Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Kolker and Abrams--film professors at the University of Maryland, College Park and Bangor University, respectively--follow up Eyes Wide Shut, their deep dive into Stanley Kubrick's final film, with an authoritative portrait of the director, who died in 1999. Kolker and Abrams trace Kubrick's pedantic working style to his days as a still photographer in his early 20s, when he "confidently ordered" such subjects as Miss America and then--Columbia University president Dwight Eisenhower "into positions that would provide the best compositions to get exactly what he wanted." Charting Kubrick's development as a filmmaker, the authors note that such stylistic hallmarks as a fondness for natural light and tracking shots can be observed in his early documentary shorts, Day of the Fight and Flying Padre, both released in 1951. Minor works, including Kubrick's 1952 feature debut, Fear and Desire (which the authors regard as sophisticated if unrefined), are examined in equal depth to later classics. The portrayal that emerges is fascinating if unflattering; the authors cover the clash of egos between Kubrick and science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke as they developed the screenplay for 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kubrick's willingness to subject A Clockwork Orange star Malcolm McDowell to excruciating pain to get believable shots, and the director's cruel treatment of Shelley Duvall while filming The Shining. Filled with striking behind-the-scenes stories and elevated by a keen understanding of Kubrick's style, this is a biography as monumental as its subject. (Feb.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Kolker (emeritus, cinema studies, Univ. of Maryland) and Abrams (film, Bangor Univ.), coauthors of Eyes Wide Shut: Stanley Kubrick and the Making of his Final Film, craft this in-depth biography about filmmaker Stanley Kubrick (1928--99). In a conversational yet authoritative tone, the book delivers a vast amount of detail about every aspect of Kubrick's career, from his formative days as a Look magazine photographer, his early cinematic missteps, and his documentary shorts, to the years he devoted to unrealized projects--including Napoleon and A.I.--which are just as fascinating as the behind-the-scenes details of any of Kubrick's 13 completed feature films. Traditional biographical digressions into the filmmaker's personal life are rare and often provided only to contrast his work habits, deemed "obsessive" and presented as the book's throughline; his cinematic vision was ironclad, and his main creative fault was a tendency to control too much of the process. The book portrays Kubrick as being as difficult on set as other directors of his era who've been taken to task for such demanding behavior, but the authors offer no commentary about that. VERDICT An admiring look at a fascinating figure. Likely to be the definitive word on Kubrick for years to come.--Peter Thornell
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Though Stanley Kubrick and his body of work have been well documented, this book adds considerably to our knowledge of both the man and his masterpieces. Kolker and Abrams, noted film scholars who previously collaborated on Eyes Wide Shut: Stanley Kubrick and the Making of His Final Film, examine all 13 of Kubrick's completed features, as well as many unfilmed projects, filling in the broad outlines of his life (1928-1999) based on interviews with family members and professional colleagues. The authors exhaustively catalog each film's planning, financing, production, editing, and critical and commercial reception. They highlight Kubrick's reimagining of such tried-and-true film genres as film noir (Killer's Kiss), heist films (The Killing), war movies (Paths of Glory and Full Metal Jacket), epics (Spartacus), love stories (Lolita), science fiction (2001: A Space Odyssey), costume dramas (Barry Lyndon), and horror (The Shining). Notably, the authors place these films in the context of their times: 2001 as the emblematic film of the Space Age, Dr. Strangelove as the ultimate Cold War paranoid fantasia, and A Clockwork Orange as symptomatic of the 1970s age of anxiety. Kolker and Abrams register salient themes and motifs throughout Kubrick's oeuvre, pointing out trademark visual cues such as symmetrical composition and geometric patterning. The authors are especially good at showing how Kubrick's "confluent interests--sound and image--laid the foundation for a career that married both into films of exceptional power." For example, they describe how "The Blue Danube" waltz, "Also Sprach Zarathustra," and Ligeti's otherworldly compositions helped make 2001 "a concerto for film images and orchestra," as one critic noted. The authors' consideration of Kubrick's personal life is less detailed, as perhaps befits this "famously private family man." But Kubrick left the world his remarkable, enduring films, and this volume pays homage to his considerable legacy. A welcome new biography of a cinematic genius. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
