07 March-Stanley Kubrick

Huntington Castle in Clonegal, County Carlow, Ireland was the setting for some of the scenes in the Stanley Kubrick film ‘Barry Lyndon’. The film which tells the story of an 18^th century Irish adventurer was the winner of four Oscars at the Academy Awards in 1975. Stanley Kubrick was born in New York City on July 26^th 1928. Though interested in literature he did not do well at school and was later reported to have said that nothing about school interested him. He was taught to play chess by his father. He became a skilled player and chess played an important part in the making of his films. He worked initially as a photographer before taking up filmmaking in the 1950’s. He began by making documentaries and made his first feature film ‘Fear and Desire’ in 1953. During his lifetime Kubrick made 10 feature films many of which were influential and he came to be highly regarded as a director. Spartacus (1960), Lolita (1962), Dr. Strangelove (1964), Clockwork Orange (1971), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), The Shining (1980), Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999) are some of his most famous films. Kubrick moved to England to make the film Lolita in 1962 and he began to live there permanently after 1964. Shortly after a private screening of his final film, ‘Eyes Wide Shut’, Stanley Kubrick died at his home in England at the age of 70 in the year 1999 On This Day

Photo by Xandriss, Single Line Artist

Photo by IrishFireside