’s People). Drawing on Kubrick’s archive, interviews with his friends and family, and previous studies of his work, the book skims the filmmaker’s Bronx childhood and early photography career, and focuses on his films, from his first short, Day of the Fight, to the posthumously released Eyes Wide Shut. In Mikics’s account, Kubrick was a perfectionist, demanding from his financial backers, in his own words, “complete total final annihilating artistic control.” However, he could also harness the power of spontaneity; his film shoots resembled an “experiment on his actors, waiting to see where more and more takes might lead them.” Off set, he was equally attentive and obsessive; a screenwriter on Full Metal Jacket, Kubrick’s film about the Vietnam War, described their working relationship as “a single phone call lasting three years.” There are welcome insights into Kubrick’s career, from his unrealized desire to make a film about the Holocaust to his decision to leave the eroticism out of his 1962 adaptation of Lolita, because otherwise “the film could not have been made.” Kubrick fans will enjoy this brisk but thorough biography of a consummate filmmaker. Agent: Chris Calhoun, Chris Calhoun Agency.

June 26, 2020

Stanley Kubrick (1928-99) has been the subject of numerous biographies and film-specific commentaries; this new volume in Yale's "Jewish Lives" series offers a concise yet informative look at each of the director's feature films. Mikics's (English, Univ. of Houston) background as a literary critic shines through in his nuanced approach to themes that carry through Kubrick's work, such as hubris and male frustration. And despite the brevity of the book, the author draws parallels between unrealized projects, such as Burning Secret and Napoleon, and the films that eventually bore their imprints, including Barry Lyndon and Eyes Wide Shut. Mikics conducted numerous interviews with Kubrick's family, friends, and colleagues, and his combination of original commentary and existing criticism makes for an excellent point of entry for the Kubrick newcomer. This is also an interesting volume for the "Jewish Lives" series, as Kubrick was famously not a practicing Jew--despite remaining culturally Jewish--and notably removed many Jewish references from source material he used for his films. VERDICT An engaging and well-researched primer to the work of a cinematic legend.--Peter Thornell, Hingham P.L., MA

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