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Stanley Kubrick: New Perspectives
Stanley New Perspectives brings together essays by scholars who have examined the traces that Kubrick's work has left in archives, in particular his own collection of film-related materials, which was donated to the University of the Arts London in 2007. Richly illustrated with film stills and previously unseen material from the Stanley Kubrick Archive, this book is designed to open the reader's eyes to the wonder and richness of Kubrick's oeuvre.
The collection held by the University is made up of a range of material including props, scripts, research, production paperwork such as call sheets, costumes and photographs for all his films and Look, as well as material for those projects that were conceived but never visualised. By maintaining a high degree of control in the film making process, Kubrick was able to retain material generated by his pioneering techniques, research and production arguably making this collection one of the most complete examples of film making practice world wide. Kubrick's films have inspired a huge amount of critical commentary, yet until recently critics and scholars have made little use of archival resources.
The essays included in this collection offer new perspectives on Kubrick's working methods, the manifold influences on his films, their themes and style as well as their marketing and reception. Between them, the essays cover the totality of Kubrick's career, from his beginnings as a photojournalist and documentary filmmaker in the late 1940s and early 1950s to his last movie, Eyes Wide Shut , which was released a few months after his death in 1999.
Ranging from low-budget noir thrillers to spectacular historical and futuristic epics, from war films to erotic dramas, from horror to topical movies, Kubrick's work explores fundamental questions about sexuality and violence, military organisations and combat, male bonding and marriage, human nature and social change. In doing so, he has produced iconic images (and sounds) representing key events and developments of the 20th century, including World War I, the threat of nuclear apocalypse, the space race, the Vietnam War, the rise of juvenile delinquency and family breakdown.
The collection held by the University is made up of a range of material including props, scripts, research, production paperwork such as call sheets, costumes and photographs for all his films and Look, as well as material for those projects that were conceived but never visualised. By maintaining a high degree of control in the film making process, Kubrick was able to retain material generated by his pioneering techniques, research and production arguably making this collection one of the most complete examples of film making practice world wide. Kubrick's films have inspired a huge amount of critical commentary, yet until recently critics and scholars have made little use of archival resources.
The essays included in this collection offer new perspectives on Kubrick's working methods, the manifold influences on his films, their themes and style as well as their marketing and reception. Between them, the essays cover the totality of Kubrick's career, from his beginnings as a photojournalist and documentary filmmaker in the late 1940s and early 1950s to his last movie, Eyes Wide Shut , which was released a few months after his death in 1999.
Ranging from low-budget noir thrillers to spectacular historical and futuristic epics, from war films to erotic dramas, from horror to topical movies, Kubrick's work explores fundamental questions about sexuality and violence, military organisations and combat, male bonding and marriage, human nature and social change. In doing so, he has produced iconic images (and sounds) representing key events and developments of the 20th century, including World War I, the threat of nuclear apocalypse, the space race, the Vietnam War, the rise of juvenile delinquency and family breakdown.
- GenresFilm
384 pages, Paperback
First published May 27, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 20, 2015
This new study ranks as one of the best Stanley Kubrick resources I have come across. With bracing interpretations on all of Kubrick's films and superb access to the Kubrick archive, it lives up in all ways to its subtitle, New Perspectives. This work goes beyond being simply an outstanding study of Kubrick's oeuvre that could be used by both fans and film professors alike, though. Heavy bond paper that shows the many posters, frames, archived letters/cards/notes, behind-the-scenes shots, and stills to their best, along with a Smyth-sewn binding and uncommonly beautiful design, indicate that this is a book of art as well, certain to last and meant to attract film-lovers' eyes to your coffee table or shelf. It also features a gorgeous filmography. An expensive book for a publisher to produce (I was surprised by its weight!), it's Amazon price is quite reasonable. If I could give this one a sixth star, I would.
This is the book that takes us deepest inside Kubrick's film craft over his long career.
This is the book that takes us deepest inside Kubrick's film craft over his long career.
May 22, 2020
Hned na začátku je nutné zmínit, že tahle kniha není o interpretacích (jak by se mohlo zdát), ale nýbrž o precizní práci s archivními materiály, které po sobě jeden z největších filmařů 20. století zanechal. Některé práce byly obecně slabší, jiné se vzdálily a držely spíše kontextu díla, ale každá měla nějakou zajímavou myšlenku. Propojení poznatků se tak spíše pokusilo vrhnout nové (možné) světlo na všechny Kubrickovy filmy, než nabízet dogmatické výklady. Když jsem dočítal poslední kapitolu o Eyes Wide Shut, trochu na mě dokonce i padl smutek, že se režisér premiéry nedočkal, neokomentoval význam díla a nenatočil další filmy.
Nevím, co by New Perspectives řekly samy o sobě bez dodatečných přednášek. To, na co Peter Kramer během těch x hodin diskusí s námi poukázal, mi dalo nový náhled, jak se na (nejen Kubrickovy) snímky dívat. Kombinace přednášky–kapitoly-z-knihy tak dohromady vytvořily balík s velkou informační hodnotou – bez přednášek by mě kapitoly možná tak neoslovily a určitě by nenastal ten "cvak" okamžik, kdy se vám v hlavě něco sepne a začne to dávat smysl. Kramer je super člověk, kterého chcete poslouchat celý den; otevře vám oči a zároveň donutí se na mnoho věcí dívat z jiného úhlu. Moje hodnocení je tak hodně subjektivní už jenom proto, že mám hlavního editora knihy rád jako inteligentního, vtipného a milé člověka. Je to špatně při psaní názoru? Možná. Vadí mi to? Ne.
Nevím, co by New Perspectives řekly samy o sobě bez dodatečných přednášek. To, na co Peter Kramer během těch x hodin diskusí s námi poukázal, mi dalo nový náhled, jak se na (nejen Kubrickovy) snímky dívat. Kombinace přednášky–kapitoly-z-knihy tak dohromady vytvořily balík s velkou informační hodnotou – bez přednášek by mě kapitoly možná tak neoslovily a určitě by nenastal ten "cvak" okamžik, kdy se vám v hlavě něco sepne a začne to dávat smysl. Kramer je super člověk, kterého chcete poslouchat celý den; otevře vám oči a zároveň donutí se na mnoho věcí dívat z jiného úhlu. Moje hodnocení je tak hodně subjektivní už jenom proto, že mám hlavního editora knihy rád jako inteligentního, vtipného a milé člověka. Je to špatně při psaní názoru? Možná. Vadí mi to? Ne.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews