KUBRICK BOOKS, THEN AND NOW

I can remember that, as a Kubrick fan in the late 80's and early 90's, there wasn't much material available to quench my curiosity about the man and his work. Sure, a trip to the library would yield the occasional classic, like 1973's Stanley Kubrick Directs, by Alexander Walker, or Michel Ciment's 1983 landmark tome, Kubrick, both since updated and re-released in handsome editions available at Amazon.com and Amazon.ca, depending... and if you find and buy them via the links I just provided, I get a couple shekels tossed into my beggin' cup! So please, be nice. 

Then came the late 90's, when media obsessions over the rumor-riddled shooting of Eyes Wide Shut and the on again, off again possibility of another science fiction epic from Kubrick in the form of A.I. led to the publication of a pair of decent, workmanlike biographies by John Baxter and Vincent Lobrutto (my personal favorite of the two). Then Stanley died, Eyes Wide Shut and A.I. came out, and things were quiet for a while on the book front.

And suddenly, a couple years ago, a new Kubrick publishing boom began. I'm not sure what sparked it - maybe the traveling memorabilia exhibit being such a hit? maybe a critical mass of Kubrick fans finally started earning some serious money and didn't mind plunking down 100$ for a quality book? - but whatever the reason, it happened. There are a TON of quality Kubrick-related books out there these days. Books of all sorts, from serious-minded scholarly tomes, to giant, super-impressive coffee table books meant to impress your friends and neighbors. 

Hopefully, yours truly will get to review some of these books in the coming months, but for today, I would just like to refer you to this Digital Bits column by Bill Hunt in which he provides in-depth reviews and analysis for three of the most recent (and most gorgeous) books about 2001: A Space Odyssey from the last couple years. 

The books reviewed in this column include Adam K. Johnson’s 2001: The Lost Science – The Frederick I. Ordway III Collection, which was published in 2012 by Apogee, Reel Art Press’s The 2001 File: Harry Lange and the Design of the Landmark Science Fiction Film from 2015, written by the noted film historian Sir Christopher Frayling, and finally, Taschen’s The Making of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, also published in 2015. 

That last one, which is pictured above, and which I recently purchased - and will soon review - is essentially a mass market version of the massive, super-elite Limited Edition version that was released by Taschen a year earlier, retailing for over 1,200$... which STILL doesn't make it the most expensive Kubrick book on the market! That honor goes to the Limited Edition version of Taschen's Napoleon: The Greatest Film Never Made, which retails for 3,000$. Or, at least, it did, before Taschen sold out.

Anyway, by the time you're done reading Bill's column, you will have to agree with him that there's never been a better time to be a fan of Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey!