The Stanley Kubrick Archives

[BWilson]

At Gary's site, there is a picture of a frame of the film. It is 8 perf horizontal. I thought 2001 was shot vertical. What gives?

[Gary Tooze]

The frame is not indicative of what will come with the book. Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse.

Best,
Gary

[ola t]

It's a "Widelux" still photograph. See here.

[Poncho Punch]

God, I'd love to see the look on the face of the lucky bastard who gets the bone/space station cut.

[Gary Tooze]

God, I'd love to see the look on the face of the lucky bastard who gets the bone/space station cut.

Yes that and the Star Child sequence are "it" as far as I am concerned, but you are right - to get the transition - 6 frames flying bone - 6 frames spacecraft is beyond the realm of statistical probability.

Sorry guys... my review copy arrived. This is a portion of my segment...



=P~

Sometimes you get lucky in life...

Price has dropped a whopping $74 US on Amazon.com HERE. Now at $126.00. As it will come out imminently, I wonder if now is the time to pre-order and save? Its still listed at $200 US on Amazon.ca. Amazon will honor the new price on past pre-orders.

Best,
Gary

[foofighters7]

Well Got Mine Yesterday,, a freakin beautiful book. Havent had a chance to really delve into it yet, but ive went through it and I must say, Tasty!

Just in case you wonder, the strip I recieved was of a shot of Hal.

It was a shot I remembered in the film, so Im quite happy.

[kekid]

Can someone please explain the film strips included with this book? Are they parts of the original film? If so, have we destroyed the original? How is the original preserved for posterity? I am sure many will smile at the naivete of these questions, but I would like to be educated.

[swingo]

Can someone please explain the film strips included with this book? Are they parts of the original film? If so, have we destroyed the original? How is the original preserved for posterity? I am sure many will smile at the naivete of these questions, but I would like to be educated.

If I remember correctly the strips are from a 70mm. copy that belonged to Kubrick, that doesn't mean though, it was the original negative.

[BWilson]

Can someone please explain the film strips included with this book? Are they parts of the original film? If so, have we destroyed the original? How is the original preserved for posterity? I am sure many will smile at the naivete of these questions, but I would like to be educated.

Yeah, they cut apart the original negative and gave it away to people who bought a stupid book. There were some nerds and assorted film "lovers" who objected, but they were quickly silenced and the publisher proceeded to cut the negative so that he could give it away inside of a book like a prize inside a box of Lucky Charms.

[foofighters7]

I wasnt buying the book for the strip, but it is nifty ,nonetheless, and its interesting to own a piece of film that was in Kubricks possession.

I love the fact that each film is shown in a series of pictures from the film itself. Its all quite beautiful

Did anyone else buy it?

[Jeff]

Taschen is reissuing this on October 1. It does not include the filmstrip, and has been reduced in size, but appears to have the same page count, the CD, and presumably the same content. You can preorder at Amazon for less than $45.

[exte]

I can't recommend it. It's basically a picture book. I think there's one page on Aryan Papers. You would think the book would be dominated by the second section. Maybe because I'm not that huge a Kubrick fan? (I guess such a "picture book" for Kurosawa wouldn't bother me as much, but still...)

[Oedipax]

I can't recommend it. It's basically a picture book. I think there's one page on Aryan Papers. You would think the book would be dominated by the second section. Maybe because I'm not that huge a Kubrick fan? (I guess such a "picture book" for Kurosawa wouldn't bother me as much, but still...)

I was a bit disappointed as well. A lot of the book is stills from the films (great, but it's called the Archives - I want something I haven't seen) and essays on the films (generally only a few pages long and not covering anything any Kubrick fan wouldn't already know - mostly when it was shot, the popular & critical reaction at the time, etc). I was expecting scans of Kubrick's documents, particularly all the research he assembled for Napoleon and Aryan Papers, research for A.I., all the effects work for 2001, and so on. If there's ever a volume 2, hopefully it'll be geared more towards slightly-obsessive Kubrick fans. If it wouldn't work as a book, maybe a DVD full of high-res scans?

[exte]

A lot of the book is stills from the films (great, but it's called the Archives - I want something I haven't seen)

Exactly, I was hoping if they were going to go the picture route to have tons of behind the scenes photos and layouts of the sets, props, wardrobe, etc. I mean, if you already have most of his major films on dvd, in some cases double and triple dips... then?

[Jeff]

Taschen and the Kubrick estate are at it again -- this time with a 1,900 page ( ) volume about Kubrick's unfilmed Napoleon epic.

[Highway 61]

This was announced many years ago before Taschen even published their first Kubrick book, and I'd assumed that after all this time the project was dead. Nice to see it's finally coming, especially since this should include substantially more unseen material than the mostly recycled first book.

[ola t]

The Barnes & Noble site now shows the slipcase design of the Napoleon book.

And here's the description/publicity blurb from Bookdata. It's actually a box of ten books, apparently, not counting the screenplay.

This book features the greatest film never made. It features Kubrick's unfilmed masterpiece. Tucked inside of a carved-out book, all the elements from Stanley Kubrick's archives that readers need to imagine what his unmade film about the emperor might have been like, including a fascimile of the script; a unique art object, historical document, and artistic statement. For 40 years, Kubrick fans and film buffs have wondered about the director's mysterious unmade film on Napoleon Bonaparte. Slated for production immediately following the release of "2001: A Space Odyssey", Kubrick's "Napoleon" was to be at once a character study and a sweeping epic, replete with grandiose battle scenes featuring thousands of extras. To write his original screenplay, Kubrick embarked on two years of intensive research; with the help of dozens of assistants and an Oxford Napoleon specialist, he amassed an unparalleled trove of research and preproduction material, including approximately 15,000 location scouting photographs and 17,000 slides of Napoleonic imagery from books and libraries across Europe. No stone was left unturned in Kubrick's nearly-obsessive quest to uncover every piece of information history had to offer about Napoleon. But alas, Kubrick's movie was not destined to be: the film studios, first M.G.M. and then United Artists, decided such an undertaking was too risky at a time when historical epics were out of fashion. Taschen's sumptuous, limited-edition tribute to this unmade masterpiece makes Kubrick's valiant work on "Napoleon" available to fans for the first time. Tucked inside of a carved-out book are all the elements you need to imagine what Kubrick's film about the emperor might have been like. Along with the fascimile of Kubrick's final draft of the screenplay are 10 individual books exploring the various chapters of the director's work on the project: writing, research, costume design, location scouting, budgeting, and correspondence. The text includes the complete original treatment, an essay examining the screenplay in a historical context, an essay by Jean Tulard on Napoleon in cinema, and a transcript of interviews Kubrick conducted with Oxford professor Felix Markham. At once an art object, historical document, and artistic statement, this unique publication offers readers a chance to experience the creative process of one of cinema's greatest talents as well as a fascinating exploration of the enigmatic figure that was Napoleon Bonaparte.

[Oedipax]

B&N now has it at 2626pp! Holy cow. This is pretty much the book I thought I was getting the first time around. Awesome

[Barmy]

$600 on amazon.

[ola t]

It's significantly cheaper at Canadian and UK Amazon at the moment.

[Barmy]

It certainly is! Thanks. =P~

[Oedipax]

Hmm. I will have to spend a little while debating whether or not to drop $430+ on a Kubrick book

[Nothing]

Cheaper, but still not cheap. Indeed, this is an understatement. Howabout releasing this at a normal fucking price point, jeez...

[Oedipax]

The Napoleon book (second printing, single volume, reportedly all the same content) is now coming at a relatively attainable pricepoint of $44 as an Amazon pre-order. I'd feel pretty upset if I bought the first edition, invitation to visit the Kubrick estate notwithstanding (this really happened).

Edit: Oh, and to reiterate from elsewhere - the first Kubrick Archives book is now OOP and fetching a nice sum used.

[Oedipax]

Received the Napoleon book from Amazon this week - I haven't had a chance to really dig in deep yet, but I can say it's a pretty amazing sight to behold and all of us who wanted more detail in the Kubrick Archives book get tons of it here. The book also comes with an access code to view all of Kubrick's reference materials online and download them in high-res TIFF images (about 17,000 images in total, searchable). Total must-buy IMO.