Stanley Kubrick: A Biography

DIDN'T REALLY LEARN ANYTHING I ALREADY DIDN'T KNOW.

This is a less academic biography than LoBrutto's, but is nevertheless a decent book, well worth a read alongside Herr's book and LoBrutto's book. Baxter is more critical of Kubrick than LoBrutto, much more so, and it often seems that Baxter is keen to convey the impression that Kubrick liked to f**k with people's heads for his own enjoyment. Whether this is true or not is difficult to tell, but many of the incidents in the book seem to bear this out. LoBrutto, Herr and Baxter agree on Kubrick's genius, and nobody would argue with the fact that he is one of the most important directors, but one gets the impression from Baxter that although he was always a genius, he was not always a gentleman.

Since Kubrick is one of my very favorite directors, this book was a huge disappointment. My gripe #1: this is one of those "everything including the kitchen sink" biographies. Anyone who ever said or wrote anything about the subject gets a place on the pages. My gripe #2: the book is rife with foolish, blatant factual errors, which caused me to question the accuracy of everything in it. Just two quick examples from early in the book: 1.) Kubrick was born in 1928, yet the author has him only age 18 at his first marriage in 1948! Hey, some people could even see that error without a calculator!; 2.) there is a reference to a building that is "opposite" one on Central Park South. Uh, hello, Mr. Baxter (he was based in Paris), have you ever actually visited New York City? There are NO buildings "opposite" those on Central Park South. Adjacent buildings, yes, but opposite are the trees and grass of the park! This book was published before "Eyes Wide Shut," Kubrick's final film, was completed. Which only proves how far back dates a phenomenon in publishing that irks me no end: the apparent ABSENCE of competent editors and proofreaders!! [It goes farther back than the late 1990s, but don't get me started!] I gave this book two stars on the bold assumption that at least SOME of the information IS accurate.

Kubrick revealed, warts, foibles and all.

Sorry if you were expecting an articulate review of this book detailing the life of the greatest director of all time, I'm very tired you see, buy this book if you're interested in the life and body of work of Stanley Kubrick.