Kubrick

An Odyssey

Robert P. Kolker Nathan Abrams

The definitive biography of the creator of 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, and A Clockwork Orange, presenting the most in-depth portrait yet of the groundbreaking film-maker.

The enigmatic and elusive filmmaker Stanley Kubrick has not been treated to a full-length biography in over twenty years.

Stanley Kubrick: An Odyssey fills that gap. This definitive book is based on access to the latest research, especially Kubrick's archive at the University of the Arts, London, as well as other private papers plus new interviews with family members and those who worked with him. It offers comprehensive and in-depth coverage of Kubrick’s personal, private, public, and working life. Stanley Kubrick: An Odyssey investigates not only the making of Kubrick's films, but also about those he wanted (but failed) to make like Burning Secret, Napoleon, Aryan Papers, and A.I.

Revealingly, this immersive biography will puncture the controversial myths about the reclusive filmmaker who created some of the most important works of art of the twentieth century

Robert P. Kolker, Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland, taught cinema studies for almost fifty years. He is the author of A Cinema of Loneliness and The Extraordinary Image: Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick and the Reimagining of Cinema; editor of 2001: A Space Odyssey: New Essays and The Oxford Handbook of Film and Media Studies; and co-author of Eyes Wide Shut: Stanley Kubrick and the Making of his Final Film.

Nathan Abrams is a professor in film at Bangor University in Wales. He is a founding co-editor of Jewish Film and New Media: An International Journal, as well as the author of The New Jew in Film: Exploring Jewishness and Judaism in Contemporary Cinema, and Stanley Kubrick: New York Jewish Intellectual, and co-author of Eyes Wide Shut: Stanley Kubrick and the Making of his Final Film.

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Endorsements & Reviews

"The filmmaker emerges from this biography as a contradictory and enigmatic man. Fanlike in their deep respect for his work, the authors describe his perfectionism in relentless detail. The biography celebrates its subject as a man who lived his life 'in the service of making great art,' whose films are 'cinematic masterpieces." The Wall Street Journal

“The spine of Kubrick: An Odyssey is his journey from oddball independent, funded by a pharmacist uncle, to oddball studio maverick with 'complete total final annihilating artistic control' (his words). Stanley lives on, his dreamlike hold unbroken.” Air Mail

"[Kubrick: An Odyssey] aims to evaluate Kubrick in the round, weighing achievements against methods, and clearing away some of the apocryphal dead wood." The Telegraph

“This thorough, detailed and fascinating biography should be commended for looking into areas of Kubrick’s personal and professional life that have never previously been discussed, as well as offering lucid critical commentary on his films, their themes and his reputation. Myths are debunked, and everyone from the Kubrick obsessive to the casual fan will be beguiled.” The Guardian

"Drawing on access to the Kubrick archive, Kolker and Abrams have unearthed some superb new facts about the director." The Times (London), "Book of the week"

"In this wide-ranging new biography from Robert P. Kolker and Nathan Abrams, Kubrick's life and work are explored through private documents and interviews with his friends and family to help tell the largely unknown story of a man whose work helped define our culture." Town & Country

"An authoritative portrait of the director. Filled with striking behind-the-scenes stories and elevated by a keen understanding of Kubrick’s style, this is a biography as monumental as its subject." Publishers Weekly, starred review

"An in-depth biography about filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. In a conversational yet authoritative tone, the book delivers a vast amount of detail about every aspect of Kubrick’s career, from his formative days as a Look magazine photographer, his early cinematic missteps, and his documentary shorts, to the years he devoted to unrealized projects. An admiring look at a fascinating figure. Likely to be the definitive word on Kubrick for years to come." Library Journal

"Though Stanley Kubrick and his body of work have been well documented, this book adds considerably to our knowledge of both the man and his masterpieces. Kubrick left the world his remarkable, enduring films, and this volume pays homage to his considerable legacy. A welcome new biography of a cinematic genius." Kirkus Reviews

“Kolker and Abrams have broken new ground and achieved what many of us thought was impossible. That of supplying us with absolutely everything one could ever want to know about Stanley Kubrick.” Todd Field