CIMENT, MICHEL

This French journalist and critic was granted considerable interview time by STANLEY KUBRICK for work that was then published inL’Expressand the cinema journalPositif.Eventually Ciment collected these interviews into a larger book simply entitledKubrick,first published in France in 1980, then translated into English by Gilbert Adair and published in a beautifully illustrated volume by Holt, Rinehart and Winston in 1982. The book also includes interviews with several Kubrick colleagues, such as producer JAMES B. HARRIS, designer KEN ADAM, cinematographer JOHN ALCOTT, and Julian Senior, in charge of publicity for WARNER BROS. “Everything is supervised by him,” Senior said of Kubrick, and that sort of control probably extended to the director’s dealings with critics such as Ciment. When Senior reported to Kubrick thatBARRY LYNDONwas doing well at certain key cinemas in France, such as the Heutefeuille, the Gaumont Champs-Elysées, and the Impérial, Kubrick responded,“Why are you telling me that? I can’t do anything if its good news. It’s only when there are problems that I can intervene. ” Ciment is obsessive about his dedication to Kubrick, and the book offers a wealth of information. There may be a danger of information overload, however, as Ciment indicates by quoting Voltaire: “The secret of being boring is to say everything. ”

J. M. W.