Stanley Kubrick

American Filmmaker (Jewish Lives Series)

By: David Mikics

Narrated by: Steven Jay Cohen

Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Stanley Kubrick revolutionized Hollywood with movies like Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and A Clockwork Orange, and electrified audiences with The Shining and Full Metal Jacket. David Mikics takes listeners on a deep dive into Kubrick's life and work, illustrating his intense commitment to each of his films.

Kubrick grew up in the Bronx, a doctor's son. From a young age he was consumed by photography, chess, and, above all else, movies. He was a self-taught filmmaker and self-proclaimed outsider, and his films exist in a unique world of their own outside the Hollywood mainstream. Kubrick's Jewishness played a crucial role in his idea of himself as outsider. Obsessed with rebellion against authority, war, and male violence, Kubrick was himself a calm, coolly masterful creator and a talkative, ever-curious polymath immersed in friends and family.

Drawing on interviews and new archival material, Mikics for the first time explores the personal side of Kubrick's films.

©2020 David Mikics (P)2020 Tantor

Ensayos sobre cada film de Kubrick

Quizá el título me hizo pensar que se trataba de una pieza de biografía histórica del genio Kubrick, pero en realidad se trata de una serie de ensayos sobre la obra de Kubrick entrelazados con algunos datos biográficos del cineasta.
Cómo tal, no es un mal libro, pero se queda corto en darnos más sobre la vida personal de Stanley Kubrick.

Solid Overview

For me, having read John Baxter’s biography 25 years ago, much of this was a pared down review of Kubrick’s life and films. But I appreciated the fresh, insightful commentary on his art, along with the well chosen quotations reflecting various viewpoints on both the films and the complex man.

Brief but Satisfying Analysis of Kubrick's Work

While this book is informative, it is primarily an analysis of Kubrick's films, individually and together. Mikics has read all of the Kubrick books and watched the documentaries (and done much more research besides), and he delivers relevant information about the making of the films, but he focuses on drilling down to figure out what the films are really about. Mikics—obviously a Kubrick fan—takes each film seriously as an encapsulation of the filmmaker's view of life. His style is neither dry nor full of jargon—it is, rather, engaged and compelling throughout. He discusses projects Kubrick started but never finished, including a film I'd never heard of called "Burning Secret." But mostly, he analyzes the films Kubrick did make. And though I've seen most of them many times, I found that Mikics made me see familiar details and scenes in a new way. Perhaps most interestingly, he uncovers themes threaded through all of Kubrick's films. He closes the book by considering how the filmmaker tried to address unanswered questions in his final work, "Eyes Wide Shut." This book takes Kubrick's work seriously, but it does so with verve and intelligence. It's a pleasure from beginning to end.

As for Stephen Jay Cohen's performance, he pauses too long and dramatically when reading the dialogue from a few Kubrick scenes; however, his performance is otherwise excellent.

Disagree with film breakdowns

The reading is slow and plodding. The film interpretations were mostly off target. The characterization of Kubrick was taken from a perspective that didn’t add anything interesting. Generally just not worth the time to listen to at all.

Is this read by AI

Absolutely impossible to listen to- it sounds like it is read by a computer. Enough to make me leave audible

Terrible narration

I adore Kubrick. The Shining is one of my favorite movies. No offense to David Mikics, but it sounds as if he’s reading a dinner menu. Truly snooze-worthy. Terrible performance. What a shame.