History Creator / StanleyKubrick

* ''Fear And Desire'' (1953) - his first real film, which he considered his OldShame. Kubrick and his first wife were the only crew on-set during production. KeepCirculatingTheTapes, as it has never been released on video and is only rarely screened.

* GrowingTheBeard: His films went from "Excellent" to "All-time classics" around the time he grew his beard.
* HumansAreBastards

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' still looks unbelievable after nearly forty-five years. Particularly amazing as it was made before the Moon landing.

** Mixed with CreatorBacklash after accusations of LifeImitatesArt, ''Film/AClockworkOrange'' was banned/retired from distribution in the UK until Kubrick's death in 1999.

Because of his tendency for blazingly original iconography (his photography side really show), his films are ripe for AffectionateParody. Because his films include some of the bleakest and harshest ever made, it is completely impossible to do a cruel one.

Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) is a controversial director. In a good way. His films span nearly every genre he could get his hands on -- but start in the wrong place.

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: ''2001: A Space Odyessy'' still looks unbelievable after nearly forty-five years. Particularly amazing as it was made before the Moon landing.

* ControlFreak: One of the most insane perfectionists in movie history, sometimes requiring dozens of takes for very minor scenes. Very few actors got to adlib a single word in his movies, but the exceptions are remarkable, see ThrowItIn below.

* ''FullMetalJacket'' (1987) - War movie set in Vietnam. Starred Matthew Modine as Private Joker, really starred R. Lee Ermey as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman.

** Mixed with CreatorBacklash after accusations of LifeImitatesArt, ''A Clockwork Orange'' was banned/retired from distribution in the UK until Kubrick's death in 1999.

** AClockworkOrange suffered this. It was banned in some places because censors were afraid it would incite violence. It did.

** The inclusion of "Singing in the Rain" in ''AClockworkOrange''.

* VindicatedByHistory: Not necessarily Kubrick, who was always considered a good director, but many of his movies fit in this. Pretty much all of them after ''Spartacus'' received mixed to begrudgingly-positive reviews when they came out. Now, several of them are often ranked among the greatest movies ever made. ''Barry Lyndon'' and ''The Shining'' are probably the best examples.

* TheCameo: Her daughter Vivian plays minor uncredited roles in four of his movies. (She also wrote the soundtrack of ''FMJ'' under the name of Abigail Mead).

* ShroudedInMyth: Due to Kubrick's reluctance to talk about the hidden meanings of his films he's probably one of the most analyzed and discussed film directors of all time. There are still scenes in his work that remain mysterious and are open for interpretation.

* ''Fear And Desire'' - his first real film, which he considered his OldShame. Kubrick and his first wife were the only crew on-set during production. KeepCirculatingTheTapes, as it has never been released on video and is only rarely screened.
* ''Killer's Kiss'' - Kubrick's second wife cameos in this one.
* ''Film/TheKilling'' - the archetypal FilmNoir, famous for its Non-Linear Plot.
* ''PathsOfGlory'' - the first of two anti-war films starring Kirk Douglas. Set in WWI. The woman who would later become Kubrick's third wife (who would stay with him until his death) appears in this film. Also very underrated, Kirk Douglas once said "There's a picture that will always be good, years from now. I don't have to wait 50 years to know that; I know it now.". In 1959!
* ''Film/{{Spartacus}}'' - the second of two anti-war films starring Kirk Douglas. Set in Rome. Not really a Kubrick movie; he came in at the last minute as a favor to Mr. Douglas.
* ''{{Lolita}}'' - [[FilmOfTheBook Adaptation of the novel]]. Theoretically starred James Mason. ''Really'' starred PeterSellers.
* ''DoctorStrangelove'' - A comedy that ends with [[KillEmAll the whole world dying]]. Starred PeterSellers in three brilliant and very different roles. Also features Sterling Hayden, AntiHero from ''The Killing''.
* ''TwoThousandAndOneASpaceOdyssey'' - An episodic film that is probably about the evolution of man. Starred special effects wizard Douglas Trumbull and was stolen (just as Lolita was stolen by Peter Sellers) by a computer named HAL.
* ''Film/AClockworkOrange'' - A bit of the old ultraviolence.
* ''BarryLyndon'' - Considered to be his most underrated film, and MartinScorsese's personal favourite.
* ''Film/TheShining'' - though it lost what made the book great, it is a great horror movie in its own right. This movie cemented Kubrick's reputation as a perfectionist.
* ''FullMetalJacket'' - War movie set in Vietnam. Starred Matthew Modine as Private Joker, really starred R. Lee Ermey as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman.
* ''EyesWideShut'' - Starring TomCruise and NicoleKidman. Has a "LoveItOrHateIt" reputation.

* BlackComedy: His stories often include this kind of humour as an integral and natural part of the events. ''Dr Strangelove'' is built around it.

* WagTheDirector: In a bit of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness and in a non-hostile manner during the production of ''Spartacus''. KirkDouglas fired AnthonyMann and hired Stanley Kubrick, and though directing the film made Kubrick famous, he later claimed that almost everything was really controlled by Kirk Douglas, who was also the producer. The two of them were very good friends and Kubrick did it as a favor to Douglas.

* WagTheDirector: In a bit of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness an in a non-hostile manner; KirkDouglas hired Stanley Kubrick and fired AnthonyMann in ''Spartacus''. Though directing the film made Kubrick famous, he later claimed that almost everything was really controlled by Kirk Douglas who was also the producer. The two of them were very good friends and Kubrick did it as a favor to Douglas.

* RecluseArtist: After he went to the UK, helped by being afraid of flying;

* WagTheDirector: In a bit of EarlyInstallMentWeirdness an in a non-hostile manner; KirkDouglas hired Stanley Kubrick and fired AnthonyMann in ''Spartacus''. Though directing the film made Kubrick famous, he later claimed that almost everything was really controlled by Kirk Douglas who was also the producer. The two of them were very good friends and Kubrick did it as a favor to Douglas.

Stanley Kubrick is a controversial director. In a good way. His films span nearly every genre he could get his hands on -- but start in the wrong place.

* ControlFreak: One of the most insane perfectionist in movie history, sometimes requiring dozens of takes for very minor scenes. Very few actors got to adlib a single word in his movies, but the exceptions are remarkable, see ThrowItIn below.

* ExecutiveMeddling: AClockworkOrange suffered this. It was banned in some places because censors were afraid it would incite violence. It did.

* SceneryPorn. Kubrick really "composed" his backgrounds. Many rooms and settings have an almost photographic quality to them. They have been carefully constructed, built or put in the frame in a way that they too become interesting to look at. Small significant and symbolic details can be spotted by the observant viewer.

** Later in his career, extensive {{Steadicam}} use. Kubrick was one of the first filmmakers to really embrace the technology.
*** Interestingly, he was also known for personally handling the camera whenever an handheld (shaky) shot was necessary. Examples are ''2001'' (when descending the ramp on the moon), and ''The Killing'', which is notable because it creates a JitterCam effect (meant to portray the chaos after a gunfight) in a ''black and white'' movie, in '''1956'''.

* ExecutiveMeddling: AClockworkOrange suffered this. It was banned in some places because censors were afraid it would incite violence.

His work, due to the controversy it has provoked, has often been VindicatedByHistory. Many of his films including ''PathsOfGlory'', ''DoctorStrangelove'', ''Film/AClockworkOrange'' and ''TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'' are viewed as among the greatest ever made.

** Much of Peter Sellers' dialogue in DoctorStrangelove.
** Much of R. Lee Eremy's dialogue in FullMetalJacket.
** The inclusion of "Singing in the Rain" in AClockworkOrange.
** Jack Nicholson's "Here's Johnny!" line in Film/TheShining (due to his long residence in the UK, Kubrick [[PopculturalOsmosisFailure had no idea what the line meant]] and had to be talked out of using a different shot).

** Jack Nicholson's "Here's Johnny!" line in TheShining (due to his long residence in the UK, Kubrick [[PopculturalOsmosisFailure had no idea what the line meant]] and had to be talked out of using a different shot).

* ''TheShining'' - though it lost what made the book great, it is a great horror movie in its own right. This movie cemented Kubrick's reputation as a perfectionist.

[[quoteright:242:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kubrick.jpg]]

* ''{{Spartacus}}'' - the second of two anti-war films starring Kirk Douglas. Set in Rome. Not really a Kubrick movie; he came in at the last minute as a favor to Mr. Douglas.

* DoingItForTheArt: This was the man who converted lenses from NASA to shoot in natural candlelight in ''BarryLyndon'' looking right. Perhaps more impressive was getting an entire fleet of the Spanish army to be extras in ''{{Spartacus}}''.

On average, however, his relationships could be defined by the making of ''DoctorStrangelove''; Actors that did exactly as he said walked away with their paychecks (unless they were named Peter Sellers or R. Lee Ermey, who got to do a surprising amount of {{Improv}}). Slim Pickens [[EnforcedMethodActing was never told he was making a comedy]], implying that his character was the hero of the film, heroically delivering the bomb that ''ends the world''. Pickens was okay with it in the long run, spinning the publicity into a highly successful career. On the other hand, George C. Scott wanted to play General Turgidson as a dignified WellIntentionedExtremist, so Kubrick tricked him by telling him to do a few over the top takes as "practice" and that they would never be [[BlatantLies put into the real movie.]] ''Kubrick used all of them.'' Scott swore he would never work with Kubrick again.

He also had a long-time friendship with Creator/StevenSpielberg, and the two would often have extended talks on the art of filmmaking and other subjects. Because of the England-Los Angeles time difference he would often call the latter up in the middle of the night, and the two would have conversations over the phone for ''hours''. He dismissed Spielberg's ''SchindlersList'' for having a happy ending, but possibly he was miffed because he was planning to make his own film about the Holocaust and Spielberg beat him to it. After Kubrick's death Spielberg finished the last movie project that he had been working on as a token to him (although Kubrick had already pretty much given the reins of that project to Spielberg prior to his death), resulting in AIArtificialIntelligence.