In ‘Listening to Stanley Kubrick: The Music in His Films’ (Scarecrow Press), Christine Lee Gengaro provides an in-depth exploration of the music that was composed for Kubrick’s films and places the pre-existent music he utilized into historical context. Gengaro discusses the music in every single work, from Kubrick’s first films, including the documentary shorts The Flying Padre and Day of the Fight, through all of his feature films, from Fear and Desire to Eyes Wide Shut. No film is left out; no cue is ignored.
Besides closely examining the scores composed by Gerald Fried for Kubrick’s early works, Gengaro pays particular attention to five of the director’s most provocative and acclaimed films—2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, The Shining, and Eyes Wide Shut. For each film, she engages the reader by explaining how the music was excerpted (and changed, in some cases), and how the historical facts about a musical piece add layers of meaning—sometimes unintended—to the films.
Meant for film lovers, music lovers, and scholars, Listening to Stanley Kubrick is a thoroughly researched examination into the musical elements of one of cinema’s most brilliant artists. Appropriate for a cinema studies or music classroom, this volume will also appeal to any fan of Kubrick’s films.
