Stanley Kubrick (Pocket Essential series) [Paperback]

Paul Duncan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Pocket Essential series | Publication Date: September 1, 1999

Pocket Essentials is a dynamic series of books that are concise, lively, and easy to read. Packed with facts as well as expert opinions, each book has all the key information you need to know about such popular topics as film, television, cult fiction, history, and more. Stanley Kubrick was one of those rare directors who was both commercial and artistic. This is because he was not afraid to embrace traditional genres, and at the same time, stretch the boundaries of film with controversial themes—underage sex in Lolita; ultraviolence in A Clockwork Orange; and erotica in Eyes Wide Shut. As well as having an introductory essay, in this book each of Kubrick’s films is reviewed and analyzed, including his last film, the sexually-explicit and controversial Eyes Wide Shut.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Essentials (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1903047013
• ISBN-13: 978-1903047019
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,280,692 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born at a very young age and have grown older ever since. I have passed the time sharing my passions for films, mystery fiction and comics by publishing, editing and writing books and magazines. I spent my teenage years publishing 'Ark: The Comics Magazine' (1980-1990) and writing graphic novels ('Second City', 'Overload', 'Beautiful People'), before graduating to a life of crime.
I co-founded 'Crime Time' magazine (1995-present), and edited 'The Third Degree: Crime Writers In Conversation', as well as writing some mystery short stories. It was during this time that I discovered the fantastic fiction of Gerald Kersh, who I have championed ever since through many articles and short story collections. (He's famous for the novel 'Night and the City', which was turned into a fantastic Film Noir by Jules Dassin in 1950.) One day, I'll even finish Kersh's biography. Promise.
Unemployed and in need of an income, I founded Pocket Essentials in 1999, edited around 50 titles in the series, and wrote eight of them, including 'Martin Scorsese', 'Alfred Hitchcock', 'Film Noir' and 'Noir Fiction'. This brought me to the attention of the illustrious Mr. Benedikt Taschen, who took me under his wing and told me to make film books. Since 2003, I have happily, if not ecstatically, carried out his wishes by editing over 50 film books for TASCHEN, big and small, including the award-winning 'The Ingmar Bergman Archives'. I've even written a couple of them. Yesterday, somebody told me I had the best job in the world, and for the life of me I cannot find anything wrong with that statement.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Stanley Kubrick by Paul Duncan, December 4, 1999

By 

Mr Thomas E Ingham (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stanley Kubrick (Pocket Essential series) (Paperback)

If you have never seen a Stanley Kubrick film or were unaware of his complete body of work then this book would be of some use. Unfortunately it is far too lightweight to satisfy any serious film enthusiast's needs. This is all the more regrettalble as Mr Duncan is clearly a fan of Kubrick's work. He makes many glaring mistakes and seems to have taken rumour as fact when writing his analysis. It is a shame that a book that seems to have been rushed out following the director's death could not have had more time spent on it and been more considered.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Title should be "Stanley Kubrick for Dummies", March 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Stanley Kubrick (Pocket Essential series) (Paperback)

This is a good example of a terrible trend--the dumbing down of arts books by authors and publishers eager to hop on the pop culture bandwagon and not put much effort into it. The book has zero insights, some truly bad writing, and a modest amount of information. As to the previous reviewer who found it "refreshing" that the author didn't know what one of the films was about--well, this is holding an author to a pretty low standard (Kubrick only made about 13 movies in his life!) And as to the reviewer's statement that this "can and should be read at one sitting" I would suggest that it would be impossible to read this tiny and insubstantial book at More than one sitting.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent reference book, January 23, 2000

By 

Jill Fay (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stanley Kubrick (Pocket Essential series) (Paperback)

I've seen some bad reviews of this book, and author Paul Duncan's book on Hitchcock, which I find surprising. These books also 'feel' different to other reference books. Normally you have the biography from the director's point of view, then the unauthorised biography with all the dirt, then a 'making of' book, and a book all about the subtext of the movies. Paul Duncan has fused all the types of book together to give both rounded and contradictory pictures of Kubrick and Hitchcock. He has also written it in an enthusiastic 'white heat' style which I find exciting to read. These books can, and should, be read in one sitting. In the case of the Kubrick book, Duncan obviously loves the films but still has the guts to point out that A Clockwork Orange is overrated whilst Barry Lyndon is underrated. Also, he admits to not understanding The Shining - in a world full of ego-centric experts and know-alls, it's refreshing to read something with this level of informality. 'Refreshing' - that's a good word for these books. I am going to look out for more of these Pocket Essentials.