Stanley Kubrick is everywhere

Telling film lovers how great Kubrick was is easy. We already know that. But does it do the right thing by a director who was always about far more than just celebrating the past?

When the word ‘Kubrickian’ entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2018, the risk was cementing an idea of Kubrick as one thing only – a technically brilliant grandmaster. That felt like a disservice – and a message that only one kind of filmmaker could be an heir to his genius, an arch-perfectionist with a big budget behind them. (Which yes, usually meant middle-aged white men.)

In fact, there were many Kubricks. There was the Kubrick who came out of New York street photography, for instance, another the king of dark-hearted slapstick. And his legacy is everywhere – in the tingling horror of Jordan Peele and the enigmatic poise of Lucretia Martel, the wry comedy of Justin Simien and the fearless vision of Lynne Ramsay. He is there in Russian Doll and in Atlanta.

So this video pays tribute to the real spirit of Kubrick – a many-sided giant who shaped so much of all that moves around us.