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Eyes Wide Open: A Memoir of Stanley Kubrick Paperback – June 22, 1999
He was a hermit. He refused to fly and wouldn't be driven at more than thirty miles an hour. He avoided having his picture taken and was terrified of being assassinated. As a filmmaker, he was obsessed with perfection. He insisted on total control of every facet of the process. Simple scenes required one hundred takes. No wonder he made only six movies in the past thirty-five years.
But what was he really like?
For more than two years, Frederic Raphael collaborated closely with Stanley Kubrick on the screenplay of what was to be the director's final movie, Eyes Wide Shut. Over time, as his professional caution was replaced by a certain affection, Kubrick lowered his guard for Raphael as he never had with journalists or biographers, to reveal much about his early life in the cinema and of the reverses and humiliations he had to endure. They spoke for hours about a variety of subjects, from Julius Caesar to the Holocaust, from Kubrick's views about other directors to reminiscences of the many stars with whom both men had worked (or nearly worked)--Kirk Douglas, Audrey Hepburn, James Mason, Peter Sellers, Marisa Berenson, Sterling Hayden, Marlon Brando, and Gregory Peck.
Here, with his own distinctly cinematic style, Raphael chronicles their often fiery exchanges, capturing Kubrick's voice as no one else could. Disdaining false veneration, he opens our eyes to the mind and art of a truly complex and hitherto elusive twentieth-century genius.
- Print length190 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBallantine Books
- Publication dateJune 22, 1999
- Dimensions5.5 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
- ISBN-100345437764
- ISBN-13978-0345437761
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Using notebook entries, vivid recollection, and re-created scenes in screenplay format, Raphael paints a portrait as revealing of himself (if not more so) than of Kubrick, and neither man comes across without blemish. Simultaneously self-indulgent, frustrating, and fascinating in its attempt to probe Kubrick's closely guarded psyche (a mission Raphael ultimately fails to accomplish), the book finally reveals--in fragments of sensitive insight--that Kubrick's reputation as a reclusive genius did in fact hide a very complex, intensely intelligent, and surprisingly human being. In one passage Raphael observes that "Stanley was so determined to be aloof and unfeeling that my heart went out to him. Somewhere along the line he was still the kid in the playground who had been no one's first choice to play with." Whether such observations are an accurate representation of Kubrick's personality is beside the point; that Raphael made the observation speaks volumes of both men, and this book is filled with similar revelations.
In addition to offering a privileged look at Kubrick's collaborative process, the book also reveals elusive details about Kubrick the man--pet lover, intellectual challenger, gracious host--and the result is a warmer image of him than that afforded by decades of distant speculation by journalists too willing to perpetuate the "myth" of Kubrick as omnipotent genius. If Raphael's book invites criticism and charges of blatant opportunism (with Kubrick unable to defend himself), it also provides a rare and often fascinating look at an artist who constantly eluded the gaze of outsiders. Raphael takes us inside Kubrick's gated domain, and we're grateful for the visit. If the truth resides somewhere between the protest of Kubrick's family and the insights presented here, we can at least use this book as a guide through previously uncharted territory. --Jeff Shannon
From the Inside Flap
He was a hermit. He refused to fly and wouldn't be driven at more than thirty miles an hour. He avoided having his picture taken and was terrified of being assassinated. As a filmmaker, he was obsessed with perfection. He insisted on total control of every facet of the process. Simple scenes required one hundred takes. No wonder he made only six movies in the past thirty-five years.
But what was he really like?
For more than two years, Frederic Raphael collaborated closely with Stanley Kubrick on the screenplay of what was to be the director's final movie, Eyes Wide Shut. Over time, as his professional caution was replaced by a certain affection, Kubrick lowered his guard for Raphael as he never had with journalists or biographers, to reveal much about his early life in the cinema and of the reverses and humiliations he had to endure. They spoke for hours about a variety of subjects, from Julius Caesar to the Holocaust, from Kubrick's views about
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Ballantine Books; First Edition (June 22, 1999)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 190 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0345437764
- ISBN-13 : 978-0345437761
- Item Weight : 12 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,311,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #628 in Movie Director Biographies
- #924 in Screenwriting (Books)
- #10,890 in Actor & Entertainer Biographies
- Customer Reviews:
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Customers find the content fascinating and brilliant. Opinions are mixed on the writing quality, with some finding it good and others saying it's over-rated.
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Customers find the content fascinating and brilliant.
"A wonderful journey between two men for the sake of Art. I loved reading it." Read more
"...alone a Kubrick movie, but "Eyes Wide Open" is an utterly fascinating chronicle of a brilliant writer's experience with a director who did..." Read more
"Fascinating. But man, could Kubrick drive people crazy!" Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the writing quality of the book. Some find it good, while others say it's overrated and uninteresting.
"Product was described accurately. The book was good, not great. In the plot, it felt like there was something missing...." Read more
"...is that Stanley Kubrick, despite his accolades was in fact an over-rated buffoon, while Fredrick Raphael, despite his lack of accolades, is..." Read more
"Great quality seller." Read more
"Seems like a bitter, disrespectful and mostly uninteresting "expose" of Kubrick." Read more
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L'anglais est assez simple à lire et on à vraiment l'impression de rentrer dans l'inimité de Kubrick...
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The conversations between himself and Kubrick are written like a bad screenplay, which makes the legitimacy of the words suspect. There's just no way he could've written these conversations verbatim, and during these talks with Stanley, he's made himself appear a lot witter and sharper than I'm sure he was. It's also formatted like an actual script which ironically suggests a lot of invention going on here.
Kubrick does seem a little more endearing in places, and Raphael obviously worked hard for him. Although I read the book in a day or so, it is a little verbose and rambling. I do fear that he wrote it to make a quick buck on Stanley's passing - there's no way he would've published it had Kubrick not passed suddenly before the films release.
I can't say it's added that much more perspective on Stanley Kubrick as a man or even Eyes Wide Shut, which is a fascinating film. He didn't even discuss his feelings towards the finished product. He used up more words on the woes of being a screenwriter.
Others have said, and I would agree that, Raphael is a little egotistical but to get an insight on what it's like being under the wing of a master makes for an entertaining read.
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