Product Description

This memoir examines the thinking, attitudes and methods of a Stanley Kubrick as he made his last film, "Eyes Wide Shut", woven with many anecdotes about stars he worked with along the way. The author also includes accounts of conversations he held on a wide range of topics.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #698454 in Books
• Published on: 2000-01-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
For avid followers of Stanley Kubrick's career, this glimpse of the late director's lifestyle and creative methods will prove to be fascinating. And while Frederic Raphael instantly drew criticism and controversy from Kubrick's family and friends for describing Kubrick as "the sedentary wandering Jew, rootlessly rooted within his own defences", this and other remarks must be considered in context. Eyes Wide Open must ultimately be seen to reflect Raphael's conflicting emotions about a filmmaker he clearly admires and respects, even if their collaboration resulted in equal parts elation, exasperation and hard-won rewards. 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

Review
Eyes Wide Shut was the parting shot of the late Stanley Kubrick. He was a man of legendary reclusiveness, his reputation based less on the films one saw as on those one didn't, or couldn't, see - the unavailable Clockwork Orange, the abandoned Napoleon and ETI projects, the decade-long gaps between each new movie. Eavesdropping on these conversations between Eyes Wide Shut screenwriter Raphael and director - their musings on art and philosophy, chess and war - one feels honoured, and fears that the mock-screenplay interludes may at times lapse into pretension are offset by a growing feeling of warmth towards the subject. 'Books about celebrities are either hatchet jobs or sponsored eulogies', says the author at one point. Thankfully, his portrait of Kubrick is neither. (Kirkus UK)

About the Author
Frederic Raphael was born in Chicago in 1931. He was educated at Charterhouse and St. John's College in Cambridge where he was a major scholar in Classics. He has written nineteen novels. His other works include translations, essays and radio plays. He is a regular contributor to The Sunday Times literary and travel pages. He is married with three children. He divides his time between France and England.

Customer Reviews

Fascinating - for frustrated screenwriters everywhere
Very good. Confirms your suspicions that there was less to Kubrick than he would have liked you to believe. Very funny in places too.