Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) - British and American film director, screenwriter, film producer, editor, cinematographer and photographer. He is considered one of the most prominent filmmakers of the second half of the 20th century.
Winner of dozens of prestigious film awards, including the "Golden Lion for a Career" for the totality of achievements in cinema. In 2018, the International Astronomical Union named a mountain on Charon in his memory.
There are many interesting facts in Kubrick's biography, which we will tell about in this article.
So, here is a short biography of Stanley Kubrick.
Biography of Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was born on July 26, 1928 in New York. He was brought up in a Jewish family of Jacob Leonard and Sadie Gertrude. In addition to him, a girl named Barbara Mary was born in the Kubrick family.
Childhood and youth
Stanley grew up in a wealthy family that did not actually adhere to Jewish customs and beliefs. As a result, the boy did not develop faith in God and became an atheist.
As a teenager, Kubrick learned to play chess. This game did not cease to interest him until the end of his life. Around the same time, his father gave him a camera, as a result of which he became interested in photography. At school, he received fairly mediocre grades in all disciplines.
Parents loved Stanley very much, so they allowed him to live the way he wanted. In high school, he was in the school swing music band, playing drums. Then he even wanted to connect his life with jazz.
Curiously, Stanley Kubrick was the official photographer of his native school. At the time of his biography, he managed to earn money by playing chess, performing in local clubs.
After receiving the certificate, Kubrick tried to enter the university, but failed the exams. An interesting fact is that he later admitted that his parents did little to educate him, and also that he was indifferent to all subjects at school.
Films
Even in his youth, Stanley often visited cinemas. He was especially impressed by the works of Max Ophuls, which will be reflected in his work in the future.
Kubrick began his career in the film industry at the age of 33, making short films for the March of Time company. Already his first film "Fight Day", filmed with his own savings, received high reviews from film critics.
After that Stanley presented documentaries "Flying Padre" and "Sea Riders". In 1953, he directed his first feature film, Fear and Desire, which went unnoticed.
A couple of years later, the director's filmography was replenished with the thriller Killer's Kiss. The first real recognition came to him after the premiere of the drama Paths of Glory (1957), which told about the events of the First World War (1914-1918).
In 1960, film actor Kirk Douglas, who produced the biopic Spartacus, invited Kubrick to replace the fired director. As a result, Stanley ordered to replace the main actress and began to shoot the tape at his discretion.
Despite the fact that Douglas did not agree with many of Kubrick's decisions, "Spartacus" won 4 "Oscars", and the director himself made a big name for himself. It is important to note that Stanley was looking for any funding opportunities for his own projects, wanting to remain independent of the producers.
In 1962, a man filmed Lolita, based on the work of the same name by Vladimir Nabokov. This picture caused a great resonance in the world cinema. Some critics admired Kubrick's courage, while others voiced their displeasure. However, Lolita was nominated for 7 Academy Awards.
Stanley then presented the anti-war comedy Doctor Strangelove, or How I Stopped Fearing and Loved the Bomb, which portrayed American military programming in a negative light.
World fame fell on Kubrick after the adaptation of the famous "A Space Odyssey 2001", which won an Oscar for the film with the best special effects. According to many experts and ordinary viewers, it was this picture that became the most iconic in the creative biography of Stanley Kubrick.
No less success was won by the master's next tape - "A Clockwork Orange" (1971). She caused a lot of resonance due to the fact that there were many scenes of sexual violence in the film.
This was followed by such famous works of Stanley as "Barry Lyndon", "The Shining" and "Full Metal Jacket". The director's last project was the family drama Eyes Wide Shut, which premiered after the man's death.
3 days before his death, Stanley Kubrick announced that he had made another film that no one knew about. This interview only appeared on the Web in 2015, because Patrick Murray, who spoke with the master, signed a non-disclosure agreement for the interview for the next 15 years.
So Stanley claimed that it was he who directed the American landing on the moon in 1969, which means that the world famous footage is a simple production. According to him, he filmed the first steps "on the moon" in a film studio with the support of the current authorities and NASA.
This video caused another resonance, which continues to this day. Over the years of his biography, Kubrick presented many films that have become classics of American cinema. His paintings were shot with great technical skill.
Stanley often used close-ups and unusual panoramas. He often depicted the loneliness of a person, his isolation from reality in his own world, invented by him.
Personal life
Over the years of his personal biography, Stanley Kubrick was married three times. His first wife was Toba Ette Metz, with whom he lived for about 3 years. After that, he married ballerina and actress Ruth Sobotka. However, this union did not last long.
For the third time, Kubrick went down the aisle with singer Christina Harlan, who by that time already had a daughter. Later, the couple had 2 common daughters - Vivian and Anna. In 2009, Anna died of cancer, and in Vivian she became interested in Scientology, having ceased to communicate with relatives.
Stanley did not like to discuss his personal life, which led to the emergence of many gossip and myths about him. In the 90s, he rarely appeared in public, preferring to be with his family.
Death
Stanley Kubrick died on March 7, 1999 at the age of 70. The cause of his death was a heart attack. He has several unrealized projects left.
For 30 years he has been collecting materials for the filming of a film about Napoleon Bonaparte. It is curious that about 18,000 volumes about Napoleon were found in the director's library.
Photo by Stanley Kubrick
