Stanley Kubrick - A Look at the FIlms of a Genius

"If it can be thought or written - it can be filmed."

Stanley Kubrick (Imdb.com)

"If I had my way I would shoot a scene and then go home for a month to think about it"

Stanley Kubrick - In response to film critic Gene Siskel's inquiry about the length of time it takes for Kubrick to shoot a movie. (ChicagoTribune.com)

Director Stanley Kubrick was a mysterious filmmaker and a mysterious man. If ten people were asked about him half would lavish praise on the man while the other half would likely bash him as cold and disrespectful while still extolling his genius as a director.

Kubrick had a career that spanned 46 years in which only 13 films were made during that period. He was known for perfectionism to a degree of obsessive ness as he would take years to work on a single project. Kubrick usually worked in secrecy from his compound in England and spent the last 37 years of his life there with his family, abandoning his New York roots where he was born in 1928. He did, however, have the East Coast part of him remain until his death. He had the New York Times shipped to him daily. He was a die hard Yankees fan and often got tapes of the games to watch. His Bronx accent was still evident to anyone privy to his company.

Kubrick was an almost mythical figure to the press. He rarely gave interviews when he was making a film and never interviewed in between projects. Because he gave so few interviews and was not often photographed in the 12 years between his last two films, the press took it upon them to create stories that likened Kubrick's behavior to the eccentricities of Howard Hughes. Through the years Kubrick was accused of shooting a fan that came to his house and then shooting him again when the fan bled on his lawn. It was reported that Kubrick never drove a car and when he did travel his driver was instructed never to drive faster then 40 m.p.h. It was also reported that Kubrick absolutely hated women and despised the fact that the women's movement created greater opportunities for the fairer sex.