Filmmaker Stanley Kubrick during his career has shown himself in many film genres - from noir to science fiction. However, he was able to develop his own unique recognizable style. Most of his tapes (for example, "Space Odyssey", "A Clockwork Orange", "Shine") are today considered an unsurpassed classic.
The early years and the first films of Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was born in 1928 in the city of New York. Since childhood, he was fond of photography, and at seventeen he became a photographer for the notorious Look magazine.
In 1951, Kubrick created his first documentary - about boxer Rocky Graziano. It has received the name "Day of Scramble". RKO Pictures bought this film from a novice director for a hundred dollars. And then the same company allocated Kubrick money to create the next short film - about an unusual priest from New Mexico.
At some point, the talented self-taught Kubrick (and he really did not have a higher education) decided to test himself in a feature film and shot the film “Fear and Lust”. She received positive reviews from critics, but could not bring financial success to the authors.
In 1954, together with James Harris, Kubrick organized an independent film company and shot two low-budget films in the noir genre - “Killer Kiss” (here he performed simultaneously in several roles - as a director, scriptwriter, cameraman and editor) and “Murder”. It is important to add that one of the roles in “Kiss of a Killer” was played by actress Ruth Sobotka, whom the director married in 1955. But their marriage was short-lived - they divorced already in 1957.
In 1958, Kubrick directed the anti-militaristic drama Trails of Glory. This film is distinguished by the acuteness of the chosen topic and severe sarcasticity (this is especially noticeable in the scenes of the trial of the military, accused of disrupting the French offensive in World War I). Kubrick in "Paths of Glory" was able to show the war as a kingdom of incredible absurdity. In Europe, this film caused a scandal and, for example, in France it was actually banned. Interestingly, on the set of “Path of Glory, ” Kubrick met the main love of his life - singer Christina Harlan. In the same 1958, they officially became spouses and lived in marriage until the death of the filmmaker.
From Spartak to Space Odyssey
In 1960, Kubrick was hired by Universal Studios to stage the Spartak movie epic. The film had a very high budget and at the box office it paid off with interest. But after participating in this project, Kubrick began to look for other ways to finance his work - he did not want to be dependent on producers. As a result, the director made an important decision for his future career - he moved to England, where, in fact, he lived until the end of his days.
In 1962, he made a film based on the famous novel by Vladimir Nabokov "Lolita". It is known that Nabokov took an active part in creating the picture and gave certain recommendations to the director. However, the last word still remained with Kubrick. The picture, like the novel, caused heated discussion in the press.
The next film of the master, released on screens, was called "Doctor Strangelove." In this black comedy, the US military doctrine is mercilessly ridiculed and the hypothetical situation of a nuclear war between superpowers is shown. The film immediately received three Oscar statuettes - for the best production and script, as well as in the nomination "Best Film".
Kubrick worked on the next picture for about five years, but it was worth it. Released in the distant 1968, the film "2001: A Space Odyssey" (its plot is based on a short story by Arthur Clarke "The Sentinel") and today strikes with its realism, elaboration of special effects. According to many film critics, Space Odyssey is generally the best science fiction film of the twentieth century.
