Stanley Kubrick (1928–1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. He directed thirteen feature films and three short documentaries over the course of his career. His work as a director, spanning diverse genres, is regarded as highly influential.

Kubrick made his directorial debut in 1951 with the documentary short Day of the Fight, followed by Flying Padre later that year. In 1953, he directed his first feature film, Fear and Desire. The anti-war allegory's themes reappeared in his later films. His next works were the film noir pictures Killer's Kiss (1955) and The Killing (1956). Critic Roger Ebert praised The Killing and retrospectively called it Kubrick's "first mature feature". Kubrick then directed two Hollywood films starring Kirk Douglas: Paths of Glory (1957) and Spartacus (1960). The latter won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. His next film was Lolita (1962), an adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's novel of the same name. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. His 1964 film, the Cold War satire Dr. Strangelove featuring Peter Sellers and George C. Scott, received the BAFTA Award for Best Film. Along with The Killing, it remains the highest rated film directed by Kubrick according to Rotten Tomatoes.

In 1968, Kubrick directed the space epic 2001: A Space Odyssey. Now widely regarded as among the most influential films ever made, 2001 garnered Kubrick his only personal Academy Award for his work as director of special effects. His next project, the dystopian A Clockwork Orange (1971), was an initially X-rated adaptation of Anthony Burgess' 1962 novella. After reports of crimes inspired by the film's depiction of "ultra-violence", Kubrick had it withdrawn from distribution in the United Kingdom. Kubrick then directed the period piece Barry Lyndon (1975), in a departure from his two previous futuristic films. It did not perform well commercially and received mixed reviews, but won four Oscars at the 48th Academy Awards. In 1980, Kubrick adapted a Stephen King novel into The Shining, starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall. Although Kubrick was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director, The Shining is now widely regarded as one of the greatest horror films of all time. Seven years later, he released the Vietnam War film Full Metal Jacket. It remains the highest rated of Kubrick's later films according to Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. In the early 1990s, Kubrick abandoned his plans to direct a Holocaust film titled The Aryan Papers. He was hesitant to compete with Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List and had become "profoundly depressed" after working extensively on the project. His final film, the erotic thriller Eyes Wide Shut starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, was released posthumously in 1999. An unfinished project that Kubrick referred to as Pinocchio was completed by Spielberg as A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001).

In 1997, the Venice Film Festival awarded Kubrick the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. That same year, he received a Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award, then called the D.W. Griffith Award. In 1999, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) presented Kubrick with a Britannia Award. After his death, BAFTA renamed the award in his honor: "The Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film". He was posthumously awarded a BAFTA Fellowship in 2000.

Film

+ Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 1952 Fear and Desire Also cinematographer and editor 1955 Killer's Kiss 1956 Based on Clean Break by Lionel White 1957 Paths of Glory Based on the 1935 novel by Humphrey Cobb; Co-adapted with Calder Willingham and Jim Thompson 1960 Spartacus Based on the 1951 novel by Howard Fast 1962 Lolita Based on the 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov 1964 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Based on Red Alert by Peter George; Co-adapted with Terry Southern and Peter George 1968 Co-written with Arthur C. Clarke; Also director and designer of special photographic effects 1971 Based on the 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess 1975 Barry Lyndon Based on The Luck of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray 1980 Based on the 1977 novel by Stephen King; Co-adapted with Diane Johnson 1987 Full Metal Jacket Based on The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford; Co-adapted with Michael Herr and Gustav Hasford 1999 Eyes Wide Shut Based on Dream Story by Arthur Schnitzler; Co-adapted with Frederic Raphael; Posthumous release

Documentary shorts + Year Title Director Writer Producer Cinematographer Editor 1951 Day of the Fight Flying Padre 1952World Assembly of Youth ? 1953

Television In 1952, sounds, effects, and music brought the production of Fear and Desire over budget to around $53,000, and Kubrick had to be bailed out by producer Richard de Rochemont, on condition that he work as a second unit director on de Rochemont's production of a James Agee-written Norman Lloyd-co-directed five-part biographic series about Abraham Lincoln for the educational TV series Omnibus, filmed on location in Hodgenville, Kentucky, starring Royal Dano and Joanne Woodward.

Reception

+ Year Title Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic 1953 Fear and Desire 70% (20 reviews) 1955 Killer's Kiss 83% (29 reviews) 1956 96% (46 reviews) 91 (15 reviews) 1957 Paths of Glory 96% (77 reviews) 90 (18 reviews) 1960 Spartacus 93% (65 reviews) 87 (17 reviews) 1962 Lolita 89% (49 reviews) 79 (14 reviews) 1964 Dr. Strangelove 98% (95 reviews) 97 (32 reviews) 1968 90% (166 reviews) 84 (25 reviews) 1971 86% (84 reviews) 77 (21 reviews) 1975 Barry Lyndon 78% (143 reviews) 89 (21 reviews) 1980 84% (108 reviews) 68 (26 reviews) 1987 Full Metal Jacket 90% (87 reviews) 78 (19 reviews) 1999 Eyes Wide Shut 77% (166 reviews) 69 (34 reviews)

See also A.I. Artificial Intelligence is dedicated to Kubrick, who originally intended to direct the film. Stanley Kubrick bibliography Stanley Kubrick's unrealized projects List of accolades received by Stanley Kubrick List of recurring cast members in Stanley Kubrick films

References

Bibliography

External links kubrick.life, a Stanley Kubrick fansite

Stanley Kubrick at AllMovie Stanley Kubrick at the American Film Institute Stanley Kubrick at the British Film Institute Stanley Kubrick at Turner Classic Movies