Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures [Hardcover]

Christiane Kubrick (Author), Steven Spielberg (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2002

One of the great film directors of our time, Stanley Kubrick had a profound influence on motion pictures. He was a notoriously private man, rarely granting interviews. For the first time, his life will be portrayed in over 200 images from film, photographs, and the words and full-color paintings of Christiane Kubrick, his wife for over 42 years. Never before seen photographs offer a unique perspective on a man, his times, and his films-from his very first, Day of Flight (1950), through to his last and unrealized project, finished by Steven Spielberg, A.I. (2001). STANLEY KUBRICK: A Life in Pictures explores the many and varied aspects of its subject-the director, the producer, the photographer, the writer and, not least of all, the man himself.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Beautifully produced...a joy for Kubrick admirers.' EMPIRE 'It's a superb record, not least for the international gallery of stars...caught off guard, or under Stanley's tutleage.' EVENING STANDARD --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Christiane Kubrick was Stanley's wife for over 42 years. Since 1961 she has lived in England teaching and exhibiting her paintings and drawings. Steven Spielberg is one of the most popular directors/filmmakers of our time.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Bulfinch; 1st North edition (October 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821228153
• ISBN-13: 978-0821228159
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 10.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,319,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An insightful photographic odyssey., November 1, 2002

By 

Brian A. Glennon "BAG" (South Boston, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (Hardcover)

'STANLEY KUBRICK: A Life In Pictures' (c. Oct 2002) by Mrs. Christiane Kubrick, is an insightful photographic odyssey of Stanley Kubrick, America's very original and probably only auteur director.

Mrs. Kubrick presented, in chronological order, rare family photographs of Stanley Kubrick from his childhood in the Bronx and through his teenage years in high school and working for LOOK magazine. This included his very first 1945 photograph of a newspaper vendor he sold for twenty-five dollars to that publication.

The chronology then continued as a mix of Stanley Kubrick in his various movie publicity stills and with candid photographs of the behind the scenes activity as Director Kubrick lined up his shots on movie cameras; interacted with his crew; conversed with his stars; "having a little game of chess"; or the very obvious serious discussions with cast and technicians. (The pictures of Stanley Kubrick cracking-up laughing on the set of '2001' are priceless; as are the touching photographs of him holding his young children.) The photographs continued until the filming of his last movie, 'Eyes Wide Shut', showing a mature and greying director.

And for those who follow the interesting lives of the actors in his films, 'STANLEY KUBRICK: A Life In Pictures' provided dozens of revealing off-camera images of his interactions with such noted personalities as: Marlon Brando; Kirk Douglas; Lawrence Olivier; James Mason; George C. Scott; and Sterling Hayden. Equally as interesting as his cinematographic technique was his managerial style as he presided over some of Hollywood's most powerful movie stars, dozens of cast and crew, and sometimes thousands of extras, which one can only infer from the objectivity of this black & white photographic collection.

This collection contained a touch of poignancy as photo #57 showed a publicity still of Stanley Kubrick, Sterling Hayden, and Kola Kwariani pouring over a chess game together in the chess club set of 'The Killing'. In this 1956 movie, Kola Kwariani played professional wrestler Maurice Oboukhoff, who instigated a very memoriable diversion for the race track robbery. In real life, Kola Kwarinani was a real wrestler and expert chess player who played in the same New York 'Chess & Checker Club' (alias The Flea House) as Stanley Kubrick. The neighborhood changed, and in February 1980 at age 77 while playing in 'The Flea House' Kola Kwariani was beaten to death by five black teenage hoodlums.

The book: 'STANLEY KUBRICK: A Life In Pictures' is neither biography nor history but simply an important collection of objective photography mutely capturing the working details, values, and personality of America's only world class movie director.

As a suggestion, first read the biography: 'STANLEY KUBRICK: A Biography' (c.1997) by Vincent LuBrutto, to fully appreciate Mrs. Christiane Kubrick's impressive photographic compilation. Only then does the revealing photographs of her husband answer the many questions induced by all the incomplete written biographies on Stanley Kubrick.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Man Behind the Camera, January 5, 2003

By 

rareoopdvds (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (Hardcover)

"Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures" is more of a compendium to the documentary video released with the Kubrick Collection boxed set than a book of its own inspration. It's a trip through times past for both wife and author Christiane Kubrick as well as for the viewer who grew up with Kubrick's marvelous films. The book allows a deeper and more accessible view of the Man Behind the Camera.

Watching Kubrick's films, one gets the sense that something greater than a single man is directing these movies. Looking at these behind the scenes photos I hear the words "Dont' pay attention to the man behind the camera," as Kubrick plays the Almighty Oz in the production of his films.

The book is presented in a large hardback volume with glossy pages; all of the photos are black and white. We see Stanley from an infant all the way through to his work on "Eyes Wide Shut." The final pages also offer some pre-production sketches for "Artificial Intelligence." It is less of a book to read than a book to look through, although there are small captions to each picture that Christiane gives the reader the time and place and offers a little insight into Stanley's thinking.

With a foreward by Stephen Spielberg (the eventual director for "A.I."), "Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures" is designed for the Kubrick fan, but serves as a memoir for Mrs. Kubrick. As she mentions in the introduction, "The photographs will...correct the mistaken view of Stanley as some sort of isolationist misanthrope out of Dr. Mabuse by way of Howard Hughes."

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Kubrick book, May 22, 2011

By 

delia - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (Hardcover)

This wonderful book is a must-have for Kubrick fans. Spans his entire career. Spectacular photos, informative and intimate text by his wife.