History Creator / StanleyKubrick

An integral impetus for Kubrick's early filmmaking was the UsefulNotes/FallOfTheStudioSystem, which began when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of an antitrust suit that broke up the monopoly of film distribution formerly held by major studios. An indirect effect of this was the nurturing of independent theaters, and by extension, independent cinema, which found Kubrick able to make documentary newsreels and find a way to distribute them without having to cross many hurdles. He quickly taught himself the nuts and bolts of filmmaking along the way without dealing with the studio system, cultivating an independent sensibility that he carried with him to the end of his life.

* ''Film/{{Spartacus}}'' (1960) -- The second his films starring Kirk Douglas and the last film he would make in America and Hollywood. Despite Kubrick's dissatisfaction, it's considered a landmark EpicMovie, critical for ending UsefulNotes/TheHollywoodBlacklist and one of the most subversive mainstream blockbusters of that era. Also notable for being Kubrick's longest movie, beating out ''Barry Lyndon'' by just ten minutes.

* AuteurLicense: Kubrick is admired by film-makers for creating a niche within Hollywood despite the fact that he wasn't prolific, rarely made films with big stars and never made purely commercial films. More importantly, he held on to this license right till the end of his career, despite never making a single blockbuster film, though his movies were generally hits. None of his movies faced ExecutiveMeddling and with the chief exception of ''Spartacus'', all of them exist as Kubrick intended. Indeed, while Creator/OrsonWelles codified this idea with ''Citizen Kane'', Kubrick is seen by film-makers as a more successful example of making a ''career'' as an auteur within Hollywood and was highly respected by the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood generation for the same reason.

** According to [[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/may/30/stanley-kubrick-childrens-film-death-pinocchio-eyes-wide-shut-spartacus this article]], Kubrick was planning on making a ''children's film'' and a film in World War II. Specifically, a film about Pinocchio and one on Monte Cassino, one of the most bitter and bloody battles of the second world war. [[WesternAnimation/GuillermoDelTorosPinocchio A Pinocchio movie set during World War II]] eventually did get made in 2022, albeit by [[Creator/GuillermoDelToro someone else entirely.]]

** According to [[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/may/30/stanley-kubrick-childrens-film-death-pinocchio-eyes-wide-shut-spartacus this article]], Kubrick was planning on making a ''children's film'' and a film in World War II. Specifically, a film about Pinocchio and one on Monte Cassino, one of the most bitter and bloody battles of the second world war.

** Due to Kubrick's reluctance to talk about the hidden meanings of his films he's probably one of the most analyzed and discussed film directors of all time. There are still scenes in his work that remain mysterious and are open for interpretation.

** Kubrick's film about UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte (he was a big admirer of the [[Film/Napoleon1927 1927 silent Abel Gance film]]). A project he dreamt about making for years and garnered an unbelievable amount of documentation about. But it was thwarted by the movie ''Film/{{Waterloo}}'' (1970), which got such a bad reception that producers weren't willing to invest in another Napoleon movie. ''Film/BarryLyndon'' is set in part of the same time period and is probably the closest he ever got into making it. Decades later, Creator/RidleyScott apparently used some of his concepts for his own ''Film/{{Napoleon|2023}}''.

You can now vote for your favorite Kubrick film by heading over to the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/Sandbox/BestFilmStanleyKubrick Best Film Crowner]]!

* GenreRoulette: While many film directors usually work within one identifiable genre Kubrick tried out different kinds of genres all his life: war/anti-war films (''Fear and Desire'', ''Paths of Glory'', ''Full Metal Jacket''), science-fiction (''2001'', ''A Clockwork Orange''), historical drama (''Spartacus'', ''Barry Lyndon''), comedy (''Dr. Strangelove''), erotic thriller (''Lolita'', ''Eyes Wide Shut''), film-noir (''Killer's Kiss'', ''The Killing''), and horror (''The Shining'').

* DoingItForTheArt: [[invoked]] This was the man who converted lenses from NASA to shoot in natural candlelight in ''Film/BarryLyndon'' looking right. Perhaps more impressive was getting an entire fleet of the Spanish army to be extras in ''Film/{{Spartacus}}''. This also extends to actual methods of filming as well, with Kubrick always quick to embrace the next development in film technology. This has led to problems when the time came to archive his original prints and reels since the means for playing them are no longer available due to obsolescence.

[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Kubrick His incredibly thorough article]] on Website/{{Wikipedia}} lacked an infobox[[note]]those boxes usually found on the top of "traditional" wikis that are like mini [=CliffsNotes=] about the subject of an article[[/note]] for twenty years; [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Stanley_Kubrick/Archive_7#No_Infobox there was quite]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Stanley_Kubrick/Archive_9 a debate over it]] before one was added in 2021.

** Kubrick's film about UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte. A project he dreamt about making for years and garnered an unbelievable amount of documentation about. But it was thwarted by the movie ''Film/{{Waterloo}}'' (1970), which got such a bad reception that producers weren't willing to invest in another Napoleon movie. ''Film/BarryLyndon'' is set in part of the same time period and is probably the closest he ever got into making it. Decades later, Creator/RidleyScott apparently used some of his concepts for his own ''Film/{{Napoleon|2023}}''.

** Kubrick's film about UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte. A project he dreamt about making for years and garnered an unbelievable amount of documentation about. But it was thwarted by the movie ''Film/{{Waterloo}}'' (1970), which got such a bad reception that producers weren't willing to invest in another Napoleon movie. ''Film/BarryLyndon'' is set in part of the same time period and is probably the closest he ever got into making it. Much later, Creator/RidleyScott apparently used some of his concepts for his own ''Film/{{Napoleon|2023}}''.

** Kubrick's film about UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte. A project he dreamt about making for years and garnered an unbelievable amount of documentation about. But it was thwarted by the movie ''Film/{{Waterloo}}'' (1970), which got such a bad reception that producers weren't willing to invest in another Napoleon movie. ''Film/BarryLyndon'' is set in part of the same time period and is probably the closest he ever got into making it.

Yet despite this seeming procrastination, Kubrick was still able to more or less make a film as per he pleased as evidenced by ''Film/AClockworkOrange, Film/BarryLyndon, Film/TheShining, Film/FullMetalJacket'' and much later ''Film/EyesWideShut''. During his lifetime, virtually all his films were met with a polarizing reception by critics and the audience, but most of them were box-office successes. They were shocking and controversial not only in terms of content but for their cold, detached and at-times sardonic tone that somehow made his films feel more European than American, and certainly like nothing in Hollywood.

One of Kubrick's first jobs was as a photographer for the magazine ''Look'', which he got when he sold them a photograph of a newsstand vendor forlornly selling papers announcing the death of FDR. He was initially hired as an apprentice photographer but very quickly worked his way into being full staff and established himself as one of their strongest assets. Many of Kubrick's friends and colleagues, as well as biographers and historians, have attributed his career in photography to being highly influential on his unique style of filmmaking and framing shots.

People he had worked with have described Kubrick as [[NotGoodWithPeople acidic to others but amazingly fond of animals, particularly cats]], and very close to his wife and children. Actors who worked on his films have described him as manipulative, distant and aloof; Creator/MalcolmMcDowell thoroughly enjoyed working with him on ''Film/AClockworkOrange'', but was [[WhatHaveYouDoneForMeLately snubbed after shooting was complete]]. Others, such as Ryan O'Neal, Creator/JackNicholson, Creator/TomCruise and Creator/RLeeErmey, however, enjoyed working with him and described him fondly.[[note]]On average, however, his relationships could be defined by the making of ''Film/DrStrangelove''; actors that did exactly as he said walked away with their paychecks (unless they were named Peter Sellers or R. Lee Ermey, who got to do a surprising amount of {{improv}}). Slim Pickens [[EnforcedMethodActing was never told he was making a comedy]], implying that his character was the hero of the film, heroically delivering the bomb that ''ends the world''. Pickens was okay with it in the long run, spinning the publicity into a highly successful career. On the other hand, Creator/GeorgeCScott wanted to play General Turgidson as a dignified WellIntentionedExtremist, so Kubrick tricked him by [[FalseReassurance assuring him that the cameras were off]], and that Kubrick and the rest of the cast and crew are the only ones seeing him. He proceeded to use those takes, leading to Scott swearing never to work with Kubrick again.[[/note]] In other cases, most notably his treatment of Creator/ShelleyDuvall on the set of ''Film/TheShining'', his behavior went beyond controlling and became abusive, to the point of what some even describe as psychological torture.[[note]]In short, he forced her to work 12-hour days for over a year, isolated her and constantly yelled at her, and forced dozens of takes no matter how minor the scene, including 127 takes of the exhausting baseball bat scene. Duvall at one point came to Kubrick with clumps of hair that had fallen out of her head due to stress. The experience may have contributed to the detachment from reality and intense mental illness that she has suffered from later in life, though she has denied it being the case.[[/note]]

* ''Fear and Desire'' (1953) -- His first real film, which he considered his [[invoked]] OldShame. Kubrick and his first wife were the only crew on-set during production. Recently restored and released on video via [=BluRay=]. Incidentally one of the actors is Paul Mazursky who later went on to become an actor-director in his own right.

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