Kubrick By Kubrick: Review

22nd March 2023

Kubrick By Kubrick: Review.

Stanley Kubrick was arguably the most influential director of all time. From classics such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Spartacus and The Shining, Kubrick showed an eye for cinema and an eclectic range of films whose reputations preceded even the director himself.

However, he wasn’t afraid to court controversy and films such as Lolita, A Clockwork Orange and his final film, Eyes Wide Shut would show that he was ready to expose his audience to the darker side of humanity.

Kubrick by Kubrick is a documentary about the famously reclusive director, finding as many recordings from actors, critics and even Kubrick himself to tell the story of his career. Starting out with an interview with French film critic, Michel Ciment, audiences are treated to rare snippets from interviews Ciment did with Kubrick per his request.

Such a unique opportunity, and one that many a film fan would jump at the chance of experiencing, Kubrick by Kubrick lets the audience hear from the man himself. Thoughts on the various films in his career as well as his theories on what makes a good film are explored. Putting these amongst other interviews with actors he has worked with, the documentary attempts to get an idea of who he was.

Serving as a eulogy to his life and his career, the film is not just a talking heads documentary with a group of people pouring praise on one of the best filmmakers in history. Instead, it talks about his career with as much knowledge as it can considering Kubrick’s own shyness into what goes into his filming process.

However, this means that a lot of the time the documentary feels like it’s telling the audience what they already know about his career and not so much about his life. The only major turning point in his life that is mentioned is his death and perhaps it could have done without Tom Cruise’s sole reaction to that event.

What little insight that could be gathered can be found here, but film enthusiasts may realise that most of it they may have already read about themselves.

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