Stanley Kubrick: Drama & Shadows [Hardcover]

Rainer Crone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2005

Born in New York City in 1928, Stanley Kubrick began taking photographs when in high school. At sixteen, he sent a photograph he took of a newsstand after President Roosevelt's death to Look Magazine. The publication of the photograph marked the beginning of Kubrick's work for the magazine, which lasted until 1950, when Kubrick made his first 16mm documentary film. During those five years Kubrick completed dozens of photographic reportage assignments in New York City as well as abroad. The resulting thousands of negatives have remained in the archives of Look Magazine ever since. Kubrick's photographs vary in subject, but people are the central focus of attention, as is his commitment to narration. Whether capturing the meditative state of passengers in a series of portraits made in the New York subway, following famous boxer Rocky Graziano on the ring and in intimate moments, portraying the coming of age of socialite Betsy Von Furstenberg, or narrating the tale of a shoe-shine boy in the streets of New York City, Kubrick draws psychological portraits that combine drama, irony, and often mystery, anticipating his trademark cinematic style. If Kubrick's photographs are fascinating accounts of life in the late 1940s, they are also a major contribution to American photography of that era. At nineteen, Kubrick already had an immense talent in constructing complex compositions in which camera positioning and lighting played a crucial role. The book is introduced by an essay by Rainer Crone, who also edited the selection of photographs for this book. Crone is an expert on Kubrick's photographic work, and has already published a catalogue on this subject (see Related Titles below). An art historian, he gives context and examines Kubrick's photographs in relation to not only his later films but also the history of twentieth-century art and photography. Crone also wrote short introductions to most stories in the book. An invaluable contribution to the history of photography, this book explores how one of the most influential and successful film directors of our time used photography to master visual techniques and cultivate his signature style.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rainer Crone holds the Chair for 20th Century Art and Media at the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, Germany. Formerly an Associate Professor of Art History at Columbia University, he is the author of the first monograph on Andy Warhol (1970), and has since widely published on twentieth century art and artists. His most recent books include: Louise Bourgeois, the Secret of the Cells (Prestel, 1998), Auguste Rodin: Eros and Creativity (Prestel, 1991), and Kasimir Malevitch: The Climax of Disclosure (Reaktion Books, 1991). He lives in Munich, Germany and Hampton Bays, New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press; First Edition edition (December 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714844381
• ISBN-13: 978-0714844381
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 10.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #705,078 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) was an American director, writer, producer, and photographer of motion pictures, including the classics Spartacus, Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, The SHining, Full Metal Jacket, and others.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great photographs, February 28, 2006

By 

Carl Maxwell - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stanley Kubrick: Drama & Shadows (Hardcover)

The photographs in this book are worth the price of it. If you're a Kubrick fan, you can't do without it. The photographs teach more about film than a dozen histories.

16 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sheds some light on Kubrick but does not stand alone as photography, March 31, 2006

By 

blackshredder (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stanley Kubrick: Drama & Shadows (Hardcover)

The editors of this book were wise in prominently placing the photo that you see here on the cover. It is the most distinct and mysterious image in a book of otherwise indistinct work. Most of the photos are commercial and are interesting in so far as they reveal little hints of Kubrick's budding genius for mis-en-scene. But as photos the work doesn't stand alone very well, nor was it intended to.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A look at a less known time of Kubrick's life., November 4, 2011

By 

TexasLangGenius - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stanley Kubrick: Drama & Shadows (Hardcover)

I first learned of this book on Wikipedia, when I saw the self-portrait of Kubrick taken with his Leica camera (it's right before the opening essay). Being a photographer myself as well as a Kubrick fan, I never knew that Kubrick had worked for look. Everyone knows about his films and can talk about those, but hardly anyone I talked to knew that he had been a photographer before being a film director (like me). I open it up often for inspiration, especially when I intend to shoot black and white.

Many of the photos have a story to tell and quite a few of them are entrancing (like the cityscape shot on page 233). Even if this is a small sample of his work (12,000 archived negatives, according to the book), the photos were chosen very well. The opening essay is insightful and the photo showcase is a wonderful treat. The written commentary at the beginning of each photo set talks about themes in certain pictures that Kubrick explored (like adopting a child's eye view at the Palisades Amusement Park), the nature of the photo set (like a trip to Portugal) or technique (how he did casual photography in the subway). In any case, one can see the incredible amount of care he took in creating the picture. Kubrick himself said in an interview that his being a photographer served him well as a filmmaker.

Only one or two of the photos might be a little commercial, as suggested by another reviewer, but the grand majority show a missing link in Kubrick's career: and that is his humble beginnings.

I highly recommend this book for Kubrick fans and those who love photography.