“As a child, I was a great reader. books and theater were the way I understood the world, and also the way I organized my sense of morality, of how to live a good life”. -greta gerwig
as david lynch once said, “stories contain conflicts and contrasts, ups and downs, life and death, and human struggle and all kinds of things.” so for directors to transpose that life-spanning depth of narrative onto the big screen, it’s the bookshelf they usually turn to.
You are reading: Stanley kubrick favorite books
For many directors, novels are the collage from which they draw their cinematographic tapestry and, like all of us, they have their favorites. there are directors like the coen brothers who have provided a long reading list throughout their work and then there are others who have also provided a rather more literal snapshot of their bookshelves.
We’ve scoured interviews with some of history’s greatest directors to bring you a curated collection of directors and their all-time favorite novels.
Check out the list of great reads and why they’re inspiring, below.
the favorite books of seven directors:
1. George Clooney – War & peace of leo tolstoy
In a career as prolific as George Clooney’s, on both sides of the camera, it’s remarkable that he even had time to finish the nearly 600,000-word Russian classic. however, when he appeared on desert island records, he stated that if he was going to be written off with only one novel, then tolstoy’s classic would be his choice.
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despite joking at the time that “it’s a huge book and there may not be much toilet paper”, his joke does not diminish his love for tolstoy’s epic, as he claimed it even intruded on his tale of joseph heller’s catch 22 for the television series of the same name.
2. jodie foster – letters to a young poet by rainer maria rilke
The creative field is fraught with doubts and dire dangers even for the established greats. when a big-name actor transitions into a directing role, the scrutiny is increased tenfold. In this bold creative act, a word of encouragement and empathy goes a long way, and there’s no better embodiment of that than Rainer Maria Rilke’s seminal assortment of letters.
as jodie foster once told the magazine, “this is a collection of letters rilke wrote to a poet who had asked his advice. rilke clearly wants to cheer the young man up, but he can’t help betraying his own disillusionment with the world and its feelings of insignificance.
“i love how humble rilke is, how downcast by the creative process but full of hope. I gave this book to some directors and wrapped each copy in a silk scarf. when I feel like a failure or have doubts about my work, this is the holy book I take off the shelf and unwrap, very delicately.”
3. sofia coppola – spring snow by yukio mishima
the life of yukio mishima is the stuff of cinematographic surrealism too manic for the minimalist styles of sofia coppola’s work. However, apart from the incredible biography of his life, Mishima also established himself as an undeniable master of prose and shock, and that’s what Coppola enjoys when it comes to spring snow.
the director told him once a week, “this novel, the first in mishima’s four-part sea of fertility series, takes place in turn-of-the-century japan and explores the clash between the ancient Japanese aristocracy and a new class of rising elites. the son and daughter of two prominent families won’t admit they love each other until it’s too late and she’s betrothed to the emperor. It’s super romantic, especially when doomed lovers kiss in the snow.”
4. greta gerwig – to the lighthouse by virginia woolf
virginia woolf once wrote “you cannot find peace by avoiding life” and that is a central mantra in greta gerwig’s ladybug. All of the director’s works have been infused with the notion of finding depth in the smallest places, and virginia woolf’s work has been invaluable in establishing this style.
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as the up-and-coming director once said to one of the great books, “a classic for a reason. my mind was warped in a new way by its prose and will never be the same. the metaphysics it presents in the book it is represented in a way that allowed me to begin to understand that corner of philosophy.”
5. david lynch – the metamorphosis of franz kafka
stanley kubrick once said, “if you can write or think, you can shoot,” and he’s been giving directors trouble ever since. Franz Kafka’s seminal work, The Metamorphosis, isn’t the easiest to film on paper, but David Lynch had the passion and vision to try it once.
While the story of a man’s deep confusion at becoming a giant insect may sound like Lynch’s, in the end, his passion for the book made him fear he couldn’t match it. The director told an audience in Rome, “Once I finished writing the script for a film adaptation, I realized that the beauty of Kafka is in his words.”
adding, “that story is so full of words that when I finished writing it, I realized it was better on paper than on film.”
6. john waters – serious pleasures: the life of stephen tennant by philip hoare
the sultan of sleaze, john waters, once declared: “we need to make books interesting again. If you go home with someone and they don’t have books, don’t screw them up.” There are more than 8,000 novels in his Baltimore home and he has transposed this literary lust to the big screen throughout his career while producing a number of acclaimed books himself.
In the midst of the collection, however, Waters reserves reverence for a select few, including the nonfiction biography of decadent British socialite Stephen Tennant. “aubrey beardsley, ronald firbank, denton welch: believe me, this latest eccentric brit made everyone look like tomboys,” the director once wrote. “It is a crime that this book is out of print.”
7. stanley kubrick – the saga of eric brighteyes by henry rider haggard
Among the epic lodges of Stanley Kubrick’s prized possessions, the saga of Eric Brighteyes is one of the most obviously cherished. in fact, in jon ronson’s documentary, stanley kubrick’s boxes, the novel is more tattered than david attenborough’s passport insofar as it is falling apart.
The Viking epic is written in a Victorian style and portrays the romance of a farm boy who falls in love with a princess and has earned her lashes for trying to seduce and marry her off. Such simple storytelling wrapped in sui generis styles and hidden depth is the literary embodiment of Stanley Kubrick’s work and it’s clear how the book influenced his style.
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