1. KUBRICK
stanley
‘s
Films
A S t r a n g e L o v e o f T a n g l e d W r i t i n g
UWM Libraries
Stanley Kubrick (1928 – 1999) was an American film director, photographer, writer,
and producer. Kubrick was drawn to original literary works for each of his projects.
Throughout Stanley Kubrick’s carrier he was known as a perfectionist. His research was
meticulous in translating these literary works to film. He studied his subject matter in
great detail before shooting an inch of film. He worked tirelessly with his actors to get the
best performances out of them. He constantly wrote and rewrote his scripts to get the
exact dialog or detail he was looking for. Ultimately he earned the respect of studio
executives to give him complete control over every aspect of production for his films.
Despite the relatively small number of films over his lifetime, Stanley Kubrick’s work
has impacted generations of audiences, scholars, and film makers. Kubrick is noted for
working in variety of film genres, often turning conventions upside down, from science
fiction (2001: a space odyssey) to war films (Paths of Glory, Full Metal Jacket) to historical
drama (Barry Lyndon, Spartacus) to comedy (Dr. Strangelove), to horror (The Shining) to
psychological drama (Clockwork Orange, Lolita, Eyes Wide Shut).
It has been over ten years since Stanley Kubrick’s last film was released. Quite a bit of
new literature has been generated since his estate transferred Kubrick’s archives for study to
the University of Arts in London. The UWM Libraries currently holds most of the original
fictional texts, novels, and plays Kubrick used as the seed for each of his films. The UWM
Libraries also holds many works by authors who contributed to the final screenplays of each
of these films. Over the years the UWM Libraries have collected many valuable titles for
the academic study of Stanley Kubrick’s work. The Media Library holds the complete
filmography of Stanley Kubrick in its collection. The Music Library has an extensive
collection of soundtracks of the films of Stanley Kubrick as well as original source
recordings in its holdings. The general collection and Special Collections hold many of
Kubrick’s literary sources. Kubrick’s body of work will continue to intrigue audiences,
scholars, and filmmakers for years to come.
The materials on display are drawn from the Libraries and Collections at the UWM
Libraries, and from the personal collection of curator, UWM Libraries Assistant Head
Library Systems Andy Ritter.
and Their
Literary
Sources