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Stanley Kubrick Filmography
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Stanley Kubrick: Kubrick the auteur
Kubrick's great success with
Strangelove persuaded the studios that he was an auteur who could be trusted to deliver popular films despite his unusual ideas. Kubrick thus entered into a fruitful relationship with Warner Brothers, who gave him almost complete artistic freedom on all his ensuing projects.
Kubrick spent five years developing his next film, 1968's ' (photographed in single-film MGM Camera 65/Super Panavision 70 Cinerama). Kubrick collaborated with Arthur C. Clarke, adapting parts of Clarke's short story "The Sentinel" (Clarke also wrote a novelization of the screenplay, which was released alongside the film). The film was groundbreaking in its use of visual effects, which Kubrick himself supervised. It was also notable for its use of classical music (including Also Sprach Zarathustra
and The Blue Danube
). 2001 represented a radical departure from both Kubrick's previous films and the mainstream Hollywood paradigm. While Kubrick would never again push the experimental envelope quite so hard, paradoxically Kubrick would win a uniquely total creative control from Hollywood by succeeding with easily the most "difficult" film ever to win such a wide release. Kubrick and 2001 are sometimes associated with the Hippie Counterculture due to the film's psychonautic themes and especially its final, abstracted chapter. Critics were initially divided in their response to the film, but it was a huge popular success. As Clarke put it in 1972, "As for who still don't like it, that's their problem, not ours. Stanley and I are laughing all the way to the bank."
His next film, A Clockwork Orange (1971), was darker in tone than
2001 (and originally released with an "X" rating in the US). The film was based on Anthony Burgess's novel about a criminal who undergoes treatment to be 'cured' of violent urges; the novel asks questions about how society defines morality. Its depictions of teenage gangs committing acts of rape and violence made the film controversial, and the controversy increased when copycat acts were committed by criminals wearing the costumes of the film's characters. Kubrick was apparently genuinely perplexed by critics who said he was glorifying violence. When he received death threats targeting himself and his family, Kubrick took the unusual step of removing the film from circulation in Britain, with the result that the film was not shown again in Britain until its rerelease in 2000, after his death.
Kubrick's next project was to be an epic biopic of Napoleon. Explaining his interest in Napoleon to interviewer Joseph Gelmis, Kubrick said "he fascinates me. His life has been described as an epic poem of action. His sex life was worthy of Arthur Schnitzler." He did a great deal of research and wrote a preliminary screenplay, but ultimately the project was cancelled due to the release of Waterloo, a movie starring
Rod Steiger as Napoleon. Instead, Kubrick decided to adapt William Makepeace Thackeray's The Luck of Barry Lyndon, a picaresque novel about an 18th century gambler and fortune hunter. He told an interviewer, "At one time, Vanity Fair interested me as a possible film but, in the end, I decided the story could not be successfully compressed into the relatively short time-span of a feature film... as soon as I read Barry Lyndon I became very excited about it." It would be Kubrick's least appreciated post-Strangelove film. Wildly overbudget and two years in filming, Lyndon also effectively nullified the career of then-superstar
Ryan O'Neal. Despite a number of passionate defenders, the film was considered by many critics to be cold, slow-moving, and lifeless. More than Kubrick's other films, it has gained acclaim with time.
After
Barry Lyndon, Kubrick's filmmaking pace slowed considerably. He made only three more films in the next twenty-five years; but his reputation and his "mystique" were such that the premiere of each new Stanley Kubrick film was an event hailed by audiences worldwide.
The Shining (an adaptation of
Stephen King's novel starring
Jack Nicholson and
Shelley Duvall) and Full Metal Jacket (one of several films in the 1980s which dealt with the Vietnam War) did not reach the heights of
Dr. Strangelove and 2001 in the eyes of many critics, though they are still seen as exceptional examples of their genres, and they contain many Kubrickian moments. After Full Metal Jacket, Kubrick spent years planning a film entitled ', but he abandoned the project due to the limited special effects technology of the time, and eventually chose to film Eyes Wide Shut instead.
Eyes Wide Shut starred
Tom Cruise and
Nicole Kidman as a couple caught up in a sexual odyssey (Cruise and Kidman were married at the time). The story is based on Arthur Schnitzler's novella, Traumnovelle.
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NewsTop 10 Wired.com Reader Portrait Photos, Decided by You
: While a portrait can be one of the most difficult types of photo to do well, our readers have once again demonstrated their superior taste by selecting these 10 photos from our portrait photo contest. Jason Lee takes home the gold with his photo "Kayla" at left. Mr. Lee will be receiving a subscription to Wired magazine and a digital picture frame for his desk.
Since we had so many great photos that we thought should've received more votes, we've also compiled a Wired.com Editor's Choice Portrait Photo Gallery.
Our next twice-monthly photo contest is fall. As the world packs up shop for winter, we want to see what signifies fall for you. Check out the contest page for more information.
Left:
Kayla
Submitted by Jason Lee
Photographer's comment:
"Just a simple portrait of my younger daughter.?
: Building Contractor
Submitted by Shane Knudsen
Photographer's comment:
This man stopped by while I was visiting with my friend, Sajid. I remember that he was a building contractor (and a rather busy one considering the 2005 earthquake), but I never caught his name. This is just one of those faces you absolutely have to photograph. Fortunately, my friend was able to translate posing instructions for me, since I don't speak Pari or Urdu.?
: Under the Overpass
Submitted by Anonymous
Photographer's comment:
"On the streets of Houston."
: Sam Stanley Kubrick
Submitted by Richard Penny
Photographer's comment:
"Portrait of my middle son in the garden riding his toy bike whilst wearing my motorbike helmet. Looks very 2001: A Space Odyssey."
: Marble Mayhem
Submitted by Tyler Klemp
Photographer's comment:
"She's wearing a really soft Russian rabbit hat."
: Filthy Habit
Submitted by Ciaran Whyte
Photographer's comment:
"A smoker in a pub doorway, in Dublin."
: smoke'n hot...
Submitted by Max Trombly
Photographer's comment:
"My friend kriss and I were hang'n out and she was in need of a light ?. This photo was taken using the natural light emitting from the molotov.. no added light from another source ...
1/80 f./5 1600 iso
shot with a canon 20D in my driveway."
: Commute
Submitted by Kent Colony
Photographer's comment:
"Nikon Digital"
: Rafa
Submitted by Chyett de Landṛn-Smith
Photographer's comment:
"I took this image of Raphael, my nephew. We were quite bored, and decided to take some photos. The little guy is so photogenic."
: The Dream
Submitted by Joe Russo
Photographer's comment:
"A photo project for JieXin, the dancer you see in the photo. Somewhat of mid-night dream sequence. Colours by Lightroom. No photoshop. Nikon D300, 50-mm 1.8, natural light."
Published: Mon, 22 Sep 2008 05:00:00 GMT - Source: Wired.Com - Read the article
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