Stories & Lifestyle: Stanley Kubrick – a director between reality and nightmare

Stanley Kubrick [born July 26, 1928 in New York, deceased March 7, 1999 in St. Albans near London]

US director Stanley Kubrick, who died five years ago, set new standards for a number of film genres with his unique visual style. There weren't many directors who managed to both fascinate and alienate their audience the way Kubrick did. His films are among the most valuable works in modern film history.

Exhibition in Kubrick's honor From January 20 to April 11, 2005. the Deutsches Filmmuseum (German Film Museum) in Frankfurt on Main presents an exhibition for the works and the life of Stanley Kubrick in the Martin-Gropius building. An archivist spent eight months looking through Kubrick's legacy, assisted by Kubrick's widow Christiane Kubrick and one of his long-standing co-workers. Now, a representative part of his legacy, such as photos and letters, original props, costumes and screenplays will be exhibited.

One of the top-grade directors Stanley Kubrick, who died March 7, 1999 at the age of 70, was an exceptional director. He was not only the director, but also screenwriter and producer of his films and he always invested several years in the planning and producing of each one. He usually stayed far away from the Californian film industry and shot his films in the Elstree studios near London.

Stanley Kubrick was born in 1928 in the Bronx in New York, his father was a physician. At an early age he was interested in photography and his great talent secured him a job at the "Look" magazine. His photo of the shocked newspaper boy holding the special issue that reported Roosevelt's death or the portrait of painter George Grosz who walks the streets of New York are seen by many people around the world.

After two short films, he improves his skills between 1953 and 1956 with the films "Fear and Desire," "Killer's Kiss," and "The Killing." He acts as producer and director, writes the screenplays and even does the cutting himself. Kirk Douglas takes him under his wing and together they make "Paths of Glory," the first anti-war movie that doesn't focus on the dying soldiers on the front line, but rather on the cynical and unscrupulous planning in the ivory tower. For the times back then, this was very daring - the audience in the test showing stayed in their seats completely stunned instead of applauding.

The next film "Spartacus," again with Kirk Douglas in the lead, was not one of Kubrick's favorites. He saw it as a commission work (that is still very much worth seeing), while at the same time he proved that he could manage epic materials and the great Hollywood film industry.

His Nabokov adaptation "Lolita" (1962) caused a medium scandal, rather because of the topic itself than because of the rather harmless (at least from a present-day point of view) execution. However, "Lolita" was the first sign of something that is obvious today - that Kubrick was ahead of his time. The same applies to "Doctor Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb," a satire about the nuclear bomb that makes fun of the military. The central statement of the film still seems to apply to the world of today.

The turning point The film "2001: A Space Odyssey" was the first turning point in the life and work of Stanley Kubrick. By then he had moved from America to England where he lived on a large property outside of London near the Pinewood Studios. His legend keeps growing. He starts working more and more meticulously, more and more time passes between his films and he starts shutting himself off from the world. With "2001: A Space Odyssey" he invents the modern science fiction movie and revolutionizes visual effects. No one had believed that the novel "Clockwork Orange" could be adapted to film, but Kubrick turns it into a cult movie.

Whatever genre Kubrick attempted, his movies almost always set new standards - even "The Shining," his only horror movie, became a worldwide success and is, until this day, the best adaptation of a Stephen King novel.

After this, there was a long break with many discarded projects. At last Kubrick decided on film about the Vietnam war, a bold move considering that everything seemed to be said about this with "Apocalypse Now" and "The Deer Hunter." Two works by exceptional directors.

However, the world of film had become a lot more critical. The eccentric director started losing his exceptional status, his secluded way of life was interpreted as distance from reality, the several failed projects over the next years seemed to confirm this.

In 1996, shortly before his death, he made his last film, together with the then married actors Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. After three years of production, "Eyes Wide Shut" was finished. A short while after that, Kubrick died at the age of 70 in his adopted country of England.

Kubrick - the myth of a perfectionist In order to understand his way of life and his working style, think of Kubrick as a life-long student at invisible academies. He worked to become an expert in all areas of filmmaking, which is what gives his films the unique look. An indicator of the fact that he reserved the right of having the final say in everything down to the last little detail. As a self-taught person who never attended a film school he is in good company with people like Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles or Fassbinder.

Many myths and legends surround his working style even today, Kubrick never really let anyone see how he worked. His projects often stretched over several years, and his infamous perfectionism and the stressful film shootings left behind a number of victims, including actors with nervous breakdowns or stomach ulcers. None of his coworkers were shocked by things like that, everyone knew that working for Kubrick meant saying goodbye to your personal life. His former assistant Andrew Birkin got it right when he said "you don't work with Kubrick, you work for Kubrick!"

Awards

- 1964: nominated for the Academy Award for "Doctor Strangelove or: : How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb"
- 1968: Academy Award for "2001: A Space Odyssey"
- 1971: nominated for the Academy Award for "Clockwork Orange"
- 1975: nominated for the Academy Award for "Barry London"
- 1987: nominated for the Academy Award for "Full Metal Jacket"