Stanley Kubrick: A Biography by Vincent LobruttoMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is an encompassing, very detailed, and often very technical exploration of Kubrick's filmmaking up until (and before) Eyes Wide Shut. Which is fine with me, as that one does not do anything for me. This means there is long, in-depth chapter on each of the following:
1987 Full Metal Jacket (pivotal bathroom set designed per Kubrick)
1980 The Shining (SteadiCam debut; Kubrick saw every ghost story as "hopeful" and tormented Duvall into a believable performance)
1975 Barry Lyndon (not all candlelight, even MiniBrutes were used -- whatever to mock natural light in an early adoption of super-fase lenses)
1971 A Clockwork Orange (Amid controversy over ultra-violence, withdrawn from British release in 1973 by Warner Brothers at the request of Kubrick.)
1968 2001: A Space Odyssey (Clarke run through the wringer in writing to Kubrick's demand. Much about the ultimate-trip Star Child ending.)
1964 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Sellers had to be convinced to play through role, again)
1962 Lolita (Sellers had to be convinced to play through role; the pederast angle had to be downplayed for the era)
1960 Spartacus (Kubrick's pluck, dedication, and resourcefulness got him a first real chance)
There is a lot here on the never realized Napoleon project, obsessive reading and researching for a book to base each movie on, on-set technique, etc. including how Kubrick methodically thought out and controlled what prints were used by exhibitors and how films were rolled out to exhibitors.
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