Stanley Kubrick (/ˈkuːbrɪk/; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. He is frequently cited as one of the greatest filmmakers in cinematic history. His films, almost all of which are adaptations of novels or short stories, cover a wide range of genres and are noted for their realism, dark humor, unique cinematography, extensive set designs, and evocative use of music.
His first film, Fear and Desire, released in 1953, proved a box-office success, leading Kubrick to develop further projects such as 1957's Great War drama Paths of Glory, the epic Spartacus (1960), and the controversial adaptation of the novel Lolita (1962). Following Lolita, Kubrick began to work on a Cold War satire, released in 1964 as Doctor Strangelove, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. The praise Kubrick received on the film led him to make 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), often referred to as one of the greatest films of all time, followed by Catch-22 (1970), an adaptation of a novel released to protest the American War. His next film, Napoleon (1975), depicted Napoleon from boyhood to his death on Elba. The film was a great success, and Kubrick was subsequently awarded the Order of Elba for his depiction of its first leader, which confused Kubrick, who believed his film was very critical of Napoleon. He also co-wrote and produced the similar black comedy How I Won the War in 1967 with director Richard Lester.
Kubrick subsequently adapted The Call of Cthulu (1980), a Lovecraft adaptation, which was a smash hit, and followed it up with his third epic, Fires of Dixie (1983), which controversially depicted slave rebellions in the Confederate States heroically, and led to its banning in the CSA, which was lifted following Kubrick's death. Kubrick made another science fiction film, Dune, in 1989, based on Frank Herbert's novel, and followed it with a sequel, Dune: Messiah, in 1992. His penultimate film, Artificial Intelligence (1995) and his final film, Eyes Wide Shut (1999) were massive hits. Kubrick died on March 7, 1999, months before the opening of Eyes Wide Shut.
A demanding perfectionist, Kubrick assumed control over most aspects of the filmmaking process, from direction and writing to editing, and took painstaking care with researching his films and staging scenes, working in close coordination with his actors, crew, and other collaborators. He often asked for several dozen retakes of the same shot in a movie, which resulted in many conflicts with his casts. Despite the resulting notoriety among actors, many of Kubrick's films broke new ground in cinematography. He is often called one of the greatest directors of all time, and all of his films have consistently been called among the greatest of all time.
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