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All the stories are true, of course, but Stanley Kubrick is a man with a theoretical, not anecdotal turn of mind. He likes to talk primarily about his films. "The thing I really hate to be asked," he says, "is to explain why the film works, what I had in mind and so forth." How it works is another matter entirely. Many of the best scenes in his movies come out of what Kubrick jokingly calls the "C.R.P."—crucial rehearsal period. "In a scene that might take three days to shoot, I would probably spend till 4 o'clock the first day rehearsing and working things out. This period is one of maximum tension and anxiety, and it is precisely here where a scene lives or dies. The choice of camera angles and coverage is, by comparison, a relatively simple matter."
Ideas for changing dialogue or the business of the scene can come from the actors or from anyone else in the vicinity. Kubrick listens to every suggestion, weighs it, modifies or expands it, then makes the final choice. Dr. Strangelove's mock resurrection from his wheelchair originated in the C.R.P., as did the Singin' in the Rain sequence in A Clockwork Orange.
Kubrick began as a photojournalist (for Look, among other publications), and he retains strong influence over the visual aspect of his films. In fact, he photographed much of A Clockwork Orange himself. But he maintains that "a film set is probably the worst place ever devised for doing creative work. Shooting is the part of film making I enjoy the least. I don't particularly enjoy working with a lot of people. I'm just not an extravert."
Kubrick lives half an hour outside London in a large house that contains, besides his offices, a computer, assorted optical and editing equipment, and a Ping Pong table inside a tent on the back lawn. Three daughters, seven cats and three dogs also contribute to the air of congenial disorder. His wife Christiane (the girl who sings to the troops at the end of Paths of Glory) paints large, radiant canvases that have been shown at the Royal Academy.
After nearly a decade of living in England, Kubrick, now 43, still has more of the Bronx than of London in his voice. The tone is unmistakable, full of an uninsistent, quietly ironic humor. Ask him his plans for a new movie, and the answer comes quickly: "I think I'll do Napoleon. You know, the well-known political figure." The film will, he hopes, be the first "to deal gracefully with historical information and at the same time convey a sense of day to day reality. Most people are not aware that Napoleon spent most of his time on the eve of a battle doing paper work." Of all the film makers in the world, Kubrick is perhaps the only one who could make an epic movie out of paper work.
*An expression Burgess derived from old Cockney slang: "Queer as a clockwork orange."