The Stanley Kubrick Archives

Book Description

Stanley Kubrick The first book to explore Stanley Kubrick's archives is also the most comprehensive study of the filmmaker to date

Part 1: The films
In 1968, when Stanley Kubrick was asked to comment on the metaphysical significance of 2001: A Space Odyssey, he replied: "It's not a message I ever intended to convey in words. 2001 is a nonverbal experience…. I tried to create a visual experience, one that bypasses verbalized pigeonholing and directly penetrates the subconscious with an emotional and philosophic content." The philosophy behind Part I borrows from this line of thinking: from the opening sequence of Killer's Kiss to the final frames of Eyes Wide Shut, Kubrick's complete films will be presented chronologically and wordlessly via frame enlargements. A completely nonverbal experience.

Part 2: The Creative Process
Divided into chapters chronologically by film, Part 2 brings to life the creative process of Kubrick's filmmaking by presenting a remarkable collection of material from his archives, including photographs, props, posters, artwork, set designs, sketches, correspondence, documents, screenplays, drafts, notes, and shooting schedules. Accompanying the visual material are essays by noted Kubrick scholars, articles written by and about Kubrick, and a selection of Kubrick's best interviews.

Customer Reviews:

Whoa!.......2007-09-16

Lucky me! I scored a copy of this and I have to say it is the best book on an artist I've ever seen. The previous reviewers weren't kidding--this thing is huge! Too large and heavy to be read anywhere but on a large flat surface, but that's not a complaint, unless you're lugging it across an airport like I did.

A spectacular book that you'll refer to repeatedly. I pored over it for hours. The first half is devoted to an incredible array of pristine stills from each film. The second half is focused on every film with a plethora of on-set photos and interviews with cast & crew. The book is helpfully tabbed by film.

A stunning look into one of the greatest of all filmmakers. So well designed that my friends were awed by its beauty. And that 70MM film strip--holy cow! IMHO, it's worth the price for just for that.

Do you like perfection???.......2007-08-12

One of the most beautifully produced books I have ever seen!!! Worth every cent. This is the kind of book you set aside in a special place, so you can revisit it and continually discover something new. Five stars is not enough. An essential addtion for anyone who is interested in the work of Stanley Kubrick!!!
PERFECT!!!

Genius.......2007-06-01

The book is definetely a work of art. Congrats, Taschen, for such a well done job. You will find photos, storyboards, interviews, texts, articles and sorts of wonders from the Stanley Kubrick universe. The strip from a 90mm copy of 2001: A Space Odyssey is a delightful gift for appreciators of his masterpiece.

Absolutely worth-having.

Beautiful luxury item.........2007-05-17

As others have mentioned, this is a tremendously well put together book, with the tab system making it easy to get to the sections on the particular film you've just seen or are interested in. The essays, for the most part, are well written and engaging, and do a good job of enhancing the movies and giving you a context for the circumstances under which the movies are made. I've been using the book while watching each of one of Kubrick's movies, and it's a great way to get more out of each.

The size of the book is impressive from a collector's perspective but frustrating from an reader's - you do really have to read the book in a particular position, otherwise you may damage it. That said, the size of the book does enhance the tome's first half, featuring shots from the movies themselves. This might seem a bit dull, but for Kubrick, who actually grew up a photographer, it's well worth the time to flip through and marvel at the compositions.

Finally, I had wondered before buying the book if it was still in its first run with the filmstrip - as of May 2007, it is. I recommend sending a question to Amazon to ask - they quickly got back to me to let me know that the book I was buying did have the film strip.

Of course, the book is a bit pricey, so you certainly do need to be a devoted Kubrick follower to make it worth it. There are a number of other quality books with similar essays to the ones you'll find here, but the whole package - filmstrip, largeness of the book, screen shots, and the essays - combine to make the overall item something very special, and well worth it for those who can't get enough of Stanley.

The Kubrick Experience.......2007-03-28

The other reviews of this remarkable book have more or less summed up what I would say so I've approached it from another angle: I've uploaded eight photos to give you an idea of what this highly visual (and costly) book looks like. Amazon doesn't display images numerically so you'll have to see them at random. Click 'customer images' under the cover.

If you are buying a used first-run copy do check with the seller that Mr Kubrick's film strip is in its sleeve and the CD is also included, photo one shows them in position. Some reviewers have rightly said that owning a bit of '2001' from Kubrick's personal collection gives the book extra kudos.

Photo two will give you an idea of how the book is organised. There are two sections, each with a series of colored tabs. His twelve movies have a tab each and in the first section there are eight hundred stills, black and white and color depending on the film. Photos three, four and five are some of the spreads from Dr Strangelove. The second part of the book covers each movie in detail with an amazing collection of visual material to back up the text. Photos six, seven and eight show some pages about the background and production of Dr Strangelove.

The back of the book has a fifty page Appendix A, B and C. A covers three unmade movies: Napoleon, AI and Aryan Papers. B has three essays. C is a chronology of Kubrick's life.

This is a BIG book, opening to thirty-three inches wide and at over fourteen pounds in weight it really can only be read on a table. Needless to say being a Taschen book it is beautifully designed and printed and if you do buy a copy the Kubrick experience will be quite overwhelming and long lasting.

The Encyclopedia of Stanley Kubrick (Library of Great Filmmakers)

Average customer rating:

For the Kubrick fan
Well, why not?

The Encyclopedia of Stanley Kubrick (Library of Great Filmmakers)
Rodney Hill , and Gene D. Phillips
Manufacturer: Facts on File
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0816043884

Customer Reviews:

For the Kubrick fan.......2003-08-22

This is a book of Kubrick facts and trivia, arranged in easy-reference format. The authors are opinionated about their subject, which is good --- they clearly love writing about these movies and everything that went into them. For the non-fan, this book could be tedious. Entries on actors veer off into complete discussions of the Kubrick movie in which they starred, minor details are repeated, and a few entries seem to be too technical or industry-based to be worth mentioning.

(For example, Kubrick says that at the end of Lolita, Humbert realizes that he loves her --- he's not just feeling lust for her. Kubrick calls this the most poignant moment in the story. This particular quote is repeated in the book at least five times.)

If you've read every other book about Kubrick, get this one. If not, read the books by Ciment, Walker, Herr, LoBrutto, and Baxter first.

Well, why not?.......2003-06-20

Bronx-born Stanley Kubrick spent much of his professional life in England where he made some of the most controversial and original films ever to grace the silver screen. This uneven but fascinating book is in a sense a tribute to the man and his work. This is not the first encyclopedic treatment of a top movie director published by Facts on File--they have also done Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles. Perhaps this format--an "encyclopedia"--will catch on. At any rate, it is fun to leaf through randomly or perhaps one could actually proceed alphabetically.

The entries of course all have some connection with Kubrick. Included are actors who played in his movies, and people related to him and his friends and other people he worked with. There are also entries on movie business phenomena like "antiwar themes" and "censorship." There is an interesting entry on Steven Spielberg's Artificial Intelligence (2001) in which I learned that the original conception came from Kubrick. There are a number of black and white photos spread throughout the text and some line drawings, mostly of Kubrick and the actors who played in his films. Often the photos are stills from the movies. It is interesting to see Kubrick at various stages of his career and how time changed his appearance. My favorite photo is of George C. Scott and Stanley Kubrick playing chess on the set of Dr. Strangelove underneath the "War Room" mock up. By the way, Scott is reported to have gained respect for the younger Kubrick when Kubrick beat him at chess.

There is rather a lot of repetition in the entries, some of it unavoidable of course because entries overlap in content. However the entry for Sue Lyon, for example, who was Kubrick's Lolita, contains a summary of the plot of Lolita to the exclusion of the rather sparse information about Lyon. Also the editing and proofreading of the entries is not first rate. The text was begun by Rodney Hill and then taken up by Gene D. Phillips, which may account for some of the avoidable repetition. Some of the entries were written by John C. Tibbetts and others tagged with initials and identified as "Contributors" near the back of the book.

Clearly the strength of the book is in the light it sheds on Stanley Kubrick and his life in film. The detail is fascinating and the writing, in spite of the repetitions, is engaging. There are nice pieces on George C. Scott, James Mason, Peter Sellers, Malcolm McDowell, Nicole Kidman, Shelley Winters, Arthur C. Clarke, etc. as well as essays on all of Kubrick movies. Included are behind the scenes information about what went on during the shooting of the films, how the films were conceived and how they progressed. I was intrigued to learn that Kubrick was able to get a fine performance from the otherwise undistinguished Sue Lyon partly because he sometimes allowed her to use her own vernacular instead of words from the script. Also interesting was the difficulties that Shelley Winters experienced (from her viewpoint!) in working with James Mason and Peter Sellers in Lolita (1962). The relationship between Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, who wrote the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey and worked with Kubrick on the screenplay for the film, is interesting to follow. One realizes again that at the base of Kubrick's film creations is an abiding interest in science and human psychology.

Bottom line: an irresistible companion to the films of Stanley Kubrick, one of cinema's greatest directors and one of my personal favorites.

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Phenomenal compilation of regrettably forgotten works...

Sheds some light on Kubrick but does not stand alone as photography

Great photographs

Stanley Kubrick: Drama & Shadows
Rainer Crone
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0714844381

Book Description

Born in New York City in 1928, Stanley Kubrick began taking photographs when in high school. At sixteen, he sent a photograph he took of a newsstand after President Roosevelt's death to Look Magazine. The publication of the photograph marked the beginning of Kubrick's work for the magazine, which lasted until 1950, when Kubrick made his first 16mm documentary film. During those five years Kubrick completed dozens of photographic reportage assignments in New York City as well as abroad. The resulting thousands of negatives have remained in the archives of Look Magazine ever since. Kubrick's photographs vary in subject, but people are the central focus of attention, as is his commitment to narration. Whether capturing the meditative state of passengers in a series of portraits made in the New York subway, following famous boxer Rocky Graziano on the ring and in intimate moments, portraying the coming of age of socialite Betsy Von F++rstenberg, or narrating the tale of a shoe-shine boy in the streets of New York City, Kubrick draws psychological portraits that combine drama, irony, and often mystery, anticipating his trademark cinematic style.If Kubrick's photographs are fascinating accounts of life in the late 1940s, they are also a major contribution to American photography of that era. At nineteen, Kubrick already had an immense talent in constructing complex compositions in which camera positioning and lighting played a crucial role. The book is introduced by an essay by Rainer Crone, who also edited the selection of photographs for this book. Crone is an expert on Kubrick's photographic work, and has already published a catalogue on this subject (see Related Titles below). An art historian, he gives context and examines Kubrick's photographs in relation to not only his later films but also the history of twentieth-century art and photography. Crone also wrote short introductions to most stories in the book.An invaluable contribution to the history of photography, this book explores how one of the most influential and successful film directors of our time used photography to master visual techniques and cultivate his signature style.

Customer Reviews:

Phenomenal compilation of regrettably forgotten works..........2006-04-05

These are masterpieces of insightful timing & guerrila portraiture. Avedon said photography was mostly lies - photographs only captured an instant in time & usually the wrong instant. Kubrick almost always managed to get the right instant. That's great photography!

Sheds some light on Kubrick but does not stand alone as photography.......2006-04-01

The editors of this book were wise in prominently placing the photo that you see here on the cover. It is the most distinct and mysterious image in a book of otherwise indistinct work. Most of the photos are commercial and are interesting in so far as they reveal little hints of Kubrick's budding genius for mis-en-scene. But as photos the work doesn't stand alone very well, nor was it intended to.

Great photographs.......2006-03-01

The photographs in this book are worth the price of it. If you're a Kubrick fan, you can't do without it. The photographs teach more about film than a dozen histories.

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A filmography more than a biography
Forensic Biography
Excellent Introduction to Kubrick, but written before Eyes Wide Shut and his death.
Light & Smoke & Mirrors
How to write a book about a filmmaker

Stanley Kubrick: A Biography
Vincent Lobrutto
Manufacturer: Da Capo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0306809060

Amazon.com

In 1962, an MGM trailer teased its audience by asking "How Did They Ever Make a Movie Out of Lolita?" Readers of this book, which recounts the life of Lolita's director, might ask, "How Did They Ever Write a Biography of Stanley Kubrick?" Kubrick is the most reclusive of celebrities, a man who seems mysterious even to those who have known and worked with him. Vincent Lobrutto's engrossing and beautifully researched biography succeeds in tracing this meticulous and brilliant visionary from his childhood and early career as a photographer for Look magazine to his creation of masterpieces such as Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and Full Metal Jacket. Lobrutto concludes his book by discussing projects that have not yet been realized: Eyes Wide Shut, a film about sexual obsession, the Holocaust drama Aryan Papers, and the most eagerly awaited of Kubrick's prospective movies, the science fiction film A. I.

Customer Reviews:

A filmography more than a biography.......2007-03-16

Published in 1999, prior to the release of "Eyes Wide Shut" and the death of his subject, Stanley Kubrick, Vincent LoBrutto's biography arrived, however unfairly, at the wrong time. Since Kubrick did not grant LoBrutto the kind of access a strong biography needs, he had to do the nasty gruntwork that makes biographical writing, particularly of the deceased, such a demanding, but ultimately rewarding adventure. We can only speculate, but now that Kubrick has been dead for nearly eight years, that perhaps Christiane Kubrick and their daughters would grant access into the secretive, obsessive world that made Kubrick such a mythic filmmaking figure.

Instead, we have a text that owes to LoBrutto's extensive knowledge of cinema more than it does to the insight of Stanley Kubrick. The book starts off poorly, reading like a catalog of events and dates, lacking any real musical sensibility for his use of the English language. LoBrutto hits his stride when describing the making of Kubrick's breakthrough film "The Killing." From there, LoBrutto's research into the depths of Kubrick's approach to filmmaking is rewarding. We learn about Kubrick's use of specific movie cameras, lenses, his approach to scoring films, "needle-dropping," his approach to lighting and his encyclopedic absorption of the subject matter pertaining to the films he made.

However, as a "biography," a study in human character, LoBrutto's book is thin. We learn little about Kubrick's attitudes towards his Jewish heritage. His first two marriages are passed over without any real depth. His obsessive nature and the creation of his own closed-off world, akin a filmmaker's Xanadu, are provided little to no psychological depth or inquiry. Kubrick comes across in LoBrutto's text as a reserved, calm guy who really didn't antagonize anybody. This overly consistent portrayal of his subject leads me to believe that, since Kubrick was still living at the time the author was writing this book, that LoBrutto was fearful of getting sued or blacklisted if he wrote anything too critical of the director. For these reasons, the book does not receive my overwhelming recommendation. But for aspiring directors, this books is a marvel, providing wonderful glimpses into the habits, approaches and skillsets of America's greatest film director.

Forensic Biography.......2007-01-04

Even though, as others have correctly observed below, this biography was written some time before Stanley Kubrick's death, Lobrutto is about as well equipped to write definitively about this one-of-a-kind filmmaker as anyone would be.

Kubrick died just after completing "Eyes Wide Shut," and those who were critically unkind to that effort would conclude that he'd about run out of steam.

It's understandable. The more we learn about Kubrick's personal life here, the less we understand his art. He was and remained an extremely private and elusive man, and simply pursued his various compulsions as they occasioned. The results are what we see on the screen, of course.

Lobrutto's a good writer; you'll enjoy the effort a great deal.

Excellent Introduction to Kubrick, but written before Eyes Wide Shut and his death........2005-10-11

I got this book in 1998 to read a bit about the man before he was to pass away a few years later. For this reason the book is probably a bit dated now and does not cover his Eyes Wide Shut production. However in terms of insight I remember this is a great guide for introducing us into the life and times of the man. It covers his youth and upbringing and how he got into the film making scene. There are many references to Kirk Douglas and film financing, including Kubrick's interaction with Hollywood. In terms of a historical reference, this book was very interesting and I would recommend it in terms of being able to give us an account of the ins and outs of this man's life. The photograph section is quite well detailed with lots of early stuff. However the one downside to the book is that it never touches on Kubrick's motives. Anyway Kubrick was an illusive character. I have seen maybe two very small 1 minute interviews with the man in my life. If you are looking for insider information then you may want to read something like, Eyes Wide Open : A Memoir of Stanley Kubrick (Paperback)
by Frederic Raphael, although this book was denounced by Kubrick's family, and to be taken with a pinch of salt, it is still interesting none the less.

Light & Smoke & Mirrors.......2004-06-11

This was the first full biography of Stanley Kubrick I read, buying it in hardback as soon as it was published. There had been very little biographical info on the director until his death in 1999 and I think I read most of the books about his films up to that point.
I was disappointed with this bio. It got to the point where the last sentence in every third paragraph read, "And there was only one man for that job, and that man was Stanley Kubrick."

I found John Baxter's bio, also called STANLEY KUBRICK, much more entertaining and enlightening.
If you've seen Kubrick's daughter's short film, "The Making of THE SHINING," on THE SHINING DVD, you get a glimpse of the rewriting frenzies that went on--a genuine shock to me since Kubrick's films appeared so tight and controlled ("We make it up as we go," Jack Nicholson jokes as a Kubrick assistant literally cringes), a look at the director's temper when a scene doesn't go right, and the scenes featuring his disregard for Shelley Duvall border on cruelty.
All of this is more than you'll find in LoBrutto's biography.

How to write a book about a filmmaker.......2003-06-09

If you want to know about Stanley Kubrick, outside of viewing his films, this is THE book !

This book fills in the blanks, about this enigmatic filmmaker, with a very concise, pre-history, to his notariety as director of such films as "Paths of Glory" and "Dr. Strangelove".

It is from these "roots", that his story REALLY begins !

Be patient to get to those "famous" years, for it is this story, that explains, the "how" and "why" he is regarded so highly.

Average customer rating:

One Awesome Book!

The "Seinfeld" of Celebrity Interview Books

Great source for Kubrick fans, but repetitive

Excellent

Vital to anyone's Kubrick library

Stanley Kubrick: Interviews (Conversations With Filmmakers Series)
Stanley Kubrick , and Gene D. Phillips
Manufacturer: University Press of Mississippi
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1578062977

Customer Reviews:

One Awesome Book!.......2006-04-06

For fans of Kubrick's work, this book is essential. The man only did a few interviews in his existence and semed to despise every minute of them but this book provides some essential information and opinion from one of the greatest filmmakers ever. Hearing his philosophies alone completely blew me away! By the end of the book I was wishing there were more interviews. Get it.

The "Seinfeld" of Celebrity Interview Books.......2005-10-17

You've heard many times that "Seinfeld" was "a show about nothing." That's pretty much what you get here...

Kubrick loathed publicity and hated doing interviews even more. Since he himself had been a photojournalist, of sorts, before starting his career making movies, this is a little paradoxical, but understandable.

I don't doubt that just about every documented Kubrick interview ever done is, in some way, represented in this book - but it still ends up a mighty slim volume. Students of Kubrick will not learn much here that has not already been cited, in secondary source, in the great number of other Kubrick "biographies" and critical treatises.

And you cannot help believing that this is exactly what Kubrick wanted. Over and over again, in this book itself, he insists that the movies he made were to stand on their own merits. Talking about movies meant nothing to him - making them was everything.

Great source for Kubrick fans, but repetitive.......2005-03-09

There is a huge amount of Kubrick in this one. Parhaps the most complete collection of things he has uttered to the press throughout his career. It covers all his fascinations, all obsessions and great visions for the modern mankind - and it unveils the gradual loss of hope, dienchantement with how the modern world develops.
But, being a collection of interviews, it is also slightly repetitive and many topics are discussed several times, so for non-scholars this can be increasingly boring while they advance.

Excellent.......2002-09-20

In Stanley Kubrick: Interviews (University Press of Mississippi), we have more of the voice of Kubrick than anywhere else. The interviews go chronologically and run the gamut from short three-page profile throwaways to massive, 30-page question-and-answer marathons. Many are worth noting: Jeremy Bernstein's profile dates from 1966 but is still fresh and amazingly well-written and candid, and Eric Nordern's interview with Kubrick for Playboy is insightful and worth reading for the Master's (mostly incorrect) predictions of immortality and space travel by the year 2001. Another excellent interview comes from Joseph Glemis, who talks to Kubrick about all of his films up to Clockwork Orange, and there are two interviews with Gene Siskel that are worth reading, too.

Simply put, this is a fine volume that should belong to every Kubrick fan. Most of these interviews, if not all of them, are long out of print and the book is 98% worthwhile. Moreover, reading the words of Kubrick is like reading poetry-he did retain the right to extrapolate and modify his answers before any interview was published-with each sentence and word well chosen. Only complaint: there are no interviews with Kubrick regarding The Shining; why this film was left out is curious. Gorgeously printed with a spartan design, sturdily bound, set in Stone serif, rag right, this is a very reader-friendly book.

Vital to anyone's Kubrick library.......2001-07-24

Considering the fact that Stanley Kubrick rarely gave interviews, this book is a godsend. Compiling articles and interviews over a span of several decades, "Stanley Kubrick: Interviews" offers a fascinating insight into one of the cinema's greatest directors. Many of these have been widely reprinted already, but it's great to see them all in one collection. Once you've bought this book ...get the Stanley Kubrick Collection DVD box set!

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No, the novel is not better that the film...
A Great Tale of Adventure and Discovery
Read to book to understand the movie
one-of-a-kind Clarke chiller/thriller
I can't understand why everyone loves this book

2001: A Space Odyssey
Arthur C. Clarke , and Stanley Kubrick
Manufacturer: Roc Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451452739

Amazon.com

When an enigmatic monolith is found buried on the moon, scientists are amazed to discover that it's at least 3 million years old. Even more amazing, after it's unearthed the artifact releases a powerful signal aimed at Saturn. What sort of alarm has been triggered? To find out, a manned spacecraft, the Discovery, is sent to investigate. Its crew is highly trained--the best--and they are assisted by a self-aware computer, the ultra-capable HAL 9000. But HAL's programming has been patterned after the human mind a little too well. He is capable of guilt, neurosis, even murder, and he controls every single one of Discovery's components. The crew must overthrow this digital psychotic if they hope to make their rendezvous with the entities that are responsible not just for the monolith, but maybe even for human civilization.

Clarke wrote this novel while Stanley Kubrick created the film, the two collaborating on both projects. The novel is much more detailed and intimate, and definitely easier to comprehend. Even though history has disproved its "predictions," it's still loaded with exciting and awe-inspiring science fiction. --Brooks Peck

Book Description

The bestselling classic-now in trade paperback with an introduction by the author and a dazzling new package.

The classic science-fiction novel that changed the way we look at the stars-and ourselves.

Customer Reviews:

No, the novel is not better that the film..........2007-08-21

Many of the reviews here seem to espouse the opinion that Clark's novel is better than the film because it "explains" the film (as if having all the answers spoonfed to the reader is a good thing). One of the characteristics of truly great art is that it does not assume the audience needs all the answers handed to them. Sometimes there are no good answers. In fact, we are seldom given answers for anything that happens in life. Great works of art serve as a medium for us to examine our place in the universe and force us to confront the questions of what makes us human, why things are the way they are, and what the future holds. A work of art that gives simple answers to questions like these can be entertaining, but rarely reaches the status of great.

2001 the novel is an entertaining work of art. 2001 the film is a great work of art. The novel is a standard work of fiction and reads as one. The film transcends mere movie-making and turns us to face questions we would not otherwise ask ourselves. Certainly, the film is less approachable than the novel, but that doesn't make it worse. Is the film any less great because it does not explicitly describe the things the monolith teaches Moonwatcher? Is the film less gripping because we are never told exactly why HAL malfunctions? Does the film cheat the viewer because we are not told the background of the alien race? Absolutely not. The image of the monolith appearing on the scene in the first segment of the film with the familiar strains of Strauss' Also sprake Zarathustra is far more memorable than the bland text from the novel. The character of HAL in the film gives us pause about the possibilities (and dangers) of genuine artificial intelligence, while the novel fails to humanize HAL in the same way. The image of the Star-Child at the end of the film is haunting and hopeful, alien and human all at the same time. The novel falls short of this lofty bar.

2001 is an entertaining work of science fiction that should be read by any SF fan, but it is not better than the film. That's no fault of Clarke, though. Few novels have plumbed the depths of the human condition the way Kubrick's masterpiece has done.

A Great Tale of Adventure and Discovery.......2007-08-03

I first bought this book at a local bookstore and read the first six chapters. They talked about how man has evolved from apes trying to defend their land to the wise humans that we are today. I then put the book down, thinking that I was not going to read the rest of it. However the next day, I read the next few chapters and then could not stop reading it. I read all day for the next couple of days and finished the book in under a week. The book is very easy to understand and follow.
You should read the book before you see the movie. The book however, is a lot different from the movie. For example, the HAL 9000 computer does not deny Dave entrence to the ship as he does in the movie. Instead, he lets him in and then tries to kill him by cutting off the ship's air supply. To me, the book is better then the movie.
If you like science fiction stories, then this book is a must. It is by far one of the best books that I have ever read

Read to book to understand the movie.......2007-07-18

This is the definitive science fiction novel, exploring every major theme that fits the genre -- extraterrestial intelligent life, man's reach for the stars, the paradox of machines (robots/computers) through which man evolves but which threaten to destroy him, and, ultimately, the evolution of the mind past physical restraints. Most importantly, the book explains the movie's completely nonsensical ending. Indeed, the book perhaps explains too much and, as is a common problem with this genre, the author doesn't have time for character development. Still, Clarke's imagination and vision are extraordinary and the book holds ones attention. I definitely recommend it.

one-of-a-kind Clarke chiller/thriller.......2007-06-16

Kubrik & Clarke - can't go wrong when they collaborate. Clarke bounced his (always novel) ideas off of Kubrik for the film, which was to be released simultaneously. What resulted was a chilling view of future space discovery and space travel.

One point I loved about the book (which one doesn't find in many other books) was the downplay on dialogue. There's not much conversation, just thoughts and descriptions. I don't think many authors could succeed in doing this, but Clarke comes out on top. After all, he is legendary.

I was disappointed that HAL 9000 didn't play more of a role though the book. He seemed to be in passing through his death, even though he was clearly an intelligent entity (though lacking wit an attitude). More focus should have been given to the Illinois-borne (boo-yea) AI construct.

The ending was a little hard to grasp but, nevertheless, satisfactory.

I can't understand why everyone loves this book.......2007-04-12

I know a lot of people love this book, but I thought it was not that great. I give it one star because the first 20 pages or so were really good.

Average customer rating:

Like the movie, great production values
Do You Like The Future?
A behind the scenes once removed
A must -have book for 2001 fans
Highly recommended!

2001: Filming the Future
Piers Bizony
Manufacturer: Aurum Press, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1854107062

Customer Reviews:

Like the movie, great production values.......2006-08-10

Its large format, crisp color reproduction, and amazing depth of detail make this one of the best 2001 books available. In fact, I had to own just one, this would be it.

In this age of computer generated imagery, it's fascinating to read in detail how 2001 pulled off its brilliant and never-dated space visuals with entirely manual processes. Seeing the incredibly huge and complex film sets, the detailed models and animations, and innovative camera techniques used give me a new appreciation for the magnitude of the film's greatness.

What is largely missing from this book is insight into Kubrick's source ideas and meaning for 2001. It's probably too much to ask for that in addition to the books fantastic production story.

Do You Like The Future?.......2005-10-09

This brilliant book's visuals alone make it worth adding to your collection of film books. Of course, Kubrick fans need it the most.

But what the book also speaks to, beyond Kubrick's compulsive fascination with technical accuracy in film, is how the effort in making this movie addressed our ambitions and fascinations in the 1960s. In a time where old social conventions were breaking down, right and left, 2001 spoke to a new optimism created by space exploration and its seemingly limitless potential.

"Capturing the imagination." Good movies achieve that goal, don't they? In this case, a fanatical dedication to research, and to placing on film the most accurate and, in a weird way, understated views of a human future in space, creating something really new in moviegoing experience.

In its time, that effort became quickly subsumed by two divergent audiences: people who wanted to enhance their drug experiences with visuals, and people who wanted to be in space. Of course, these audiences made the movie very, very successful.

Today, we have left this movie's technical accomplishments in the dust. We can depict space travel and its related phenomena (like weightlessness) in a relatively effortless way. Film special effects pour out, today, in ways not imagined in 1967. You could read this book as a quaint history tract in movemaking technics.

I read it beyond that, though. It spoke to the excitement and optimism with which many of us viewed our future. We ate this stuff up; we could sit through two reels of a spacecraft docking and think the time just flew by...

How do we feel about the future today? It is now highly unfashiomable to label yourself a "futurist" any more. It seems our future is all behind us now.

Thank God these things run in predictable cycles. Collective optimism about our future in space is just around the corner. I hope I live long enough to see and enjoy it...

A behind the scenes once removed.......2005-09-01

I found Piers Bizony's book fascinating and I'm continually amazed at the work this film achieved for its day (and today in many respects). It defined the genre. It's filled with great stills, diagrams, and behind-the-scenes photography of the filmmaking process.

However, if you're looking for a book that gives you an inside peek on the filmmaker and his decision making process for the story (or authentic insight on the story itself), you'll be disappointed. 2001 is a complex storyline with metaphore upon metaphore and the Bizony never seems to achieve a 'true' account by Kubrick on the film's meaning. It's more guessing, speculation, and hypothesis that add to the voices weighing in regarding this important film. I suppose in some respects, it adds the mystery and weight of story... and will remain that way with the passing of Kubrick in 2000.

A must -have book for 2001 fans.......2005-08-02

A terrific book, full of spectacular photos and diagrams,
and including an entertaining and informative text. First class!

Highly recommended! .......2005-07-13

Very few movies of the late twentieth century stand up to the test of time in the way of 2001: A Space Odyssey. This book tells the inside story of how this ground breaking film was made, and how it changed the outlook of a generation.

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Spartacus: Film and History

Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1405131810

Book Description

Stanley Kubrick 's epic film Spartacus has enjoyed iconic status in cinema history and strongly influenced modern perspectives on ancient Rome. This book examines the film from different historical, political, and cinematic perspectives. The chief ancient sources on the slave revolt led by Spartacus are included in translation. Contributors explore the film 's representation of history, the political climate at the time of its making, the history of its production, censorship, and restoration, its place in film history, and its enduring appeal. For the first time, the book offers suggestions for a new version of the film that comes even closer to the filmmakers ' original intent than the restoration currently available.

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A photo chronicle of one of the greatest filmakers of all time
The Man Behind the Camera
An insightful photographic odyssey.

Stanley Kubrick
Christiane Kubrick
Manufacturer: Little, Brown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0316860522

Book Description

One of the great film directors of our time, Stanley Kubrick had a profound influence on motion pictures. He was a notoriously private man, rarely granting interviews. For the first time, his life will be portrayed in over 200 images from film, photographs, and the words and full-color paintings of Christiane Kubrick, his wife for over 42 years. Never before seen photographs offer a unique perspective on a man, his times, and his films-from his very first, Day of Flight (1950), through to his last and unrealized project, finished by Steven Spielberg, A.I. (2001). STANLEY KUBRICK: A Life in Pictures explores the many and varied aspects of its subject-the director, the producer, the photographer, the writer and, not least of all, the man himself.

Customer Reviews:

A photo chronicle of one of the greatest filmakers of all time.......2006-08-20

Although Stanley Kubrick made many other movies with a powerful message, I will always associate him with "2001: A Space Odyssey." The power of the movie overwhelmed me the first time I saw it and it still does each time I view it again. The music seems to penetrate your entire being and each time I watch it a new thought about the human condition pops into my mind. It is one of the few movies that you never seem to be able to completely talk out. I always wished that Kubrick had continued making films out of the additional novels by Arthur Clarke such as "2010." Kubrick's other films also have the quality of overwhelming you, viewing "Dr. Strangelove" is a life altering event, it points out the absurdity of a rational discussion concerning a nuclear war.
This book is not about the films that Kubrick made, but a chronicle of his life in photographs. Few of them are personal; almost all show him executing some act in the making of a movie. Generally, he is on the set of his films, we see stills from "Lolita", "Spartacus", "Full Metal Jacket", "Dr. Strangelove", "2001", "A Clockwork Orange", and "Eyes Wide Shut." The photos show him doing everything from examining a script to intensely watching a rehearsal to walking away at the end of the day. If you are a fan of Kubrick, and quite frankly I don't know how such a condition can be avoided, then this book will interest you. Showing him in the creation of his works, he was truly a man with vision, putting things down on film that stay with you long after the credits have disappeared.

The Man Behind the Camera.......2003-01-06

"Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures" is more of a compendium to the documentary video released with the Kubrick Collection boxed set than a book of its own inspration. It's a trip through times past for both wife and author Christiane Kubrick as well as for the viewer who grew up with Kubrick's marvelous films. The book allows a deeper and more accessible view of the Man Behind the Camera.

Watching Kubrick's films, one gets the sense that something greater than a single man is directing these movies. Looking at these behind the scenes photos I hear the words "Dont' pay attention to the man behind the camera," as Kubrick plays the Almighty Oz in the production of his films.

The book is presented in a large hardback volume with glossy pages; all of the photos are black and white. We see Stanley from an infant all the way through to his work on "Eyes Wide Shut." The final pages also offer some pre-production sketches for "Artificial Intelligence." It is less of a book to read than a book to look through, although there are small captions to each picture that Christiane gives the reader the time and place and offers a little insight into Stanley's thinking.

With a foreward by Stephen Spielberg (the eventual director for "A.I."), "Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures" is designed for the Kubrick fan, but serves as a memoir for Mrs. Kubrick. As she mentions in the introduction, "The photographs will...correct the mistaken view of Stanley as some sort of isolationist misanthrope out of Dr. Mabuse by way of Howard Hughes."

An insightful photographic odyssey........2002-11-01

'STANLEY KUBRICK: A Life In Pictures' (c. Oct 2002) by Mrs. Christiane Kubrick, is an insightful photographic odyssey of Stanley Kubrick, America's very original and probably only auteur director.

Mrs. Kubrick presented, in chronological order, rare family photographs of Stanley Kubrick from his childhood in the Bronx and through his teenage years in high school and working for LOOK magazine. This included his very first 1945 photograph of a newspaper vendor he sold for twenty-five dollars to that publication.

The chronology then continued as a mix of Stanley Kubrick in his various movie publicity stills and with candid photographs of the behind the scenes activity as Director Kubrick lined up his shots on movie cameras; interacted with his crew; conversed with his stars; "having a little game of chess"; or the very obvious serious discussions with cast and technicians. (The pictures of Stanley Kubrick cracking-up laughing on the set of '2001' are priceless; as are the touching photographs of him holding his young children.) The photographs continued until the filming of his last movie, 'Eyes Wide Shut', showing a mature and greying director.

And for those who follow the interesting lives of the actors in his films, 'STANLEY KUBRICK: A Life In Pictures' provided dozens of revealing off-camera images of his interactions with such noted personalities as: Marlon Brando; Kirk Douglas; Lawrence Olivier; James Mason; George C. Scott; and Sterling Hayden. Equally as interesting as his cinematographic technique was his managerial style as he presided over some of Hollywood's most powerful movie stars, dozens of cast and crew, and sometimes thousands of extras, which one can only infer from the objectivity of this black & white photographic collection.

This collection contained a touch of poignancy as photo #57 showed a publicity still of Stanley Kubrick, Sterling Hayden, and Kola Kwariani pouring over a chess game together in the chess club set of 'The Killing'. In this 1956 movie, Kola Kwariani played professional wrestler Maurice Oboukhoff, who instigated a very memoriable diversion for the race track robbery. In real life, Kola Kwarinani was a real wrestler and expert chess player who played in the same New York 'Chess & Checker Club' (alias The Flea House) as Stanley Kubrick. The neighborhood changed, and in February 1980 at age 77 while playing in 'The Flea House' Kola Kwariani was beaten to death by five black teenage hoodlums.

The book: 'STANLEY KUBRICK: A Life In Pictures' is neither biography nor history but simply an important collection of objective photography mutely capturing the working details, values, and personality of America's only world class movie director.

As a suggestion, first read the biography: 'STANLEY KUBRICK: A Biography' (c.1997) by Vincent LuBrutto, to fully appreciate Mrs. Christiane Kubrick's impressive photographic compilation. Only then does the revealing photographs of her husband answer the many questions induced by all the incomplete written biographies on Stanley Kubrick.

Average customer rating:

Nostalgic

Better than most DVD's!

Good read but....

Delivers the goods.

Profusely illustrated

The Making of Kubrick's 2001
Jerome Agel
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451071395

Customer Reviews:

Nostalgic .......2007-09-06

I love this book. It's one of the most interesting books I've read about the making of a movie. The style is a bit chaotic as far as how its put together but the actual info is great. Its got a HUGE 96 page photo spread which I supposed was amazing in 1970. The impact is less now that people can go onto the internet and look at as many photos as they want. If you're like me you'll feel inspired to pop the movie in and watch it after reading this book. I would imagine that anyone who would go to the trouble of getting a book about the making of 2001 probably owns a copy of the movie as well. It's also got an essay by a (Then) high school student which I found surprisingly interesting.

Better than most DVD's!.......2007-06-13

I wish that DVD's were as complete and eclectic as this book. A must for any true blue film buff. Its both informative, irreverent, and brilliant.

Good read but...........2007-04-14

Don't expect detailed descriptions of how the movie was made because there aren't any. There's a small section in the middle of the book with some good pictures and very cryptic abbreviated explainations of said pictures and that's about it. Most of the book contains reactions to the movie from critics and regular viewers. There's some talk from Clarke and Kubrik regarding the process of writing the screenplay and such as well as the full short story "The Sentinel" that inspired 2001. There's also quite a few essays about the plausibility of various subjects covered in the movie. That said, there's very little information about the actual making of the movie but it's still a facinating read.

Delivers the goods........2004-05-28

I was expecting a puff piece that had only adjectives like "wonderful, spectacular" to describe its subject.

I was hoping to enjoy a handful of special-effects secrets-- important in this truly (TRULY) ground-breaking film.

I got SO much more. There are negative (and positive) reviews that run into several pages, and go deep into both technique and subject matter. There is double or triple the usual volume of pictures, a real blessing...and with thorough descriptions. (Although, to be fair, I admit I have a murder contract out on the editor who decided to remove all "the" and "a" from the CAPTIONING for those pictures. It makes the captions horribly unreadable.)

Errr...back on track, eh ? There's a discussion of alternate endings, and the text to the Arthur C. Clarke short story that was written at the same time as this script. There's the ending and other snippets from the novel, which adds new depth to understanding the film.

Oh, and hordes of notes on production, stuff that was edited out of the final version, and the apparently endless mountains of alternate special effects which were discarded in favor of what we see today.

It makes me weep to think that my DVD of this movie lacks outtakes and deleted scenes, now that this book has shown me how much I'm missing. (For example, the original film as presented at its premiere, was at least 19 minutes longer.)

Profusely illustrated.......2001-05-11

.... Agel's book is of note as the most illustrated book in this field. Although they're all in black and white, the number is way beyond any other book's attempt. This book is a standard paperback size, 368 pages with a 96 page photo insert. Most pages contain several images, some are full page, but the screen resolution of the images is quite fine, they are printed on fine white paper and thus the images are nicely detailed. The images in the insert are mostly scenes from the film, but they also include many behind-the-scenes peeks at some of the technical magic on screen. Apart from the insert, there are a few frames reproduced from the MAD magazine version of the film, also the instruction sheet from the Aurora model of the Pan Am Orion III Space Clipper. I can recommend this book for its text content alone, but the photo insert made it literally my constant companion through the 1970s. A bookshelf neighbour for Agel should be Piers Bizony's 'Filming the Future', a larger book with a smaller number of larger, rarer, colour images.

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