Kubrick

Michael Herr writes so good but too short. however i give this one 5 stars just because i never would have read about Kubrick if not for michael herr. this book might get you interested in a brilliant film maker as well as his films.

If you're a Kubrick fan (as I am) and are interested in the man behind the greatest body of work in modern cinema, Michael Herr's brisk but detailed semi-bio of the man is a fascinating glimpse into his world. While the author attempts to dispel the myths and misconceptions surrounding the man and his life, not neccessarily his work, he paints him as something of an over-eager, talkative bookworm and lets the reader decide for himself whether Kubrick was indeed an obsessive pefectionist or just a kid from Brooklyn who was still trying to get it right, the result of a strict Jewish Upbringing. The final third of the book is also a fascinating glimpse into the work and inspiration that shaped his final film, "Eyes Wide Shut". A telling book about an enigmatic and often misunderstood genius of a man.

I have loved Michael Herr's DISPATCHES since I first read it several years ago. I was very excited when I saw Herr's name under the title of this biography. Kubrick is one of my favorite filmmakers and Herr is one of my favorite writers. I bought this book immediately after I saw it and I am very pleased with the purchase. There is something about Herr's writing style that is just beautiful. His words seem to have a wonderful flow to them. This book is rather short, I read it in one evening. If you love either Michael Herr or Stanley Kubrick you should buy it. If you love the work of both of them, you will enjoy it as much as I did. For me, reading this book was like spending time for several hours with two fascinating talents.

"Kubrick" is intended as an antidote to all the "other" post mortems about the late director though it only adds to the heap of this strange, new, albeit fascinating, genre. Here, Kubrick is boy wonder from the Bronx who had to do whatever he did in life to defeat the evils of LA. The book is worth reading for its informative, understanding portrayal of the man but more so as a timely statement as to how artists are (mis)treated and (un)regarded in this country. Much has been said of Herr's lenghty postscript analyzing and defending "Eyes Wide Shut" but I think this is actually the best part of the book because of its crazy passion and regard for film as art but also for its indictment of spineless, narrow-minded critics.

This is not just a reprint of Herr's "Vanity Fair" piece about Kubrick (although there's nothing wrong with republishing articles in book form--remeber Tom Wolfe's "Radical Chic"?) The final section of this small book is a brand new hell-raising defence of "Eyes Wide Shut" as a modern masterpiece: Herr also assails those critics who he believes did dirt to the memory of Kubrick.. Herr is a very seductive, stylish writer, and this memoir of the late, great director is loving, but clear-eyed and a good antidote to Fredric Raphael's vitriolic "Eyes Wide Open."