Kubrick Book

From the apocalyptic satire of Dr. Strangelove, to the epic vision of 2001, to the dystopian nightmare of A Clockwork Orange, Stanley Kubrick produced a wide-ranging body of work cherished by film lovers the world over. The critical controversy surrounding his highly anticipated final picture, Eyes Wide Shut, has confirmed his stature as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. In Kubrick, author and screenwriter Michael Herr gives us a personal look at the allegedly reclusive, compulsively brilliant director. He also recounts the evolution of their unique friendship, from their first meeting at a screening for The Shining in 1980, to their collaboration on the screenplay for Full Metal Jacket, through their years of marathon phone conversations on topics ranging from film and technology to philosophy and literature -- the last of which occurred mere days before the director's death. In describing Kubrick, Herr strips away the myths surrounding his friend, revealing a man who was not introverted and misanthropic (as the media and his biographers claimed), but instead warm, gregarious, and endlessly inquisitive. He was also profoundly complicated. Though he loved America -- and even embraced such pop culture touchstones as professional football and TV sitcoms -- he permanently emigrated to England because of his distrust of Hollywood. Though he disdained elitism, he would allow only the most brilliant and talented inside his inner circle. He had a tremendous love and respect for the actors and screenwriters he worked with, but his style of filmmaking often led to bitter confrontations. Filled with personal insights and previously untold anecdotes, Michael Herr's Kubrick is a probing view into the inner life of one of the most provocative visionaries of modern cinema, a man whose creative passion and powerful intellect changed the art of filmmaking forever.Read More