Kubrick by Michael Herr

critics trashed the movie because of their "art-phobia," "For they fear that if they surrender themselves to the work's strangeness, they will seem vulnerable and naive and intellectually unreliable." In the book's postscript, Herr critiques the film and offers his interpretation of it.

A black and white photo of Kubrick precedes the beginning of the book's five chapters and postscript, every photo showing a progressively older Kubrick with each advancing chapter.

Herr's essay-like writing flows smoothly; Kubrick is a pleasant though insubstantial account of Kubrick later in life. It's not a linear, straight-forward record--it's mostly anecdotes centering on Herr's experiences with him from 1980 onward, and while he was in the process of making Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut. For me, though it's too short, it's still a worthwhile read; it just doesn't fully illuminate the Kubrick behind the brief anecdotes, however, I did learn more about the man beyond the news reports when he died.

Kubrick is Herr's fourth book. His previous books are Disclosure (about the Vietnam War), Walter Winchell: A Novel, and The Big Room (Las Vegas) co-written with Guy Peellaert. He co-wrote the screenplays for Apocalypse Now (1979), Full Metal Jacket (1987), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), and The Rainmaker (1997).

Biographies
A link to my home page where you can buy the book.

Videos
A link to my home page where you can buy the movies I mentioned in this review.

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Graphic courtesy of Grove Press.

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