that he certainly put the work in: in his early
films he learned to cover all roles – writing,
directing, operating the camera and editing –
to save costs, but that also meant he had an
excellent understanding of all that is involved
in filmmaking. His methods were intense and
involved – when shooting Spartacus he gave
the hundreds of extras in a battle scene
numbers so that he could direct them all
individually – but the exhibition also reveals
the other individuals who made the films
what they were. Kubrick pursued, and then
later was pursued by, the brightest and best.
As well as working with brilliant actors, he
employed legendary designers, including Saul
Bass, Hardy Amies, Eliot Noyes and Ken
Adam. The latter was responsible for the war038 STANLEY KUBRICK
futuristic vision using existing objects that
include Danish architect Arne Jacobsen’s
cutlery, and furniture by Eero Saarinen,
George Nelson and Olivier Mourgue. He would
also look to the future, using new products
and innovations he found at the New York
World’s Fair of 1964, which were not yet fully
realised but were put into action in Kubrick’s
film. Extraordinary prescience presented his
Sixties’ audiences with disembodied AI, video
calling akin to Facetime, and the astronauts’
IBM tablets that predate the iPad by 40 years.
All of this makes Kubrick a fitting subject for
the Design Museum, and the items on display
perfect for its audience.
The exhibition positions Kubrick at the
centre of the worlds he created, and showsThe exhibition documents how Kubrick’s
perfectionism led to new film techniques and
tools. For example, in order to evoke the 19th
century period of Barry Lyndon, he wanted the
film to be shot using only candlelight and
natural light. The solution? He commissioned
three-wick candles that would burn more
brightly, and shot the film with a lens designed
by NASA to photograph the dark side of the
moon (both the lens and the candles are on
show here).
Kubrick’s crafting of worlds also
showcased his passion for design and an
understanding that it can transcend eras, as
he carefully selected contemporary designs,
repurposing or adapting them. In 2001: A
Space Odyssey, for instance, he created a