Stanley Kubrick
Identity / personnality
born on July 26th, 1928, In New York City
died on March 7th, 1999, In England
background
Grew up with his family in the Bronx
Jewish family, origins from Central Europe
American
diverses/several artistic interests when he was young, many of them became lifelong
Father
Mother
Jack, doctor, keen on chess, piano and photography
Sadie Gertrude, singer and dancer, she gave Stanley the love of books and literature
Sister
Barbara, born in May 1934, his younger and only sister
chess
photography
literature and reading books
studies
he wasn't interested in school
he used to skip school to follow his passion (photography)
he didn't had good grades, he finished with low averages and he couldn't get into a great college
his bad grades found their origin in Stanley's boredom and disdain for school, especially the classroom setting
he didn't like the "traditional" process of learning at school, he was incredibly visionary
he had a supportive family
even if his father was disappointed in his son's failure to excell in school (he knew Stanley was fully capable), he encouraged him to read books and to take up photography as a serious hobby
his father transmitted him all of his passions and he taught him many things, such as playing chess
birth of a passion
photography
film making
chess
his father taught him to play chess at the age of 12 and Stanley loved it until the day he died
major element in his movies, as a visual element and as an strategy to direct and produce movies
" As a young boy and a teenager, Kubrick became a skilled professional in the game of chess. Through the game, he learned how to mentally prepare moves, pay attention to small details and strategize as needed." Stanley Kubrick: The True Story Of The Genius Movie Director.
a visionary man
intellectual, clever
had a prodigeous artistic sense
REALLY perfectionnist and control freak, he cared about tiny details that could be meaningless for other people, but not Kubrick.
had an amazing dark humour
one of the greatest filmmakers this world had ever known, he was a film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer
he is determined, he could spend hours filming only one scene to produce it perfectly, he could spend much time and money to reproduce a NYC's street, going as far as sending people from England to New York to take the measures of a road that only appeared for 3 minutes during the entire movie! totally insane and incredible
his movies
all deep, meaningful, complicated in a certain way, visually attractive, innovative and visionary, very unique, at the beggining they were produced by limited budgets and ressources but quality wasn't the least (Kubrick took on all kinds of genres)
Paths of Glory, 1957
Dr. Strangelove Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb, 1964 (nuclear war)
Spartacus, 1960
2001, A Space Oddyssey, 1968 (sci-fi)
Lolita, 1962 (drama)
Barry Lyndon, 1975 (historical romance)
Clockwork Orange, 1971 (dystopian future)
Shining, 1980 (horror)
Eyes Wide Shut, 1999 (modern-day romance and mystery)
Full Metal Jacket, 1987 (the Vietnam War)
weddings
major inspirations
Weegee (photography)
Alfred Hitchcock (movies)
had a marvelous talent for storytelling
major influences
Steven Spielberg
Martin Scorsese
Quentin Tarantino
Orson Welles
When he was 13 y.o., his father offered him a camera, and it all started from here.
His first achievements/performance
His visual cinematographic style
He has been a full-time worker at the Look magazine company at the age of 17 y.o., but at the same time he also studied photography and videography
he has sold photographs to Look magazine rapidely after starting his photographer career
His first short documentary was about a day in the life of a professional boxer's life. It has been produced with a very little budget yet it has been greatly realized: Day of the Fight, 1951
Little by little, he has saved and raised enough money to produce his first feature movie "Fear and desire", 1953.
"He was studying and cell teaching on a wide variety of subjects which included both photography and videography"Stanley Kubrick: The True Story Of The Genius Movie Director.
zoom-shot
Steadicam
single point perspective
iconic Kubrick's stare which adds intensity/mystery to a character, used in several movies
Sergei Eisenstein and Vsevolod Pudovkin
Konstantin Stanislavski
he later married Ruth Sobotka in 1955
He married his third and last wife, Christiane Harlan, in 1958. He had 2 daughters with her. He met her during the production of Paths of Glory. They moved to the United Kingdom in 1961 to make Lolita, and then decided to live there.
He married Toba Metz at the age 18, she was his first wife
Kubrick died in his sleep at the age of 70, suffering a heart attack
born on July 26th, 1928, In New York City