Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick (b. 1928–d. 1999) was a singular American filmmaker, an artist who, starting in the 1960s, lived in England, enjoying a quiet and secluded life more suitable to a novelist than the noisy celebrity world of Hollywood. He worked slowly and deliberately, making only twelve full-length films (and three early documentaries) during his creative lifetime. He started his career as a photographer, and the well-composed image, the intense gaze, and the careful play of light and shadow mark all of his work. His cinematic narratives are complex meditations on the failure of human agency. The characters in his films struggle against devices, plans, institutions, and even their own personalities, which they have erected and then left to control and ultimately ruin them. The films are so complex and multilayered that they require multiple viewings to unravel their intricate insights. This complexity has led to an ever-expanding scholarly literature on Kubrick and his films. Books and articles range from production histories to Freudian analyses to linguistic and political studies. There is a growing literature on Kubrick’s use of music. The following article emphasizes more recent works and expanded editions of older books, though important older works are included. Film reviews and interviews have been omitted, except when the latter are included in collections. Likewise, books or articles with only passing reference to Kubrick’s films are not included.