A Life in Pictures. A Space Odyssey on, has attempted to sum up and explain the career of a man who rarely spoke in public, preferring to let his work speak for itself. The documentary goes back to Kubrick s earliest days as a photographer for Look magazine. His photos are so strikingly composed that it is surprising to realize he was a teenager when many of them were taken. Still, the muddy clips have a unique style that is undeniably intriguing.
Paths of Glory bristles with anti-war sentiment.
Spartacus, which he made as a hired hand of Hollywood, is still regarded as one of the great epic films, even though the experience of making it left Kubrick determined to retain full autonomy for all subsequent work. Lolita and Dr. Strangelove remain savagely dark comedies. The meaning of 2001 remains unknowable. A Clockwork Orange radiates savagery and pessimism. Barry Lyndon is still surprisingly moving, and the film grows in stature every year.