Today, you'd ask for a dozen Stanley Kubrick-alikes, because in the last 40 years, his is the face of the definitive film director: bearded, balding, pensive, sloppily dressed, and intense.
Ironically, for such an iconic figure, Kubrick was the classic cobbler's son: a professional photographer who hated being photographed, who became a film director who hated being filmed.The Bronxian Timbre
Because Kubrick made virtually no television appearances, for me at least, perhaps the most intriguing initial part of The Stanley Kubrick Archives is that audio interview on DVD-A. By time I became a fan of his work, Kubrick had grown his thick famous beard, which along with his piercing stare, gave him a powerful, somewhat menacing look. It's difficult to reconcile that visual image with the thin, slightly nasal Bronx voice on the DVD-ROM. (If you can recall Peter Sellers' Stevenson-spoofing President Muffley in Dr. Strangelove, he sounds very much like he's doing a slightly less Bronxian impersonation of Kubrick--certainly a similar timbre at least.)
But other than us Kubrickologists, who cares what he sounded like? The man was a staggering filmmaker, and this book helps explains how he both mastered his craft, and was willing to tirelessly experiment with its techniques.
Too Much Of A Good Thing?
If there's a downside to The Stanley Kubrick Archives, it's that in some respects, its sheer size sometimes works against it. At 544 pages, 19 by 13 inches in size, and three inches thick, it's a physically huge book. (Dare I call it monolithic?) Amazon describes its shipping weight as being nearly 15 pounds and that sounds just about right. In other words, this isn't a book you casually carry into the smallest room of your house (and a popular room in Kubrick's films), if you know what I mean. I almost found myself at times wishing for two or three smaller books that could be picked up and maneuvered more easily than this monster of a tome.
But as an artist as far removed from Kubrick's aesthetics as possible was famous for saying, "too much of a good thing is wonderful"--and the Stanley Kubrick Archives would be a wonderful addition to any Kubrickologist's library (or coffee table).
Article comments
1 - Tan Hoang
Nice, thorough review. Wonder if there's anything on A.I. Artificial Intelligence - the movie he wanted to do after Eyes Wide Shut?
2 - Ed Driscoll
Tan,
Thanks for the kind words. I should have mentioned that A.I., along with Napoleon, and Aryan Papers, his proposed film about the Holocaust, are all included in a chapter devoted to the projects that Kubrick never completed.