Stanley Kubrick Bio - Matthew Stone

Stanley Kubrick

Years Active: 1951-99

Date of Birth: 26^th July 1926

Date of Death: 7^th March 1999

Kubrick was born in Bronx, New York in 1928. He was a first born child with a sister born in 1934. People who lived in the same area described him and his family as “such regular people”. When Kubrick was 12 his father taught him how to play chess. This started a lifelong obsession with chess and according to Kubrick, was very valuable to his career. He said chess “helps you develop patience and discipline in choosing between alternatives when an impulsive decision seems very attractive.” This explains Kubrick’s perfectionism when making films as it required him to be very patient. For example the blood pouring out of the elevator scene in The Shining took nine days to set up and took three takes for Kubrick to be happy with how it looked, stating in the previous two takes that “It doesn't look like blood”. This shot took over a year to get right. When Kubrick was thirteen he was given a Graflex camera, starting a fascination with photography. In high school Kubrick often skipped school to watch double-feature films resulting in poor grades. A year after he graduated from high school he attempted to get jobs as a freelance photographer whilst attending evening classes at the City College of New York. By graduation he had already sold a series of photographs to Look magazine and would soon become a full-time staff photographer for the magazine.