The Stanley Kubrick Archives: Bu (Bibliotheca Universalis)

My father who is a big Kubrick fan absolutely adored this book for Christmas.

Don’t be put off by the size as there is plenty of information and pictures relating to Kubrick’s work. I’ve had this book for a few months and it’s inspired a rewatch of all his films and remains on my coffee table and not on a shelf.

When I first saw the larger edition of this in a bookshop, I was sorely tempted to buy it, but then decided against it, because I thought it was too expensive and basically, I would be better off investing the money into completing my DVD/BluRay collection of SK's films. Well, now that you can get this smaller, less expensive edition, there really is no reason to hesitate any more. First of all, yes, it is smallER, but the first edition was an insanely large format, and this is still more than impressive, so don't think you'll get a cheap treat, because this is a very beautiful book indeed. Secondly, yes, the first section, the one with the stills, is sort of pointless, because if I want to see SK's images, I want to see them in motion. But the second section is just brilliant. You see the sets and members of the crew, you see costumes and props, production notes, screenplays, and storyboards with SK's comments scribbled all over them. Just one thing: somewhat like the documentary "A Life in Pictures", this isn't really a good work to learn a lot about the actual production process of the films. There are interviews and tons of very helpful notes in the second part of this book, but most of these add up to a rather touristy sense of what it must have been like to be there, with SK, working on these films. Even a biography that I picked up more or less at random in a library gave me more information about the really technical aspects of SK's films than this book did. Here, you get a feel, not an account. So if you are a fan, fascinated with this man's devotion to his art, then you'll find many nice things and maybe a few real surprises in this volume. If you are looking for more differentiated insights into what makes his films what they are, then perhaps you should look for more academic literature.

I've bought the original "coffee table"-sized slab of this book, the resized but still rather unwieldy edition and now this delightfully dinky revision which finally makes the act of reading it a pleasure rather than a struggle. I'll be keeping all three, not least for the copious amount of stills that are reproduced directly from transfers of SK's films in the two larger editions that are pared down here, as well as the strip of a 70mm print of 2001 included with the original release, but make no mistake: this "Bibliotheca Universalis" edition is an absolute steal for only a mere £12 of your Earth pounds, full of tangible insight into Kubrick the artist as well as Kubrick the man; indeed, they were one and the same.

I had the older 2008 edition before which had more photos and texts, but this one really blew up its photo sizes. I personally wished this edition retained all of the texts from the older edition, but I enjoyed this book anyway, felt like I was exploring the book in a slightly different way this time. Recommended.

This book is a MUST for any Kubrick fan. Only giving 4 stars as it didn't come wrapped or sealed and had quite a few scratches and dents on it. Fine if it's for yourself but be mindful if it's a gift for someone.

I was expecting this book to be good but it has totally exceeded my expectations.The print quality for the photography, stills and archive documents is perfect.There is an undoubted labour of love by the Taschen team putting this together and despite being a petsin who is hard to impress, I caught myself open mouthed at the quality upon opening the book for the first time.If you are a fan of Kubrick, work in the industry or simply want to look inside the mind of a true perfectionist then buy this book, you will love it.

Great book! It's an excellent reference for aspiring film makers from the most iconic director.