Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick was a formidable cinematic force for five decades, fascinating and, at times, frightening moviegoers with the intensity of his unfettered vision. Kubrick developed a keen eye for photography during his youth in New York City, leading to a promising professional career. However, it wasn't long before he set his sights on filmmaking, becoming recognized as an up-and-coming director by the late 1950s, particularly for the gritty war drama Paths of Glory. A restless auteur who regularly focused on themes of violence and sex, Kubrick became frustrated with the American studio system by the early '60s and relocated to England, where he created many of his finest films, including the scathing military satire Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, the ponderous sci-fi epic 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the disturbing dystopian tale A Clockwork Orange. Meticulously maintaining control over every aspect of his productions, Kubrick frequently turned to the subject of obsession and, by extension, madness, chilling audiences with his signature unhinged "Kubrick stare," as memorably displayed by Jack Nicholson in The Shining and Vincent D'Onofrio in Full Metal Jacket. Kubrick died in 1999 shortly before the release of his final project, Eye Wide Shut, keeping his filmography neatly confined to the second half of the 20th century. His effect on the subsequent generations of directors has been inestimable—with many prominent filmmakers of the new millennium—including Darren Aronofsky, David Fincher, and Christopher Nolan—citing Kubrick as a major influence.